US officially exits World Health Organization (WHO)

U.S. has officially completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Trump administration announced on Thursday.  “The U.S. has finalised its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), one year after President Donald Trump announced America was ending its 78-year-old commitment,” federal officials said on Thursday (January 22, 2026). But it's hardly a clean break.

The WHO is the United Nations’ specialised health agency and is mandated to coordinate the response to global health threats, such as outbreaks of mpox, Ebola and polio. It also provides technical assistance to poorer countries; helps distribute scarce vaccines, supplies and treatments; and sets guidelines for hundreds of health conditions, including mental health and cancer. Nearly every country in the world is a member.

U.S. departure has sparked a financial crisis that has seen the WHO cut its management team in half and scale back work, cutting budgets across the agency. Washington has traditionally been by far the U.N. health agency's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. The WHO will also shed around a quarter of its staff by the middle of this year. The agency said it has been working with the U.S. and sharing information in the last year. It was unclear how the collaboration will work going forward.

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PM Modi visits Adampur Air Force Station

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi visited AFS Adampur today, to meet our brave air warriors and soldiers.  "It was a very special experience to be with those who epitomise courage, determination and fearlessness", Shri Modi stated.

The Prime Minister posted on X; "Earlier this morning, I went to AFS Adampur and met our brave air warriors and soldiers. It was a very special experience to be with those who epitomise courage, determination and fearlessness. India is eternally grateful to our armed forces for everything they do for our nation."

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Uddhav Thackeray takes oath as Maharashtra CM

Shiv Sena Chief and Maha Vikas Aghadi nominee Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He is the 29th Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He was named as the leader of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance called the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’. Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath to Thackeray at Shivaji Park, Dadar in Central Mumbai. He is the first Thackeray family member to become Maharashtra’s CM. The alliance is yet to decide the candidate for the Deputy CM post.

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J&K Reorganisation Bill 2019 passed in Rajya Sabha

Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 passed in the Rajya Sabha today. It also moved a resolution revoking Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the bill as well as moved the resolution in the House. Opposition members belonging from Congress, Left, TMC, SP, PDP, RJD and others created uproar in the House after the Minister’s announcement. The agitating members are sitting in the well and raising slogans.  Rajya Sabha adopts Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, 125 vote for 61 vote against and 1 member abstains. The Bill is passed by the Rajya Sabha.

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition, Ghulam Nabi Azad demanded discussion on the prevailing situation in the state. Mr Azad said curfew has been imposed and prominent leaders put under house arrest. Home Minister Amit Shah said, government is ready to discuss every issue related to Jammu and Kashmir. Lok Sabha will discuss the resolutions regarding Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution to scrap provisions of Article 370 and Bills to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir to make Ladakh a Union Territory and make a residual State a Union Territory with Legislative Assembly.

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LPU Jalandhar will host Indian Science Congress (ISC-2019)

106th Indian Science Congress (ISC-2019) will be held at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar, Punjab from 3rd to 7th January 2019. The theme of the 5-day science congress is ‘Future India: Science & Technology’. Approx 15,000 delegates, including 300 top scientists and Nobel Laureates from across world are expected to attend the congress. The science congress will have 18 plenary sessions, including those of medical, chemical, environmental and other science domains. There will also be four parallel mega events, including the children’s science conference; women’s science conference; science communicators’ meet; and, science exhibition. The exhibition will see participation from the national and international science companies, especially from the US, Australia, Germany and Switzerland.

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Rajiv Kumar is new NITI Aayog Vice Chairman

Economist Dr Rajiv Kumar is appointed the new vice-chairman of NITI Aayog on 5th August 2017. This comes five days after the incumbent vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya announced he was quitting the government think tank on 31 August to return to Columbia University. The government also appointed Dr Vinod Paul, a pediatrician at the AIIMS, as a member of the NITI Aayog, an official spokesman said. 

Rajiv Kumar, who holds a DPhil in economics from Oxford and was a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and an author of several books on the Indian economy. He was also the chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics, Pune. Kumar also did stints at industry bodies like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, where he was the Secretary General, and Confederation of Indian Industry, where he served as the chief economist. But it is his books and articles that gained him wide prominence. Modi and his Challenges, published in 2016, was a text about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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PM Narendra Modi invited to address US Congress meeting

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan on Thursday invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint meeting of Congress during his expected visit to Washington this summer.  Speaker Ryan made the announcement at his weekly press conference.  The tradition of foreign leaders and dignitaries addressing Congress began with the Marquis de Lafayette of France, who spoke in the House chamber on December 10, 1824.
Once confirmed, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will become the fifth Indian prime minister to address a joint meeting of the US Congress, and the first since 2005. Earlier, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh (July 19, 2005), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (September 14, 2000), PV Narasimha Rao (May 18, 1994) and Rajiv Gandhi (July 13, 1985) addressed the joint meeting of the US Congress

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Govt launches Sahaj Scheme for online booking of LPG cylinders

Union Government has launched Sahaj Scheme for online booking of LPG cylinders. It was launched by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) Dharmendra Pradhan as part of Government’s 2016-Year of the Consumers initiative. 

Highlights of Sahaj Scheme for online booking of LPG cylinders:

• Consumers can book LPG cylinders online through the unified web portal www.mylpg.in which is available in 13 languages. 
• People can apply online for new LPG connection and they need not visit to the LPG distributors for it. 
• This facility is available around the clock and with online or offline payment options. LPG cylinders will be delivered at home even in their absence. 
• Union government has decided to target of adding 10 crore new LPG connections by December 2018 to present 16.5 crore connections.

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Revision of Civil Services Examination

Union Public Service Commission has so far constituted following committees for review of different aspects of Civil Services Examination including the language issues:-
i) Kothari Committee
ii) Satish Chandra Committee
iii) Y.K. Alagh Committee
iv) Anandakrishnan Committee
v) Bhattacharya Committee S.K. Khanna Committee
vii) Nigavekar Committee
viii) Purushottam Agarwal Committee.
ix) Baswan Committee.
Except for the Baswan Committee, which is yet to submit its report, all other Committees have since submitted their reports and in none of these reports, any recommendation has been made for revising the Civil Services to set questions in all the languages listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution. The Committee inter-alia recommended that the candidates in the Civil Services Examination should be allowed to write their papers (other than the Indian language and English compulsory papers) in any of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution provided the candidate has had his/her graduation in that particular language medium for the examination. However, in view of the concerns raised in the Parliament, print and electronic media about Civil Services Examinations Rules, 2013, the said recommendation was not given effect by the Central Government. The Central Government has constituted an Expert Committee under chairmanship of Shri B. S. Baswan, vide Notice dated 12.8.2015 to examine the various issues connected with the Civil Services Examination. The Committee has been asked to submit its report within 06 months of its constitution.

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India Ranked No. 55 in World Economic Forum Annual Report

India Ranked No. 55 in World Economic Forum Annual Report. India moved up 16 spots in the report released by the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.  India was the sixth-highest ranked country in the "emerging and developing Asia" region. The Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 assesses the competitiveness of 140 world economies. Using a mixture of quantitative and survey data, it ranks countries overall by combining 113 indicators grouped under 12 pillars of competitiveness: institutions; infrastructure; macroeconomic environment; health and primary education; higher education and training; goods market efficiency; labour market efficiency; financial market development; technological readiness; market size; business sophistication; and innovation. Switzerland tops the Global Competitiveness Index for the seventh year in a row. It leads the world in its capacity to innovate and scores highly for its education system and labour market efficiency. Switzerland’s infrastructure is strong, its public institutions are effective and transparent, and its macroeconomic environment is more stable than most. Still, the cost of doing business in Switzerland is high – and its strong currency, negative real interest rates and uncertainty about future immigration policy are all cautions against complacency.

India Performance Overview: 

• After five years of decline, India jumps 16 ranks to 55th place. This dramatic reversal is largely attributable to the momentum initiated by the election of Narendra Modi, whose pro-business, pro-growth, and anti-corruption stance has improved the business community’s sentiment toward the government. 
• Last year India tumbles 11 places on competitiveness index in report  released in September 2014.
• The quality of India’s institutions is judged more favorably (60th, up 10), although business leaders still consider corruption to be the biggest obstacle to doing business in the country.
• India’s performance in the macroeconomic stability pillar has improved, although the situation remains worrisome (91st, up 10). Thanks to lower commodity prices, inflation eased to 6 percent in 2014, down from near double-digit levels the previous year. 
• The government budget deficit has gradually dropped since its 2008 peak, although it still amounted to 7 percent of GDP in 2014, one of the world’s highest (131st). Infrastructure has improved (81st, up six) but remains a major growth bottleneck—electricity in particular. 
• The fact that the most notable improvements are in the basic drivers of competitiveness bodes well for the future, especially the development of the manufacturing sector. But other areas also deserve attention, including technological readiness: 
• India remains one of the least digitally connected countries in the world (120th, up one). Fewer than one in five Indians access the Internet on a regular basis, and fewer than two in five are estimated to own even a basic cell phone.
  

About Global Competitiveness Report: 

• Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) is a yearly report published by the World Economic Forum. Since 2004, the Global Competitiveness Report ranks countries based on the Global Competitiveness Index,developed by Xavier Sala-i-Martin and Elsa V. Artadi.
• The Global Competitiveness Index integrates the macroeconomic and the micro/business aspects of competitiveness into a single index.
• The report "assesses the ability of countries to provide high levels of prosperity to their citizens. This in turn depends on how productively a country uses available resources. Therefore, the Global Competitiveness Index measures the set of institutions, policies, and factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of economic prosperity."

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Marathi film 'Court' is India's entry for Oscars 2016

Marathi film 'Court'  is India's official entry for the Oscars 2016. Filmed on a shoestring budget of Rs 3.5 crore, debutant director Chaitanya Tamhane's film will now represent the country in the Best Foreign Film category at the Academy Awards. The winner will be announced in February 2016. Court, which stars a mostly unknown cast other than Marathi stage veteran Geetanjali Kulkarni and Vivek Gomber, was tipped to be the favourite in the Oscar race, with fellow Marathi film Killa and Cannes hit Masaan. Rumour has it that there was strong lobbying from Bollywood producers for Vishal Bhardwaj's Haider, Rajkumar Hirani's PK, Anurag Kashyap's Ugly and the sports biopic Mary Kom. The jury also reportedly watched Tamil-Telugu blockbuster Baahubali.

An elated Chaitanya Tamhane, who debuted as a director with ‘Court’, expressed both joy and surprise at the development. “At every juncture of the film’s journey, we have felt that it has given us more than we could ever imagine. Once again, this has come as a genuine surprise to both Vivek (producer) and me. Ever since we started making the film, we kept our expectations low. Especially in this case, since these results tend to be so unpredictable, it just felt like a wise thing to not expect too much. Now that it has actually happened, we would like to thank the jury for their decision and everyone who has supported the film so far,” said Chaitanya.

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Bihar Polls date announced

Election Commission announced Bihar Assembly polls date.The upcoming elections in Bihar will be conducted in five phases and the date of polling for first phase will be on 12 October. The polling for second phase will be on 16 October. The phase three polling will be held on 28 October and the polling for fourth phase will be on 1 November. Phase five polling would be on 5 November. Counting of votes would be held on 8 November. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Naseem Zaidi said that about 6.68 crore people would vote in the polls. We have devoted a lot of preparations to these elections, Zaidi said. "All polling booths to be manned by paramilitary forces," he added. With the announcement of election schedule for Bihar, the model code of conduct has come into force. The Election Commission also said that it would ensure holding of free and fair elections in Bihar. Chief Election Commissioner also said that in Bihar assembly elections, it will be for the first time that photographs of contesting candidates would be affixed on EVMs.

Bihar Vidhansabha Election 2015 dates:

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7th Pay Commission term extended till December 2015

Cabinet extends Seventh Pay Commission till December 2015. Cabinet also clears amendments to arbitration law for faster disposal of commercial disputes. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday gave its approval for the extension of the term of the 7th Central Pay Commission by four months up to December 31, 2015. The 7th Central Pay Commission was required to give its Report by 27th August, 2015.
In view of its volume of work and intensive stake-holders' consultations, the Commission had made a request to the Government for a four month extension. Seventh Pay Commission are scheduled to come into effect from 1st January 2016. The Sixth Pay Commission was implemented with effect from 1st January 2006, the fifth from 1st January 1996 and the fourth from 1st January 1986.

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PM inaugurates Call to Action Summit 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the Global Call to Action Summit 2015 in New Delhi. The two-day leadership summit will be a confluence of health ministers from the 24 priority countries that committed to the global Call to Action for child survival in June 2012, state health ministers from India, international academic experts amongst a host of others. This Summit will be co-hosted with the Health Ministry of Ethiopia and in partnership with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Tata Trusts, UNICEF, USAID, UK Aid and WHO.

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India Sign MoU with Australia on cooperation in Education

Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Australia on cooperation in the fields of education, training and research. The costs of the cooperative activities under this MoU will be funded on mutually agreed terms and will be subject to availability of funds.The MoU will help intensify existing partnerships between India and Australia in higher education & research, including technical and professional education, schools, vocational education and training and will open up new and innovative areas of cooperation.

The main objectives of this MoU, amongst other things, are:
i. Consideration of expansion of the Australia India Education Council membership from time to time to ensure appropriate representation from academia, policy makers and industry as required and agreed;
ii. Strengthening the policy dialogue and exchange in areas of mutual benefit, including qualification and quality frameworks and standards for education, research and training;
iii. Supporting mobility of students and faculty members through formal exchange programs, internships and other modalities;
iv. Improving credit transfer arrangements and work towards qualifications recognition between Australia and India;
v. Supporting and organizing professional development programmes for subject experts, educational administrators, faculty members and teachers;
vi. Encouraging twinning arrangements between institutions of higher learning and organisation of joint research programmes and publications;
vii. Encouraging research collaboration between institutions of higher learning to enlarge the scope for joint research, joint Ph. D. programmes and joint degrees;
viii. Sharing best practice education materials including research materials, publications, and educational literature;
ix. Supporting skills development through joint conferences, seminars, policy dialogue and technical cooperation in national standards development;
x. Strengthening communication for exchange of information on new policy initiatives and opportunities for development of education, training and research activities of both countries;
xi. Further develop bilateral programmes between institutions of educational excellence in technical, vocational, schools and higher education, subject to availability of funds; and
xii. Any other activity as mutually determined by both parties.

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First Lady Mrs Suvra Mukherjee passes away

First Lady Mrs Suvra Mukherjee passes away this morning (August 18, 2015). She left for her heavenly abode at 1051 am. Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has deeply condoled the demise of Smt. Suvra Mukherjee w/o Hon’ble President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee. In his condolence message, he has said that in this hour of grief he joins the nation in offering deepest condolence to the President and the bereaved family members. May the Almighty grant peace to departed soul.
Following is the text of Vice President’s condolence message : “I am deeply saddened to learn about the demise of Smt. Suvra Mukherjee w/o Hon’ble President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee. In this hour of grief I join the nation in offering deepest condolence to the President and the bereaved family members. May the Almighty grant peace to departed soul.”

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Arjuna Awards 2015 Winners

Arjuna Awards 2015 Winners List, Name, Sports: Arjuna Awards and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.Arjuna Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for four years preceding the year of award. A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by the Selection Committee headed by Mr. Justice V.K. Bali, former Chief Justice of Kerla High Court and consisting of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators. The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29, 2015. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee will receive medal, certificate and award money of Rs. 7.5 lakh and Arjuna Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and award money of Rs.5 lakh each. Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has approved to confer Arjuna Awards for 2015 upon the following sportspersons: 

Arjuna Awards 2015 Winners List:

S. No.	Name of the sportsperson	Discipline
1	Naib Subedar Sandeep Kumar	Archery
2	Ms. M.R. Poovamma	Athletics
3	Mr. Kidambi Srikanth Nammalwar	Badminton
4	Mr. Mandeep Jangra	Boxing
5	Mr. Rohit Sharma	Cricket
6	Ms. Dipa Karmakar	Gymnastic
7	Mr. Sreejesh P.R.	Hockey
8	Mr. Manjeet Chhillar	Kabaddi
9	Ms. Abhilasha Shashikant Mhatre	Kabaddi
10	Mr. Sawarn Singh	Rowing
11	Mr. Anup Kumar Yama	Roller Skating
12	Mr. Jitu Rai	Shooting
13	Shri S. Sathish Kumar	Weightlifting
14	Mr. Bajrang	Wrestling
15	Ms. Babita Kumari	Wrestling
16	Ms. Yumnam Sanathoi Devi	Wushu
17	Mr. Sharath M. Gayakwad	Para-Swimming

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Govt clears 6-laning of NH NE-II in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh

Government on Thursday cleared a proposal for six laning of the Eastern peripheral expressway at a cost of Rs 7,558 crore, a move that will help check the growing traffic and pollution in Delhi. "Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given approval for development of six laning of Eastern peripheral expressway (National Highway No. NE-II) in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh," an official statement said in New Delhi on Thursday. The cost is estimated to be Rs.7558 crore including Rs.1795.20  crore for land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.  The total length of the road will be approximately 135  kms.  This work will be under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis.   

The main object of the project is to expedite improvement of infrastructure in the States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.  The road is a peripheral road around Delhi, so that the traffic which is not destined for Delhi, does not pass through this city. This avoids congestion and pollution in the city. The development of this stretch will also help in uplifting the socio-economic condition of the concerned regions of the State and would also increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities.

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Civil Services (Pre) Examination on August 23, 2015

Union Public Service Commission will hold the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2015 on August 23, 2015. This Preliminary Examination will be common for the candidates applying for Civil Services Examination and Indian Forest Service Examination, and will act as a screening mechanism for selection of candidates for the Civil Services (Main) Examination and Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination. The Examination will be held at 71 Centres across the country, in accordance with the rules of Civil Services Examination notified in the Official Gazette on May 23, 2015 by the Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India and the Rules of Indian Forest Service Examination notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the Official Gazette on May 23, 2015.
Candidates are required to apply through online mode on the Commission’s Website www.upsconline.nic.in. No other mode is allowed for submission of application. The commencement of filling online applications shall start from May 23, 2015 and conclude on June 19, 2015. For details regarding the Syllabus and Scheme of the Examination, Centers of Examination, and Guidelines for filling up application form etc. aspirants must login to the Commission’s Website www.upsconline.nic.in or www.upsc.gov.in and refer to the notices of the above mentioned two examinations.

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Australia wins World Cup 2015

Australia won cricket's World Cup 2015 for the fifth time in 28 years on sunday by 7 wickets (with 101 balls remaining) at home over New Zealand. Skipper Michael clarke provided the runs and helped the australia wins his fifth title. Michael clarke scored 74, sharing a 100+ run stand with Steven Smith (56) and provided comfortable win.
Australia chased down New Zealand 183-10 and became the first team to win world cup for five times. Australia won the three previous World Cups – 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007.
Score Summary: 
New Zealand 183 (45 Over)
GD Elliott = 83
LRPL Taylor = 40
Johnson 30-3
Faulkner 36-3
Australia 186/3 (33.1 Over)
Warner = 45
SD Smith = 56*
MJ Clarke = 74

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