India and Kyrgyzstan sign 6 agreements in various fields

• India and Kyrgyzstan have signed six Memoranda of Understanding (MoU)/ Agreements including in the fields of tourism, agriculture and food industry etc.
• These agreements were signed after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Sharshenovich Atambayev in New Delhi. Besides, both leaders also issued joint statement.

  Signed Agreements are :

• MoU on cooperation in the field of Tourism.
• MoU in the field of cooperation in youth exchange.
• MoU on cooperation in the field of Youth development.
• MoU on exchange of information on training programmes of diplomats.
• Agreement on cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry.
• MoU on cooperation in the field of Broadcasting and exchange of audiovisual programmes.

PM lays foundation stone of country’s first Indian Institute of Skills in Kanpur

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of the country’s first Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh to make India the Skill Capital of the World.
• He also inaugurated the Kaushal Pradarshini (Skill Exhibition) for the youth of Uttar Pradesh to portray major skill development initiatives of the Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry.

Chhattisgarh CM dedicates country’s first cashless bazaar to people in Raipur

• Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh launched India’s first cashless bazaar in Raipur.
• This ‘Smart’ bazaar consist of nearly Over 900 shops which are providing the facilities of cashless payments using POS, UPI and other digital systems to its customers.
• Chhattisgarh is currently leading in the nation in training its people in digital transactions.

FM Arun Jaitley: No political party can accept donations in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes

• At the 2016 Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence, Mumbai, on December 17, 2016, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley clarified that no political party can accept donations in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes since they have been rendered illegal tender. Any party doing so would be in violation of law.
• He declared that the government has not granted any new exemption to registered political parties either after 8th November demonetization or with the introduction of the Taxation Amendment Act, 2016.
• Just like anyone else, political parties can also deposit their cash held in the old currency in banks till December 30, provided they can satisfactorily explain the source of income and their books of accounts reflect the entries prior to November 8. If there is any discrepancy in the books or records of political parties, they would be liable to be questioned by the income tax authorities.

Flock launches world’s first chat operating system

• A free instant messaging service for work and business environments, Flock has launched world’s first chat operating system”FlockOS” by Bhavin Turakhia, Flock CEO.
• Developers can build apps by using Flock OS that provide a tightly integrated experience by using widgets.
• This OS provides setup slash commands, providing an additional option for users to interact with the app.

India Ends 2016 with No 1 Ranked Test Team

• India has been ranked as the No.1 team in the ICC Test Championship after posting a 4-0 wins over England in the five-match series, which ended with an innings and 75 runs victory in Chenna.
• The series win helped India gain five points and totaling to 120 points in the last Test team rankings update of 2016 leaving behind Australia at second spot.
• In contrast, England, which had started the series tied with Australia on 105 points have slipped from second to fifth position.