• India Has Pledged $1.25 Million to the UN Relief Agency for Palestinian
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India has pledged $1.25 million to the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees as it voiced concern over the fragile situation and ongoing conflicts in the middle-east region. Singapore has the highest achieving students in international education rankings, with its teenagers coming top in tests in maths, reading and science. India was formally designated as a ‘Major Defence Partner’ of the United States. The 2016 World Power Language Index (PLI) announced that English language is the most powerful language in the world. The index was published by World Economic Forum (WEF). Hindi language was ranked 10th in the 2016 PLI. Pakistan has lifted an "undeclared" ban on import of ginned cotton from India, days after rejecting a consignment of 10,000 bales of cotton from India citing violation of plant quarantine rules by importers. In an effort to enhance cooperation in education between the two countries, India will establish a center of excellence in information technology at Egypt's oldest and most prestigious Al- Azhar University. Dr. António Costa, Prime Minister of the Republic of Portugal will be the Chief Guest at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention to be held from 7 to 9 January, 2017 at Bengaluru in Karnataka. Mr. Michael Ashwin Satyandre Adhin, Vice President of the Republic of Suriname will be the Special Guest at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) to be held on 7 January 2017 in Bengaluru. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur is India’s highest-ranked institution features in the Top 100 QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2016-17. Turkey will chair the Energy Club of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2017, becoming the first non-SCO country to hold its term presidency. UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released the 2016 edition of the Measuring the Information Society Report. It was topped by the Republic of Korea with IDI of 8.84. The Sub-Saharan Africa’s Niger with an IDI of 1.07 ranked lowest. India was placed at 138th rank with IDI score of 2.69. In 2015, it stood at 135th position. New Zealand was the most searched country by Indian travelers in 2016, with travel searches increasing by 52% this year when compared to 2015, according to a new Sky scanner survey. Thailand's has chosen Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn as the new king. Dictionary.com has chosen “xenophobia,” as the word of the year, which means fear, or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.” The U.S. on 7 October 2016 lifted sanctions against Myanmar that have been in place for nearly two decades. Pakistan Parliament in a joint sitting on 6 October 2016 unanimously passed two bills, one seeking to curb murders in the name of honour and the other to punish rapists by use of modern technology of DNA testing in probes involving rape cases. India has donated Rs. 9.3 million to the Nelson Mandela Foundation to help it in its welfare work for the people of South Africa. Maldives has announced its decision to leave the saying the Commonwealth treated it unjustly and unfairly. Pakistan has officially postponed the 19th SAARC Summit to be held in November in Islamabad. A recent World Bank report said that in the 2013, the highest number of people living below poverty line were in India. The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations in January. France has become the first country in the world to ban disposable plastic cups and plates. Australia announced an online program for its pre-schools to learn foreign languages, including Hindi. The Bulgarian Prime Minister BoykoBorisov gave resignation of his cabinet after his party’s candidate Tsetska Tsacheva , failed to win the country’s presidential election on November 14, 2016. Netherlands-based doctors have performed the first-ever brain implant on a 58-year-old woman paralysed by Lou Gehrig's disease, enabling her to communicate in day-to-day life via a speech computer. Oxford Dictionaries has declared "post-truth" to be its international word of the year citing a 2,000% spike in its usage. President Vladimir Putin has signed an executive order removing Russia’s signature from the International Criminal Court’s founding treaty. Patel has emerged as the most commonIndian surname in the UK, according to a new Oxford dictionary released. The world’s first Bollywood Theme Park has been opened in Dubai. India and European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) signed an agreement making India an Associate Member State of CERN. NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission on 5 November 2016 set the Guinness world record for highest altitude fix of a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal at 70000 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. Japan signed a historic civil nuclear cooperation deal with India, opening the door for collaboration between their industries in the field. The growing power of Indian community in US was seen once again when Hindi language found a place on ‘Thank You’ note in US president election. A first-of-its-kind Indian music and dance festival aimed to showcase the country's rich and diverse culture was held in iconic Sydney Opera House. Oxford University (UK) topped the list as the world’s leading university in the latest Times Higher Education world rankings index. Indian Institute of Science of Bengaluru has been placed in the rank segment of 201 to 250 while IIT Bombay is in the 301 to 350 segment. The World Health Organisation certified Sri Lanka a malaria-free nation and awarded certificate on 6 September. The UN Charter, the seminal treaty of the United Nations, has now been translated into Sanskrit. It was translated by Jitendra Kumar Tripathi. A 1946 picture of Mahatma Gandhi with his ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel) in the foreground is among the 100 most influential images of all time, according to a compilation by Time magazine of “images that changed the world”. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has, for the first time, broken into the top 15 universities in the latest Times Higher Education (THE)’s BRICS and Emerging Economies University Rankings 2017 Japanese scientists behind the discovery of element 113, the first atomic element found in Asia - indeed, the first found outside Europe or the United States - have dubbed it "nihonium" after the Japanese-language name for their country. China and Pakistan launched a direct rail and sea freight service with the first cargo train departing from China's southwestern Yunnan province. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation, after learning he had suffered a crushing defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key unexpectedly announced his resignation, saying it was the “right time” to leave politics after more than eight years in power. In its thirty eighth flight (PSLV-C36), ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully launched the 1,235 kg RESOURCESAT-2A Satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. State-run power equipment maker BHEL has commissioned a 93 MW steam turbine-based captive power plant (CPP) at Hazira in Gujarat for Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). The Palampur Assembly Constituency of Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh became the first e- assembly constituency of the country. Hundreds of Garo tribals gathered in Meghalaya recently to celebrate the harvest festival of Wangala with much fervour here. The Chancellor of Nalanda University, George Yeo, resigned citing that earlier he was assured of the University’s autonomy but now things had changed. Goa is likely to become the first state in India to go cashless from December 31, as people will be able to buy perishables such as fish, meat, vegetables or anything else at the press of a button on their mobile. Indian Railways and IRCTC have included "transgender as third gender" in the option alongside male and female in ticket reservation and cancellation forms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flag off the Humsafar train from Kushinagar that will ply between Gorakhpur and Delhi's Anand Vihar terminus. Uttar Pradesh now has Asia's first cycle highway. A first-of-its-kind project, the 207-km-long cycle highway runs between Etawah and Agra and was declared open recently. 10 day long festival named Losar festival has begun in Ladakh region of J&K to mark the beginning of New Year in this Himalayan region. Ministry of Culture has organised 10 days long diversified cultural carnival ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav - 2016’ at the premises of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Janpath, New Delhi. PM Narendra Modi unveiled the war memorial ‘Shaurya Smarak’ in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland today launched - Circuit - the first “Made in India” electric bus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three hydro-electric projects (HEPs) with a generating capacity of 1,752 MW in Himachal Pradesh. For the welfare of SC/ST entrepreneurs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched national SC/ST (Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes) hub in Ludhiana. He also launched the Zero Defect, Zero Effect (ZED) scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). As the Kashmir Stag popularly known as Hangul is on the verge of extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature is all set to declare it a ‘critically endangered’ species to protect this beautiful animal from disappearing from the earth. The Election Commission of India hosted the first ever International Conference on Voter Education in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to set up nation’s first railway University at Vadodara. INS Viraat, the world's oldest aircraft carrier, was accorded a grand send-off from the port in Kochi, after over five decades of its service to the Navy.