Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been selected for national award by Union Rural Development Ministry for best performance in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

The award distribution ceremony will be held at Pusa, New Delhi on Thursday.

Union Rural Development Ministry has sanctioned 147 Road and Bridge projects under PMGSY-II covering a length of 783.88 kilometres at an estimated cost of 878.53 crore rupees for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

The entire road length has been sanctioned for upgradation of existing road infrastructure with 10-year maintenance.

Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane will be the next Chief of Army Staff helming the 1.3 million-strong force, official sources said on Monday. Lt Gen Naravane is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Army.

Sources said Naravane’s appointment has been cleared at the highest level, adding the government has followed the principle of seniority in the appointment.

Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat is due to retire on December 31 after a three-year stint. He is expected to be appointed as the country’s first Chief of Defence Staff.

The fifth meeting of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) of the Fifteenth Finance Commission was held in New Delhi yesterday. After the meeting, Chairman NK Singh said that future revenue is the most critical issue for the Finance Commission. He said, tax regime needs predictability and certainty. 
 
In the meeting, possible macro assumptions related to real growth, inflation, ongoing structural reforms, tax revenue including GST, adherence to Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act and fiscal transparency were discussed. Further, Advisory Council was informed about submission of the 2020-21 report and Commission’s next course of actions pertaining to preparation of the report for 2021-26 period.
 
Recently, the fifteenth Finance Commission submitted its report for the period 2020-21 to President Ram Nath Kovind.

The Indian and Nepalese Army personnel exchanged theoretical, practical and special experiences with each other during a battalion-level joint military exercise in Nepal.

Joint military exercise 'SURYA KIRAN - XIV' between India and Nepal was conducted at Salijhandi of Rupendehi district of Nepal from December 3-16.

During the training programme, Nepalese and Indian Army personnel exchanged theoretical, practical and special experiences with each other.

Nepal Army has expressed hope expresses hope that such kind of exercise will help further strengthen friendly relations existing between the two armies for centuries, the Nepal Army said in a statement.

IAS officer Ravi Mittal took charge as the new Secretary,  Information and Broadcasting Ministry today. Mr Mittal took charge from Amit Khare who has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Higher Education. 

Before this, Mr Mittal, a 1986 batch IAS officer of Bihar Cadre, was working as the Special Secretary in the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.

New Zealand's three-time Olympic middle distance champion Peter Snell has died at the age of 80.

Snell is the last male athlete to have completed the 800m and 1500m double at an Olympic Games, which he achieved in Tokyo in 1964.

The former 800m and mile world record holder also claimed 800m gold four years earlier in Rome.

A sporting legend in his home country, Snell was voted New Zealand's athlete of the century in 2000.

Athletics' governing body World Athletics said it was "deeply saddened" by the news, while New Zealand Olympic Committee president Mike Stanley added Snell's achievements are "at the heart of New Zealand's sporting history".

Toni-Ann Singh has won the 69th Miss World beauty pageant.

It's the first time in history that black women hold the titles for Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss America, Miss Universe and Miss World.

The 23-year-old student was born in St Thomas, Jamaica, and plans to study medicine and become a doctor.

She tweeted on Saturday: "Please know that you are worthy and capable of achieving your dreams... you have a PURPOSE."

Toni-Ann impressed judges at the event in ExCel London after singing Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing, and answering a variety of questions.

Search engine giant Google has revealed that it's powerful mapping service, Google Earth now covers more than 98 percent of the world, and has captured 10 million miles of Street View imagery, a distance that could circle the globe more than 400 times.

In its official blog, Google explained how imagery, the main ingredient of the map-making process, has improved.

When it comes to Google Earth, the software that lets you browse the globe with 3D representation, right from the comfort of your couch, offers 6 million square miles of high definition satellite images, covering more than 98 percent of the entire population.

Google also shared more information about how exactly all these images are captured.

The nation celebrates Vijay Diwas today to commemorate India’s victory over Pakistan in 1971 war. Rich tributes are being paid to the martyrs who laid down their lives during the war. It was on this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani forces, General AA Khan Niazi, along with 93 thousand troops, had surrendered unconditionally to the allied forces consisting of Indian Army and Mukti Bahini. The end of the war also resulted in subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh.

On the occasion Vijay Diwas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he salutes the courage and valour of Indian soldiers. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, the history created by our army on this day in 1971 will always be engraved in the golden words.
Minister of State for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh pay tribute at National War Memorial on the occasion of Vijay Diwas.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) unveiled a new world ranking system for 2020 in Lausanne, Switzerland today.

It will come into effect from the first of next month. For a better reflection of current performances, the new ranking will be match-based instead of tournament-based calculation.  

The FIH said, the new world ranking system has been launched after 12 months of painstaking research, analysis and testing.

It cited numerous restrictions of the tournament-based system for the change.

The world body governing hockey also said that the new model removes much of the subjectivity surrounding continental weighing by creating a system which is fair to all.