The President Of India Shri Ramnath Kovind Would Tweet With A Tricolor India Gate Emoji

Twitter launched a new emoji to mark the momentous occasion of the 71st Republic Day of India. The micro-blogging site has made a Tricolor India Gate as the nation gears up for Republic Day celebrations.

Tricolor India Gate emoji

The especially designed emoji shows the India Gate lit up in tricolor as if it is paying homage to the grand Republic Day parade on Rajpath. Twitter said that the emoji would be live until January 30, 2020 and it would be available in English and ten Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Urdu and Gurmukhi.

Twitter’s Republic Day celebrations

This is fifth-time that Twitter is celebrating the Republic Day with an emoji. Earlier, it had supported other important days and festivals like Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti and Diwali. Also, it came out in support of social issues and big events from time to time.

Twitter India’s Mahima Kaul, Director, Public Policy, India and South Asia, said that they believed that the 2020 Republic Day emoji would resonate with Indians across languages, cultures and time zones providing them yet another reason, and way to celebrate and participate in public conversation.

The President of India would use the emoji

Twitter said that the office of the Honorable President of India Shri Ramnath Kovind would use the emoji while tweeting his address to the nation on January 25.

Source: https://bit.ly/2Rr77Uk

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Indian Army Day 2020: History And Significance Of Commemorating The Brave Soldiers Of Indian Army

Every year January 15 is celebrated as Indian Army Day. On this day, the entire nation commemorates the soldiers that are standing tall in every condition to protect the country from foreign aggression and armed rebellion.

India Army Day

15th January is the Army Day because on this day in 1949 the then Lieutenant General KM Cariappa took over General Sir Francis Butcher as Commander-in-Chief of India. This year the nation will celebrate the 72nd Army Day.

Indian Army Day significance

All Command Headquarters come together to celebrate the Indian Army Day where the nation honors the soldiers that set examples of selfless service and brotherhood before the citizens. It is because of these brave soldiers that the Indian Army is considered one of the most powerful armies competing with superpowers like the United States, Russia, and China.

Indian Army Day 2020: Motto

Service before self is the motto of the Indian Army and the mission is to ensure national security and national unity. The mission statement further reads that the army would defend the nation from external aggression and armed rebellion. Also, it will maintain peace and security in the country.

Today, the entire nation salutes to the brave soldiers that are ready to lay their lives for the country. In 1965, the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the slogan of “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan”.

If you want, you can send inspirational quotes to commemorate Indian Army Day 2020. Sending quotes, images and videos about the Indian Army is a way to celebrate Indian Army Day.

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Makar Sankranti: History, Significance And Auspicious Time For Holy Bath And Puja

Makar Sankranti will be celebrated on Wednesday 15th January 2020. Fact that this festival is celebrated with much zeal in Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bihar, Bengal and Orissa and almost of all north India underlines its significance.

Makar Sankranti celebrations

Usually celebrated on 14th or 15th January, Makar Sankranti brings joy and happiness. On this day, people wear new clothes and fly kites. This year, Kumbh 2020 will start in Prayagraj on Makar Sankranti. Millions of people are expected to congregate at the banks of Ganga to take a holy dip on this auspicious day. Also, this day brings relief from the cold season that starts changing with the festival. It is the onset of Basant Ritu or Spring.

Significance of Makar Sankranti

It is believed that Bhagirathi brought Ganga to the ashram of Kapil Muni on this day. It is for this reason that Kumbha begins on Makar Sankranti.

Makar Sankranti date, time and muhurat

Date: 15th January 2020

Time: 07:19 AM

Punyakal: 07:19 AM to 12.31 PM

Maha-Punyakal: 07:19 AM to 09:30 AM

Holy dip time: Early morning on 15th January

Makar Sankranti Puja Vidhi

There is provision for keeping fast on this auspicious day. People take bath in the water mixed with til. Also, they can pour Gangajal in the water. The puja starts after the snaan or holy bath. This day is also considered auspicious for offering tarpan to ancestors and pitas.

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Happy Lohri 2020: Send Special Messages To Loved Ones

Every year, 13 January is celebrated as Lohri but preparations for the celebrations start early. For example, people get their homes ready to invite guests and prepare delicious items for serving guests.Even markets are decorated for Lohri festival. Shopkeepers of Delhi NCR especially in Old Delhi markets are happy to see buyers in the market. Sikh community is more enthusiastic about Lohri than others.

Best wishes for Lohri

The best way to make Lohrimemorable for self and others is to enjoy it in the traditional manner. Also, you can send beautiful messages to family and friends on this occasion.

Source: https://bit.ly/2QPGWpZ

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Chandra Grahan 2020: The First Lunar Eclipse On January 10 Would Be A Fractured Eclipse

The first lunar eclipse of 2020 will be on 10th January. It would be a sub-shadow eclipse with a short duration of 4 hours. Lunar eclipse is divided into three broad categories – partial, full and fragmentary or sub-shadow. The sub-shadow lunar eclipse is weaker in comparison to the other two.

Full lunar eclipse: The earth comes between the sun and the moon and blocks the light going to the moon. In other words, it covers the moon with its shadow.

Partial lunar eclipse: Shadow of the earth covers some parts of the moon. The sunlight doesn’t reach the covered parts.

Sub-shadow lunar eclipse: The moon gets covered under its own shadow and for this reason, this lunar eclipse remains weaker in comparison to others.

Lunar eclipse timing in India

The eclipse would start at 10:36 pm on January 10 and reach its midway at 12:40 am and will complete on 2:44 am. The total length of this astronomical event will be a little over 4 hours.

Lunar eclipse in 2020

The first lunar eclipse of 2020 would be on January 10; the second lunar eclipse would happen from June 5 to June 6 and the third lunar eclipse will fall between July 5 to July 6. The fourth and the last lunar eclipse of 2020 will be on 30 November.

None of the 2020 lunar eclipse would be full or partial. And Sutakisn’t applied to fractured eclipse because here the moon isn’t covered with the earth’s shadow.

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Violence Reported From Bengal And Chennai Amid Nationwide Strike By CITU

The 24-hour nationwide strike resulted in disruption of rail and road traffic in several states including Bengal, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. It was claimed that approximately 25 crore workers from ten trade unions would make the Bharat Bandh on January 8 successful.

Bengal Bandh

Several Left supporters held a “Rail Roko Protest” in the North 24 Parganas district to support the strike. The railway police also found crude oil bombs on the tracks. Violence was also reported from Jadavpur and Behala. The Left also accused the Mamata government of double-speaking on strike. Chief Mamata Banerjee said that it won’t support the strike.

Rahul Gandhi supported the strike

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi supported the striking workers with his tweet. He said that he saluted the 25 crore workers that were standing united against and oppressive economic policies of the central government.

Maharashtra Bandh

The Udbhav Thackeray Maharashtra government supported the strike. Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana wrote an editorial saying that six months had been passed since the formation of the central government but nothing was done to improve the labor condition in India.

Chennai Bandh

The ruling AIADMK was against the strike hence it detained the protestors trying to disrupt the road traffic. Also, the government denied leaves to employees that were supporting the strike. But factories in Coimbatore and Tirupur were hit by protest.

Trade union leaders put a 12-point charter before the government and asked to accept the charter in order to bring normalcy in the manufacturing sector that has been witnessing slow down.

Source: https://bit.ly/2QBKLi8

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25 Crore Workers From 10 Central Trade Unions Call For 24-Hour Nationwide Bandh On January 8

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has called for Bharat Bandh against the disinvestment, privatisation and labour reform policies of the central government. According to CITU, ten central trade unions were supporting its cause.

CITU calls for a nationwide strike

CITU said that it had been over four years since the last Indian Labour conference took place in August 2015. In the last conference, the government created a Group of Ministers to consider the 12 point-charter of demands of the labour unions. But nothing happened after that meeting. It further said that the government started selling Public Sector Undertakings and natural resources to strengthen the failing economy.

Worker’s demand

The 24-hour strike is called to oppose privatization policies of the central government and present a 12-poing common demand like working-class on pay hike, fixing of the minimum wage, social security and uniform five-day week.

Services affected by Bharat Bandh

Banking services are more likely to get affected by the nationwide strike but private sector banks are likely to work as usual. But the transport sector is likely to get the maximum impact of the strike. According to SBI, only a few members of its unions are participating in the Bandh. Also, BJP-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh won’t participate in the strike.

Government on nationwide strike

The government has warned those participating in the strike of consequences the 24-hour strike. Their wages would be cut and they could face disciplinary action. The Ministry of Personnel has prohibited government employees from participating in the strike.

Source: https://bit.ly/2sOJGe8

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Gurudwara Nankana Sahib Attacked And Anti-Sikhism Slogans Shouted In Pakistan

Gurudwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan came under attack on Friday. According to initial reports, hundreds of angry people surrounded the iconic gurudwara and started pelting stones at the devotees inside. Nankana Sahib was the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.

Attack on Gurudwara Nankana Sahib

It was said that the group attacking the gurudwara was led by a family whose boy abducted the daughter of a gurudwara official from her home and forcibly converted her to Islam. Jagjit Kaur was abducted from her home in Nankana Sahib in August last year.

Another report told that the scuffle was the result of a minor altercation between two Muslim groups in the city of Nankana Sahib. It happened at a tea-stall but the district administration swung into action and controlled the situation.

India condemns the incident

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh appealed Pakistan PM Imran Khan to intervene and assure the safety of the devotees stuck inside the iconic gurudwara. Akali Dal MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa also tweeted to condemn the wanton act of destruction.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan replied

In response to the tweets of Indian leaders, Pak PM tweeted a video alleged to be of Indian police attacking Muslims. But on checking, the video was found to be of Bangladesh and was shot in 2013. The Pak PM wasted no time in deleting the tweets.

Pak Foreign Office statement

The authorities in Punjab province released a midnight statement to assure the world community that the gurudwara remained unchanged and undamaged in the attack.

Source: https://bit.ly/2QM8Im0

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PM Modi Released 12 Thousand Crore Rupees For 6 Crore Farmers

PM Narendra Modi released the third installment of Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi in Karnataka. He pressed the button from his tablet while addressing a gathering in Tumkur. PM is on a two-day visit to Karnataka. He said that the money has been deposited in the eighth crore farmer of the nation.

PM Modi in Tumkur

He transferred 12 thousand crore rupees in 6 crore farmer families from the rally of Tumkur. Also, he displayed his displeasure at many state governments not implementing PM-KSAN due to politics.

PM Modi said that efforts were made to identify specific products from every block and district and calculate their value. Separate identification of products would increase their export value. He hoped that the states would rise above domestic politics and implement the PM-KSAN scheme.

He said there was a time when a considerable amount of government funding was withdrawn by middlemen. Only 15 paise reached the poor out of every rupee sent by the government. Middlemen used to withdraw 85 paise from that money. But today the money is transferred directly to the bank accounts of needy people.

The Third installment of PM-KSAN

PM released the third installed of PM-KSAN and awarded certificates to the beneficiaries of the scheme from eight states and union territories. He also gave Krishi Samman Awards on this occasion.

Outstanding farmers were awarded the Krishi Karman Award and Citation. Also, PM Modi handed over the keys of deep-sea fishing boats and transporters to selected Tamil Nadu farmers. He assured that his government was doing its best to improve the condition of farmers.

Source: https://bit.ly/2rQDO3k

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Indian Railways Hiked Fares By 1 Paise And 4 Paise Per KM

Indian Railways announced a hike in fare in its train excluding suburban trains. According to the order, the fair hike would start from January 1, 2020.

Fare hike by Indian Railways

Fare of suburban railways has left untouched in the new hike but ordinary non-AC and non-suburban fares are hiked by 1 paise per km of journey. A 2 paise/km hike was introduced in fares of mail/express non-AC trains and 4 paise/km hike in the fares of AC classes.

The new fare in premium trains

Premium trains included in the fare hike are Shatabdi, Rajdhani and Duronto. After 4 paise/km hike, fare of the Delhi-Kolkata Rajdhani would increase by around Rs. 58.

The order further states that the no changes in reservation fees and superfast charges are introduced. Also, the hike won’t be applicable to tickets that are already booked.

Source: https://bit.ly/2MMFyBR

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