Cold, Winter, farmer protest, PM Modi, ASSOCHAM, Bihar, COVID-19, farm law, Kisan Congress, Delhi, Kovind

19 December 2020

• Season's coldest night in Srinagar, Drass slips to minus 29

  At minus 6.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far, while the temperature in Ladakh's Drass town to minus 29.
  
  "Srinagar recorded minus 6.6 as the minimum temperature today which is the coldest recorded so far this season. This record was surpassed during the last 10 years on December 25, 2018 when the minimum had dropped to minus 7.7 in Srinagar," an official of the MET Department said.
  
  
  

• Smriti Irani slams Rahul, Sonia, asks if they are farmers?

  Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development Smriti Irani on Friday attacked Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi while delivering the keynote address at the Bharatiya Janata Party's Kisan Sammelan in Meerut.
  
  She said, "The Opposition leaders are saying that the three farm laws have been prepared by those who don't know anything about agriculture. So, I would like to ask whether Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are farmers? What was the pathetic condition of farmers in Amethi? One family was ruling there for the last 50 years but now the farmers in Amethi are moving towards prosperity."

• Kisan Congress demands Rs 1 cr compensation for families of deceased farmers

  The Kisan Congress on Friday wrote to Prime MInister Narendra Modi, accusing his government for the death of 22 farmers agitating against the three farm laws and demanded Rs one crore compensation to their family members.
  
  In a letter to the Prime Minister, Kisan Congress Vice Chairman Surendra Solanki said, "For the last 23 days, the farmers have been agitating against the three farm laws on the borders of the national capital braving chilly winter conditions."

• Schools for Class 10, 12 in Bihar to reopen from Jan 4

  Schools for students of Class 10 and 12 in Bihar will reopen from January 4, said a notification issued by the state Education Ministry on Friday. Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar confirmed the development.
  
  As per the notification, the state education department will distribute free masks to every students and schools have been directed to follow all the guidelines pertaining to the pandemic and disaster management law along with social distancing guidelines.

• PM Modi delivers keynote address at ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020

  The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at ASSOCHAM Foundation Week 2020, today via video conferencing. The Prime Minister also presented the ‘ASSOCHAM Enterprise of the Century Award’ to  Ratan Tata, who received the award on behalf of the TATA Group.

  Addressing the gathering the Prime Minister commended the business community for their contribution to nation-building. He said now the industry has complete freedom to touch the sky and urged them to take full advantage of it, put your full strength in the coming years for a self-reliant India, he said.

   

• Indian Panorama announces official selection for 51st International Film Festival of India, 2020

  The 51st International Film Festival of India announces the selection of Indian Panorama films for the year 2020. The selected films will be showcased on the big screen for all the registered delegates and representatives from the selected films, during the 8 days film festival in Goa, from 16th-24th January 2021.

  Selected from a wide pool of 183 contemporary Indian Films, the collection of films reflects the vibrancy and diversity of Indian film Industry. The eminent Jury Panels, both feature and non-feature exercise their individual expertise and contribute evenly to the consensus that leads to the selection of Indian Panorama films.