The Daily Brief – 25th October 2019

National Ayurveda Day is observed every year on the occasion of Dhanwantari Jayanti (Dhanteras). This year, it is being observed on 25^th October 2019. The day is celebrated to create awareness among today’s generation and promote the Ayurvedic principles of healing in society. The Ministry of Ayush distributes the “National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Award” on Ayurveda Day every year. The day is being celebrated since 2016.

Venkaiah Naidu at the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Governments of the NAM

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will lead the Indian delegation at the 18^th Summit of the Heads of States and Governments of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) that will be held at Baku, Azerbaijan on 25^th October, 2019. The theme for the summit is ‘Upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted and adequate response to the challenges of the contemporary world’. India is a founding member of the NAM, which was established in 1961 with headquarters in Central Jakarta, Indonesia.

The United Nations (UN) Day is observed every year on 24^th October to commemorate the day of enforcement of the UN Charter in 1945. UN Day is being celebrated since 1948. In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly recommended that the day must be observed by Member States as a public holiday. Secretary-General António Guterres has announced that next year’s commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations “UN75: 2020 and Beyond-Shaping our future together” will feature a large and inclusive global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future we want.

An exercise code-named as ‘Sindhu Sudarshan’ will be conducted by the Indian Army in the deserts of Rajasthan from 29^th November to 4^th December, 2019. A high degree of synergy between the Indian Army and Indian Air Force will be showcased. It will witness the Indian Army assessing operational efficiency of Strike Corpsto fight in desert terrain as well as the Indian Air Force (IAF) in providing intimate support in terms of destruction of targets and airlifting troops.

Actress Deepika Padukone and India’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu were named as the ambassadors of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative called ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi’ that aims to bring commendable work done by women across the nation to light, ahead of the Diwali festival.

Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer of the 1986 batch, Alok Tandon, has been appointed as the Secretary in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, besides holding an additional charge in the Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare. Bihar cadre IAS officer of 1987 batch Rajesh Bhushan, who is currently serving as the Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, has been appointed as the Secretary (Coordination) in the Cabinet Secretariat. Anil Kumar Khachi, who was appointed as the Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management in July, has been replaced by Tuhin Kanta Pandey.

Pankaj Kumar, Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in the rank and pay of Secretary by temporarily upgrading the post by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC). Founded on 28^th January 2009, the UIDAI is a statutory authority under the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Sanjeev Nandan Sahai as the Secretary of the Ministry of Power, in place of S.C. Garg, who had sought Voluntary Retirement from Service (VRS). Sahai, a 1986-batch IAS officer of union territories (UT) cadre, is at present serving as the special secretary in the Power Ministry. B R Sharma, Secretary in the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), has been appointed as the Chairman of the Staff Selection Commission. Nagendra Nath Sinha, Chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), will replace B R Sharma as the Secretary of the BRO.