Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approves renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj

  • The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved the proposal to rename Allahabad, which will be called Prayagraj.
  • The new name derives from a spot in the city called Prayag, which is the meeting point of three rivers flowing across the state.

IRCTC gets new AI-based assistant ‘Disha’ to help resolve problems

  • The IRCTC has launched a new AI-based assistant called Disha for its website.
  • Disha is an AI chatbot powered by CoRover, and is built on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
  • The Ask Disha section of the website aims at answering generic queries about most frequently asked questions on the ticket-booking platform.

Govt hikes General Provident Fund interest rate to 8% for Oct-Dec quarter

  • The government has increased the rate of interest for General Provident Fund (GPF) and other related schemes by 0.4 percentage points to 8% for the October-December quarter.
  • The rate is in line with that of the Public Provident Fund.
  • The interest rate on GPF was 7.6% for the July-September quarter of 2018-19.

Over 40% of world’s stunted children live in India, says NGO Sukarya report

  • More than 40% of the world’s stunted children live in India, a report compiled by the NGO Sukarya points out.
  • The report also states that 60% of the malnutrition burden in the country falls on Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
  • According to the report, poor nutrition causes 45% of the deaths among children below five years of age.
  • Stunted growth is when growth and development are impaired due to poor nutrition, repeated infection and inadequate psychosocial stimulation.

Prema Gopalan honoured as India Social Entrepreneur of 2018

  • Prema Gopalan, founder of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), was awarded the 8th Social Entrepreneur of the Year award, 2018.
  • Gopalan received the award for her work in promoting women’s entrepreneurship at the grassroots level and ensuring rural livelihood.
  • She works in the areas affected by global climate change.
  • Gopalan has helped women farmers, entrepreneurs and grassroots business leaders, who tackle the problems of their communities through small businesses.

Nimesh Shah elected AMFI Chairman

  • Nimesh Shah has been elected Chairman of trade body Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
  • Shah is currently Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund.
  • Shah replaces A. Balasubramanian, CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund.

Priyank Kanoongo appointed chairperson of NCPCR

  • Priyank Kanoongo has been appointed to the post of Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
  • Kanoongo has been member of the commission since November 2015.

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