Lok Sabha okays bill to make Aadhaar linkage voluntary

  • The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a bill to amend three laws to provide legal backing to the government’s decision to allow voluntary linkage of Aadhaar with mobile phone numbers and bank accounts.
  • The government wants to lay the ground for allowing Aadhaar to be used by private entities for identity checks despite a Supreme Court ruling in September that Aadhaar can only be used for welfare schemes and for delivering state subsidies.

NGT imposes fine on Meghalaya government of Rs. 100 crore for illegal coal mining

  • The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday imposed a cost of ₹100 crore on the Meghalaya government following a report submitted by an independent committee on mining in the State.
  • The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday imposed a cost of ₹100 crore on the Meghalaya government following a report submitted by an independent committee on mining in the State.

Pakistan provincial government declares Hindu religious site, Panj Tirath, as national heritage

  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government of Pakistan declared the site situated in Peshawar as a national heritage.
  • The site’s name has its origins in the five pools of water that are part of the property, which also has a temple.   

106th Indian Science Congress inaugurated in Jalandhar

  • The 106th ISC’s theme is ‘Future India: Science and Technology’.
  • Prime Minister Modi gave the inaugural address and coined a new slogan, ‘Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisaan, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan.’
  • The first ISC was held in 1914 and is held every year in the first week of January.

China and US to hold trade talks in Beijing next week

  • China and the United States will hold vice ministerial level trade talks in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday, with the two countries under pressure to end a trade war that is hurting the world’s two largest economies and roiling global financial markets.
  • A team led by Deputy US Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish will come to China to have “positive and constructive discussions” with Chinese counterparts, China’s commerce ministry said in a statement on its website.