1) Venkaiah Naidu Is New Vice President of India
•Venkaiah Naidu is going to succeed Hamid Ansari as the new Vice-President of India. Naidu’s victory was a foregone conclusion, the NDA candidate having the support of a majority of MPs who ally with the BJP.
•The Election Commission said that 771 votes were polled, of which 760 were valid and 11 were valid. Venkaiah Naidu secured 516 and Gopalkrishna Gandhi 241 votes. This means, that Venkaiha Naidu will become the 13th Vice President of India.
2) Akshay Kumar Roped in as Brand Ambassador for Swachh Bharat Mission in Uttar Pradesh
•Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today announced the appointment of Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Mission in the state.
•The chief minister also announced to make the film tax-free in the state. The chief minister also released the film’s toilet anthem, ‘Karle Toilet Ka Jugar’, which has been sung by the actor himself.
3) Economist Rajiv Kumar to be new Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog
•Noted economist Rajiv Kumar will be the next Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, which is a think-tank that replaced the Planning Commission. He will succeed Arvind Panagariya, who had recently quit as Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog.
•Meanwhile, the Centre has also appointed Vinod Paul, a Paediatrician at AIIMS, as a member of NITI Aayog.
4) Justice Srikrishna committee on Institutionalization of Arbitration Mechanism
•A High-Level Committee set up to review the Institutionalization of Arbitration Mechanism in India has submitted its report to the Union Law Ministry. It was headed by Justice (retired) BN Srikrishna.
•The Union Government is committed to the speedy resolution of commercial disputes and to make India an international hub of Arbitration. So the government has decided to look into the recommendations and amended laws according to need.
5) Delhi Police Ties Up with Uber for Women Safety
•Passengers can now access the Delhi Police's women safety mobile application 'Himmat' via cab aggregator Uber's application while travelling in taxis.
•This is Delhi Police’s first partnership with a technology company to intensify its focus on the safety of women in the city. With this partnership, Himmat will now be accessible to lakhs of women riders in one go. Uber also aims to act as a force multiplier and expand its access to all of its women riders.
6) Vijender beats Zulpikar to win WBO Oriental Super Middleweight title
•Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh outslugged his Chinese opponent Zulpikar Maimaitiali to retain the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title and win the WBO Oriental Super Middleweight title.
•In the pro boxing bout, termed as 'Battleground Asia', at Mumbai, Vijender recorded a unanimous decision win over his Chinese opponent and continued his undefeated streak. It was Beijing Olympic bronze medallist's ninth successive win in his professional career.
