This country agreed to work expeditiously on operationalizing the Kartapur corridor in Pakistan.

According to the Henley Passport Index, India jumped two positions from 81st in 2018 to 79th in 2019. Japan retained its top spot as the world's most travel-friendly passport. China jumped almost 20 places in just two years, from 85th in 2017 to 69th this year. The Henley Passport Index is based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.

The Union Cabinet approved the listing of 7 Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) on the stock exchanges via Initial Public Offering (IPO) or Follow-on Public Offer (FPO). The companies that will go for IPOs include Telecommunication Consultants (India) Ltd., RailTel Corporation India Ltd., National Seed Corporation India Ltd., Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited, Water & Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited and FCI Aravali Gypsum and Minerals (India) Limited. Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited will go for an FPO.

The Environment Ministry launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) aimed at reducing toxic particulate matter in 102 Indian cities by 2024. The NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year plan with 2019 as the first year, while 2017 will be the base year for comparison of concentration. An amount of INR300 crore has been sanctioned for this purpose.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the launch of 'Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan' (KUSUM Yojana) with the objective of providing financial and water security to farmers. The Central Government will provide a total financial support of Rs 34,422 crore for the scheme.

Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected Nigeria's President, results showed, after a delayed poll that angered voters and led to claims of rigging and collusion. Buhari, 76, took an unassailable lead of more than four million votes as the last states were yet to be declared, making it impossible for his nearest rival, Atiku Abubakar, to win.

The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, the Act providing 10 percent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of General Category, came into effect on January 14, 2019. The move came after the Union Government exercised its powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 and appointed January 14, 2019 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.

The government gave out the 6-croreth free cooking gas (LPG) connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) to make available cleaner fuel in every household kitchens. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu handed over papers for an LPG connection to Jasmina Khatoon from Shivpark, Khanpur in New Delhi to mark the 6 crore LPG connections under PMUY. Under the scheme, the government provides a subsidy of Rs 1,600 to state-owned fuel retailers for every free LPG gas connection that they give to poor households. The 5-croreth free LPG connection under the scheme was given to Takrdiran, a resident of Sangam Vihar of the national capital, in August 2018 by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

The total deposits in Jan Dhan Account are set to cross Rs 1 lakh crore soon. The scheme was launched on 28th August 2014 by the Modi-government with an aim to provide universal access to banking facilities to all households. On 3rd April, the total balance in the Jan Dhan accounts was at Rs 97,665.66 and the total number of Jan Dhan accounts crossed 35.39 crores. Also, more than 27.89 crores account holders have been issued the Rupay debit cards.Recently, the government increased the accident insurance cover to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1 lakh for new accounts opened after 28th August 2018 and the overdraft limit was also doubled to Rs 10,000.

Fitch Rating affirms India's sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade of BBB-with a stable outlook. The growth rate of India forecasted by Fitch is 6.8% in financial year 2019-20 and 7.1% in FY 2020-21.According to Fitch, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regulations has been eased and there is reduction in red tape but still there are some difficulties in doing business in India due to which India's rating is not upgraded. Since 2006, this is the 13th year in a row that India is getting "BBB" ranking from Fitch. On August 1, 2006, Fitch had upgraded the India's rating from "BB+" to "BBB".

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched Shehri Samridhi Utsav to extend the outreach of DAY-NULM (Deendayal Antyodaya Mission - National Urban Livelihoods Mission) to the most vulnerable. The event will also showcase its initiatives and facilitate access of Self-Help Group (SHG) members to the other government schemes.