9 February 2014 Current Affairs

Sikkim Becomes Only Indian State To Achieve 100% Sanitation

Sikkim has become the only state in the country to achieve 100 percent sanitation in rural and urban households, schools, sanitary complexes and Aanganwadi centres. All 6,10,577 inhabitants in Sikkim have latrines with high sanitation and hygiene standards. The Himalayan state has constructed 98,043 individual household latrines against the target of 87,014 till January, thus achieving 112.67 percent of its target under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan scheme implemented by the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. So far, 163 panchayats in the state have been conferred monetary rewards ‘Nirmal Gram Puruskar’ for developing sufficient sanitation facilities of adequate quality in their respective areas. According to a survey conducted in 20 gram panchayats by Planning Commission, 17 village councils of Sikkim were declared as ‘best performance panchayats’, which is highest in the country. Sikkim also topped the list among all states of the country in net performance indicators.

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Russian Teenage Skater Becomes Youngest Olympic Champion

Fifteen-year-old Russian figure skater Yulia Lipnitskaya has become the youngest athlete in the world to win a Gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Making her debut at the Sochi Winter Olympics, Lipnitskaya recorded the best result ever in women’s free skating on 9 February,  scoring 141.51 points and earning a combined total of 214.41.