ASSAM

Assam CM awarded 2020 Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee award

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was conferred the Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee award 2020 for Politics on 28 February. The award was conferred by the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Speaker of People’s Majlis of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed at the 6th India Ideas Conclave in Gujarat. He was awarded for his work in integrating the nation and to take Mukherjee’s vision and philosophy forward.

Syama Prasad Mukherjee:

Syama Prasad Mukherjee was born on 6 July 1901. He served as the youngest ever Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University. He is the first Minister of Industry and Supply in independent India. In 1946, he demanded the partition of Bengal to prevent the inclusion of its Hindu-majority areas in a Muslim-dominated East Pakistan. He co-founded Janata Party (renamed as BJP) in the year 1977-1979. He was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir State police for entering the state without a permit. He passed away in jail on 23 June 1953.

Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee award:
Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee award was instituted by India Foundation. The award carries a citation, a specially designed trophy and a cheque worth Rs.1 lakh.

NORTH-EASTERN STATES

Tripura Govt and AAI sign MoU for construction of 6 equipment hiring centers

Tripura State Government and Airport Authority of India has signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of six equipment hiring centers in Manu Block under the Dhalai District of Tripura.

The project has been taken as part of AAI’s Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.

In the equipment hiring centers, equipment related to agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries will be kept.

The types of equipment will be rented out to the needy farmers, Self Help Groups and to any other needy at a minimal cost.

INTERNATIONAL

ADB sanctions 4 million USD to own members countries to contain CoronaVirus

Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a total of USD 4 million (about ₹29 crores) to help developing countries in Asia and Pacific to fight the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Asian Development Bank will work closely with the World Health Organization.

The first tranche assistance was to strengthen the immediate response capacity in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

A private-sector loan of up to CNY 130 million (USD 18.6 million) to Wuhan, PRC-based Jointown Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd to enhance the distribution and supply of essential medicines and protective equipment.

World Wildlife Day is observed on 3 March

World Wildlife Day is observed on 3 March. The day aims to celebrate beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora. It raises awareness to conserve wildlife.

The theme of 2020 World Wildlife Day is “Sustaining all life on Earth”. The theme encompasses all wild animal and plant species as a component of biodiversity and the livelihoods of people. The observation aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 12, 14 and 15. It focuses to ensure sustainable use of resources, and on conserving life both on land and below water to stop biodiversity loss.

NATIONAL

Tourism Ministry launched multilingual Incredible India website

Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture Prahlad Singh Patel launched the multilingual Incredible India website in New Delhi.

Ministry of Tourism revamped the multilingual Incredible India website design to provide more information about India’s tourist destinations, attractions, experiences, and where the value lies.

Incredible India 2.0 website aims to showcase the varied tourism products of India by providing visitors with relevant, personalized and contextual digital experience escalating tourism awareness, attraction, and opportunities.

Incredible India website project was launched by the Ministry of Tourism.

The promotional website aims to project India as a ‘must-visit’ destination across the globe.

The website now comprises of a plethora of information about 28 States and 9 Union Terrorists, around 165 destinations, 2700+ pages, along with multiple attractions.

The website was hosted in English and Hindi. It is currently launched in Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish to effectively engage the visitors across the web and social media platforms. It will be translated into global languages in the future.

Nomination dossiers of ‘Dholavira’ have been submitted for inclusion in the World Heritage List for the year 2020

The Government of India has submitted two nomination dossiers namely ‘Dholavira: A Harappan City’ and ‘Monuments and Forts of Deccan Sultanate’ for inclusion in the World Heritage List for the year 2020.

Govt of Madhya Pradesh has submitted the proposal of ‘Group of Monuments at Mandu’ in the year 2019.

The dossier was further forwarded to the World Heritage Centre (WHC) for completeness check.

Dholavira is an archaeological site in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of Gujarat.

Historic city square in Jammu renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’

The historic City Chowk, the commercial hub in old Jammu, was renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’.

The renaming of the chowk drew mixed reactions from the people with most of them welcoming the decision but urged the JMC to focus more on development and cleanliness rather than changing names.

Every year people are hoisting the tricolour on Republic and Independence days in this chowk.

The starting point of the circular road near Panjtirthi in the city was named by the JMC as ‘Atal Chowk’ in the memory of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Dronacharya awardee athletics coach Joginder Singh Saini passes away

Veteran athletics coach and Dronacharya awardee Joginder Singh Saini, who groomed some of India’s finest track and field stars, died in Patiala.

Saini remained the chief national athletics coach for many years from the 1970s to 90s.

He became the chief coach of the then Amateur Athletics Federation of India in 1970.

Saini received the Dronacharya Award in 1997 for his contribution to Indian athletics.

He was the chief coach of the Indian athletics team which won 18 medals, including eight golds, at the 1978 Asian Games.

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