ASSAM

Historic Jonbeel Mela to begin today

Jonbeel Mela – perhaps the only fair in the country where barter system still exists – will start in Morigaon district tomorrow. Jonbeel Mela is a community fair held on the weekend of ‘Magh Bihu’ at a historic place known as Dayang Belguri at Jonbeel.

The Mela is organised every year by the Gova Tiwa Deo-raja Junbeel Mela Samiti

and at the direction of the Gova Tiwa Deo-raja at Jonbeel Pathar, four km from Jagiroad in Morigaon district. The fair will conclude on January 20.

Jonbeel Mela is a rare festival where both the tribal and non-tribal people of Assam and Meghalaya practice a barter system for exchanging agricultural products in a festive manner at the end of the Magh Bihu period (Makara Sankranti).

The genealogy of the Mela can be traced back to the 15th century, when the mela began on the banks of the Moon-shaped (Jon) ‘beel’ (water body) with a three-day programme under the auspices of the then Gorbar kingdom with the participation of the Jaintia king of neighbouring Meghalaya.

This traditional barter system of exchanging agricultural products by the tribal people of the hills and the plains of Assam and Meghalaya still continues in the Mela.

INTERNATIONAL

Afghans award Trump ‘Medal of Bravery’

The residents of Afghanistan’s Logar province have awarded United States President Donald Trump a ‘Medal of Bravery’ over his recent stance against Pakistan.

The medal is made with funds collected by Afghans from the Logar province, 60 kilometers in the south of Kabul.

The bravery award has been handed over to the US Embassy in Kabul.

· North and South Korea Agree to Jointly March Under Unification Flag in Winter Olympics

North and South Korea have agreed to march together under a single unified Korea flag at Winter Olympics in the South.
They also agreed to field a joint women’s ice hockey team after rare talks at the truce village of Panmunjom.
These are the first high-level talks between the two Koreas in more than two years.
The Games will take place in February 2018 in Pyeongchang in South Korea.

NATIONAL

· India and Sri Lanka Sign 4 Agreements for Collaboration in ICT Sector

India and Sri Lanka signed four agreements for collaboration in the Information and communication technology (ICT) sector, setting up of an e-office system and connecting of National Knowledge Network (NKN)for collaboration among universities and academics.
With the move, Sri Lanka has become the first country to be connected to India’s NKN through a Gigabyte optical fiber network.
The MoU for cooperation was signed by Union minister for Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad with his Sri Lankan counterpart, during his visit to Colombo.

· India Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable ICBM Agni-V

India test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), which has a strike range of over 5,000km.
The ICBM can reach the northern-most parts of China. Agni-V was last tested in December 2016, in what was described as the fourth and final experimental test of the three-stage ICBM.

· Odisha CM Launches Mukhyamantri Kalakar Sahayata Yojana

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Kalakar Sahayata Jojana’ (MMKSJ)– an assistance scheme for Artists in the state. Around 50,000 artists will be benefited from this.
The Union Government decided to give Rs 1,200 per month as artist assistance.
The CM confirmed that the government has also changed the eligibility criteria for availing MMKSJ. Under the new scheme, a male artist can avail assistance after attaining the age of 50 years instead of the existing 60 years.
The age criteria for female artists have been reduced to 40 years from 50 years.

PM Modi, Israeli PM Netanyahu dedicate iCreate to the nation

Prime Minister Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu dedicated to the nation, the iCREATE facility located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

iCreate is an independent Centre created with the objective of facilitating entrepreneurship through a blend of creativity, innovation, engineering, product design and leveraging emerging technologies to deal with major issues such as food security, water, connectivity, cybersecurity, IT and electronics, energy, bio-medical equipment and devices etc.

iCreate aims to develop an ecosystem in India to generate quality entrepreneurs.

MoS, Textiles inaugurates 60th India International Garment Fair
The 60th edition of India International Garment Fair (IIGF) was inaugurated by Minister of State for Textiles, Shri Ajay Tamta, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Recalling that business worth US $200 million was conducted in the previous edition, the Minister extended his best wishes to all participating buyers and exporters.

A total of 294 exporters from 11 states are participating at the 60th IIGF.

India’s ‘first coffee’ brews GI tag

Baba Budangiri, 250 km from Bengaluru, where coffee was first grown in India, is going for Geographical Indication (GI) of its variety of the Arabica brew.

The Coffee Board filed an application for the GI tagging of Baba Budangiri Arabica and four other varieties — Coorg Arabica, Wayanad Robusta, Chikmagalur Arabic and Araku Valley Arabica — with the Geographical Indication Registry at Chennai.

Baba Budangiri Arabica is grown acorss 15,000 hectares around the original hills, where it was first planted. Over the last few centuries, coffee plantations grew beyond Baba Budangiri and the adjoining Chickmagalur and spread to Kodagu and Hassan in Karnataka, and Wayanad, Travancore and Nelliampathy regions of Kerala.

· President Ram Nath Govind Presents Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2016

President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Fellowships (Akademi Ratna)and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the year 2016 at a function held in New Delhi.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Fellowships and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards are recognized as among the most coveted national honors bestowed on performing artists as well as teachers and scholars of performing arts.

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