Awards, Persons & Places Parakram Diwas The Government of India recently announced that the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose is to be celebrated as “Parakram Diwas”. Parakram Diwas means Courage Day. Netaji was born on January 23, 1897. The Central Government and the Bengal Government are to begin the yearlong celebrations of 125th birth anniversary year on January 23, 2021. Contents Netaji started a newspaper called “Swaraj”. He had written a book called “The Indian Struggle”. The term “Jai Hind” was coined by Netajji Subhash Chandra Bose. He formed the All India Forward Bloc as a part of the Indian National Congress in 1939. Flight Lieutanant Bhawana Kanth Bhawana Kanth is to become the first woman fighter pilot to take part in the Republic Day parade. She was one among the first women fighter pilots inducted in Indian Air Force in 2016. The other fighter pilots inducted into the Indian Air Force were Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh. Contents Bhawana Kanth In 2019, Bhawana Kanth became the first female fighter pilot of India to qualify to undertake combat missions. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar from President of India Ramnath Kovind in March 2020. Jammu & Kashmir: GI tag for Gucchi Mushroom The Jammu and Kashmir Government recently sought GI tag for Gucchi mushroom. The Gucchi mushrooms are highly expensive and are full of health benefits. 500 grams of Gucchi mushrooms cost Rs 18,000. Recently, GI Tag was provided to Saffron of Jammu and Kashmir. They are referred to “May Mushrooms” in North America. The Gucchi mushrooms cannot be cultivated commercially. They grow in the conifer forests of Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Thiruvalluvar 1 TVM: 9539019861 KOLLAM: 99611119861 DOTS ACADEMY The state of Tamil Nadu celebrates Thiruvalluvar Day during Pongal celebrations. Every year, the Thiruvalluvar Day is celebrated on the second day of Tamil month “thai”. Thiruvalluvar is a Tamil poet and is best known as the author of Thirukkural. George Uglow Pope translated Thirukkural in English. Health Ministry Kayakalp Awards The Kayakalp Awards are presented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare annually to the health facilities with the highest standards of sanitation and hygiene. Recently, the Kayakalp awards for the year 2019-20 was presented. Where is Jack Ma? The Chinese billionaire, Alibaba founder, Jack ma has not been seen in public since October 2020. At the same time the billionaire had hit out against the ruling communist Regime in China. 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica The Government of India recently launched the 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. Ministry of Earth science launched the Indian scientific expedition to Antartica. Ice class vessel MV Vasiliy Golovin has been deployed for the 40th Indian scientific expedition to Antarctica? Dakshin Gangotri, Bharti, Maitri are the Indian Research base stations in Antarctica. National Centre for polar and ocean research located in Goa manages the Indian research base stations in Antarctica. The Indian Antarctic program was launched in 1981 after India signed the Antarctic treaty . The Treaty was signed in 1961. Currently there are 54 signatories to the Treaty. It is an arms control Treaty signed during cold war. Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act The United States recently passed the Malala Yousafzai Act for Pakistani Women. The Act requires the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to award at least 50% of scholarship to Pakistani women between 2020 and 2022. 2 TVM: 9539019861 KOLLAM: 99611119861 DOTS ACADEMY Malala is a Pakistani activist for female education. She is also the Youngest Nobel Prize Laureate. What is Malala Day? On July 12, 2013, Malala spoke at the United Nations to call for worldwide access to education. This was on her 16th birthday coincidentally. The United Nations had dubbed the event as Malala Day. Minister Harsh Vardhan nominated to GAVI Board The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan was recently nominated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, GAVI as a member of GAVI board. Digital India Awards, 2020: Bihar wins in Pandemic category The Chief Minister Secretariat of Bihar, National Informatics Centre and the Disaster Management Department have been jointly chosen as winners in “Pandemic Category” in Digital India Awards, 2020. Earlier the Uttar Pradesh Food and Civil Supplies Department won the Digital India Award, 2020 under the “Excellence in Digital Governance” category. It was selected for its Points of Sale based food distribution, online billing and payment for food grains purchased from farmers, GPS tracking of vehicles transporting food grains. Vishakhapatnam: Best Performing Civic Body in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Awards The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has selected Vishakhapatnam Municipal Corporation as the best performing civic body. Vishakhapatnam was placed under the Annual Awards for Excellence that recognises outstanding contribution of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban in 2019. The award is to be presented on January 1, 2021. Other Awards Best Performing state Uttar Pradesh Mirzapur (UP) won the best performing Municipal body. Nagar Panchayat Malihabad, Lucknow was selected for the first place and Hariharpur (UP) was selected for the second place. Who was Karima Baloch? 3 TVM: 9539019861 KOLLAM: 99611119861 DOTS ACADEMY Banuk Karima Baloch was a Baloch Human Rights activist. She campaigned for independence of Balochistan from Pakistan. She was found dead in Toronto, Canada on December 22, 2020. According to the Toronto Police her body was found near Lake Ontario. India’s First Hot Air Balloon Safari The Forest Minister of Madhya Pradesh recently launched the first hot air balloon safari of India in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve of India in MP. There are several hot air balloon rides in the country. However, this is the first hot air balloon safari. Contents About Hot Air Balloon Ride The hot air balloon ride is to be restricted in the buffer area. The service is to be operated by a Jaipur based Sky Waltz company. Tourists can watch tigers, Indian Sloth bear and leopards from a height during the ride. The service is to be introduced in other tiger reserves of the state such as Pench Tiger Reserve, Panna Tiger Reserve. Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve The tiger reserve is located in the eastern Satpura hill range. It is known for its Evergreen Sal forest. Bandhav means Brother and Garh means Fort. The region is named after the fort. The fort is believed to have been given by Lakshman to his brother Lord Ram. National Startup Awards 2021 The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has invited applications for National Startup Awards 2021. About the Awards The National Startup Awards carry five lakh rupees of cash money. Legion of Merit The President of United States conferred the Legion of Merit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister has been awarded for his steadfast leadership and vision for India’s emergence as a global power. The award was received by the Ambassador of India to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu on behalf of the Prime Minister. About Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit is a military award of the United States. It is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements, 4 TVM: 9539019861 KOLLAM: 99611119861 DOTS ACADEMY loyalty. It is one of the two United States military decorations that is issued as a neck let. The other is Medal of Honour. Quad countries In 2020, the Legion of Merit was also awarded to the Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison, former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. North African Couscous in UNESCO Cultural Heritage List The Couscous, the Berber dish was recently added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Despite their differences, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania joined together to highlight their love for the dish. The Couscous has joined Singapore’s Hawker culture, Baudima dance of Zambia and wine horse of Spain into the UNESCO list of Intangible Heritage. What is Couscous? It is a processed grain product that is made from little balls of Durum wheat or semolina flour. It is a Berber dish. It is a staple food of Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Libya. The UN Cultural Heritage List has included traditions and practices that are related to the preparation of Couscous. Who are Berbers? The Berbers are ethnic group living in West Africa and North Africa. National List of Intangible Heritage of India It recognizes the diversity of Indian Culture. It was created after the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The list has been classified into five broad domains namely performing arts, social practices, oral traditions, traditional craftmanship and practices concerned with nature. These are different from the UNESCO List of Intangible Heritage. Currently, the following are included in the National List of Intangible Heritage of India: Kalamkari-It has been included under the Traditional Craftmanship. Oggukatha: Traditional Folk Thetre-This has been included under the domain of Performing Arts. (of Telugu speaking regions) Tolu Bommalatta-It is one of the shadow puppet theatre traditions of India (Andhra Pradesh) Traditions associated with Funerals of Idu Mishimi tribes Songs of Shaman (In Arunachal Pradesh - Shaman is mostly seen as a diviner, communicator, negotiator, healer, ritual specialist, and religious