1 Culture Ministry’s tableau wins first prize in Republic Day Parade 2024
IGNCA announces with great excitement that its tableau of the Ministry of Culture has won the first prize in the Republic Day Celebrations (RDC) Parade 2024 , a significant win in the field of cultural representation. This time in the tableau of the Ministry, a glimpse of India’s rich cultural heritage was shown. The message of the tableau of the Ministry of Culture was – ‘ India is the mother of democracy ‘. With excellent use of anamorphic technique along with a rich display of the cultural heritage of India, often revered as the mother of democracy, the tableau enthralled the audience as it was a brilliant blend of tradition and innovation.
2 According to the first snow leopard census in India, 718 snow leopards, most in Ladakh.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupendra Yadav released the snow leopard population estimate for the first time in India during the National Wildlife Board meeting in New Delhi . This is the first of its kind scientific exercise on the status of snow leopards in India. The report said 718 snow leopards are present in India, with the highest number in Ladakh at 477 , followed by Uttar Pradesh (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir . Kashmir is (9). Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is the national coordinator for the snow leopard population assessment programme. The program was carried out in collaboration with all snow leopard range states and two conservation partners – Nature Conservation Foundation , Mysore and WWF-India .
3 India is nominating ‘Maratha Military Landscape’ to the UNESCO World Heritage List for the year 2024-25.
The Ministry of Culture has announced that India is nominating ‘ Maratha Military Landscape ‘ to the UNESCO World Heritage List for the year 2024-25 . This nomination includes a total of 12 components . Suvarnadurg Fort is a part of the historic ‘Maratha Military Landscape’. The Culture Ministry in its official statement said the ‘Maratha Military Landscape’ represents the extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers, showcasing the vibrant history of India. This nomination has twelve components – Salher Fort, Shivneri Fort, Lohagarh, Khanderi Fort, Raigarh, Rajgarh , Pratapgarh , Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijay Durg and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra , and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu . The ministry said that these twelve components reflect the strategic military powers of the Maratha rule in ancient India. All these forts developed between the 17th and 19th centuries and are symbols of the extraordinary fortification and military system of the Maratha rulers. Maharashtra has more than 390 forts , of which only 12 forts have been selected under the ‘Maratha Military Landscape’ of India, and eight of these forts are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) .
4 Union Home Minister Amit Shah launches computerization project of Registrar of Agricultural and Rural Development Banks and Cooperative Societies
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched the computerization project of Registrars of Agricultural and Rural Development Banks and Cooperative Societies of all states and Union Territories in New Delhi . Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shah informed that the Computerization Project of Rural Development Banks and Cooperative Societies aims to computerize 1851 units in 13 States and Union Territories and link them with NABARD through national software. He said that this initiative of the Ministry of Cooperation will increase operational efficiency, accountability and transparency in agricultural and rural development banks. Mr Shah said the initiative aims to reduce transaction costs, facilitate credit delivery to farmers and enable better monitoring and evaluation of the schemes.
5 International Monetary Fund raised India’s GDP growth rate to 6.7% for the current financial year.
The International Monetary Fund has increased India’s growth rate estimate to 6.7 percent in the year 2024 . This is 40 basis points more than its previous forecast of 6.3 percent . In its latest report, the Monetary Fund has said that India’s medium term GDP growth rate will be 6.5 percent. This is 20 basis points more than the earlier forecast for the years 2025 and 2026 . The International Monetary Fund said India’s growth rate is driven by indicators such as strong public investment and a favorable labor market. The organization has said that India will reduce its current account deficit estimate for fiscal year 2024 from 1.8 percent to 1.6 percent of GDP. According to the agency, India remains the fastest growing economy among the major economies of the world. Meanwhile, in FY 2023, India’s economic growth rate had increased by 7.2 percent compared to the previous year.
6 Haryana: Surajkund craft fair will start from February 2 in Faridabad, preparations complete
Haryana Tourism Minister Kanwar Pal said that preparations for the 37th Surajkund Crafts Mela to be held in Faridabad district from February 2 have been completed. This time the theme state of the fair will be Gujarat , and the cultural partner will be North East (Ashta Lakshmi) . President Draupadi Murmu will inaugurate the fair. Shri Pal gave this information in a review meeting with officials of the Tourism Department at Haryana Niwas, Chandigarh . He said that this fair will start from 2nd February and continue till 18th February. He said that this year’s fair will see a confluence of art and culture from India and abroad. Along with this, artists will be seen entertaining the audience with folk dance and singing. He said that around 800 people from 50 countries have registered to exhibit handicrafts and folk arts in the fair.
7 Indian Navy rescues 19 Pakistani nationals from Somalian pirates in Gulf of Aden
Indian Navy ‘s warship INS Sumitra conducted a second successful operation to rescue 19 crew members and a ship from armed Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea . According to the Indian Navy, INS Sumitra foiled a piracy attempt on fishing vessel ‘ Al Naimi ‘ off the east coast of Somalia. Navy has rescued a fishing vessel and 19 Pakistani nationals from 11 Somali pirates. The operation was conducted last Sunday after INS Sumitra safely rescued Iranian -flagged FV ‘Iman’ from Somali pirates.
8 Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a special court in the case of violation of confidential information.
In the case of violation of confidential information in Pakistan , the special court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 10 years in jail . In this case, former Foreign Minister and Vice President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party Shah Mahmood Qureshi has also been sentenced to 10 years in jail. The case relates to a secret diplomatic document. According to local media, this punishment has been given at a time when the elections to be held in Pakistan on February 8 are approaching. This is Imran Khan’s second conviction, he was also convicted in the Toshakhana case in August last year and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, but his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court.
9 The second edition of ‘India Energy Week’ will be organized in Goa from 6-9 February.
India Energy Week-I.E.W. The second edition will be organized in Goa next month from 6th to 9th February . Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that energy ministers from 17 countries, 35 thousand participants and more than 900 exhibitors are expected to participate in this event. Shri Puri said that in terms of energy, today India presents the right picture of solutions in many areas. He said that India Energy Week provides a platform to enhance the development of the energy sector. The Union Minister said that a special Make in India pavilion will be organized to showcase new solutions for micro, small and medium enterprises in the energy sector. Shri Puri said that six countries – Canada, Germany, Russia, Netherlands, United Kingdom and America will set up their pavilions in this event.
10 NGEL signs MoU with Maharashtra Government for development of green hydrogen projects
NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Maharashtra for the development of green hydrogen and derivatives (green ammonia, green methanol) up to 1 million tonne per annum capacity . This includes development of renewable energy projects with storage up to 5 GW in the state including 2 GW pumped storage projects . The MoU has been signed for the next five years as a part of the Green Investment Plan of the Government of Maharashtra . A potential investment of approximately Rs 80,000 crore is expected in this agreement . NTPC is working on creating 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032 .
11 Maersk unveils world’s largest ship to be fueled with methanol
Maersk , a maritime giant, has launched an unprecedented container ship, Ene Maersk , fueled by green methanol derived from green hydrogen. has revealed . Anne Maersk represents a bold leap towards a green future, securing the title of the world’s largest container ship powered by green methanol, a derivative of green hydrogen. This innovative propulsion system ushers in a new era of eco-friendly maritime transportation.
12 ISRO’s POEM-3 platform successful in meeting all payload targets
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced that it has successfully executed all the experiments within the Payload Orbital Experiment for Microgravity (POEM-3) mission , which was launched as part of the PSLV-C58 mission . POEM-3 represents a remarkable achievement in India’s space efforts, leveraging the capabilities of the PSLV-C58 vehicle to create an efficient and versatile space platform. Launched on January 1, 2024 with XPoSat , POEM-3 exemplifies India’s innovative approach to space exploration. This unprecedented platform demonstrates India’s commitment towards cost-effective and sustainable space exploration under the banner of ISRO.
13 4th Rusoma Orange Festival organized in Nagaland
Recently , the fourth edition of the two-day Organic Orange Festival was organized at Rusoma village in Kohima district of Nagaland with the intention of encouraging rural farmers to promote organic products and provide income generation opportunity . The Rusoma Orange Festival is not just about celebrations and competitions. Its deeper objective is to promote organic agriculture and upliftment of rural farmers. By providing a platform for local farmers to showcase their produce, the festival creates economic opportunities and encourages sustainable livelihoods within the community. This initiative not only helps individual households increase their income but also contributes to the overall economic resilience of the village.
14 National Conference on Technical Textiles
Recently, the Ministry of Textiles in collaboration with the Government of Andhra Pradesh organized a National Conference on Technical Textiles in Vijayawada with an emphasis on innovation along with taking forward policy avenues regarding technical textiles. The panel discussion covered various topics like strategies for circular economy, sustainability in technical textiles, agrotextiles, geotextiles for infrastructure development as well as future trends of technical textiles. Textile industries present in Andhra Pradesh were urged to participate in the upcoming mega event Bharat TEX 2024 to showcase their ideas and innovations in technical textiles with greater participation. Bharat Tex, 2024 is the biggest textile related event of the year 2024 organized by the Ministry of Textiles and 11 Textile Export Promotion Councils of India. It will be organized in New Delhi from 26 to 29 February, 2024.
15 Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna becomes the oldest male player to top the ATP doubles rankings
Rohan Bopanna has become the first oldest male player to top the ATP doubles rankings . Bopanna had won the men’s doubles title of the Australian Open tennis tournament for the first time and with this he gained two places. Bopanna’s partner Matthew Ebden of Australia is in second place. Bopanna is the fourth Indian player to achieve top seeding in doubles . Before this, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza have achieved this feat.
16 Tanmay Agarwal made the world record of fastest triple century
Hyderabad opening batsman Tanmay Agarwal made not one but many records on 26 January 2023 . Tanmay Agarwal became the fastest triple century player in first class cricket by scoring 300 runs in 147 balls against Arunachal Pradesh during the Ranji Trophy round four match at Nexgen Cricket Ground, Hyderabad . Tanmay Agarwal has also scored the fastest double century in first class cricket in 119 balls and broke the 39-year-old record of Indian legend Ravi Shastri . Shastri had scored a double century in 123 balls . Shastri scored the fastest first-class double century for Bombay against Baroda in a Ranji Trophy zonal match in 1985 .