MIB Revised National Film Awards Regulations: Names of Indira Gandhi & NargisDutt Removed From Awards Category
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has revised the National Film Awards regulations andmade significant changes, including renaming awards, merging categories, and increasing prize money. Thechanges were made based on the recommendation of the Committee for Rationalization of Film Awards.
The change will come into effect in the upcoming70th edition of the National Film Awards(2022), whose entries closed on January 30th,2024.
The ‘Indira Gandhi Award for Best DebutFilm of a Director’ has been renamed ‘BestDebut Film of a Director’. The award includesa Swarna Kamal and cash award of Rs 3 lakhwhich will be presented to the director of thefilm.
The ‘Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Filmon National Integration’ has been clubbed with‘Best Film on Social Issues’ and ‘Best Film onEnvironment Conservation/Preservation’. Thenewly formed award is named ‘Best FeatureFilm Promoting National, Social, andEnvironmental Values’.
The awards are categorised into four sections. They are Feature films, non- features films, Best writing oncinema, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award(Lifetime Achievement Award).
NITI Aayog Launches Greening India’s Wastelands with Agroforestry Report andPortal
NITI Aayog(National Institution for Transforming India) launched the Greening and Restoration ofWasteland with Agroforestry (GROW) initiative, which includes GRWO report and portal at NITI Aayogheadquarters in New Delhi, Delhi.
Note: Agroforestry involves integrating trees withcrops and/or animals farming systems on the same unitof land.
About GROW Portal:
- The GROW-Suitability Mapping portal onBhuvan (https://bhuvan-app1.nrsc.gov.in/asi_portal/)will allow universal access to state and district-leveldata.
- This portal is expected to significantly boost thepromotion of agroforestry initiatives by governmentbodies.
About GROW Report:
- The report, developed under the leadership of NITIAayog, used remote sensing and GeographicInformation Systems (GIS) technologies to assess thesuitability of agroforestry practices across all districtsof India.
- The report includes Agroforestry Suitability Index (ASI) for national-level prioritisation, using thematicdatasets.
Key Points:
- The report offers a comprehensive state-wise and district-wise analysis andprovides insights to government departments and industries involved in greening and restoration projects.
- This also highlights the potential of converting underutilized areas such as wastelands, into productiveagroforestry zones.
Key Points:
- Agroforestry covers 8.65% of India’s total area, approximately 28.42 million hectares.
- Report GROW initiative aligns with national goal to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030,creating carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
- Approximately 16.96% of the Total Geographical Area (TGA) is wasteland, requiring transformation forproductive use.
- India, the pioneer of the National Agroforestry Policy in 2014, aims to enhance productivity, profitability,and sustainability through agroecological land use system.
These efforts are in alignment with global commitments such as the Paris Agreement, Bonn Challenge,United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs), United Nations Convention on CombatingDesertification (UNCCD), Doubling Farmers’ Income initiative, Green India Mission, among others.
About NITI Aayog(National Institution for Transforming India):
Chairperson– Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi)
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– B.V.R. Subrahmanyam
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
Establishment– 2015
REC & DVC Join Hands for Infra & Energy Projects in the Damodar Valley
REC Limited (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) has signed agreements worth Rs. 588crores with Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), a Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) under the Ministry ofPower (MoP), to strengthen infrastructure and energy projects in the Damodar Valley region (West Bengaland Jharkhand).
This agreement includes a Term Loanagreement, an Escrow agreement, andHypothecation deeds.
Tubed coal mines will also be developed aspart of the agreement.
The agreement was signed in the presenceof S. Suresh Kumar, Chairman andManaging Director(CMD) of DVC.
Note: REC is a ‘Maharatna‘ CentralPublic Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under theMoP, and is registered with the ReserveBank of India (RBI) as a Non-BankingFinance Company (NBFC), andInfrastructure Financing Company (IFC).
India Hands over Chess Olympiad Torch to Hungary
India has officially handed over the Chess Olympiad torch to Hungary,which is set to host the 45th edition of the Chess Olympiad 2024from 10th to 23rd September 2024 in Budapest, Hungary.
The handover ceremony was held at Major Dhyan Chand NationalStadium in New Delhi, Delhi, on 14th February 2024.
The ceremony was attended by Union Minister for Youth Affairs andSports Anurag Thakur, Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand(India),International Chess Federation (FIDE) president Arkady Dvorkovich, and GM Judit Polgar (Hungary).
The torch handover ceremony also kicked off the 100th anniversary celebration of FIDE, which wasestablished in 1924.
Note:India hosted the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 in Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu) in 2022.
International Epilepsy Day 2024- February 12
International Epilepsy Day is annually observed across the globe on the 2nd Monday in February toraise awareness about epilepsy, a neurological disorder, its condition, diagnosis, and treatment.
International Epilepsy Day 2024 isobserved on 12 February 2024.
International Epilepsy Day 2023 wasobserved on 13 February 2023; In 2025, itwill be observed on 10 February 2025.
The 2024 theme of International EpilepsyDay is, “Milestones on My EpilepsyJourney.”
The campaign of International EpilepsyDay 2024 is, “#MyEpilepsyJourney.”
Background:
- International Epilepsy Day, established in2015, is a collaborative initiative by theInternational Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) andthe International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE).
- The 1st ever International Epilepsy Day was observed in 2015.
About International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE):
President– J. Helen Cross
Headquarters– Dundrum, Ireland
Founded in– 1909
World Radio Day 2024 – February 13
The United Nations (UN) World Radio Day (WRD) is annually observed across the globe on 13 Februaryto celebrate Radio as a powerful and low-cost medium and to promote its role in fostering internationalcollaboration among broadcasters.
13 February 2024 marks the observanceof the 13th WRD.
The theme of World Radio Day 2024 is“Radio: A century informing,entertaining and educating”.
Points to note:
On the occasion of WRD 2024, UnionMinister Anurag Singh Thakur, Ministryof Information and Broadcasting (MIB)unveiled revised policy guidelines toenhance the setup of Community RadioStations (CRS) in India.
About Ministry of Information andBroadcasting (MIB):
Union Minister– Anurag Singh Thakur (Constituency: Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh)
Minister of State– L. Murugan (Rajya Sabha –Madhya Pradesh)
Odisha Declared Gupteswar Forest as its4th Biodiversity Heritage Site
Odisha government has declared the Gupteswarforest in Koraput district as its fourth BiodiversityHeritage Site (BHS).
The three other BHS sites in Odishaare Mandasaru in Kandhamal district,Mahendragiri in Gajpati district, and Gandhamardan in Bargarh and Bolangir districts.
About Gupteswar: