2-day ‘Innovation Festival’ begins at Science Centre in Itanagar

1.Bharat Parv 2020 to begin at Red fort ground in New Delhi

Bharat Parv 2020, the programme to celebrate the spirit of India, begins at Red fort ground in New Delhi and will be on till 31st January.The objective of Bharat Parv is to encourage people to visit different tourism places of the country and to inculcate the spirit of ‘Dekho Apna Desh’.

The Tourism Ministry has said that the theme of this year’s Bharat Parv is Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat and Celebrating 150 Years of Mahatma Gandhi.

Bharat Parv has many attractions for the public including display of Tableaux of the Republic Day parade, performance by armed forces bands.

2.2-day ‘Innovation Festival’ begins at Science Centre in Itanagar

In Arunachal Pradesh, the two-day ‘Innovation Festival’ kicked off at the Science Centre.The festival is being organized by the Arunachal Pradesh State Council for Science & Technology in collaboration with the National Innovation Foundation.

More than 50 innovations are put on display by students from various educational institutions, grassroots innovators, artisans and entrepreneurs from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and other states.

The Innovation Festival, a first of its kind in the state, aimed to foster the culture of innovation among all people of the state, especially in all the educational institutions.

3.Himachal Pradesh celebrates its 50th Statehood Day

Himachal Pradesh celebrated its 50th Statehood Day on 25 January.On January 25, 1971 Himachal Pradesh was carved out as the 18th State of the country, after being a Union Territory for over 15 years.

• Number of District in Himachal Pradesh: 12
• Chief Minister: Jai Ram Thakur
• Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
• Members of the Legislative Assembly: 68
• Lok Sabha Seats : 4
• Rajya Sabha Seats : 3

4.Nation celebrates 71st Republic Day

The nation celebrates 71st Republic Day.The main function was organized at Rajpath in the National Capital. President Ram Nath Kovind unfurled the tricolour and took the salute of the parade.

President of Brazil Jair Messias Bolsonaro was the Chief Guest at the Parade this year.

The parade started from Vijay Chowk and proceeded towards the Red Fort grounds.

It was commanded by Parade Commander, Lieutenant General Asit Mistry, General Officer Commanding, Headquarters Delhi Area.

For the first time, a contingent of women bikers of CRPF performed daredevil stunts.

Sixteen States and Union Territories and six Central Ministries participated in the Parade.

Jammu and Kashmir participated in the parade for the first time as a Union Territory.

The Tableau of Gujarat was on the theme Rani ki Vav – Jal Mandir which is a unique piece of ancient Indian architectural style, construction work and craftsmanship.

Meghalaya’s Tableau depicted the Double Decker Living Root Bridge which is a main tourist attraction of the state.

Telangana’s tableau brought to life its floral festival called Bathukamma.

The Air Force tableau displayed models of the Rafale aircraft, Tejas aircraft, Light Combat Helicopter, Akash Missiles System and Astra Missiles.

The major attraction was fly-past by the newly inducted Chinook and Apache helicopters along with Sukhoi and advanced light helicopters.

Anti-satellite weapons – Mission Shakti, Army’s battle tank Bhishma were also showcased during the 90-minute long parade.

5.Tribal Affairs Ministry proposes 6th Schedule Area status to Ladakh

Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has proposed 6th Schedule Area status to Union Territory of Ladakh.Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said that his ministry has sent the proposal to the Union Home Ministry to declare the 6th Schedule status to Ladakh.

Environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk had last month appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to preserve the culture and identity of Ladakh.

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the administration of the tribal areas in the four northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

6.West Bengal emerges at the top in vegetable production

West Bengal has overtaken Uttar Pradesh and emerged as the top State in vegetable production in 2018-19.According to the State-wise horticulture production data released at a conference organised by the Agriculture Ministry last week, West Bengal produced 29.55 million tonnes (mt) of vegetables last year.

Andhra Pradesh continued to hold on to the pole position in fruits with 17.61 mt, followed by Maharashtra (10.82 mt) and UP (10.65 mt).

7.CEC Sunil Arora assumes Chairmanship of FEMBoSA for 2020

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora has assumed Chairmanship of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2020.The Outgoing Chair of FEMBoSA, handed over the Logo of FEMBoSA to Mr Arora at the 10th Annual Meeting of  FEMBoSA held in New Delhi.

FEMBoSA was established at the 3rd Conference of Heads of Election Management Bodies of SAARC Countries held at New Delhi in May, 2012.

With its eight members, FEMBoSA represents a very large part of the democratic world and is an active regional association of Election Management Bodies.

8.Government announces 141 Padma Awards for this year on occasion of 71st Republic Day

The government has announced 141 Padma Awards for this year on the occasion of 71st Republic Day.The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhusan and 118 Padma Shri awards.

Former Union Ministers George Fernandes, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley will be awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously.

Pejavara math seer late Vishveshateertha Swamiji will be awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously.

Former Prime Minister of Mauritius Anerood Jugnauth, Hindustani classical vocalist Chhannulal Mishra and Boxer MC Mary Kom will also get Padma Vibhushan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated all those who have been selected for Padma Awards.