3 Day ‘Namaste Orchha’ festival begins in Madhya Pradesh

1.India, US sign Rs 1200 crore deal for protection system of new VVIP aircraft

India and the United States have signed a Rs 1200 crore deal for acquiring missile protection suites for the new Boeing VVIP planes that India is acquiring for the President and the Prime Minister.The new aircraft will be used for both international and domestic visits of the President and Prime Minister.

The missile protection suites on the two Boeing-777 Extended Range planes will provide it the capability to fend off any missile attacks.

A new 28-acre facility will also be created at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for housing the new Boeing 777 aircraft.

The aircraft will be flown by Indian Air Force pilots who are getting trained in India by Air India which already operates the Boeing 777 in its fleet.

The two planes are expected to arrive in India by the middle of 2020 to begin the VVIP duties.

2.Fourth Global Ayurveda Festival to be held at Kochi from May 16

The Fourth Global Ayurveda Festival, GAF will be held at Kochi in Kerala from 16th to 20th May.The theme for the five-day event is ‘Ayurveda Medical Tourism: Actualizing India’s credibility’.

It will be the largest Ayurvedic event ever to be held anywhere across the world and will witness the largest gathering of experts, stakeholders and business explorers from the field of Ayurveda.

More than 500 stalls, the participation of over 5,000 international delegates, ethnic food carnivals, exhibition of rich medicinal plants and workshops on Panchkarma to be the key highlights of GAF-2020.

3.3 Day ‘Namaste Orchha’ festival begins in Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, ‘Namaste Orchha’ festival is starting from Orchha, a famous tourist destination of the state.Orchha is famous for its Ramaraja temple as well as other historical buildings.

Three days Namaste Orchha festival is an attempt to create new opportunities and initiatives to promote the state and its rich cultural, natural and architectural heritage and its traditions and history.

The festival will showcase the cultural landscape of Madhya Pradesh through a range of activities like art, music,dance, guided history tours and photography.

To beautify Orchha, all the houses of the main road of Orchha have been painted with cream color on the lines of Pink City Jaipur.

The festival will also feature a food and crafts bazaar that will have local cuisine and traditional handicrafts of the region.

4.Kareena Kapoor Khan inks 2-yr contract as Puma’s brand ambassador

German sportswear brand Puma has signed a two-year deal with Indian film actress Kareena Kapoor Khan to be its brand ambassador.With this deal she joins the brand’s roaster of celebrity faces such as Virat Kohli, Sara Ali Khan, MC Mary Kom and Dutee Chand.

Khan will be the face for Puma’s soon-to-be launched collection of low-intensity training apparel collection targeted at workouts such as yoga, barre, and pilates.

Puma sells performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in categories such as football, running and training, basketball, golf, and motorsports.

5.Prashant Kumar takes charge as Yes Bank administrator

Yes Bank said Prashant Kumar, former deputy managing director and CFO of State Bank of India, has taken charge as its administrator.The private sector lender was placed under a moratorium, with the RBI capping deposit withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account for a month and superseding its board.

Kumar taking charge as the Yes Bank administrator is in line with notifications issued by the Department of Financial Services and the RBI.

6.Bimal Julka takes oath as Chief Information Commissioner

President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Bimal Julka as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).Julka, who has earlier served as the Union Information and Broadcasting Secretary, was administered the oath of the office at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The post was vacant after the transparency watchdog chief Sudhir Bhargava retired on January 11.

7.Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) 2019 function held in New Delhi

World champion shuttler PV Sindhu was named Sportsperson of the Year at the fourth Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) 2019 in New Delhi.Rio Olympic silver medallist Sindhu, who won the world championship gold at Basel, Switzerland, last year also bagged the Unbreakable Spirit of Sports award.

Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia was given the Lifetime Achievement award, while hockey legend and three-time Olympic gold medallist Balbir Singh Sr was honoured with the Icon of the Century award.

National badminton coach Pulella Gopichand won the Mentor of the Year award, while former shooter Jaspal Rana was recognised as the Coach of the Year.

8.Indian Archery team pulls out of Asia Cup world ranking tournament

The Archery Association of India (AAI) has pulled out its team from the upcoming Asia Cup world ranking tournament in Bangkok scheduled from March 8 to 15 owing to the coronavirus threat there.This would have been India’s first international competition since their return from a five-month suspension in January which was lifted after the AAI’s election.

AAI Assistant Secretary Gunjan Abrol informed India’s decision to withdraw after reviewing the current alarming situation and taking into consideration the travel advisories issued by Sports Authority of India and IOC.

9.Sports Authority of India announces first edition of Khelo India Women’s Hockey League Under-21

Sports Authority of India, in association with Hockey India announced the first edition of the Khelo India Women’s Hockey League Under-21.It will be organized by Hockey India at three different venues in three phases between March to November.

While phase one will be held from 23rd to 29th of this month at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi, the second phase will be held from 13th to 19th at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru.

The final phase will be organised from 22nd to 29th November at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

10.Smriti Irani releases book titled ‘Chronicles of Change Champions’

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani released a book titled ‘Chronicles of Change Champions’ at an event held in New Delhi.The book is a compilation of 25 innovative initiatives taken at the state and district levels under the Prime Minister’s flagship scheme of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.

It captures the convergent approach adopted at the grass-root level and provides insight into the unique manner of community engagement by the District Administration and front-line workers.

The Minister informed that this year the Ministry will work with the Human Resource Development Ministry to launch a mission to get out-of-school girls back into schools with the help of the local community.

The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22nd January 2015 at Panipat, Haryana as a comprehensive programme to address the declining Child Sex Ratio and the related issues of empowerment of women over a life-cycle continuum.