INDIA CELEBRATED 72ND REPUBLIC DAY 2021
The nation celebrated the 72nd Republic Day with a grand military parade and exhibition of its history, cultural diversity and strategic weaponry at the Rajpath, Delhi.
This day is celebrated by all Indians and 26th of January has been declared as a national holiday by the government of India.
The Republic Day Parade ceremony will commence with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the National War Memorial. The National Flag was unfurled followed by the National Anthem with a booming 21-gun salute.
The Indian Republic Day is celebrated all across India with lots of patriotism and fervour. At Rajpath, in Delhi, magnificent parades by regiments of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, police, and paramilitary forces are witnessed.
India’s defensive prowess is on display too, with the latest missiles, aircraft, and weapon systems. Beautiful tableaus, representing the uniqueness of all the states of India are also showcased during the parade. The celebration usually ends with numerous air shows and flypasts by the Indian Forces.
India became independent on 15th of august, 1947. Even after independence, the country did not have a sound constitution.
The laws, before the enactment of the constitution, were running on the basis of Government of India Act 1935. Having realized the need for a permanent constitution and its own governing body, the government of India appointed a Drafting Committee on 28th of August 1947 to draft it and Dr, B. R. Ambedkar as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
After almost 3 years, the 308 members of the Assembly, after many consultations and a few modifications finally signed a constitution on 24th of January 1950, which came into effect on 26th of January 1950.
And, that day, is being celebrated as Republic Day in India ever since then. This day defines the importance of having a proper constitution that all the citizens must abide by.
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS ANNOUNCED PADMA AWARDS
The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced a list of 119 personalities who will be conferred the Padma Awards by President Ram Nath Kovind this year.
These awards cater to various disciplines including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service.
While ‘Padma Shri’ is awarded for distinguished service in any field, ‘Padma Bhushan’ is awarded for distinguished service of a high order.
On the other hand, ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service. Among the 2021 awardees, 29 are women, one is a transgender,10 are foreigners/NRIs/OCI and 16 have passed away.
There will be no recipient of the Bharat Ratna in 2021. The Padma Awards shall be formally conferred by the President in the Rashtrapati Bhawan in March or April.
Padma Vibhushan awards List
- Shinzo Abe, Japan
- S P Balasubramaniam (Posthumous), Tamil Nadu
- Belle Monappa Hegde, Karnataka
- Narinder Singh Kapany (Posthumous), USA
- Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Delhi
- B. B. Lal, Delhi
- Sudarshan Sahoo, Odisha
Padma Bhushan Awards List
- Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra, Kerala
- Tarun Gogoi (Posthumous), Assam
- Chandrashekhar Kambara, Karnataka
- Sumitra Mahajan, Madhya Pradesh
- Nripendra Misra, Uttar Pradesh
- Ram Vilas Paswan (Posthumous), Bihar
- Keshubhai Patel (Posthumous), Gujarat
- Kalbe Sadiq (Posthumous), Uttar Pradesh
- Rajnikant Devidas Shroff, Maharashtra
- Tarlochan Singh, Haryana
EUROPE’S LARGEST SOLAR POWER PLANT TO BE BUILT
Spain and France signed an agreement to build a 590 MW solar power plant. This solar power plant will be the largest solar power plant in Europe. The agreement was signed by Iberdrola of Spain and Donone of France.
The construction cost of the solar power plant is 364 million US dollars. The solar power plant will be located in the province of Cáceres in western Spain.
The solar power plant will avoid emissions of 245,000 tons of carbon dioxide. It will power 375,000 people every year. The project will start power supply in 2022.
Spain is currently the busiest unsubsidized photovoltaic market in Europe. In 2020, Spain put into the production of 2.9 GW of solar energy. In 2019, Spain added 729 megawatts of solar power. Therefore, the increase in 2020 is four times the increase in 2019.
France has set a goal of installing 18 to 20 GW of solar energy by 2023. In 2016, France and India laid the foundation for the International Solar Alliance. Although France is not a country in the tropics, it has formed the International Solar Alliance with India.
This is mainly because the International Solar Energy Alliance was developed and announced at the 2015 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Paris Agreement Meeting) hosted by France.
The main goal of the International Solar Energy Alliance is to significantly reduce the cost of solar energy. To achieve this goal, countries with rich solar resources (that is, countries located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Mount of Cancer) need to participate.
India has been increasing its solar power generation capacity. As of November 2020, India’s installed solar power capacity is 36.9 GW.
India has established 42 solar parks to provide land for promoters of solar power plants. India has set a goal of achieving 100 GW of solar power generation by 2022.
INDIA ISSUED DRAFT OF NEW ‘ARCTIC’ POLICY
India has issued a draft of a new “Arctic” policy, which, among other things, is committed to expanding scientific research, sustainable tourism, and mineral oil and gas exploration in the Arctic region.
India hopes that the National Center for Polar and Ocean Research in Goa will lead scientific research and serve as a nodal agency to coordinate its activities.
Aim: (1) Develop Arctic-related programmes for mineral/oil and gas exploration in petroleum research institutions; (2) Encourage tourism and hospitality sectors to establish professional capabilities and awareness of interaction with Arctic companies.
Arctic research will help the Indian scientific community to study the melting rates of the third pole-the Himalayan glacier, which has the largest freshwater reserves outside the world’s geographic poles.
NATIONAL TOURISM DAY 2021: JANUARY 25TH
The Indian government established January 25 as the National Tourism Day to raise awareness about the importance of tourism for the country’s economy.
The day is observed to cultivate awareness among the global community on the importance of tourism and its social, political, financial and cultural worth.
India offers several forms of tourism such as cultural, nature, heritage, educational, business, sports, rural, medical, cruise, and eco-tourism.
The ministry of tourism is the nodal agency in India to form national policies for the promotion and development of tourism. It also coordinates with central, state agencies and the public sector.
Tourism and travel are often used interchangeably. However, travel is the movement of an individual or a group of people from one place to another due to work, health, education or meeting with the family.
Tourism, on the other hand, identifies with a person or group’s movement for recreational purposes.
JOE BIDEN PROPOSAL TO EXTEND ‘NEW START TREATY’
US President Joe Biden proposed to extend the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) for five years. Russia welcomes this proposal.
The United States and Russia signed a New START Treaty in Prague (the capital of the Czech Republic) in 2010. It became effective in 2011.
The official name of the New START Treaty is “Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Weapons”.
The United States and Russia signed a treaty to reduce the production and use of nuclear weapons. Under the treaty, the two countries will reduce their strategic nuclear missile launchers by half.
The treaty establishes an inspection and verification system that replaces SORT. Reduce the number of deployable strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550. This is 10% lower than the strategic warhead limit set by the “Moscow Treaty” signed by the two countries in 2002.
This treaty replaces the Moscow Treaty, also known as SORT (Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty). The term strategic offensive weapons refers to nuclear warheads deployed by Strategic Nuclear Delivery Vehicles.
SHRISTI GOSWAMI BECOMES ONE DAY CM OF UTTARAKHAND
Shristi Goswami, a nineteen-year-old Haridwar-based student, become the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand for one day on National Girl Child Day.
She is a student of BSc Agriculture, lives in Daulatpur village in Roorkee, Haridwar. The move has received the nod of Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
The one-day chief minister has administered from Gairsain, the summer capital of the state, and will review various schemes run by the state government that include Atal Ayushman Scheme, Smart City project, Homestay Scheme by the tourism department, and other development projects.
- Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat.
- Governor of Uttarakhand: Baby Rani Maurya.
