RAJNATH SINGH INAUGURATED 26TH HUNAR HATT
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the 26th edition of ‘Hunar Haat’ in New Delhi. The “Hunar Haat” will be held from February 21 to March 01, 2021, with the theme of “Vocal for Local”. More than 600 artisans and craftsmen from more than 31 states and UTs are participating.
Through Hunar Haat, the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs aims to provide employment and employment opportunities to 7,50,000 artisans by organising 75 Hunar Haats by 2022, when India will celebrate its 75 years of Independence.
The Hunar Haat is also available online at hunarhaat.org and on the Government e-Marketplace portal. Indians living abroad can buy products online as well.
Hunar Haat is a beautiful exhibition of India’s traditional art and craft and brings together indigenous artisans and craftsmen from across the country for the display and sale of their exquisite indigenous handmade products.
GOI & AIIB SIGNED AGREEMENT FOR PROJECTS IN ASSAM
The Government of India and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has signed a $304 million loan agreement on February 23, 2021, for the Assam Intra-State Transmission System Enhancement Project.
The project aims to improve the reliability, capacity and security of the power transmission network in the northeastern state of Assam.
It includes constructing 10 transmission substations and laying transmission lines with the associated infrastructure, upgrade 15 existing substations, and transmission lines and existing ground wire to optical power ground wire and provide technical assistance to support project implementation.
The total estimated cost of the project is $365 million. AIIB will finance $304 million while the remaining funding of $61 million will be done by the state government.
- President of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: Jin Liqun.
- Headquarters of AIIB: Beijing, China.
- AIIB established: 16 January 2016.
CENTRE LAUNCHED NATIONAL URBAN DIGITAL MISSION
Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the National Urban Digital Mission’ (NUDM) at a virtual event, to create a digital infrastructure for cities in India.
The NUDM has been launched jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The mission aims to put in place a “citizen-centric” and “ecosystem-driven” approach to ‘urban governance and service delivery in cities by 2022, and across all cities and towns by 2024. The mission has three pillars – people, process, and platform.
The NUDM will create a shared digital infrastructure for Urban India that can consolidate and cross-leverage the various digital initiatives of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to enable cities and towns across India to benefit from holistic and diverse forms of support, in keeping with their needs and local challenges.
Apart from this, several other digital initiatives of MoHUA was also launched which includes: India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX), SmartCode platform, Smart Cities 2.0 website, and Geospatial Management Information System (GMIS).
PUNJAB CABINET APPROVED MISSION ‘LAL LAKIR’
The Punjab Cabinet has approved the implementation of the mission ‘Lal Lakir’ aimed at facilitating villagers to monetise property rights and availing benefits provided by government departments, institutions and banks in all villages across the state.
As no record of rights is available for such properties within the ‘Lal Lakir’, the same cannot currently be monetised as per the real value of the property and no mortgages can be created on such properties.
The right of record of properties within ‘Lal Lakir’ in the villages of the state will be prepared with the cooperation of the government of India under the SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme.
This will enable mapping the land, households, habitation and all other areas falling within ‘Lal Lakir’. It will go a long way in improving the living standard of villagers and boosting their self-esteem.
There are households within the ‘Lal Lakir’, which do not own property other than the areas within the ‘Lal Lakir’, and are thus at a disadvantage when it comes to monetising or realising the real value of the property, according to a government statement.
‘Lal Lakir’ refers to land that is part of the village ‘abaadi’ (habitation) and is used for non-agriculture purposes only.
INDIA’S FIRST DIGITAL UNIVERSITY IN KERALA
Governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan has inaugurated India’s first Digital University named Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology.
A Digital University has been set up in Kerala’s Technocity, Mangalapuram. Kerala University is established by upgrading the two-decade-old state government’s Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management Kerala (IIITM-K).
University has been started with five schools:
- School of Computer Science and Engineering;
- School of Digital Sciences; School of Electronic Systems and Automation;
- School of Informatics
- School of Digital Humanities
- Liberal Arts, covering science, technology and humanities aspects of the Digital world.
India’s first Digital University will focus on postgraduate programmes and research along with building strong industry-academic and academic-academic linkages with leading institutions in India and abroad.
Developed on a 10-acre campus in Technocity, the university will provide education to 12,000 residential scholars on the campus and many technology-linked learners outside.
The university seeks to lead the Digital Transformation Initiatives announced by the Kerala Government in the Budget 2021.
KUSHINAGAR AIRPORT IN GETS CLEARANCE OF DGCA
The under-construction Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh has received the necessary clearances from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to operate international flights.
Once operational, Kushinagar airport will become the third functional international facility in the state. Currently, the two international airports functional in Uttar Pradesh are Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at Lucknow and Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at Varanasi.
Kushinagar airport will serve as the closest international airport to several Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Lumbini, Shravasti, and Kapilvastu.
The new airport will boost tourism in the region & facilitate travel on the Buddhist circuit by providing direct aviation connectivity to the city.
YOUNGEST WOMAN TO ROW SOLO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
A British woman, Jasmine Harrison of England has become the youngest woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
The 21-year-old from Thirsk, North Yorkshire in the UK, achieved the feat by finishing top in the 2020 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, organized by Atlantic Campaigns.
Harrison, who is a swim instructor and bartender by profession, travelled 3,000 miles (4,828km) across the Atlantic Ocean in 70 days, 3 hours and 48 minutes.
Harrison began her journey in Spain’s Canary Islands on December 12, 2020, and arrived in Antigua on February 20, 2021.
