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By admin: Feb. 22, 2023

Sansad Ratna award, 2023

Tags: Awards

 names for the Sansad Ratna Awards 2023 were released on 21 February.

An overview of the news

• A total of thirteen Members of Parliament and two Parliamentary Committees have been honoured with this award.

• The Jury Committee  of eminent Parliamentarians and civil society, chaired by Arjun Ram Meghwal (State Minister of Parliamentary Affairs) and Co-Chaired by T S Krishnamurthy (Former Chief Election Commissioner of India) has nominated  eight  MPs from Lok Sabha and five from Rajya Sabha for the Sansad Ratna Awards 2023. 

• Prominent CPI-M leader T K Rangarajan nominated for the lifetime achievement award.

• These nominations are based on cumulative performance in questions, private members' bills and members' debates from the beginning of the 17th Lok Sabha till the end of the Winter Session 2022.

Sansad Ratna Awards 2023 from Lok Sabha

1. Bidyut Baran Mahato (BJP, Jharkhand), 

2. Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (BJP, West Bengal), 

3. Kuldeep Rai Sharma (INC, Andaman Nicobar Islands), 

4. Dr Heena Vijayakumar Gavit (BJP, Maharashtra), 

5. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (INC, West Bengal), 

6. Gopal Chinayya Shetty (BJP, Maharashtra), 

7. Sudhir Gupta (BJP, Madhya Pradesh) and

8. Dr. Amol Ramsing Kolhe (NCP, Maharashtra)

Sansad Ratna Awards 2023 from Rajya Sabha

• Dr. John Brittas (CPI-M, Kerala), 

• Dr. Manoj Kumar Jha (RJD, Bihar), 

• Smt Fauzia Tahseen Ahmed Khan (NCP, Maharashtra)  Vishambhar Prasad Nishad (Samajwadi Party, UP) and

• Smt Chhaya Verma (INC, Chhattisgarh)

Two Parliamentary Committees of Lok Sabha nominated for Sansad Ratna Award 2023

1. Lok Sabha's Parliamentary Committee on Finance, chaired by Jayant Sinha 

2. Rajya Sabha's Standing Committee on Tourism, Transport, and Culture, chaired by Vijay Sai Reddy

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Lifetime Achievement Award - T K Rangarajan, (Former Rajya Sabha MP for two terms  and a Senior CPIM Leader).

About Sansad Ratna Award

• Sansad Ratna Awards were instituted on the suggestion of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam to honour top performing Parliamentarians.

• He himself inaugurated the first edition of the award ceremony in 2010 in Chennai.

• So far, 90 top performing parliamentarians have been honoured and all of them have received the award individually.

• The 13th edition of the award ceremony will be held on 25 March 2023 in New Delhi.

• K. Srinivasan is the Founder Chairman of the Sansad Ratna Award Committee and Ms. Priyadarshini Rahul is the Chairman.

World Scout Day

Tags: Important Days

Every year on February 22, World Scout Day is observed. 

An overview of the news

• It is the birth anniversary of Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of scouting and is also his wife Olave Baden-Powell's birth anniversary.

• The day is also celebrated as World Thinking Day across the world by Boy Scouts and Girl Guides/Girl Scouts and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

• It is a day on which Scouting representatives take a pledge to live up to the promises made by the Scouting movement.

• The theme of World Scout Day 2023 is “Our World: Our Equal Future: The Environment and Gender Equality”.

Background of the day

• Baron Baden-Powell, born 22 February 1857 in Paddington, London, England, is considered the founder of Scouting.

• His wife was born on 22 February in 1889, so the day is celebrated as the birthday of both Mr. and Mrs. Baden-Powell.

Cabinet approves the extension of the term of the Twenty-second Law Commission of India

Tags: committee National National News

The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of the tenure of the 22nd Law Commission of India which has been extended till August 31, 2024.

22nd Law Commission

• The Union ministry of Law and Justice constituted the 22nd Law Commission on 7 November 2022 and appointed former Karnataka High court chief justice Rituraj Awasthi as the chairperson of the Law Commission. 

• The five member 22nd Law Commission will have a term of three years.

• Justice BS Chauhan was the chairman of the 21st Law Commission whose term expired in August 2018.

Other members

• Former Kerala High Court judge Justice KT Sankaran, Prof. Anand Paliwal, Prof. DP Verma, Prof.(Dr) Raka Arya and  M Karunanithi have been appointed members of the Law Commission.

Law Commission of India

• Law commission is a non-statutory body which is set up by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice for suggesting reform in laws in India.

• Its recommendations are not binding on the government.

• The provision for the Law commission was made in the Charter act 1833 and the first Law commission was set up in 1834 under the chairmanship of Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay. 

• The Indian Penal Code 1860 is based on the recommendation of the Macaulay commission.

• The First Law commission in Independent India was set up in 1955 and M.C Setalvad who was also the first Attorney General of India was the chairman of the Law Commission.

Cabinet approves Air Services Agreement between India and Guyana

Tags: National National News

 Union Cabinet on 22 February approved the signing of the Air Services Agreement between the Government of India and Guyana. 

An overview of the news

• The Air Services Agreement will come into force after the exchange of Diplomacy Notes.

• The Diplomacy Notes shall confirm that both sides have completed the necessary internal procedures for the entry into force of this Agreement.

• The signing of the Air Services Agreement with Guyana will create a framework for the provision of air services between the two countries.

• The agreement will give a boost to the aviation market and aviation sector in India.

• To strengthen international air connectivity, India has so far signed air service agreements with many countries.

• India and Guyana are signatories to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention). 

• There is a significant Indian presence in Guyana and according to the 2012 census Indians constitute about 40% of the population.

What is an Air Services Agreement?

• Air Services Agreement (ASA) provides the legal framework for air operations between two countries.

• It is based on the sovereignty of the nations, the nationality of the carriers and the commercial opportunity for each side's designated airlines.

• Prior to this there was no Air Services Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Guyana.

About Guyana

• Prime Minister: Mark Phillips

• President: Mohamed Irfaan Ali

• Capital: Georgetown

• Currency : Guyanese dollar (G$)

India first hybrid rocket launched in Chengalpattu

Tags: Science and Technology

India's first hybrid rocket made by the school students from various states launched as part of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission 2023 from Pattipulam Village in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu on 19 February.

An overview of the news

• The reusable rocket has been made by the selected top 100 students.

• The rocket can be used for research into weather, atmospheric conditions and radiation.

• Over 3,500 government school students from classes VI to XII, including students from fishermen, tribal communities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, participated in the launch.

• Martin Foundation in association with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation and Space Zone India successfully completed the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission 2023.

What is a Hybrid rocket? 

• It is a bipropellant rocket engine that uses propellants that are in two different states.

• These propellants are usually liquid and solid which react to form exhaust gases suitable for rocket propulsion.

India’s first privately developed rocket Vikram-S

• India's first private rocket Vikram-S (Suborbital) was launched on 18 November 2022 from  the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

• It was designed by the Space technology startup Skyroot Aerospace as a tribute to the father of the country's space programme, Vikram Sarabhai.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde named Shiv Sena chief

Tags: Person in news

Eknath Shinde was named Shiv Sena chief on 22 February at an important meeting of his party.

An overview of the news

• Recently, the Election Commission recognized the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena in its dispute with the Uddhav Thackeray faction and allotted it the party's election symbol 'bow and arrow'.

• This was the first national executive meeting of Shiv Sena after Eknath Shinde got the party's name and election symbol.

• Many important proposals were presented in this meeting, including the proposal to give Bharat Ratna to Veer Savarkar.

• Apart from this, a proposal was presented to give maximum employment opportunities to the local youth in all the projects in the state and to give the status of elite language to Marathi language.

About Eknath Shinde

• Before emerging as the leader of Shiv Sena, Eknath Sambhaji Shinde drove an auto-rickshaw to earn a living.

• Born on 9 February 1964, Shinde dropped out of college before completing his graduation.

• He is 58 years old and hails from Satara district of western Maharashtra, he started his political career from Thane, Mumbai.

• He is a four-time MLA, having handled the urban development and PWD portfolios in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

• Shinde was appointed the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for a brief period in 2014.

Nitin Gadkari lays Foundation Stone of the world's largest and unique Divyang Park

Tags: National National News

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on 20 February laid the Foundation Stone of the world's largest and unique Divyang Park - Anubhuti Inclusive Park in Nagpur, Maharashtra. 

An overview of the news

• This park is being developed keeping in mind the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build an inclusive society. 

• Instead of sympathy, this park will show empathy, hence this park has been named Anubhuti Divyang Park.

• In 2016, the central government passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act for the rights of persons with disabilities. 

• This law gives the disabled the right to live with dignity.

About Anubhuti Inclusive Park

• This park is being built for disabled children and common citizens in Pardi campus of Nagpur.

• Its purpose is to give the message of inclusion in the country and the whole world.

• It is the world's first inclusive disabled park.

• Nodal Ministry - Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.

• The park will have adapted facilities for all 21 types of disabilities, including touch and smell gardens, hydrotherapy units, water therapy, independent rooms for mentally challenged children, etc.

University of Auckland, Tata Memorial Hospital sign MoU for cancer care

Tags: National National News

Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Mumbai and Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 22 February to engage in long-term cooperation in cancer care. 

An overview of the news

• Tata Memorial Hospital is the largest and the most renowned cancer care hospital and research centre in India.

• The University's Deputy Vice Chancellor Research, Professor Frank Bloomfield met TMH representatives led by TMH Director Dr Rajendra Badwe and Professor Dr Vanita Noronha.

• The MoU aims to explore ways to enhance cancer care using digital health.

• The two countries have a long history of cooperation in healthcare and this partnership builds on an already strong relationship.

• The University of Auckland is strongly committed to finding solutions to some of the most pressing global health issues in partnership with leading institutions.