1. International Gita Mahotsav to be organised in Kurukshetra, Haryana
Tags: Festivals State News
International Gita Mahotsav will be held from November 19 to December 6, 2022 in Kurukshetra, Haryana.
Important facts
President Draupadi Murmu will formally inaugurate the main programs at the Geeta Yagya at Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra on November 29.
She will also inaugurate a three-day International Gita Seminar at Kurukshetra University on the same day.
In this seminar, renowned international and national scholars of Shrimadbhagwadgita and researchers from India and abroad will present their research papers on 'world peace and harmony'.
Saras and Craft Mela will also be organized from 19th November to 6th December.
Sculptors from across the country have created 21 special stone sculptures based on Mahabharata and Gita. Various artisans will display their talents in this.
A special pavilion has been set up by the Government of Madhya Pradesh at Purushottampura Bagh, Brahmasarovar, which highlights the culture, crafts and food of the state.
'Gita Sthali' Kurukshetra is a confluence of faith and tourism. Recently the grand form of Lord Krishna was unveiled at Jyotisar.
About International Gita Mahotsav
Haryana Government has been celebrating Gita Mahotsav festival since the year 1989 in Kurukshetra town in collaboration with Kurukshetra Development Board.
In the year 2016, the Haryana government decided to celebrate the festival of Gita Jayanti as International Gita Mahotsav.
Thereafter, in the years 2017, 2018 and 2019, International Gita Mahotsav was organised in Kurukshetra.
In this festival of the year 2022, Nepal will be the partner country and Madhya Pradesh will be the partner state.
About Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana.
It is also known as 'Dharmakshetra' and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita".
It is believed that the Kurukshetra war of Mahabharata took place here.
Thaneshwar whose urban area is merged with Kurukshetra is a pilgrimage center with many places said to be related to the Mahabharata.
2. Anandiben Patel inaugurates the 104th Annual Conference of the Indian Currency Council and Currency Fair in Lucknow
Tags: Festivals place in news State News
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel inaugurated the 104th Annual Conference of the Indian Currency Council and Currency Fair held at the State Museum in the premises of the International Buddhist Institute, Gomtinagar, Lucknow. On this occasion, the Governor said that currency is the reflection of the culture and civilization of any country. This gives information about the history and economy of the time, due to which our future generations get the knowledge of our rich culture.
The Governor said that the dates and markings found on the coins are a powerful medium of information about the history and culture of that period, because the coins reflect contemporary religion, philosophy and social life.
She announced to keep a coin album in Raj Bhavan. On this occasion, the Governor released a souvenir based on the compilation of research papers.
On this occasion, President of the 104th Conference of the Indian Currency Council Prof. Makhan Lal, General Secretary of the Currency Council Prof. P.N. Singh, Special Secretary Culture Anand Kumar, Director of State Museum Dr. Anand Kumar Singh and a large number of currency custodians from all over the country were present.
Numismatics
The systematic accumulation and study of coins, tokens, paper money, and objects of similar form and purpose is called Numismatics.
3. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal inaugurates international travelling Exhibition “Vaccines Injecting Hope”
Tags: Festivals place in news Science and Technology Person in news
Union Minister of State for Culture & Parliamentary Affairs Ajun Ram Meghwal inaugurated an international travelling exhibition “Vaccines Injecting Hope” at the National Science Center, New Delhi on 15 November 2022.
The exhibition “Vaccines Injecting Hope” has been organised by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) and Science Museum Group, London.
The exhibition tells the story of the global effort to develop covid vaccine started on 15 November 2022 and will tour five cities of Delhi, Nagpur, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata till September 2025 and is expected to reach out to more than 2 million people.
The exhibition has sections on ‘The Arrival of New Virus’, ‘Designing a New Vaccine’, ‘Trials, Results and Approvals’, ‘Scaling Up and Mass Production’, ‘Vaccine Rollout’, ‘Living with COVID’.
Novel Coronavirus or Covid-19
The novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan,China in December 2019 and was later declared a Public health emergency of International concern by the World Health Organisation on 30 January 2020 and a Pandemic on 11 March 2020.
The first case of the virus in India was confirmed in Kerala on 30 January 2020.
Bharat Biotech, Indian Council of Medical Research and National institute of Virology, Pune developed an indigenous corona vaccine called Covaxin.
The Covid vaccination in India was started on 16 January 2021.
National Council of Science Museums (NCSM)
It is an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Culture. It is a premier body in the field of science communication.
It popularizes Science and Technology through a network of science centers, Mobile Science Exhibitions (MSE) units that visit rural schools and organise various activities for public and students in particular.
Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal
4. Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement award will be given to Spanish film director Carlos Saura at 53rd IFFI
Tags: Festivals
Spanish film director and writer Carlos Saura will be honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 at the upcoming 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India in Goa.
Important facts
The 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa from November 20 to 28, 2022.
This year 280 films from 79 countries will be screened here. 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films from India will be screened in the 'Indian Panorama', while 183 films will be part of international programming.
This year the feature film and non-feature segments will see the opening of 'HadinLentu' and 'The Show Must Go On' festivals.
France is the 'Spotlight' country this time and 8 of its films will be screened under the Country Focus package.
The 'Homage' section will include 15 Indian and 5 international films.
To promote films from Northeast India, 5 feature and 5 non-feature films will celebrate the golden jubilee of Manipuri cinema.
Other special attractions include the Shigmotsav (Spring Festival) on November 26 and the Goa Carnival on November 27, 2022.
CBC will organise an exhibition on the theme of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Austrian film 'Elma and Oscar' directed by Dieter Berner will open the festival, while Christoph Zanussi's 'Perfect Number' will be the closing film here.
5. Wangala festival in Meghalaya
Tags: Festivals State News
In Meghalaya the three-day Wangala festival celebration concluded on 12 November, 2022. This 3 day festival started on 10th November and ended on 12th November.
About Wangala festival
It is also known as the festival of ‘100 drums’, is a harvest festival celebrated by the ‘Garo Tribes’ in Meghalaya every year.
It is celebrated with a variety of dances to the tune of folk songs played on drums and primitive flutes made of buffalo horns.
This festival is celebrated in worship of the Sun God and marks the end of the long harvest season.
The festival also marks the end of long working days in the field for the Garo tribe before the arrival of winter.
The festival is a way to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the Garo tribe of Meghalaya and showcase their tradition.
About Garo Tribes
The Garos are Meghalaya's second largest tribe. Khasi and Jaintia tribes are the other two major tribes of Meghalaya.
The Garos are believed to have originated in Tibet.
However, Christianity has had a significant impact on the culture of the modern Garo community.
The Garos have many dialects and cultural groups. Each of them originally settled in a particular area of the Garo Hills.
6. India International Trade Fair begins at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi
Tags: Festivals Economy/Finance National News
The 41st India International Trade Fair (IITF) began on November 14, 2022 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
Important facts
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the fair, which will run till November 27.
The theme of the year 2022 trade fair is 'Vocal for Local, Local to Global'.
This 14 day mega event has a special significance as it coincides with the celebration of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.
Twenty nine states and union territories are participating in this program. Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra are the partner states in the fair while Uttar Pradesh and Kerala are participating as focus states.
Twelve countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Iran, Nepal, Thailand, Turkey, UAE and UK are participating in the fair.
Around 2500 domestic and foreign exhibitors are participating in the trade fair to showcase their products and services.
The first five days (November 14-18) of the trade fair are exclusively reserved for business days.
'General public day' is reserved from 19 to 27 November.
About India International Trade Fair
It is an annual fair organised by India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) at Pragati Maidan, Delhi.
This fair was first organised in Delhi in the year 1980 and since then, it is an annual event which is much awaited by the people all over the country.
The fair provides a platform to the manufacturers, traders, exporters and importers of the country to showcase their products.
7. Manipur to celebrate Amur Falcon festival on 14 November
Tags: Environment Festivals State News
The 7th edition of the Amur Falcon Festival will be held in the Tamenglong district of Manipur on 14 November 2022. The festival has been organised since 2015 to spread awareness about protection and conservation of world’s longest flying migratory bird Amur falcon. The day-long festival is generally celebrated in the first or second week of November.
Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis)
The Amur falcon is the world’s longest travelling small raptors of the falcon family. Raptor means which hunts other animals or birds as prey.
Amur Falcon breeds in the central Siberia region of Russia, eastern China. They migrate to the North Eastern states of Manipur, Nagaland, and part of Assam during October. They stay in India for about two months and in the month of November they cross the Arabian Sea to fly non-stop to South Africa and Kenya covering a distance of around 22,00 Km. The Amur Falcons are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Nagaland falcon capital of world
Around a million Amur Falcon raptor stop at the Pangti village of the Wokha district in Nagaland during October -November month. This is the single largest congregation of the Amur Falcon bird in the world. Hence Nagaland is also known Falcon capital of the world
8. Sahitya Akademi organises 8-day Book Fair at Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi
Tags: Festivals National National News
Sahitya Akademi has organised an 8-day Book Fair at Rabindra Bhawan in New Delhi on 11 November. The book fair will run till 18th November.
Important facts
During the Book Fair, the Academy will organise several literary activities like book release, book discussion, children's literature, symposium, cartoon making and creative writing competitions for children.
30 eminent authors writing for children will participate in various literary activities during the fair.
About Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi was formally inaugurated by the Government of India on 12 March 1954.
It actively works for the development of Indian literature and setting high literary standards, promoting and coordinating literary activities in all Indian languages and promoting the overall cultural unity of the country through them.
The Sahitya Akademi, India's national literary academy, is the central institution for literary dialogue, publication and promotion in the country and the only institution that undertakes literary activities in 24 Indian languages, including English.
Head Office - Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi
Secretary - Dr K Srinivasan
9. 53rd International Film Festival of India 2022
Tags: Festivals National National News
The 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa from 20 to 28 November 2022. The 53rd edition of IFFI will begin with the Austrian film 'Alma & Oscar' on 20 November 2022.
Important Facts
The organisers of the festival believe that the film will be screened at INOX, Panaji.
IFFI is jointly organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals and the State Government of Goa. It is monitored by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
The film 'Alma and Oscar' is directed by Austrian director Dieter Berner. This is a biopic. The film is based on the relationship between artist Alma Mahler and Austrian painter Oscar Kokoschka.
The 110-minute film is written by Berner and Hilde Berger.
Other points related to IFFI
A total of 15 films will compete for the coveted Golden Peacock at the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India.
From the first Golden Peacock given at the 3rd edition of IFFI, the award has been one of the most sought after film awards in Asia.
The jury for the 53rd edition includes Israeli writer and film director Nadav Lapid, American filmmaker Ginkgo Gotoh, French film editor Pascal Chavans, French documentary filmmaker, film critic and journalist Javier Angulo Barturen and India director Sudipto Sen.
Among the films in the competition category this year are Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi's Perfect Number, Mexican filmmaker Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser's Red Shoes, Iranian drama No End and Hindi film Kashmir Files.
10. Army organises Walong Fair on the occasion of Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Battle of Walong
Tags: Festivals Defence National News
The Indian Army organised the Walong Mela on 10 November 2022 to mark the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Battle of Walong.
Important facts
The Dao Division of Spear Corps has organised this fair at Walong circle of Arunachal Pradesh.
It aims to remember the unsurpassed bravery and sacrifice of the Indian Army while defending Indian territory against the Chinese invasion of 1962.
The objective of the Mela was to familiarise the public with the Indian Army and to encourage a sense of belongingness and togetherness.
The Mela held in Walong included a variety of spectacular sports and sporting events.
Battle of Walong
Walong is one of the easternmost region of India in Arunachal Pradesh.
In the Indo-China War of 1962, the Indian Army defended against China in all areas except Walong in Arunachal Pradesh.
With less ammunition and resources, the 6th Kumaon Infantry Battalion launched a counterattack between 14 and 16 November 1962 against the Chinese army with the aim of deterring the approaching enemy.
Indian troops fought the Chinese for more than 20 days in Walong, India's easternmost city, which is adjacent to the Tibet region.
