1. Gangasagar Mela 2023
Tags: Festivals State News
Lakhs of pilgrims have started flocking to Sagar Island on the southernmost tip of West Bengal for the annual Gangasagar Mela, held between January 12 and 14 to celebrate Makar Sankranti.
About Gangasagar Mela
Gangasagar is a place of Hindu pilgrimage. Every year on the day of Makar Sankranti (14 January), hundreds of thousands of Hindus gather to take a holy dip at the confluence of the river Ganges and Bay of Bengal and offer prayers (puja) in the Kapil Muni Temple.
The Gangasagar pilgrimage and fair is the second largest congregation of mankind after the triennial ritual bathing of Kumbha Mela.
Gangasagar is a village in the Kakdwip subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Sagar Island
Sagar Island is an island in the Ganges delta, located on the continental shelf of the Bay of Bengal, about 100 km (54 nautical miles) south of Kolkata.
The island forms Sagar CD block in Kakdwip subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Although Sagar Island is a part of the Sundarbans, it does not have tiger habitat or mangrove forests or small river tributaries, as is characteristic of the overall Sundarbans delta.
2. Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board signs MoUs with chapters of eight countries of GOPIO
Tags: State News
Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board signed MoU with eight country chapters of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) at MP Tourism Pavilion, Brilliant Convention Centre, Indore at 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention.
An overview of the news
These MoUs were signed with France Metropole Paris, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Martinique, Sri Lanka, GOPIO International, Malaysia and Mauritius.
The MoU was signed by Principal Secretary Tourism and Culture and Managing Director of Tourism Board Shiv Shekhar Shukla and presidents of eight countries of GOPIO.
The objective of this MoU is to increase cooperation in the development of the tourism sector of the state and to promote tourist places.
Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)
It was founded at the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York in 1989.
Its primary objective is to fight against the violation of human rights of people of Indian origin.
It currently has 76 chapters that operate in more than 45 countries around the world.
These chapters represent the interests of the Indian diaspora, which numbers over 25 million worldwide.
3. Tripura State Government launches "Saharsh" special education program
Tags: Government Schemes State News
The Tripura state government has launched "Saharsh" special education program to promote social and emotional learning.
An overview of the news
It was started as a pilot program in 40 schools in the state in August 2022, now it will be made available to all government and aided schools in the state.
Its objective is to enable children to study with joy and enthusiasm.
As per the Performance Grading Index, Tripura currently comes under Grade-I group.
The state government has already trained 204 schools for the Saharsh curriculum while 200 more schools will be trained soon.
Thirty assistant principals from different districts of Tripura were also happily selected to act as implementation ambassadors.
About Tripura
Capital - Agartala
Governor - Satyadev Narayan Arya
Chief Minister - Manik Shah
State Bird - Green Imperial Pigeon (Ducula aenia)
State Tree - Agar (Aquilaria malaccensis)
State Flower - Nageshwar (Mesua Feria)
Borders - Bangladesh, Mizoram and Assam.
4. Chhattisgarh CM Celebrated Traditional ‘Cherchera’ Festival in Raipur
Tags: Festivals State News
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel organised the traditional festival 'Chherchera' at Dudhadhari Math in capital Raipur.
An overview of the news
Chherchera festival is celebrated on the full moon night of the Hindu calendar month of 'Paush'. It is meant to celebrate the joy of taking the harvest home after farming.
It is a festival of receiving and giving charity. Giving charity brings generosity in the mind and taking charity ends the ego inside the person.
On this day Lord Shankar begged for alms from Mother Annapurna, so people donate green vegetables along with paddy on this day.
On this occasion people from every class, including Annadata (Farmers), donate food grains.
The amount donated in Chherchera is spent on public welfare. People of every class including farmers donate food grains.
This year, there has been a good production of paddy in the state and 85 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured, which has been paid to the farmers immediately.
There are 2500 paddy procurement centres and 2000 committees where the work of weighing and lifting is going on continuously.
About Chhattisgarh
Capital: Raipur
Governor: Anusuiya Uikey
Chief Minister: Bhupesh Baghel
5. 120-feet-tall Polo Statue Inaugurated by Amit Shah in Manipur
Tags: State News
On 6 January 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled a 120 feet tall statue of a Polo player at the Merging Polo Complex in Imphal East district of Manipur. Various project launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
An overview of the news
On this occasion, Chief Minister N Biren Singh presented a Polo mallet and a painting of the game to Amit Shah.
The first Medical College and Hospital of Manipur's hill district Churachandpur was also inaugurated.
He laid foundation stone of Rs 1,300 crore project.
He laid the foundation stone for construction of 40 police posts, of which 34 are located along the India-Myanmar International Border and 6 along National Highway 37.
Projects to be launched by him include the Manipur Olympian Park at Sangaithel, a private ward at the state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, the Moreh town water supply scheme, the Nongpok Thong Bridge and Cave on the eastern side of Kangla Fort and tourism projects at Kangkhui Cave is included.
Polo game in Manipur
Manipur is known as the birthplace of Polo in India; The modern game of Polo is derived from Manipur. This game was earlier known as 'Sagol Kangji', 'Kanjai-Baji' or 'Pulu'.
The oldest polo ground in the world is the Imphal Polo Ground in Manipur.
The history of the Polo Ground is established in the royal chronicle "Cheethrol Kumbaba" starting from 33 AD.
About Manipur
Capital: Imphal
Governor: La Ganesan
Chief Minister: N. Biren Singh
6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Global Investors Summit in Indore
Tags: Summits State News
PM Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the 7th edition of Global Investors Summit', a flagship event of the state government in Indore on 11 January.
An overview of the news
The President of Suriname Chandrika Prasad Santokhi and the President of Guyana Dr Mohammed Irfan Ali attended the inaugural session.
The theme of the two-day summit is 'Madhya Pradesh-The Future Ready State'.
Special attention has been given to environmental protection in this summit, which will be completely based on carbon neutral and zero waste.
This summit will showcase the various investment opportunities in Madhya Pradesh."
A total of 447 international delegates from 84 countries, 401 international buyers, 5,000 industrialists and representatives from different international industry associations and representatives from G20 countries are participating in the event.
In the International Pavilion, 9 partner countries and 14 International Trade Organizations will display different aspects of their respective countries.
More than 500 famous industrialists of the country will also participate in this. The Global Investors Summit will have 19 sessions on various topics.
Objectives of the Global Investors Summit
Showcasing the industrial ecosystem of the state.
Promoting the state policies.
Consultation with industrial organisations to formulate Industry-friendly policies.
Collaboration opportunities.
Promoting export potential and buyer-seller meets and vendor development.
7. Joshimath declared ‘landslide-subsidence zone’
Tags: State News
Joshimath, the gateway to Hemkund Sahib and Badrinath, has been declared a landslide-subsidence zone.
An overview of the news
Joshimath in Uttarakhand is currently facing landslides. Big cracks are being seen between people's houses and roads.
People are spending their nights outside in the bitter cold due to the fear of their houses collapsing.
Joshimath is a hill town located on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway (NH-7) in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
The city is a tourist town as it serves as a rest stop for people visiting Badrinath, Auli, Valley of Flowers, and Hemkund Sahib.
What is the crisis of Joshimath?
Joshimath is a deposit of sand and stone - it is not the main rock - so it was not suitable for settlement.
Here the natural factors have been imbalanced due to vibration caused by explosions, heavy traffic etc. Lack of proper drainage facilities is also a reason for landslides.
A lot of water is seeping into the crystalline rocks below the surface, softening them further.
When water is not allowed to flow through its natural course, it builds up a lot of pressure above or below the ground.
8. "Uttar Pradesh Global City" campaign has been launched by the Uttar Pradesh Government
Tags: State News
A 100-day "Uttar Pradesh Global City" campaign has been launched by the 'Uttar Pradesh Government' ahead of the Global Investors Summit and G-20 Summit.
An overview of the news
This campaign will be implemented in all 762 urban bodies of the state.
The campaign has been launched by the state's Urban Development and Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma.
The campaign aims to bring urban areas in the state up to global standards, which includes improving urban amenities, air quality, cleanliness and beautification as well as proper waste disposal.
State's preparation for Global Investors Summit and G-20 Summit
Uttar Pradesh government to launch "Brand UP" ahead of G20 summit
The government will start a door-to-door garbage collection campaign from February 1 to March 31, 2023.
The government is also promoting proper waste disposal at hotels, restaurants and dhabas through the "Swachh Dhaba" programme, which will continue till March 2023, along with the "UP Global City" initiative.
“Swachh Virasat Abhiyan” will be launched by the state on January 14, 2023, which will focus on cleanliness of tourism, historical and religious places.
9. Kerala declared first State to enable digital banking service
Tags: State News
On 7 January 2023, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that Kerala has become the first state in the country where the banking sector has now gone completely digital.
An Overview of the news
Kerala is the first state in the country to digitise at least one savings and current account in all districts.
It is noteworthy in this context that in the year 2021, Thrissur in Kerala became the first district to implement full digital banking. After this, Kottayam district of the state also implemented a full digital banking system.
Encouraged by all these, under the leadership of Reserve Bank of India and State Level Bankers Committee, the work of complete banking digitization was carried forward and it has been successfully implemented in the entire state.
Congratulating the residents of the state for this achievement achieved by Kerala, the Chief Minister said that this has been possible due to social intervention through local self-governance institutions as well as infrastructure development and technological advances in the banking sector.
The state chief minister also said in his address that the state government's ambitious 'Kerala Fiber Optic Network' project, which is almost complete, will bridge the digital divide. With this, every person in the state will be able to get a similar network.
Kerala Fiber Optic Network (K-FON) Project
K-FON will ensure internet facility for all in the state and a 17,155 km long optic fibre cable network has been laid. Once it is completed, the internet will be available to all in the state at affordable rates or free of cost.
It is noteworthy in this context that Kerala has recently received three 'Digital India' awards for progress in the digital sector.
10. Election Commission appoints Maithili Thakur as Bihar's state icon
Tags: State News
The Election Commission of India has made Bihar's folk singer 'Maithili Thakur' the new 'State Icon' of the state. The Election Commission has issued an order in this regard. The proposal to make Maithili Thakur an icon was given by the 'State Election Office'.
An overview of the news
Maithili Thakur will conduct an awareness campaign among voters before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier in the year 2019, Maithili and her two brothers were made the brand ambassadors of Madhubani by the Election Commission.
Maithili is accompanied by her two younger brothers, Rishabh Thakur and Ayachi Thakur, who accompany her in singing and playing the tabla.
Maithili Thakur
Maithili, originally belonging to Madhubani district of Bihar, has been singing folk songs since childhood.
She was awarded the 'Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar' 2021 of 'Sangeet Natak Akademi' for his contribution to the folk singing of Bihar.
Maithili Thakur has also participated in many reality shows including Saregama, Rising Star. Maithili became a household name after participating in Rising Star in 2017. Maithili was the first finalist of the show.
