1. Zeliangrong United Front signs a peace agreement with Central and Manipur government
Tags: National State News
The government of India and the Manipur government have signed a Cessation of Operation Agreement with an insurgent group of Manipur, Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), in New Delhi on 27 December 2022.
The agreement was signed by senior officers of the Union Home Ministry, the Manipur government, and the representatives of ZUF in the presence of State Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.
Under the agreement the ZUF has agreed to abjure violence and join the peaceful democratic process as established by law of the land. The agreement provides for the rehabilitation and resettlement of the armed cadres of ZUF. A Joint Monitoring Group will be constituted to oversee the enforcement of the agreed ground rules.
Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF)
The Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) was established in 2011. It is a Naga group which is active in Manipur. The group claims its objective is to safeguard the interest of 'Zeliangrong Naga tribes in Manipur, Assam and Nagaland. It aimed to create a 'Zeliangrong’ state within the Indian Union comprising the Zeliangrong Naga tribe’s area in Manipur, Assam and Nagaland.
Some prominent Insurgent groups active in Manipur
- Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP)
- United National Liberation Front (UNLF),
- People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
- People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK)
- National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Khaplang (NSCN-K)
- Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF)
- Kuki National Front (KNF)
- Kuki National Liberation Front (KNLF)
2. Sahitya Akademi Award 2022
Tags: Awards
Sahitya Akademi Award 2022 has been announced for the year 2022 by Sahitya Akademi.
Important facts
Sahitya Akademi has announced awards in different languages, which include poetry, story, short story, drama, literary criticism, autobiography, literary past.
These awards will be presented on 11 March 2023 in New Delhi. This year, the famous Hindi poet Badri Narayan will be given the Sahitya Akademi Award.
Apart from this, Anuradha Roy for English and Anees Ashfaq for Urdu will be given this year's Sahitya Akademi Award.
List of Sahitya Akademi Award Winners for the Year 2022
Language Title and Genre Author Name
Assamese Bhool Satya (Short Stories) Manoj Kumar Goswami
Bodo Sanshrini Modira (Poetry) Rashmi Chowdhary
Dogri Chhe Rupak (Drama) Veena Gupta
English All the Lives We Never Lived (Novel) Anuradha Rai
Gujrati Jatan (Autobiographical Essay) Ghulam Mohammed Shaikh
Hindi Tumdi Ke Shabd, Poem-Collection Badri Narayan
Kannada Bahutvaad Bharat Mattu Buddha Tatvikate Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy
Kashmiri Dab (Literary Criticism) Farooq Fayaz
Konkani Amritvel (Novel) Maya Anil Kharangte
Maithili Pen-drive Me Prithvi (Poetry) Ajit Azad
Malayalam Ashante Sitayanam (Literary Criticism) M. Thomas Mathew
Manipuri Leironnung (Poetry) Koijam Shantibala
Marathi Deyhiy Sondechya Bahulya (Novel) Pravin DashrathBandekar
Nepali Sino (Play) K.B. Nepali
Odia Dayanadi (Poetry) Gayatribala Panda
Punjabi Main Ayanghosh Nahi (Short Stories) Surjit
Rajasthani Alekhun Amba (Play) Kamal Ranga
Sanskrit Deepmanikyam (Poetry) Janardan Prasad Pandey 'Mani'
Santali Sabarnaka Balire Sanan' Panjay (Poetry) Kajli Soren (Jagannath Soren)
Sindhi Sindhi Literature Jo Muktsar Itihaas Kanhaiyalal Lekhwani
Tamil Kala Pani (Novel) M. Rajendran
Telugu Manodharamparagam (Novel) Madhuranthakam Narendra
Urdu Khwab Sarab (Novel) Anees Ashfaq
3. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurates Sports Science Center in Udupi, Karnataka
Tags: place in news Sports Person in news State News
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurated the Sports Science Centre in Udupi on 24 December 2022. The sports science center has been set up by the government of Karnataka.
The state government has set up two sports science centers at Udupi and Bengaluru .These centers will conduct research on medicines, nutritious food, treatment and rehabilitation measures for sportspersons, which would help them to boost their abilities. The Minister said that many more such sports science centers will come up. In the future.
National Center of Excellence
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) under the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has also set up its own Sports Science Center at its
21 National Centres of Excellence (NCOE) and two high performance centers (Bengaluru and Patiala).
It has also set up a National Centre for Sports Sciences and Research (NCSSR) in New Delhi which is the hub of SAI Sports Science Center.
The National Centers of excellence provides specialized training in selected sports disciplines and also has a well-functioning Sports Science Center. The National centers of Excellence are at Alleppey and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Aurangabad and Mumbai in Maharashtra, Bengaluru in Karnataka, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, Guwahati in Assam, Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Imphal in Manipur, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Jagatpur in Odisha, Kolkata in West Bengal, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Patiala in Punjab, Rohtak, Sonepat in Haryana and 5 centers in New Delhi.
4. PM to attend Golden Jubilee Celebrations of North Eastern Council in Shillong
Tags: Summits State News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong on 18 December 2022.
Important facts
He will address an official meeting of the NEC as well as a public meeting on this occasion.
The official meeting of the Council will be held at the State Convention Centre Auditorium while the public meeting will be organised at the Polo Grounds in Shillong.
Union Home Minister, Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, Governors and Chief Ministers of North Eastern States, Union Ministers dealing with North Eastern Region, local MPs and MLAs and nominated members of NEC will also attend the function.
During this, the Prime Minister will inaugurate various important projects of the North Eastern region including the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong, NEC projects and Meghalaya state projects and lay the foundation stone for some other projects.
The “GOLDEN FOOTPRINTS”, a commemorative volume chronicling NEC’s contribution towards the development of the North Eastern Region over the last fifty years, will also be released during the Golden Jubilee event.
About North Eastern Council
It is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region.
It consists of the eight States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
It was constituted under the North Eastern Council Act in 1971.
The Council comprises Governors and Chief Ministers of constituent States and three members nominated by the President.
The Union Cabinet, in June 2018, approved the proposal of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) to nominate the Union Home Minister as the ex-officio Chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC).
The Cabinet also approved that the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of DoNER will act as the Vice-Chairman of the Council.
It discusses any matter in which some or all the States represented on the Council have a common interest and advises the Central Government and the respective State Governments as to the action to be taken on any such matter.
The headquarters - Shillong
5. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur unveils Hockey World Cup trophy
Tags: Sports Sports News
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur on 16th December unveiled the Hockey World Cup trophy in New Delhi.
Important facts
The Federation of Indian Hockey (FIH) Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar - Rourkela Trophy arrived at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the national capital.
The event was also graced by 1975 World Cup winners Ajit Pal Singh, Ashok Dhyanchand, Brig HJS Chimni, and former Olympians Harbinder Singh, Padma Shri Zafar Iqbal, and Vinit Kumar (Vice president, Delhi Hockey) among other dignitaries.
About the Trophy Tour
The trophy will travel across 13 states and one union territory before returning to Odisha on December 25, giving fans and the public a chance to engage with the coveted trophy.
The nationwide Trophy Tour was launched in Bhubaneswar on 5th December by the Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik.
The trophy will go to West Bengal, Manipur, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.
Men’s Hockey World Cup- 2023
The World Cup will be jointly hosted by Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from 13 to 29 January 2023.
Matches will be played in the newly constructed Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, and in the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
The Hockey World Cup is organised every four years.
Teams of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023
Pool A: Australia, Argentina, France, South Africa
Pool B: Belgium, Germany, Korea, Japan
Pool C: Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, Chile
Pool D: India, England, Spain, Wales
Semi Final 1: 27th January, 2023
Semi Final 2: 27th January, 2023
Final: 29th January, 2023
6. National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd signs MoU with NIT Manipur
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) has signed MoU with NIT Manipur through Video Conference on 14th December 2022.
Important facts
The MoU was signed between Prof Gautam Sutradhar, Director NIT Manipur and Chanchal Kumar, Managing Director, NHIDCL.
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), works under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India.
It is looking for innovative technologies to find practical solutions to the challenges faced in the construction of highways that withstand extreme climatic conditions.
In the same process NHIDCL has signed MoU with prestigious institutes like IIT Roorkee, IIT Kanpur, CSIR-CRRI, NSDC, IIT Patna, NIT Srinagar, NIT Agartala, NIT Silchar, NIT Uttarakhand, NIT Nagaland NIT Sikkim, IIT Kharagpur\
7. Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK)
Tags: Government Schemes National News
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Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Zubin Irani in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 15 December said that the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) is being implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs with the objective of infrastructure development.
About Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK)
It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).
It aims to develop infrastructure projects in identified areas for socio-economic development.
Under this the priority areas are education, health, skill development, women centric projects etc.
It has been implemented in 1300 identified Minority Concentration Areas (MCAs) of the country.
Projects under PMJVK are implemented and managed by the concerned State/ UT Government.
- In the North Eastern Region (NER), the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura come under PMJVK.
The scheme is now implemented in all Districts of the country including all the Aspirational Districts.
Beneficiaries under PMJVK
Communities notified as minority communities under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 will be taken as minority communities.
Currently, 6 Minorities communities have been notified as Minority Communities. These are - Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains.
8. Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar inaugurates National Maternal Health Workshop
Tags: National News
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar inaugurated the National Maternal Health Workshop in New Delhi on 14 December.
Important facts
The theme of the workshop was “Striving for zero preventable maternal mortality”.
During the event, Dr. Pawar unveiled the Midwifery-Led Care Units (MLCUs) brochure and Standard Operating Protocol poster for the labour room.
She also introduced the Maternal health guidance booklet for community health officers (CHOs) and SUMAN community linkages brochure.
India has achieved a momentous milestone in reduction of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) registering a significant decline from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20.
India is on a positive path towards maternal health and child health and the Government of India is determined to meet the new challenges.
For the implementation of “Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan”, doctors pledge one day of service per month for this campaign.
More than 3.6 crore pregnant women have received comprehensive antenatal care under this program across all states and union territories.
Awards to states for remarkable efforts and achievements in the area of maternal health
Intensive efforts in reducing MMR: 1st position: Kerala and 2nd Maharashtra
Performance as per the NFHS-5: Antenatal Care services & Institutional deliveries
In 4 ANC services
1st position- Madhya Pradesh; 2nd position Rajasthan
Increase in Institutional Delivery in large states-
1st position West Bengal; 2nd position Uttar Pradesh
Roll out of SUMAN:
In bigger state category, highest SUMAN notification
1st position- Punjab; 2nd position- Tamil Nadu
In smaller state category, highest SUMAN notification
1st position – Goa; 2nd position- Tripura
Quality certifications under LaQshya:
In the Bigger state category, Karnataka bagged the first position.
In the small state category, Chandigarh was the winner.
In absolute numbers of certifications, Madhya Pradesh holds 1st position.
Gujarat won the state with the highest number of medical colleges prize.
High-risk pregnancy management under PMSMA.
Tamil Nadu was the best performing state.
Manipur bagged the first prize for rapid rollout of extended PMSMA.
Bolstering the teamwork among the frontline workers, the best ANM- ASHA teams went to the State of Uttar Pradesh.
Midwifery initiative: Best performing state was Telangana.
9. PM addresses Manipur Sangai Festival via video message
Tags: Festivals State News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Manipur Sangai Festival via video message on 30 November.
Important facts
Every year the State of Manipur celebrates the “Manipur Sangai Festival” from 21st to 30th November.
It started in the year 2010 and over the years has grown into a great platform to showcase the rich tradition and culture of Manipur to the world.
The theme of the festival is “Festival of Oneness”. It promotes a sense of belonging and creates pride in ownership of land among people.
The festival showcases the glorious cultural heritage of the state and the love for art that is inherent in the various tribes living in the state of Manipur.
Manipur’s famous martial arts- Thang Ta (a combination Spear and Sword skills), Yubi-Lakpi (a game played with greased coconut like rugby), Mukna Kangjei (a game that combines hockey and wrestling), and Sagol Kangjei- Modern Polo (believed to have evolved in Manipur) were all form part of the festival.
Celebrated as the grandest festival in the state, the Manipur Sangai Festival helps in promoting Manipur as a world-class tourist destination.
The festival is named after the state animal, the Sangai, a deer found only in Manipur.
About Sangai Deer
It is an endemic and endangered subspecies of brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur, India.
It is found in its natural habitat only in Keibul Lamjao National Park, locally in the south eastern part of Loktak Lake.
It is the state animal of Manipur.
IUCN status : Endangered
10. Assam lifts travel restrictions to Meghalaya, six days after border violence
Tags: State News
The Assam government on 27 November 2022 lifted travel restrictions to Meghalaya, six days after being imposed in the aftermath of violence in a disputed area along the inter-state border.
An advisory was issued by the Assam Police, asking people to avoid travelling to the neighbouring state following the incident on 22 November. Barricades were erected in Jorabat near Guwahati and Cachar district, the two main entry points to Meghalaya.
Violence had broken out at Mukroh village (Meghalaya) near the disputed border between the two states in West Karbi Anglong district in the early hours of 22 November, after a truck allegedly laden with illegally felled timber was intercepted by forest guards from Assam. Five tribal villagers from Meghalaya and a forest guard from Assam were killed due to the clashes.
Border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya
During the British colonial rule, undivided Assam included Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram. In 1972, Meghalaya was formed as per the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act of 1969.
Background to the Assam Mizoram Boundary Dispute
- Assam and Mizoram share a 164.6 km long boundary.
- Mizoram was a district of Assam known as Lushai Hills during the British time. In 1972, Meghalaya was formed as per the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act of 1969.
- The genesis of the dispute lies in the border demarcation during British times.
- In 1875 a notification was issued that differentiated the Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar and in 1933 another notification was issued to demarcate the boundary between the Lushai Hills and Manipur.
Different Interpretation of Boundary
- According to Mizoram, the boundary shall be demarcated on the basis of 1875 notification, which is derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873.
- However the Assam government believes that boundary shall be based on the 1933 notification ,
- Mizoram says that when in 1933 the boundary was demarcated, Mizo society was not consulted.
Attempt to resolve the Border Dispute
- To resolve the issue the chief ministers of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma and Himanta Biswa Sarma of Assam held several rounds of talks.
- Twelve disputed areas were identified – three areas contested between West Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya and Kamrup in Assam, two between RiBhoi in Meghalaya and Kamrup-Metro, and one between East Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya and Cachar in Assam.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 29 March 2022 between the two chief ministers in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The MoU stated that out of 36.79 sq km of the disputed area, Assam would get full control of 18.46 sq km and Meghalaya of 18.33 sq km.
- The second phase of talks was supposed to take place by the end of November, but has been disturbed due to the recent clash.
