National:
'Gram Ujala' Programme
- Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Minister of State, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri R K Singh launched the ‘Gram Ujala’ programme in Arrah, Bihar on 19 March 2021.
Under the programme, 7 watt and 12-Watt LED bulbs with 3 years warranty will be given to rural consumers against submission of working Incandescent bulbs.
The Gram Ujala programme will be implemented in villages of the 5 districts only and consumers can exchange a maximum of 5 LED bulbs. In the first phase of this programme, 15 million (1.5 crore) LED bulbs will be distributed across villages of Aarah (Bihar), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), and village in western Gujarat.
Under the GRAM UJALA programme, Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) will distribute high quality LED bulbs, at an affordable cost of 10 rupees per bulb in rural areas.
'Role Model' Award at the 11th CII National HR Excellence Award 2020-21
- NTPC Ltd, a Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Power has been conferred the prestigious ‘Role Model’ Award at the 11th CII National HR Excellence Award 2020-21. The award was presented in the virtual conference “Learn from the Achievers” held on 18 March 2021.
This award is the highest level of recognition in the field of Human Resources by Confederation of Indian Industry.
SERB Women Excellence Award
- Dr. Sonu Gandhi, a Scientist at the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad, has been awarded the prestigious SERB Women Excellence Award. She has recently developed a smart nano device for the detection of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and Japanese encephalitis (JE).
The award is instituted by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST). The award recognises and rewards outstanding research achievements of young women scientists in frontier areas of Science and Engineering.
Additional Judges of the Chhattisgarh High Court
- The President of India has appointed Shri Narendra Kumar Vyas, and Shri Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi, as the Additional Judges of the Chhattisgarh High Court, for a period of two years.
'Energy Swaraj Yatra Bus'
- Union Education Minister rode the Energy Swaraj Yatra Bus from his residence to his office, on 19 March 2021. IIT Bombay professor Dr Chetan Singh Solanki was with him on this occasion, which has thought about and built such a bus.
The bus is fitted with 3.2 kW solar panels and 6 kWh of battery storage. Every work is done with solar energy within the bus.
The Energy Swaraj Yatra started in the year 2020 and will continue till 2030. Committed to the mission of making solar energy a public movement, Dr Chetan Singh Solanki has pledged not to go home till 2030 and stay and travel in a solar bus.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan has recently honored Professor Solanki as the Brand Ambassador of Solar Energy of Madhya Pradesh.
International:
63rd Annual Grammy Awards 2021
- The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. The ceremony was hosted by South African comedian Trevor Noah. Read More About 63rd Annual Grammy Awards 2021
SoI between Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, and Amazon Web Services
- The Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) on 18 March 2021 announced new initiatives to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in India.
Under this initiative, school students will be made skilled in cloud computing. The initiative will also enable entrepreneurs to build innovative education technology (EdTech) solutions on the cloud.
A Statement of Intent (SoI) was signed between NITI Aayog and Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL), which undertakes the resale and marketing of AWS Cloud services in India.