National
Visitor’s Conference 2023 and Visitor’s Award 2021
⇒ Rashtrapati Bhavan hosted the Visitor’s Conference 2023 on July 10 and 11, 2023. The President of India is the Visitor of 162 Central Institutions of Higher Learning.
7th Visitor’s Awards 2021:
» Before the commencement of Visitor’s Conference, President Murmu presented the Visitor’s Awards 2021 in the categories of ‘Innovation’, ‘Research’, and ‘Technology Development’ on 10 July 2023. This was the 7th edition of the Visitor’s Award.
List of 7th Visitor’s Awards 2021 winners:
Visitor’s Award for ‘Innovation’:
» The Visitor’s Award for ‘Innovation’ was conferred on Prof. Venktesh Singh from the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Central University of South Bihar.
- The award was given to Prof. Venktesh for developing indigenous Charge Pick-up Panels for Resistive Plate Chamber Detector using Silicon Fiber Sheet.
Visitor’s Award for ‘Research in Physical Sciences’:
» The Visitor’s Award for ‘Research in Physical Sciences’ was presented to Prof. Surajit Dhara from the School of Physics, University of Hyderabad.
- The award was given for his work in soft matter and liquid crystals.
Visitor’s Award for ‘Research in Biological Sciences’:
» Prof. Mohammed Latif Khan from Dr Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar received the Visitor’s Award for ‘Research in Biological Sciences’.
- The award was given for his contributions in understanding of forest biodiversity, regeneration of RET (Rare, Endangered and Threatened) plant species and threat status assessments of forests in the Eastern Himalayas and Central India.
Visitor’s Award for ‘Technology Development’:
» The Visitor’s Award for ‘Technology Development’ was conferred on Prof. KC James Raju from the School of Physics, University of Hyderabad.
- The award was given for his contributions in frequency tunable microwave devices using ferroelectric thin films.
6th Visitor’s Award 2020 for ‘Research in Physical Sciences’:
» The President also presented the Visitor’s Award, 2020 for ‘Research in Physical Sciences’ to Prof. Anunay Samanta, School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad.
- The award was given for his research contributions to the spectroscopy and dynamics of short-lived chemical species formed on photo-excitation of molecular systems and materials.
Visitor’s Conference 2023:
» The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu inaugurated Visitor’s Conference 2023 at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on July 10, 2023.
- Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan also addressed the Conference on 10 July.
Day 2:
The Conference on July 11, 2023 deliberated on the Theme – Education for Sustainable Development: Building a better world.
Five different groups brainstormed on sub-themes such as-
Contributions to the realization of NEP-2020; Internationalization efforts and G-20; Research contributions and recognitions; Diversity, equality, inclusivity and wellness; Plans and action items for Amrit Kaal
» In the concluding session, outcome of deliberations was presented before the President. In her concluding remarks, President Murmu said that the theme and sub-themes of this conference were extremely relevant for our country as well as for the entire world.
International
Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi invited as the Guest of Honour on National Day in France
⇒ Prime Minister paid an official visit to Paris from 13-14 July 2023 at the invitation of Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
» This year, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi was invited as the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade in France.
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended Bastille Day Parade as Guest of Honour at the invitation of Mr Emmanuel Macron, President of France, on the Champs-Élysées on 14 July 2023.
» The parade witnessed a tri-services contingent of the Indian Armed Forces marching alongside their French counterparts.
- To mark the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership, 241-member tri-service Indian armed forces contingent led by a military band also participated in the Parade. The Indian Army contingent was led by the Punjab Regiment, along with the Rajputana Rifles Regiment.
- Rafale Jets of the Indian Air Force, from the 101 Squadron from Hashimara, formed a part of the fly past during the parade.
- A flying contingent of four Rafale fighters, two C-17 Globemasters and 72 IAF personnel have participated.
About National Day in France:
- 14 July is celebrated as the Fête Nationale Française, or the National Day in France. It is also known as the Bastille Day.
- July 14 marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789 during the French revolution, that symbolizes the democratic values of ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’, the central theme of both the Indian and French constitutions.
India tops in 34th International Biology Olympiad, UAE
⇒ India topped the medals tally at the 34th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) 2023 held in Al Ain, UAE from 3 July to 11 July 2023, by virtue of every student winning a gold medal.
- This is the first time that India has turned in an all-gold performance at IBO. It is also the first time that India has topped the medals tally at the Olympiad.
The students this year were:
- Dhruv Advani (GOLD) from Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Ishan Pednekar (GOLD) from Kota, Rajasthan
- Megh Chhabda (GOLD) from Jalna, Maharashtra
- Rohit Panda (GOLD) from Risali, Chattisgarh
» There were 293 students from 76 countries in this year’s IBO. Singapore was the only other country to secure four gold medals. In all 29 gold medals were awarded.
» Earlier, India has topped the medals tally in Astronomy & Astrophysics (in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2021), Physics (in 2018) and Junior Science (in 2014, 2019, 2021, and 2022).
Sports
2023 Canada Open
⇒ The 2023 Canada Open, a badminton tournament took place at Markin-MacPhail Centre in Calgary, Canada, from 4 July to 9 July 2023. This was the 58th edition of the Canada Open.
- The 2023 Canada Open was the fourth Super 500 tournament of the 2023 BWF World Tour and also part of the Canada Open championships, which has been held since 1957.
- This tournament is organized by the Badminton Alberta and Badminton Canada and sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Winner from India:
» India’s Lakshya Sen clinched the Canada Open 2023 badminton men’s singles title after beating the People’s Republic of China’s Li Shi Feng.
- Lakshya Sen beat Li Shi Feng, the reigning All England champion, 21-18, 22-20 to win his first title of the year.
- This was also Lakshya Sen’s second BWF Super 500 title after the India Open in January last year.
2023 Canada Open Badminton Tournament Winners:
Men’s singles:
- Lakshya Sen (India) defeated Li Shifeng (China)
Women’s singles:
- Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) defeated Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand)
Men’s doubles:
- Kim Astrup (Denmark) & Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Denmark) defeated Rasmus Kjær (Denmark) & Frederik Søgaard (Denmark)
Women’s doubles:
- Nami Matsuyama (Japan) & Chiharu Shida (Japan) defeated Mayu Matsumoto (Japan) & Wakana Nagahara (Japan)
Mixed doubles:
- Hiroki Midorikawa (Japan) & Natsu Saito (Japan) defeated Mathias Thyrri (Denmark) & Amalie Magelund (Denmark)