National
“Bhoomi Samman” 2023
⇒ The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu presented the “Bhoomi Samman” 2023 at a function organised by the Union Ministry of Rural Development in New Delhi on July 18, 2023.
- A book titled “Bhoomi Samman – Best practices in Land Governance by States and Districts in India” was also unveiled and first copy was presented to the President.
» The President of India presented “Bhoomi Samman” 2023 to 9 State Secretaries and 68 District Collectors along with their teams.
- The awards were received by State Secretaries and District Collectors along with their teams who have excelled in achieving saturation of the core components of Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) – the core of Governance.
- Bhoomi Samman awards has been institutionalized for the first time for land governance in the country.
Important Award Winners:
Best State:
» Odisha has been conferred with the Bhoomi Samman Award 2023 as the Best State in the Country for its outstanding achievements in the implementation of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).
- Out of 68 districts of the Country, 19 districts of Odisha have attained 100 percentages of objectives of DILRMP and have bagged the prestigious awards.
» The Nine States are- Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, West Bengal, and Odisha.
» Five Districts of Bihar, Bhojpur, Jehanabad, Kishanganj, Lakhisarai, and Nalanda were awarded Bhoomi Samman 2023. District Collectors of these districts were awarded platinum certificates.
List of States and Districts Qualified for Bhoomi Samman (Platinum Certificate) (Official Link)
Other Points:
- “Bhoomi Samman” has been launched by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. The “Bhoomi Samman” Scheme is a fine example of Centre-State cooperative federalism based on trust and partnership, as the grading system is largely based on reports and inputs of the States/UTs in the core components of computerization and digitization of land records.
- The Department of Land Resources has achieved 94% digitization targets pan-India and is resolutely targeting to achieve 100% saturation of the core components of digitization of land records in all the Districts of the country by 31st March 2024.
- Under the Digital India Land Information Management System, a Unique Land Parcel Identification Number is being provided which could be useful like Aadhaar Card.
Background:
- Prime Minister had envisioned in the Post-Budget Webinar on 23rd February 2022 that all public welfare schemes should saturate the scheme components with the objective that no citizen is left behind. In the Council of Ministers’ meeting on 3rd July 2023, the Prime Minister had reiterated the imminent need for saturation of scheme components.
- As a step in this direction, this Department had initiated performance-based grading in six core components of DILRMP. The grading has been done on the basis of performance of Districts as reflected in Management Information System (MIS) of DILRMP and as reported by the State/UT Governments.
- Platinum Grading is given to the Districts which have completed saturation i.e. 100% targets in the respective core components of DILRMP.
- The DILRMP has 3 major components – (a) Computerization of land record (b) Survey/re-survey (c) Computerization of Registration.
International
15th India-Mongolia joint military exercise “Nomadic Elephant – 2023”
⇒ India-Mongolia joint military exercise “Nomadic Elephant – 2023” was conducted at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 17 to 31 July 2023.
Exercise NOMADIC ELEPHANT is an annual training event with Mongolia which is conducted alternatively in Mongolia and India, the last edition was held at Special Forces Training School, Bakloh in October 2019.
Participation:
- A contingent of 43 personnel of the Indian Army participated in the 15th edition of bilateral joint military exercise “NOMADIC ELEPHANT-23”.
- Soldiers of the Mongolian Armed Forces Unit 084 from and Indian Army soldiers from the JAMMU AND KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTRY Regiment participated in the exercise.
Key Points:
- The aim of this exercise was to build positive military relations, exchange best practices, develop inter-operability, bonhomie, camaraderie and friendship between the two armies.
- The primary theme of the exercise focused on counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain under United Nations mandate.
- The scope of this exercise involved Platoon level Field Training Exercise (FTX).
During the exercise, Indian and Mongolian troops engaged in various training activities designed to enhance their skills and capabilities.
- These activities include endurance training, reflex firing, room intervention, small team tactics and rock craft training. Soldiers from both sides learned from each other’s operational experience.
India and Mongolia have a shared commitment to regional security and cooperation. Exercise NOMADIC ELEPHANT-23 was another significant milestone in the defence cooperation between the Indian Army and Mongolian Army which further fostered bilateral relations between the two nations.
Sports
2023 Asian Athletics Championships
⇒ The 2023 Asian Athletics Championships was held at the Suphachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand from 12 to 16 July 2023.
- It was the 25th edition of the Asian Athletics Championships.
- It was the first time that Thailand hosted this event since 1973.
- The 25th Asian Athletics Championships marks the golden jubilee year (50th anniversary) of the Asian Athletics Association.
Mascot:
The official mascot of the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships was the revered Hindu god ‘Hanuman’.
- Hanuman, the emblem of the competition is a symbol of “agility, strength and senses.”
Performance of India:
» The Asian Athletics Championships was held after a gap of four years after the 2021 edition in Hangzhou, China was cancelled due to COVID-19.
In the overall Asian Athletics Championships 2023 medals table, India finished third, behind Japan and China.
- Indian athletes won a total of 27 medals including 6 gold, 12 silver and 9 bronze at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023.
- Japan won in 37 medals (16 golds, 11 silver and 10 bronze), while China bagged 22 medals (8 golds, 8 silver and 6 bronze).
» The previous edition, Doha 2019, saw India finish with 16 medals – 2 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze.
India’s medal winners at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023:
Gold:
- Abdulla Aboobacker- Men’s triple jump
- Ajay Kumar Saroj- Men’s 1500m
- Tajinderpal Singh Toor- Men’s shot put
- Parul Chaudhary- Women’s 3000m steeplechase
- Jyothi Yarraji- Women’s 100m hurdles
- Rajesh Ramesh, Aishwarya Mishra, Amoj Jacob, Subha Venkatesan- Mixed 4x400m relay team
Silver:
- Anil Sarvesh Kushare- Men’s high jump
- Murali Sreeshankar- Men’s long jump
- Krishan Kumar- Men’s 800m
- DP Manu- Men’s javelin throw
- Shaili Singh- Women’s long jump
- Priyanka Goswami- Women’s 20km race walk
- Chanda- Women’s 800m
- Parul Chaudhary- Women’s 5000m
- Abha Khatua- Women’s shot put
- Jyothi Yarraji- Women’s 200m
- Swapna Barman- Women’s Heptathlon
- Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal, Mijo Chacko Kurian, Rajesh Ramesh- Men’s 4x400m relay
Bronze:
- Abhishek Pal- Men’s 10000m
- Tejaswin Shankar- Men’s decathlon
- Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan- Men’s 400m hurdles
- Vikash Singh- Men’s 20km race walk
- Gulveer Singh- Men’s 5000m
- Aishwarya Mishra- Women’s 400m
- Ankita- Women’s 5000m
- Manpreet Kaur- Women’s shot put
- Rezoana Mallick Heena, Aishwarya Mishra, Jyothika Sri Dandi, Subha Venkatesan- Women’s 4x400m relay
Important Day
World Snake Day 2023
⇒ World Snake Day is celebrated every year on 16 July.
- The purpose of World Snake Day is to raise awareness about the different species of snakes and to conserve and protect them.
National Zoological Park, New Delhi (Delhi Zoo) has celebrated World Snake Day on 16 July 2023.
- The purpose of World Snake Day celebration is to protect snakes by raising awareness about snakes of India, snakes disbelieves and importance of snakes in our ecosystem.
- At present National Zoological Park have 31 no of snakes of 07 species.