National:
Amendment in Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957
- Lok Sabha passed a bill to amend the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, on 19 March 2021.
The amendment in MMDR Act will help to create employment opportunities and allow private sector with enhanced technology in mining activities.
The major objective of the reforms is to generate huge employment opportunities, reduce imports and increase production by bringing large mineral blocks into auction.
SERB Women Excellence Award for 2021
- Dr. Shobhana Kapoor, Assistant Professor at IIT Bombay has studied the roles of lipids in infectious diseases at the molecular level, for which she has been awarded the SERB Women Excellence Award for 2021.
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.
Gandhi Peace Prize for 2019 & 2020
For Year 2019:
The Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2019 has been conferred on the Late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman.
For Year 2020:
The Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2020 has been conferred on the Late Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh.
About Award:
Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government of India to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in the year 1995. This award is for all persons beyond nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender. The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/ handloom item.
Recent awardees include- Vivekananda Kendra, India (for 2015); Akshaya Patra Foundation, India and Sulabh International (Jointly, for 2016); Ekal Abhiyan Trust, India (for 2017); and Shri Yohei Sasakawa, Japan (for 2018)
Swimming records across the 30-mile long Palk Strait
- 47-year-old Hyderabad-based woman, Shyamala Goli became the world’s second female to swim across the 30-mile long Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka, on 19 March 2021.
To create the record, she swam for 13 hours and 43 minutes from Talaimannar in northern Sri Lanka to Dhanushkodi in India.
International:
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2021
- The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2021 represents the world’s largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community. The WSIS Forum is co-organized by International Telecommunications Union (ITU), UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD.
The WSIS Forum 2021 is entirely online, started from January onwards, & the final week of the Virtual WSIS Forum 2021 will take place on 17-21 May 2021.
Representation of India:
Minister of State Telecom, Shri Sanjay Dhotre represented India at the World Summit on Information Society Forum 2021. On 22 March 2021, he addressed the High Level Policy session of WSIS 2021.
During the address, Shri Dhotre underscored the role of Information and Communication Technologies for modernization and transformation of the industry, promotion of inclusive economic growth and stimulation of the national economies to meet the larger objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Important Day:
Bihar Diwas
- Bihar celebrated the Bihar Diwas on 22 March 2021.