National
108th Indian Science Congress (ISC 2023)
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the 108th Indian Science Congress (ISC) via video conferencing on 03 January 2023.
The 108th Annual Session of Indian Science Congress was held from January 3 -7, 2023 at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur, Maharashtra, which is also celebrating its centenary this year.
- The first session of the Congress was held in 1914.
Theme:
The focal theme of 108th Indian Science Congress-2023 was “Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment”.
Discussion:
The 108th Indian Science Congress witnessed discussions on issues of sustainable development, women empowerment and the role of science & technology in achieving this.
- The participants discussed and deliberated on ways to increase the number of women in higher echelons of teaching, research and industry, along with trying to find ways to provide women with equal access to STEM education, research opportunities and economic participation.
Plenary Sessions:
The Plenary Sessions featured Nobel Laureates, leading Indian and foreign researchers, experts and technocrats from a wide variety of fields, including space, defense, IT and medical research.
Technical Sessions:
The technical sessions of the 108th Indian Science Congress were divided into 14 sections, under which parallel sessions were conducted at different venues in the university’s Mahatma Jotiba Phule Educational Campus.
- The technical sessions showcased path-breaking and applied research in Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Animal, Veterinary and Fishery Sciences, Anthropological and Behavioural Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Earth System Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Information and Communication Science & Technology, Material Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Medical Sciences, New Biology, Physical Sciences, and Plant Sciences.
Apart from these 14 sections, there was a Women’s Science Congress, a Farmers’ Science Congress, a Children’s Science Congress, a Tribal Meet, a section on Science and Society and a Science Communicators’ Congress.
Women’s Science Congress:
- A special programme to showcase the contribution of women in science and technology was also held, which also witnessed lectures by renowned women scientists.
- The contribution of women in all walks of life, including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), as well as conservation of biodiversity, was highlighted at the 10th Women Science Congress (WSC).
- The 10th WSC was organised during 5-6 January 2023 as a part of the 108th Indian Science Congress.
Several other programmes were also organised alongside ISC.
- Children’s Science Congress organised to help stimulate scientific interest and temperament among children.
- Farmer’s Science Congress provided a platform to improve the bio-economy and attract youth to agriculture.
- Tribal Science Congress was also held, which was a platform for scientific display of indigenous ancient knowledge system and practice, along with focusing on the empowerment of tribal women.
Vigyan Jyot programme:
The Vigyan Jyot programme, a tradition of the Indian Science Congress was, held on 2 January. Vigyan Jyot – Flame of Knowledge – was conceived on the lines of the Olympic flame.
- It is a movement dedicated to nurturing scientific temper in the society, especially the youth. The flame was installed at the university campus and continued to alight until the end of the 108th Indian Science Congress.
Mega expo “Pride of India”:
A special attraction of the event was a mega expo “Pride of India”.
- The exhibition showcased the prominent developments, major achievements and the significant contributions largely of Indian Science and Technology to the society.
- It brought together and displayed hundreds of new ideas, innovations, and products covering the entire canvas of the scientific world.
- Pride of India displays the strengths and achievements of Government, Corporate, PSUs, Academic and R&D Institutes, Innovators & Entrepreneurs from all across the country.
Valedictory Function:
The 108th Indian Science Congress organised at Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University concluded on 7 January. Nobel Laureate Dr. Ada Yonath was the chief guest for the Valedictory Function.
Various awards were presented to the scientists during the event:
Awards to Scientists:
- Ashut Mukherjee Memorial Award – Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood
- Dr. C. V. Raman Birth Centenary Award – Prof. S. R. Niranjana
- N. Bose Birth Centenary Award – Prof. Subhash Chandra Parija
- K. Mitra Birth Centenary Award – Dr. Ranjan Kumar Nandy
- J. Bhabha Memorial Award – Dr. Kaushal Prasad Mishra
- S. Kothari Memorial Award – Dr. Shyamal Roy
Names of other award winners are as follows:
- Prof. R. C. Mehrotra Memorial Life Time Achievement Award – Dr. U. C. Banerjee – Amity University, Mohali.
- Prof. S. S. Katiyar Endowment Lecture Award – Dr. Kesturu S. Girish – Tumkur University, Karnataka.
- Prof. Archana Sharma Memorial Award in Plant Science – Dr. Rajiv Pratap Singh – BHU, Varanasi
- K. Manna Memorial Award – Dr. Basant Kumar Das – ICAR Kolkata
International
2023 Armory Square Prize for South Asian Literature in Translation
⇒ The Armory Square Prize for South Asian Literature in Translation announced the winner of its inaugural prize on 08 May 2023.
Author and translator Musharraf Ali Farooqi, who translated Siddique Alam’s The Kettledrum and Other Stories from Urdu to English, has won the inaugural edition of the Armory Square Prize for South Asian Literature in Translation.
Key Points:
- As part of the prize, Musharraf Ali Farooqi’s translation of Siddique Alam’s short story collection, The Kettledrum and Other Stories will be published by Open Letter Books in 2024.
- An excerpt of the work has been published by Words Without Borders, an online literary publication with global reach.
- Alam’s “The Kettledrum” tells the story of an Adivasi woman who cohabitates with her dead husband, and thematically explores tribal traditions in the 21st century.
About the Prize and Sponsor:
- The Armory Square Prize for South Asian Literature in Translation was created to inspire new directions for translators into English from one of the most diverse, historically complex, and culturally vibrant regions of the world.
- It awards a talented translator of South Asian literature into English with the publication of their outstanding manuscript.
- The prize is sponsored by Armory Square Ventures. Armory Square Ventures (ASV) is a diverse, mission-focused technology venture capital firm that operates across all of New York State.
- Open Letter—the University of Rochester’s non-profit, literary translation press—is one of only a handful of publishing houses dedicated to increasing access to world literature for English readers.
Important Day
National Youth Day 2023
⇒ National Youth Day, also known as Rashtriya Yuva Diwas or Vivekananda Jayanti, is celebrated every year on 12 January in India.
National Youth Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand, to honour and cherish his ideals, teachings and contributions.
Theme:
The theme of National Youth Day 2023 was “Viksit Yuva – Viksit Bharat.”
History:
In 1984, the Government of India announced the celebration of Swami Vivekananda’s birthday i.e., 12 January as National Youth Day for the first time. Since then, this day is celebrated as National Youth Day all over the country.