National
'DIVYAKALSHAKTI -2022', Guwahati
⇒ The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) (Divyangjan), Government of India, organized a special cultural events “DIVYAKALASHAKTI” -2022 at GMCH Auditorium, Guwahati on 17 December 2022.
Divya kala shakti is a self-explanatory classical event contributed by all divyangjan of northeastern states of India in order to show case and witness their ability in disability.
Hosted by:
This event was hosted by DEPwD’s National Institute Swami Vivekananda National institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (SVNIRTAR) Olatpur, Cuttack, Odisha.
Key Points:
- In this regional “Divya Kala Shakti” event Divyangjan across North Eastern region performed and showcased their talents in the field of dance, song, fine arts etc. In fact almost 25 items was presented by 102 numbers of divyangjan artists.
- The program was inaugurated by His Excellency Governor of Assam in the presence of many other dignitaries. Governor Prof. JAGDISH MUKHI graced the event.
- As it was a directive from the former President of India Shri Ramnath Kovind; the DIVYAKALSHAKTI program should reach every region of India. However, the DIVYAKALSHAKTI program have already been held at Mumbai, Itanagar, Chennai and Delhi.
'VIRAASAT', an exclusive weave-based Handloom Sari Festival “My Sari My Pride”
⇒ Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister inaugurated ‘VIRAASAT, Celebrating 75 handwoven saris of India’, an exclusive weave-based Handloom Sari Festival “My Sari My Pride” on 16 December 2022.
While inaugurating the festival, Smt Sitharaman said that the Prime Minister in 2014-2015 gave the vision of 5 F, from Farm to Fibre to Fabric to Fashion to Foreign. This vision has become a principle objective of the Ministry of Textiles under which this exhibition is organized and weavers are promoted to display their work.
Organized by:
- Handloom sector is a symbol of our country’s rich and varied cultural heritage, besides being one of the key sectors providing employment to a large number of people, especially women. With a view to showcase the Handloom heritage of India, a Handloom Saree festival was organized by the Ministry of Textiles.
- Coinciding with the 75 years of Independence, “AzadikaAmritMahotsav”, there was an exhibition-cum-sale of Handloom Saris by 75 handloom weavers belonging to 16 States/UTs.
- The festival was organized in two phases from 16th to 30th December 2022 and 3rd to 17th January 2023 at Handloom Haat, Janpath, New Delhi.
Key points:
- The handloom sector of India engages more than 35 lakh persons. The art of handloom sari weaving has traditional values attached to it and each region has exquisite saris varieties.
- The uniqueness of saris such as Paithani, Kotpad, Kota doria, Tangail, Pochampally, Kancheepuram, Thirubuvanam, Jamdani, Santipuri, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Patola, Moirangphee, Banarasi Brocade, Tanchoi, Bhagalpuri Silk, BawanButi and Pashmina Sari Sari etc. to name a few attracts customers across the globe with exclusive art, weaves, designs and traditional motifs.
- In the 1st Phase, 70 Participants took part in “VIRAASAT” event.
2nd phase of the Sari Festival “VIRAASAT”:
» The second phase of the Sari Festival “VIRAASAT”- Celebrating 75 handwoven Saris of India was held from 3rd to 17th January 2023 at Handloom Haat, Janpath, New Delhi. The Ministry of Textiles organized the festival.
- The second phase attracted 90 participants from different parts of the country with the participation of famous handicraft varieties of Saris like Tie and Dye, Chikan embroidered Saris, Hand Block Saris, Kalamkari printed Saris, Ajrakh, Kantha and Phulkari.
» In the exhibition, varieties of prominent Handloom saris from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telengana, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pardesh, Gujarat, Rajsthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Manipur displayed and sold.
MoU Signed between IGNCA, New Delhi and CSIR-TKDL Unit
⇒ The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and the CSIR-Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL) Unit signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi on 16 December 2022.
The MoU aims at cooperation related to digitization and inclusion of information on traditional knowledge of India from manuscripts and traditional cultural expressions.
Key Points:
- India is home to over two crore manuscripts containing valuable information on Indian heritage and traditional knowledge (TK).
- With fewer and fewer people understanding scripts and languages of these manuscripts and our cultural expressions, the MoU between IGNCA and CSIR-TKDL Unit will facilitate efforts towards protection and preservation of the manuscript knowledge for current and future times, through inclusion of the information into the TKDL database.
- This cooperation between the Parties is also expected to enable digitization and inclusion of non-written, oral and audio-visual materials related to traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions into the TKDL.
- Besides focused activities related to manuscripts and local practices, both organizations have also agreed to collaborate and undertake outreach and dissemination activities such as publications, seminars, conferences, workshops and exhibitions jointly, and also pursue research studies in areas of common interest.
About CSIR-TKDL:
- The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is a pioneering Indian initiative, jointly by the CSIR and Min of AYUSH, to prevent exploitation and to protect Indian traditional knowledge from misappropriation by way of wrongful Intellectual Property Rights.
- India’s rich traditional knowledge which exists in diverse languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Tamil etc is neither accessible nor comprehensible for patent examiners at the international patent offices.
- The TKDL contains Indian traditional medicine knowledge from classical/traditional texts related to Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa Rigpa, and Yoga techniques in a digitized format. It is available in five international languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese) to patent examiners.
- The TKDL is accessed by 15 patent offices worldwide for search and examination of evidences related to TK in patent applications filed at their offices.
About IGNCA:
- Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is an autonomous institution under the Union Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
- The organization serves as a major resource centre for the arts, especially written, oral and visual source materials.
- It also undertakes research and publication programmes of reference works, glossaries, dictionaries and encyclopaedia concerning the arts and the humanities.
International
Prime Minister of Denmark
⇒ Ms. Mette Frederiksen has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of Denmark in December 2022. PM Frederiksen has been appointment as the Prime Minister of Denmark for a second term.
- Mette Frederiksen is a Danish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015.
- The second woman to hold either office, she is also the youngest prime minister in Danish history.
Sports
2023 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup
⇒ The 2023 Men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup was played from 5 to 11 February 2023 in Pretoria, South Africa.
- It was the 6th edition Men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup tournament.
Winners:
» The 2023 Men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup final was held on 11 February 2023 between Austria and Netherlands.
- Austria won its second consecutive title after defeating the Netherlands in the final after a penalty shootout.
- Iran won the bronze medal by winning against the United States.