15TH AUGUST
Contents
75TH INDIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY 2021
4 INDIAN AIRPORTS IN SKYTRAX’S TOP 100 AIRPORT LIST
RECOGNITION TO COMMUNITY FOREST RESOURCE RIGHTS
INDIA ORGANIZED IBSA TOURISM MINISTERS’ MEETING
INDIAN BANK SIGNS MOU WITH PARALYMPICS COMMITTEE
DURAND CUP TO MAKE RE-ENTRY WITH 130TH EDITION
75TH INDIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY 2021
- India is celebrating the 75th Independence Day on 15th August 2021 to mark the country’s freedom from nearly two centuries of British colonial rule. India is marking its 75th Independence Day as “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the celebrations from Red Fort in New Delhi and is addressing the nation from Red Fort in New Delhi. This is his eighth address as the prime minister.
- For the first time, just as the flag is unfurled by the PM, flower petals showered at the venue by two Mi-17 1V helicopters of the Indian Air Force in Amrut formation.
- The Centre has invited 32 athletes — who have won medals at the Olympics and two officials of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at the Red Fort.
- History of India’s Independence: The Indian Independence movement began during World War I and was led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. On August 15, 1947, India got its freedom, ending an almost 200-year British rule.
- India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of Red Fort in Delhi on August 15, 1947. It is a tradition that has since been followed by the incumbent Prime Minister, followed by an address to the country.
- Some rare facts about India’s Independence Day:
- The song ‘Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata’ composed in 1911 by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore was renamed as ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India as the national anthem on January 24, 1950.
- The Indian national flag with three horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green was hoisted on August 7, 1906, at Parsee Bagan Square in Kolkata.
- The first variant of India’s current national flag was designed by freedom fighter Pingali Venkayya in 1921. The current flag with saffron, white and green colours and the Ashok Chakra in the middle was officially adopted on July 22, 1947, and hoisted on August 15, 1947.
- Five other countries celebrate their independence on August 15 along with India. They are Bahrain, North Korea, South Korea and Liechtenstein. The Indian flag is manufactured and supplied from only one place in the nation.
- The Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha (KKGSS), located in Dharwad in Karnataka, has the authority to manufacture and supply the Indian national flag.
- According to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the flag is manufactured only with hand-spun and handwoven cotton khadi wafting.
- Even after India’s independence, Goa was still a Portuguese colony. It was annexed to India by the Indian Army only in 1961. Thus, Goa was the last state to join the Indian Territory.
(SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS, JAGRAN JOSH)
4 INDIAN AIRPORTS IN SKYTRAX’S TOP 100 AIRPORT LIST
- The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi has found place among world’s top 50 best airports in the 2021 Skytrax World Airport Awards. Delhi airport has improved its overall ranking by five places.
- In 2020, it was placed at 50th spot. With this, it has also become the first Indian airport to be placed among the top 50 list. The Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, has been named the “Best Airport in the World”.
- Other Indian Airports in the list are:
- Hyderabad: 64 (placed at 71 in 2020)
- Mumbai: 65 (placed 52 in 2020)
- Bengaluru: 71 (placed 68 in 2020)
Top Five Airports in the World:
- Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar
- Haneda Airport in Tokyo
- Changi Airport in Singapore
- Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea
- Narita International Airport (NRT) in Tokyo
- About the Skytrax World Airport Awards: The Skytrax World Airport Awards list is complied by UK-based Skytrax, a consultancy firm that runs an airline and airport review and ranking site, featuring 100 airports. The Skytrax World Airport Awards are voted for by customers in a global airport customer satisfaction survey.
(SOURCE: LIVE MINT)
RECOGNITION TO COMMUNITY FOREST RESOURCE RIGHTS
- Chhattisgarh became the first state to recognise Community Forest Resource Rights in an urban area, with the state government recognising the rights of residents of Dhamtari district over 4,127 hectares of forests.
- Community resource rights over 5,544 hectares of forest within the core area of the tiger reserve area were also recognised.
- Under Forest Rights Act, 2006, Community Forest Resource Right gives gram sabhas the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any forest resources used by the entire community, or village.
- Baghel also unveiled an “atlas” of tribal communities living in Chhattisgarh, and a special five-part teaching module on the all-around development of tribal areas to be used to train public representatives and members of the Panchayati Raj system.
- Tribals account for more than 31 percent of Chhattisgarh’s population.
- CM of Chhattisgarh: Bhupesh Baghel
- Governor of Chhattisgarh: Anusuiya Uikey
(SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS)
INDIA ORGANIZED IBSA TOURISM MINISTERS’ MEETING
- India organized the IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Tourism Ministers’ meeting through the virtual platform. The Union Minister of Tourism of India, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, chaired the meeting.
- The Minister of Tourism of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Gilson Machado Neto and the Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Republic of South Africa, Fish Amos Mahlalela, attended video conferencing under India’s IBSA Chairship.
- About the meeting: The meeting provided a platform to promote tourism cooperation among the member states and recognized the importance of strengthening cooperation in tourism to overcome the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on the tourism sector.
- The meeting ended with the adoption of the IBSA Tourism Ministers Joint Statement- a document on cooperation and promotion for the speedy recovery of travel and tourism.
(SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA)
INDIAN BANK SIGNS MOU WITH PARALYMPICS COMMITTEE
- Public sector Indian Bank has signed an MoU with the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) as one of the banking partners of the Paralympic Games scheduled to commence from August 24 in Tokyo, Japan.
- The bank, through its year-long association with PCI, will provide financial assistance to paralympic athletes. The President of the Paralympic Committee of India is Deepa Malik.
- In a year-long association, the bank will provide financial assistance to Paralympic athletes to prepare for the coveted sporting events in the domestic arena as well as global platforms.
- Timely financial aid provided to these sportspersons will encourage them to focus their efforts on the game and win laurels for the country.
(SOURCE: FINANCIAL EXPRESS)
DURAND CUP TO MAKE RE-ENTRY WITH 130TH EDITION
- Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest and world’s third oldest football tournament, is all set to make a comeback, after a year’s gap.
- The 130th edition of the Durand Cup is scheduled to be held in and around Kolkata between September 05 to October 03, 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition was cancelled last season.
- History of Durand Cup: The prestigious tournament was first held in 1888, at Dagshai (Himachal Pradesh) and is named after Mortimer Durand, who was then the Foreign Secretary in charge of India.
- The tournament was a conscious way to initially maintain health and fitness amongst the British troops but was later opened to civilians and currently is one of the leading sports events in the world.
- Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are the most successful teams in the history of the Durand Cup winning it sixteen times each.
- The winning team is presented with three trophies ie the President’s Cup (first presented by Dr Rajendra Prasad), the Durand Cup (the original challenge prize – a rolling trophy) and the Shimla Trophy (first presented by citizens of Shimla in 1903 and since 1965, a rolling trophy).
(SOURCE: THE HINDU)