The Union Government has launched Rashtriya Puruskar Portal to bring together all the awards of the various Ministries, Departments and agencies of the government under one platform. This has been done to ensure transparency and public partnership.

Home Ministry in a statement said that this common portal facilitates every citizen or organization to nominate individuals or organizations for various awards instituted by the government. It informed that the nominations or recommendations for the Padma Awards are open till 15th of next month, while nominations or recommendations for Jeevan Raksha Padak will be invited till 30th of next month.

Individuals and organizations can visit Rashtriya Puruskar Portal WWW.AWARDS
GOV.IN
in for making their nominations or recommendations for various awards constituted by the government.

India has nominated the dance form Garba to be inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list. UNESCO( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Director Eric Falt said that after the inclusion of 'Durga Puja' on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage representative last year, India has now nominated 'Garba' for 2022.

He said, the next meeting of UNESCO is in November & hopefully there will be yet another beautiful Indian festival Garba inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list. India was elected by UNESCO to serve on the distinguished Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in July. India garnered a whopping 110 votes from 155 State Parties that finalised its selection. 

National Skill Development Corporation, NSDC in partnership with Seva Bharti and Yuva Vikas Society on Saturday launched the second phase of Grameen Udyami Project to augment skill training in tribal communities for their inclusive and sustainable growth. Under the initiative, the endeavour is to multiskill India’s youth and impart functional skills to them for enabling livelihoods.

Launching the programme, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said, Central Government's complete focus is on strengthening sustainable livelihood for tribal population and it has sanctioned a budget of 85 thousand crore rupees exclusively for tribal areas. He said, there is so much potential and ability in the tribal youth that all we need to do is lay down the right avenues for them to use their talent in the right places.

Former Governor of Jharkhand, Syed Sibtey Razi passed away on Saturday in Lucknow. He was suffering from heart disease and was under treatment at King George’s Medical College. He breathed his last at the Trauma Centre in Lucknow. He served as the Governor of Jharkhand from the year 2004- 2009.

Razi was associated with the Congress. He was a member of Rajya Sabha thrice. Later he was made the Governor of Jharkhand and Assam.

Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais expressed grief over Razi’s death and prayed for the peace of departed soul. Chief Minister Hemant Soren also prayed for the departed soul.

An Indian Air Force contingent has reached Australia to participate in Exercise Pitch Black 2022. The exercise is being held in Darwin till the 8th of next month. This is a biennial, multi-national exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force.

The Defence Ministry said that the exercise will see the participation of over one hundred aircraft and two thousand 500 military personnel from various air forces.

The Indian Air Force contingent comprises over 100 air warriors, deployed with four Su-30 MKI fighters and two C-17 aircraft. They will undertake multi-domain air combat missions in a complex environment and will exchange best practices with the participating air forces.

The 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2023 will be held at Indore in January next year. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a tweet said that Secretary, Consular, Passport and Visa Division, Ausaf Sayeed  and Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Iqbal Singh Bains signed a Memorandum of Understanding for hosting the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas. On the occasion, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was also present.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated every year on 9th Januray to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community in the development of India. It also commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India on 9th January 1915.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 78th birth anniversary on August 20. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi served as the sixth Prime Minister of India from 1984-1989. 

Goa has become the first 'Har Ghar Jal' certified State and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu the first Union Territory in the country. In this State and UT, people from all the villages have declared their village as Har Ghar Jal through a resolution passed by the Gram Sabha. All two lakh 63 thousand rural households of Goa and over 85 thousand of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have access to safe drinking water through tap connection.

In a statement, Jal Shakti Ministry said, despite various disruptions and challenges faced during COVID-19 pandemic, the consistent efforts by Panchayat representatives, Pani Samitis, District and State and UT officials have led to this achievement. All schools, Anganwadi centres, public institutions including Gram Panchayat buildings, healthcare centres and community centres and other government offices have now access to potable water through tap connection.

The Janmashtami festival, marking the birth of Lord Krishna, is being celebrated in various parts of the country on Friday. Devotees are visiting temples to offer prayers to Lord Krishna. Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh are fully geared to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. Thousands of temples including Banke Bihari Temple, Prem Mandir, Iskcon Temple and Shri Krishna Janm Bhumi Temple have been tastefully decorated in Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

President Droupadi Murmu has extended greetings and best wishes to all the fellow citizens living in India and abroad, on the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami. In a message, Ms Murmu said that Lord Krishna’s life and teachings included the message of well being and virtue.

A day after a made-in-India howitzer gun, the ATAGS, was used for the first time in the ceremonial 21-gun salute during the Independence Day celebrations, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday handed over several new defence systems, including the F-INSAS, the Nipun mines, the Landing Craft Assault (LCA), to the Army.