President Droupadi Murmu on Friday conferred on the winners the 68th National Film Awards for the year 2020 in New Delhi. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L Murugan, Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Apurva Chandra and other dignitaries were present at the award ceremony.

Dada Saheb Phalke award for 2020 was given to legendary actress Asha Parekh. Best feature film award was given to Tamil film Soorarai Pottru. Hindi film Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ got the Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Ajay Devgn received the Best Actor award for the film, Tanhaji : The Unsung Warrior and Suriya also received the best actor award for the film, Soorarai Pottru. Aparna Balamurali was awarded the Best Actress Award for Soorarai Pottru. Sachidanandan KR received Best Director Award for Malayalam Film AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, PFRDA will observe 1st of October as the National Pension System Diwas (NPS Diwas) to promote pension and retirement planning among the citizens. PFRDA is organising this campaign under ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

The pension regulator aims to encourage every citizen, whether working professionals or self-employed professionals, to plan towards creating a pension corpus to ensure a financially sound future after retirement. NPS subscribers will enjoy the benefits of tax deduction on contribution, power of compounding and reap the benefits of regular income after retirement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch 5G services today in New Delhi. 5G technology will provide seamless coverage, high data rate, low latency, and highly reliable communication. It will also increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vasihnaw said that Government intends to cover the entire country with 5G services within two years. He said, an investment of around three lakh crore rupees will be made for the 5G service.  

President Droupadi Murmu will award the cleanest States and cities of Azaadi@75 Swachh Survekshan 2022 in New Delhi today. The day will mark the first anniversary of launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0, with its aspirational vision of creating Garbage Free cities. The award ceremony will be attended by a host of dignitaries from across the country and over 160 awards will be given in different categories. 

Nearly 1,800 guests comprising state and city administrators, sector partners, subject experts, as well as youth organizations, sanitation workers, representatives from industry, Startups in sanitation and waste management sector, academic institutions, NGOs, and CSOs will attend the event. The award ceremony is being organized as part of the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav being conducted by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), from 17th September 2022 to 2nd October 2022 when India is celebrating eight years of accomplishments of SBM-Urban. The fortnight-long celebrations included a wide range of unique initiatives aligned to the overall objectives of SBM-U 2.0.

Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that Poshan Utsav, which got underway yesterday, is a celebration of good health and a reminder of the fight against malnutrition. Speaking at the inauguration of Poshan Utsav at Kartavyapath in New Delhi, the Minister said Poshan Abhiyaan was launched in  2018 with an objective to reduce malnutrition in the country in a phased manner.  The campaign aims to improve the nutritional status of children from zero to six years, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers in a time-bound manner.

The Minister said that nutrition is a critical part of health and development and a basic human need and a prerequisite to a healthy life.  

Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Thursday announced that the Department of Youth Affairs will launch a month-long nationwide Clean India 2.0 from Saturday. In a video message, Mr. Thakur said, in his Independence Day address Prime Minister talked about Paanch Prana five resolutions and one of them was goal of developed India, in which cleanliness plays a very important role. He said, therefore, Swachh Bharat 2.0 is our priority.

Mr. Thakur informed that as per the vision of Prime Minister, Clean India 2.0 programme is being organised in six Lakh villages of 744 districts across the country through the network of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan NYKS affiliated Youth Clubs and National Service Scheme Affiliated Institutions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Gandhinagar- Mumbai Vande Bharat Express at Gandhinagar station and travel on the train from there to Kalupur Railway Station around 10:30 AM. Mr Modi will flag off the Ahmedabad Metro rail project and will take a metro ride from Kalupur station to Doordarshan Kendra metro station around 11:30 AM. 

Prime Minister will inaugurate Phase-I of Ahmedabad Metro project at a public function at Ahmedabad Education Society in Ahmedabad around 12 noon. Thereafter, around 5:45 PM, he will lay the foundation stone and dedicate various projects worth over seven thousand 200 crore rupees in Ambaji. Around 7 PM, he will perform Darshan and Pooja at Ambaji Temple. Thereafter, around 7:45 PM, Mr Modi will attend Maha Aarti at Gabbar Tirtha. Prime Minister will also launch 'CM Gau vansh poshan yojana' from Ambaji. 

President Droupadi Murmu will present the 68th National Film Awards in New Delhi today evening. Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2020 will be given to legendary actress Asha Parekh for her exemplary lifetime contribution to Indian Cinema.

The best Feature Film award will be given to Tamil film Soorarai Pottru. Hindi film Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ will get Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.

Dangi language non-feature film Testimony of Ana will be given an award for Best Non-Feature Film. Marathi Film Funeral will be awarded Best Film on Social Issues.

India has climbed to the 40th rank in the Global Innovation Index of World Intellectual Property Organization. This is a huge leap of 41 places in 7 years.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said innovation is the buzzword across India. He expressed pride at country's innovators saying India has come a long way and there are even newer heights to scale.

Union Commerce and Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal in a tweet said, India is innovating Like Never Before. He said, the steady rise testifies that India under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi is rapidly emerging as a global innovation hub.

Ministry of Women and Child Development is organizing Poshan Utsav from today till 2nd October at Kartavyapath in New Delhi to celebrate the culmination of the 5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah.  

It will be inaugurated this evening by Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani. The inaugural function will be followed by a musical performance by artist Shaan. The invitees to the inaugural event will include children from Anganwadi Centres, Government Schools as well as Child Care Institutions in Delhi.