Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar awardees on 24th of this month through video conferencing. During the function, the Prime Minister would give digital certificates to this year’s winners using Block Chain Technology. The certificates would also be given to winners of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar-2021, who could not be given the certificates last year due to COVID situation. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has said that Block Chain Technology is being used for the first time for giving certificates to awardees of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.

Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is given to children with exceptional abilities and outstanding achievement in the fields of Innovation, Scholastic achievements, Sports, Arts and Culture, Social Service, and Bravery. These Awards are conferred by the President in a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Prime Minister also interacts with these awardees every year. The awardees also take part in the Republic Day parade every year. However, in view of the COVID-19 situation in the country, it has not been possible to organize the award ceremony in New Delhi this year.

Indonesia passed a bill replacing its capital Jakarta with East Kalimantan, situated to the east of Borneo island. The new capital city of the country will be called Nusantara.

Further strengthening the Indo-Israel relations, Experts from both countries deliberated on widening the scope of the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) at its 8th Governing Body meeting. They approved three joint R&D projects totaling 5.5 million $ and proposed measures to create a larger India-Israel collaborative ecosystem.

Dr. S Chandrasekhar, Secretary, DST & India Co-Chair, acknowledging the contribution made by Israel to S&T said, the I4F programme has a lot of potential. This board meeting will give us new thoughts, new directions on how to go forward.”

He mentioned that the Prime Minister of India declared January 16th as ‘Innovation Startup Day,’ which is a significant milestone for India. Given that this is DST’s 50th year of operation, it will be a great year with more and more Industries coming forward,” he added.

Minister of state for Defence Ajay Bhatt today inaugurated an interactive Virtual Museum hosted by the Gallantry Awards portal. Mr. Bhatt said the virtual museum will honor the contribution of the country’s bravehearts who have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation. He said that it will bring their stories to the people, especially to the youth. He expressed confidence that the virtual museum will encourage more and more people to visit the Gallantry awards portal and inspire the youth to come forward & join the Armed Forces.

The Virtual Museum brings together the stories of commitment and sacrifice of the gallantry awards winners in an innovative and user friendly format. It comprises of a 3-D walk through experience, gallery building, lobby, wall of fame, tour of war memorials, war room, resource centre, selfie booth and equipment display. The Virtual Museum has been jointly developed by Ministry of Defence, Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics.

The gigantic and spectacular scrolls created under the unique initiative ‘Kala Kumbh’ have now been installed at the Rajpath for the Republic Day 2022 celebrations. These scrolls analyse the potential of art to express National pride and excellence with varied forms of art from diverse geographical locations of the country. These have been diligently researched upon and painted enthusiastically by more than five hundred artists who participated in special workshops or ‘Kala Kumbh’ at two locations, Odisha and Chandigarh.
Secretary, Culture Govind Mohan today visited Rajpath and inspected the installations.

Briefing mediapersons, Mr Mohan said that as the country celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the 750 metre long scrolls are a unique initiative of Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Defence. The magnificent scrolls have been painted by local artists drawn from different regions and largely portray the tales of valour of unsung heroes of freedom struggle. The varied art forms of these artists are also reflected in the scrolls which have been brought together on a single platform in the true spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat. He further said that after Republic Day, the scrolls will be taken to different parts of the country and exhibited there as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

THE Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile was test-fired from Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the coast of Odisha on Thursday morning validating several new indigenous systems, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said.

The DRDO said, “BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with increased indigenous content and improved performance was successfully test fired at 10.30 am from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on January 20. The launch was conducted by Brahmos Aerospace in close coordination with DRDO teams. In this text book flight, the missile followed the predicted trajectory meeting all mission objectives.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritius counterpart Pravind Kumar Jugnauth jointly inaugurated the India-assisted Social Housing Units project in Mauritius through video conferencing last evening. They also launched the Civil Service College and 8MW Solar PV Farm projects in Mauritius that are being undertaken under India’s development support.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Modi said, India and Mauritius are united by history, ancestry, culture, language, and the shared waters of the Indian Ocean.

He said our robust development partnership has emerged as a key pillar of our close ties. Mauritius is a prime example of India's approach to development partnership which is based on the needs and priorities of our partners and respects their sovereignty.

India and Denmark have agreed to initiate joint research and development on green fuels including green hydrogen. During the Joint Science and Technology Committee meeting on 14th of this month, they discussed national strategic priorities and developments in Science, Technology, and Innovation of both countries. The committee emphasised on development of bilateral collaboration on mission-driven research, innovation, and technology development, including climate and green transition, energy.

The new Saa₹thi mobile app by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) aims to create awareness among investors about the basic concepts of the securities market.

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday launched “Saa₹thi” – a mobile app on investor education in Mumbai. The new app aims to create awareness among investors about the basic concepts of the securities market.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the Keynote address at the national launch ceremony of ‘Azadi Ke Amrit Mahotsav se Swarnim Bharat Ke Ore’ at 10:30 AM today via video conferencing. The program will unveil yearlong initiatives dedicated to Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav by the Brahma Kumaris, which include more than 30 Campaigns and over 15 thousand programs and events.

During the event, the Prime Minister will flag off seven initiatives of Brahma Kumaris. These include My India Healthy India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat: Self Reliant Farmers, Women: Flag Bearers of India, Power of Peace Bus Campaign, Andekha Bharat Cycle Rally, United India Motor Bike Campaign, and green initiatives under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.