By: D.K choudhary
First Edition of the North East Investors Summit Held in Shillong
i. The first edition of the North East Investors Summit was inaugurated on January 29, 2017 by the Union Textiles Minister, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in Shillong, Meghalaya.
ii. The North East Investors Summit 2017 was jointly organized by the Union Ministry of Textiles and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) of the Government of India in collaboration with industry associations Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The two day Summit concluded on January 30, 2017.
iii .Theme: Exploring Opportunities in North East Region.
iv. Aim: To launch North East Region as a Global destination for investment by exploring possibilities of attracting the investment especially in textile manufacturing.
v. North Eastern Region has well furnished and skilled work force inclined in the field of textiles and handicrafts. This creates huge potential for the region to attract investment and generate new employment opportunity.
vi. The summit saw the participation of all north eastern states, leading industrialists from the region as well as country-wide investors. Apart from boosting investment, the summit also aims to attract new skills and advanced production technology.
vii. Several MoUs were signed between the industries and state governments to promote investment and boost manufacturing in the region. Besides, Buyer-Sellers Meet and Exhibitions were also organized.
viii. To boost handlooms, handicrafts, sericulture, apparel & garmenting, technical textiles sectors, the Ministry of Textiles has set aside Rs. 1050 crore for implementing several projects in the eight states of North Eastern Region, in line with the Act East policy of the Government.
India’s First Multi-Sports Museum Inaugurated in Kolkata
i .India’s first multi-sports museum, Fanatic Sports Museum (FSM), was inaugurated on January 29, 2017 at the Ecospace in New Town, Rajarhat, Kolkata jointly by Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Abhinav Bindra, Deepa Malik and Devendra Jhajaria.
ii. The museum, spread over 6700 square feet, has been launched jointly by sports India’s First Multi-Sports Museum Inaugurated in Kolkatahistorian Boria Majumdar and industrialist from Kolkata, Harshavardhan Neotia. It is a first of its kind museum in India and is inspired by the MCC Museum at Lord’s and the IOC Museum in Lausanne.
iii. Entry tickets to the museum have been priced at Rs 100 with a 50% concession for students.
iv. India already has two cricket museums located at Pune and Chennai. However the new multi-sports museum would cover variety of games ranging from football, hockey, badminton, tennis, golf and athletics besides cricket.
v. Some of the crucial displays that the museum would showcase includes, Sachin Tendulkar’s gloves that he wore while making his 100th century, boot owned by Lionel Messi, a Chelsea shirt of Didier Drogba- member of the team that won the 2012 Champions League, chess board signed by Viswanathan Anand, Pele’s 1970 Brazil shirt.
vi. Apart from these, Usain Bolt’s running shoes, gloves worn by Bindra in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, caps of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Racquet used by Pullela Gopichand to train Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu in Rio, Bat used by Karun Nair to score 303 against England among others are some of the eye catching display’s for the museum.
Karnataka Govt Approves Amending Laws to Lift Ban on Kambala & Bullock Cart Race
i. The Karnataka state cabinet on January 28, 2017 approved amending Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Bill, 1960 Act to legalize the Kambala and Bullock Cart Race which is a traditional festival held annually in Karnataka.
ii. The amendment Bill will be introduced by the state cabinet in the legislature session scheduled to be begin from February 6.
iii. The Karnataka High Court banned the Kambala after animal rights group filed a petition to ban the sport as it showed cruelty against animals in sports like bull-taming and buffalo-racing.
iv. The decision regarding amendment was taken after protests and social media campaigns by the people of the state to allow the traditional sports prevalent in the region. Besides, the protest grew more severe after the ban was lifted fromTamil Nadu’s Jallikattu.
v. The Kambala is a buffalo race held annually in the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada between November and February. The festival marks a belief among the local people that the buffalo race through marshy paddy fields improves the quality of the soil.
Bombay Natural History Society launches climate change programme in Central Himalayas
i. The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has launched climate change programme to assess the status, distribution and conservation of pheasants and finches in the Central Himalayas.
ii. Aim: To evaluate the socio-economic activities of local communities and involve them in conservation efforts and sensitize the local forest department staff.
iii. This programme is funded by Oracle and facilitated by CAF-India.
iv. It will be the first step towards the protection of the ecosystem which benefits both biodiversity as well as the people in the system.
v. It will contribute in making an inventory of pheasants and finches, documentation of local specific conservation issues, and designing local as well as species specific conservation action plan with the community participation.
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) :
♦ The Bombay Natural History Society is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research
♦ The BNHS logo is the great hornbill
