By: D.K Choudhary
Mega Festival on 350th Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti Organized in Patna
i. The 350th Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti was celebrated across the world on January 5, 2017.Marking the occasion, a huge festival known as Prakash Utsav also known as Prakash Parv has been organized in Patna, Bihar– the birth place of the Guru.
ii. The festival which is celebrated every year in Patna is attended by nearly 5 lakh devotees each year. The festival has been organized at the city’s iconic, sprawling Gandhi Maidan.
iii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Prakash Utsav, which marks the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh. He reached Patna on January 5 where he was received by Governor Ramnath Kovind and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. PM Modi offered prayers and served “langar” at the 61-acre area, covered with glittering tents.
iv. Prime Minister Modi released a commemorative postage stamp to mark the occasion of 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.
Two-day Assam Biotech Conclave 2017 Begins in Guwahati
i. The two-day Assam Biotech Conclave 2017 began in Guwahati, Assam on January 5, 2017 at a city hotel. The Conclave will have the closing ceremony on January 6, 2017.
ii. Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal was the chief guest who inaugurated the Conclave in the presence of various guests of honours including State Science and Technology Minister Keshab Mahanta among others.
iii. The Conclave has been organized by the Guwahati Biotech Park (GBP), in association with Federation of Industry & Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER), as an Industry partner.
iv. The main objective of the conclave is to bring together the policy makers, industry professionals, investment bankers, Angel Investors and academicians to deliberate the latest trends in this sector which will create business and partnering opportunities for its stakeholders and to showcase the facilities and opportunities offered by Guwahati Biotech Park.
v. This conclave will revolve around a various sessions including technical, business tea research & biotechnology, sericulture biotechnology, entrepreneurship development, innovation & incubation, an MoU signing ceremony with various organizations, unveiling of draft state biotechnology policy for Assam and unveiling of master plan for Guwahati Biotech Park.
vi. Guwahati Biotech Park is also organizing a contest entitled ‘Talent Search Contest on Innovative Biotechnology Entrepreneurial Ideas’. The shortlisted participants will present their proposals and the best proposals will be awarded.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry Launches IPR Enforcement Toolkit for Police and IPR Awareness Campaign for school Children
The Union Commerce & Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Enforcement Toolkit for Police along with an IPR Awareness Campaign for School Children on January 4, 2017 in New Delhi.
♦ The IPR Enforcement Toolkit has been jointly prepared by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
i. Features of the Toolkit
♦ This toolkit will enable the police officials across the country in dealing with IP crimes, 
specifically Trade Marks counterfeiting and Copyrights piracy. The device would include details of offences under various laws along with checklists for registering a complaint and conducting search and seizures.
♦ It also lays down general guidelines for search and seizure in case of IP crimes. This toolkit will be provided to all state police departments across the nation to assist them in dealing with the cases relating to Trademarks and Copyrights infringements.
ii. IPR Awareness Campaign
♦ CIPAM is also launching an IPR Awareness campaign for schoolchildren, in collaboration with the International Trademark Association (INTA) to spread the message of IPRs in a creative and engaging manner among the children to inculcate respect for IPRs amongst them from an early age, so that they become responsible users of IPRs in the future.
♦ For this, CIPAM will make use of presentations and creatively illustrated posters and pamphlets to cover the basics on IPRs and the need to protect IPRs.
iii. Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM)
♦ The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is working to ensure effective implementation of the National IPR Policy 2016. Two MoU on IPRs were recently signed with UK and Singapore.
♦ CIPAM is looking forward to work with various stakeholders in its journey of making Creative India; Innovative India.
Three Days International Conference on “Yoga for Diabetes” Organised in New Delhi
i. The Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge), Shri Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the International Conference on “Yoga for Diabetes” which began in New Delhi on January 4, 2017.
ii. The three days conference aims to generate discussions on the role of Yoga in the prevention and management of Diabetes and draw up a roadmap to be adopted for the control of Diabetes through Yoga.
iii. The Conference consists of main and parallel sessions on different aspects of Yoga & Diabetes including research, policy making and panel discussion. It provides a common platform for the Allopathy and AYUSH practitioners, Researchers, Academicians, Policy makers and students to come together in the fight against diabetes
iv. Approximately 400 delegates and 50 eminent experts from India and abroad are expected to participate in the Conference. The conference would conclude on January 6, 2017.
