Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday inaugurated 24 bridges and three roads built by Border Roads Organisation to strengthen strategic capabilities of India. Among these projects is the Chisumle-Demchok road at Umling La Pass.
Month: December 2021
** Assam Rifles havildar who escorted Dalai Lama in India in 1959 dies, laid to rest
Naren Chandra Das, the retired havildar of Assam Rifles who escorted the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in India in 1959, was laid to rest on Wednesday in Assam’s Lokra where he lived after retiring from the force. He was 83.
** How Bengal Heritage Foundation sustains the ‘living bridge’ between India and the UK
“There is no stronger or more important ‘living bridge’ than what the United Kingdom shares with India, and especially Bengal. It has been fantastic to see how the Bengal Heritage Foundation (BHF) has been nourishing and developing this unique bond over the years,” said Nick Low, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata, at The Bengal Club on December 27.
Low was speaking at the Bengal Heritage Dinner organised by the BHF — set up by a group of Bengali families in London in 2009 — to shed light on the wide-ranging work that the Foundation does to bolster Indo-British ties, apart from promoting the distinctive qualities of Bengal and Bengalis in the UK.
West Bengal
** 34th Industrial India Trade Fair at BNCCI Fair Ground, Rajarhat
In the process of building a New India, Skill development and Entrepreneurship are the two necessary keys. To address this, the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry in association with Sister Nivedita University had organized the Skill & Entrepreneurship Conclave at the 34th Industrial India Trade Fair with the theme “Future of Innovation & Entrepreneurship”.
To grace the conclave, the panelists present were Shri Meghdut Roy Chowdhury, Director, Techno India Group, Shri Charanpreet Singh, Praxis Business School, Shri Bikram Das, NSDC, Prof Suman Chatterjee, Sister Nivedita University and Dr.Subrata Chattapadhyay, University of Engineering & Management (UEM). Welcome Address was given by Shri Suman Chakraborty, an Executive Committee Member of BNCCI and Keynote address had been given by Shri Ashoke Kumar Banik, Honorary Treasurer, BNCCI.
West Bengal
** Sahitya Akademi award for Tamil writer Ambai
Ambai is the fourth woman writer from Tamil Nadu to get the award.
Tamil feminist writer Ambai, whose writings challenge the stereotyping of women, has won this year’s Sahitya Akademi award. She has been awarded for her short story collection Sivappu Kazhutthudan Oru Patchaiparavai. Ambai is the fourth woman writer from Tamil Nadu to get the award.
Another Tamil writer Mu Murugesh bagged the Bala Sahitya Puraskar for his collection of short stories, ‘Ammavukku Magal Sonna Ulagin Mudhal Kadha
** IIT Madras tops in Atal innovation rankings
Seven IITs, IISc, figure among top 10
Seven Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, are among the top 10 central institutions in promotion and support of innovation and entrepreneurship development, according to Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) announced on Wednesday.
The top rank has been bagged by IIT Madras followed by IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur and IIT Roorkee.
** Anupam Ray to be India’s new permanent representative at UN Conference on Disarmament
** Project to map rare plants in Parambikulam
Over 1,400 species of angiosperms in reserve
The Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation will join hands with the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) to prepare a detailed mapping of the rare and endangered plants endemic to the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve.
The mapping survey would begin soon, said Parambikulam Tiger Reserve deputy director Vysak Sasikumar. He said it was time to update the inventory of the rare plant species that brought glory to the reserve.
KFRI’s senior silviculturist P. Sujanapal will lead the mapping.
Kerala
** Srekala pays tribute to freedom fighters
Srekala Bharath’s ‘Veeram Vilayndha Bhoomi’ wasn’t backed by powerful dramatisation
Puli Thevar, Velu Nachiyar, Marudu Sagodharargal, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, V.O. Chidambaram, Bharathiyar and Kodi katha Kumaran are freedom fighters from Tamil Nadu, but barring a few popular names, most people may not be much familiar with others. So it was a good idea to present their stories as an ode to these freedom fighters and to commemorate 75 years of Independence.
Tamil Nadu
** 1839 struggle by Tai Khamti is India’s first war of independence: Arunachal Deputy CM
Chowna Mein urges Centre to recognise battle in northeast
The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 may not be India’s first war of independence.
The first such war, not recognised by Indian history, took place in 1839 between the Tai Khamti people and the British. The theatre of this war was some 2,400 km east of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh where the mutiny began, Arunachal Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein said.