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The first-ever International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour event in India has kicked off at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi. The $1.5 lakh India Open also happens to be the biggest ever ITTF event in terms of prize money. Approx, 80 players will participate in the tournament, 52 in the men’s section and 28 in the women’s section. Sharath Kamal is India’s sole direct entry in the men’s singles draw. In the women’s section, Manika Batra will lead the Indian challenge.

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Indian Navy’s survey vessel INS Sarvekshak has become the India’s first warship to install solar power system on board. The solar power system works on sunlight and hence is 100% per cent reliable for power source that can be used for communication equipment, battery charging and general lightings onboard round the clock with battery outputs during night. The system is maintenance free.

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The International Society for Krishna Consciousness’s (ISKCON) food relief foundation ‘Annamrita’ has bagged the IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality award in the NGO category. NGO Annamrita provides food to over 12 lakh students daily through its mid-day meal programme across India. Everyday more than 12 lakh underprivileged children across India get nutritious, sanctified, hygienically prepared meals from 20 centralised ISO certified kitchens from across seven states of India reaching out to over 6,500 schools every day. The allocation for the mid-day meal scheme in the Union Budget 2017 has been increased from Rs 9,700 crore to Rs 10,000 crore by the government and this will support Annamrita to reach out to serve more and more children from government-aided and municipal schools.

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The ‘Parents’ Worship Day’ (or ‘Matru-Pitru Diwas’ ) is celebrated every year by the Chhattisgarh government on February 14 at all schools in the state to teach ‘Bharatiya sanskriti’ to students.

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The 9th edition of BRICS summit-2017 will be held at Xiamen in the Fujian Province of east China on September 2017 with the theme “BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future”.

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Sandeep Das, an Indian-American tabla player, has won the Best World Music Album at the 59th edition of Grammy Awards-2017 in California, United States for his album “Sing Me Home”.

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India will host a conference on counter radicalisation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to share experiences and ideas on prevention of radicalization in October 2017. The conference will provide common platform to countries for sharing experiences and ideas on prevention of radicalisation.

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David Robert Jones (69), an English singer, songwriter and actor, has recently passed away in New York City, United States. He was posthumously honoured with five Grammy Awards in various categories viz. Best Alternative Rock Album, Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical), and Best Recording Package for Blackstar, and Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for the album’s title track at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards-2017.

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India’s first-ever floating elementary school “Loktak Elementary Floating School” has started at Langolsabi Leikai of Champu Khangpok floating village on Loktak Lake in Manipur. The school has been opened under the initiative undertaken by All Loktak Lake Fisherman’s Union with the support of an NGO – People Resources Development Association (PRDA). The school will not only cater to the need of the children but for the illiterate adults as well. The Loktak Lake is referred as the “lifeline of Manipur” as it is highly productive and many lives depend on the lake for endurance. The lake is also an Important Bird Area as it’s a potential breeding site for waterfowl and is a staging site for migratory birds.

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The book “Welcome to Nowhere” has been authored by acclaimed children’s writer Elizabeth Laird. This is a book about war and its consequences. Through book, author tells the story of 12-year-old Omar, his parents and four siblings, all of who are caught in the crossfire as civil war rages over Syria. Laird references real-life events and gives you great characters, heartwarming moments and even occasional humour.