Notes:
The ‘Destination North East-2017’ festival has started in Chandigarh from March 6, 2017 to showcase North East as a potential destination for investment. The main theme of this festival is to highlight the use of appropriate technologies in all sectors of development for North East Region (NER). It will see round table discussions and exhibition stalls showcasing various features of the NER in order to attract investments in tourism, food processing, handlooms and handicrafts, horticulture and floriculture, medicinal & aromatic plants, organic farming and bamboo development. The festival has organised by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India (GoI) and an industry body PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Notes:
The 13th edition of Economic Co-operation Organisation (ECO) summit was held in Islamabad, Pakistan on March 1, 2017. The purpose of the summit is to increase cooperation in areas such as trade, energy, tourism, economic growth and productivity. Ambassador Halil Ibrahim Akca from Turkey is the current Secretary General of ECO. The ECO was formed in 1985 by Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. It now also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

Notes:
The National Conference on Innovation in Educational Administration has started at Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra in New Delhi on March 5, 2017. The 3-day conference has organized by National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA). The main purpose of the programme is to recognise innovative ideas and best practices adopted by district and block level education officers for effective management of the educational administrative system at district and block levels. The National Awards for innovation in Educational Administration will be presented by Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar on March 7. About 150 district and block level education officers from across India and resource persons and faculty of the university will participate in the conference.

Notes:
Dr. Thomas Earl Starzl (90), the renowned American surgeon and expert on organ transplants, has recently passed away Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He performed the world’s first human liver transplant and has often been referred to as “the father of modern transplantation”. Since then, thousands of lives have been saved by the procedure. Beside this, he was also the driving force behind the world’s first baboon-to-human liver transplants and research on anti-rejection drugs.

Notes:
The book “Lincoln in the Bardo” has been authored by George Saunders, the Folio prize-winning author. The novel is a tale of death and beyond that captures the grief of Abraham Lincoln over the death of his 11-year-old son Willie while the Civil War raged on in the United States of America (USA). The book draws a parallel line between the lives of Willie’s ghost and a similar uncertain state of Lincoln, after the boy’s death. In simple words, the novel is a confrontation with the mysterious beyond the inevitable death, a question that has haunted humankind, and the way death can bring even the head of a nation to his knees.

Notes:
The National conference on Jal Kranti Abhiyan will be organized by the Ministry of Water Resources and River Development in New Delhi on March 7, 2017. About 700 participants representing various stakeholder groups such as farmers, panchayat members, NGOs and students will attend the daylong conference. The purpose of the Abhiyan is to strengthen grass root involvement of all stakeholders including panchayati raj institutions and local bodies for participatory irrigation management.

Notes:
Thiruvananthapuram has topped the list of Indian cities in the urban governance ranking of the 4th edition of Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS)-2016. The survey conducted by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, which evaluated 21 cities across 18 states. Pune stood at 2nd position followed by Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The ASICS highlighted inadequacies in urban governance that could affect public service delivery and quality of life. Janaagraha recommends changes in planning laws to address the issues challenging the efficient planning of the cities.

Notes:
The National Safety Week/Day (NSW) is celebrated every year in India from March 4 to 10 to raise safety awareness among people, and to prevent and lessen the loss of human life and tackle financial losses to the family by availing them of safety, health and environment-related support services. The 2017 theme is “Keep Each Other Safe”. It is observed by the National Safety Council (NSC) of India.

Notes:
Rene Garcia Preval (74), the former President of Haiti, has recently passed away in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He was the agronomist and champion of the poor who served two terms as the country’s leader. Preval was the first elected head of state in Haitian history to peacefully receive power from a predecessor in office. His presidencies were marked by domestic tumult and attempts at economic stabilization.

Notes:
Recently, the West Bengal government has granted official language status to endangered tribal language “Kurukh” of the Dravidian family. The language is spoken by Oraon and Kisan tribes. Apart from this, the state government has granted official status to Rajbanshi-Kamtapuri language spoken by the Koch Rajbanshi community.