Notes:
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput has collaborated with NITI Aayog for the promotion of Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) launched by the Cenrtal government. An agreement in this effect was signed by the actor with NITI Aayog in New Delhi on May 25, 2018. The aim of the WEP is to build an ecosystem for women across India to realize their entrepreneurial aspirations, scale-up innovative initiatives and chalk-out sustainable, long-term strategies for their businesses. Mr. Rajput will also promote NITI Aayog’s digital payments campaign which looks towards transforming India into a less-cash economy. The actor will endorse the WEP and encourage use of Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) application by appearing in various video, print and social media campaigns of NITI Aayog. He would also be supporting NITI Aayog in promoting the Women Transforming India Awards 2018, the theme for which is ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’ and whose nominations are currently ongoing.

Notes:
The ASEAN India Film Festival 2018 has started in New Delhi on May 25, which will be inaugurated by Information and Broadcasting Minister Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore. During the 6-day event, 32 films from 11 countries will be screened. It includes 2018 Best Film in the National Film Awards Village Rockstar, Singaporean film Maker Kirten Tan’s film Pop Aye, first female director of Brunei Darussalam Siti Kamaluddin’s movie Yasmine. Beyond films, the festival will also have panel discussions on various aspect of cinema. The film festival will be a platform for people of the film industry of member countries to explore areas of cooperation in the domain of cinema and cultural cooperation. The Directorate of Film Festivals is organising the Film Festival in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs as part of the series of events to commemorate the 25 years of ASEAN and India relations.

Notes:
On May 24, in New Delhi, the UNICEF has launched a ‘data visualisation app’ which provides a user-friendly visual representation of complex analytics of the education scenario in India. The app has been made with technical inputs from the UNICEF, in collaboration with the National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA) and the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT). It uses the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), the National Assessment survey (NAS) and demographic data and can be used as a visual tool by policy makers, senior government officials, academia, and researchers to address gaps and monitor programs in the field of education. Beside this, UNICEF India in partnership with HRD Ministry has also organized a ‘Shiksha Mela Education Open Day’ to demonstrate case stories showcasing holistic and equitable quality education achieved through convergent programming across 17 Indian states.

Notes:
The Singchung Bugun Community Reserve (SBVCR), an NGO from West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, has won the India Biodiversity Award 2018 in the “Conservation of wildlife species” category for its efforts in conserving rare wildlife resources in the area. The award was conferred by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and presented by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Hyderabad. The award consists of citation, a memento and a cash prize of Rs one lakh. The SBVCR was instituted under a clause of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 that enables any state government to declare a community-owned forest area as a “community reserve” if the locals are willing to participate in conservation efforts for the same. The Reserve lies right next to the Eaglesnest Wildlife sanctuary, a biodiversity hotspot, which is also home to the Bugun Liocichla — a new bird species that has no reported sighting anywhere else in the world.

Notes:
The 15th Finance Commission has constituted a high level group to examine the strengths and weaknesses for enabling balanced expansion of health sector. The group headed by Director AIIMS, Dr. Randeep Guleria will have eminent experts of health sector. It will evaluate the existing regulatory framework in the sector and examine its strength and weaknesses for enabling a balanced yet faster expansion of the health sector keeping in view India’s demographic profile. The high level group will also suggest ways and means to optimize the use of existing financial resources and incentivise the state governments’ effort on fulfillment of well-defined health parameters. Besides, it will holistically examine best international practices and seek to benchmark the country’s frameworks to these practices for optimizing benefits.

Notes:
Nima Jangmu Sherpa, a 28 year old Nepali woman, has created a world record by scaling three highest mountains in a single climbing season. She made her historic ascent on Mt Kanchenjunga, third highest peak of the world, on May 23. With this, she has become only woman in the world to climb three highest peaks in Nepal above 8,000 meters in one season within 25 days. She had successfully scaled Mt Everest on May 14 and Mt Lhotse on April 29. The women have set many new records during this year’s climbing season 2018. Last week India’s Shivangi Pathak became youngest women of the country to climb Mt Everest from Nepal side. Similarly, Ajeet Bajaj and his daughter Deeya also scaled Mt Everest last week to become India’s first father-daughter duo to climb highest peak of the world.

Notes:
The 5th India-CLMV Business Conclave was held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 21-22 May 2018, which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of India along with Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia. Here, CLMV stands for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam. The business conclave provided an opportunity for developing better understanding of CLMV economies which have untapped potential for development and which offer more scope for enhancement of economic engagement with India. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is the institutional partner of the event. The ministerial and business delegations from India, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos consisting of about 400 delegates participated in the programme.

Notes:
The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar has launched the ‘Samagra Shiksha’ – an integrated Scheme for school education in New Delhi on May 24. The scheme focuses on improving quality of education, enhancing the Learning outcomes and using technology to empower children and teachers. Samagra Shiksha is a program that unifies learning from the pre-school to class 12 levels and encapsulates elements of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). It aims to treat education holistically as a continuum from pre-school to class 12. The excerpts of the scheme are as follows: provision of quality education, bridging social and gender gaps in school education, promoting vocationalisation of education, strengthening teacher education institutions like SCERTs and Diets to improve quality of teachers, annual grant of Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 per school for strengthening of libraries, etc.

Notes:
Lt Gen Zorawar Chand Bakshi (97), one of India’s most highly decorated generals, has passed away at New Delhi on May 24, 2018. He hailed from Gulyana village near Rawalpindi in Pakistan, where he was born in 1921. Gen Bakshi was most known as one of the commanders of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 (Operation Ablaze). During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was instrumental in the capture of territory in what is now referred to as the crucial Chicken-Neck Sector, for which he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. Fondly called Zoru by his friends, he was decorated for gallantry with the Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra, etc.

Notes:
The Amrit Dhara is a natural waterfall located in Koriya district of Chhattisgarh. It originates from the Hasdeo River, which is a tributary of the Mahanadi River. It falls from a height of 90.0 ft. The waterfall is about 10.0–15.0 ft wide.