1) 7th March celebrated as Jan Aushadhi Diwas
•India celebrates 7th of March every year as Jan Aushadhi Diwas. The days aims to create awareness and providing thrust to the use of generic medicines. On the occasion of Jan Aushadhi Diwas, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have an interaction event with seven Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana Kendras through the video conferencing. The message of the Prime Minister will also be telecasted at every Jan Aushadhi outlet.
•Janaushadhi Kendras is the world’s biggest retail pharma chain having around 6,200 outlets in 700 districts of the country. It also provides a good source of self-employment with sustainable and regular earnings. The first Jan Aushadhi Diwas was celebrated on 7th of March 2019.
2) GoI targets to replace All level crossings on NH by Over/under Bridges
•The Union Government of India is envisaging to replace all level crossings on National Highways by Over/under Bridges. The replacement of all the level crossings on National Highways by Road Over Bridges or Road Under Bridges will be executed under the Setu Bharatam scheme. GoI aims to ensure safe and smooth flow of traffic and to decrease the road fatalities by 50% by 2020 with the replacement of All level crossings on NH by Over/under Bridges. The whole replacement work will be executed by Road Transport and Highways Ministry.
About Setu Bharatam Scheme:
•The Setu Bharatam Scheme was launched by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4th March in 2016. The scheme aims to build rail over-bridges or underpasses for safe and seamless travel on National Highways and to make all National Highways free of railway level crossings in order to prevent the frequent accidents and loss of lives at level crossings.
3) EPFO slashes interest rate on deposits to 8.5% for 2019-20
•Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), the retirement fund body has lowered the interest rate from 8.65% to 8.50% on provident fund deposits for the financial year 2019-20. The announcement of the reduced interest rate was made by Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar. The decision was taken during the meeting of the EPFO apex decision making body-the Central Board of Trustee, held in New Delhi.
4) Annual Festival of St Antony’s Shrine begins in Katchatheevu Island
•The annual festival of St Antony’s Shrine begins in Katchatheevu Island of Sri Lanka. The festival began with the traditional flag hoisting ceremonies. St Antony is being worshiped by the devotees as the patron saint of sea farers. The St shrine is the only structure on the Katchatheevu island. Priests from both India and Sri Lanka conducts the mass and car procession in connection with the festival.
•The festival celebrations also featured the participation of more than 3,000 devotees from India. As per an agreement between the two governments, Indians are not required to possess an Indian passport or Sri Lankan visa for visiting Kachchatheevu.
5) DAY-NULM partners with Amazon for e-marketing of products
•E-commerce giant Amazon has partnered with the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The partnership aims to facilitate e-marketing of products which are made by Self Help Groups (SHGs) across the nation in urban areas. It also aims to provide access of the products made by SHGs to the wider customer base. It will also strengthen the mission of creating sustainable livelihoods in urban areas. The partnership is also having an underlying narrative of women empowerment which will be instrumental in unleashing the natural entrepreneurial capability of urban women.
•The collaboration will also help in documenting and preserving the unique traditional art and crafts of different states. This kind of partnership was also done by DAY-NULM with Flipkart in the past.
6) BRAC tops the list of top 500 Global NGOs
•BRAC, an international development organization has topped the list of top 500 Global Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The list of the top 500 global NGOs of year 2020 was released by Geneva-based organization NGO Adviser. NGO Adviser releases the rankings of the top 500 global NGOs every year. The Bangladesh based international development organization, BRAC has retained its 1st rank in the list for the 5th consecutive year. The rankings are drawn by NGO Adviser by keeping in mind the various aspects such as the impact, innovation, governance and sustainability of the NGO.
About BRAC:
•BRAC is an international development organization based in Bangladesh. It was found in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed to facilitate the returning war refugees with small-scale relief and rehabilitation project. Currently, the Bangladesh based organization is also having its presence in 11 countries of Asia and Africa. It is presently working in various fields like poverty alleviation through extending loans to the poor, nutrition, healthcare, gender equality, environment and employment etc. BRAC also runs a university, a bank, insurance company, a seed company among other things.
7) Indian Army organizes Self Defence Training for Women
•A unit of Indian Army has organized a Self Defence Training demonstration for Women with a theme of “Stronger You Stronger Society”. The Self Defence Training event was organized for the local womenfolk in Nalbari district of Assam. The training demonstration was held with an objective of addressing fear and to empower the girls morally, mentally and physically to defend themselves in any set of circumstances.
•Ramesh Karki, an international taekwondo player of Indian Army conducted the demonstration along with two local players of International repute. The demonstration also featured the participation of around 250 girl students and staffs from various academic institutions of the Nalbari district.
