1) National Panchayati Raj Day: 24 April
•On the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be launching the unified e-GramSwaraj Portal and Mobile App on the occasion. This is a new initiative of Ministry of Panchayati Raj which will provide the Gram Panchayats with a single interface to prepare and implement their Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
History of Panchayat Raj:
•24th April 1993 marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of power to the grassroots, with the institutionalization of Panchayati Raj, through the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 which came into force with effect from that day. Ministry of Panchayati Raj commemorates 24th April of every year as the National Panchayati Raj Day(NPRD), as the 73rd Constitutional Amendment came into force on this date. Rajasthan was the first state that carried the Panchayati Raj System in 1959 during the times of late Prime Minister Jawarharlal Nehru.
2) International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace
•The Assembly proclaimed the day while considering that preserving the values of multilateralism and international cooperation is fundamental to promote and support the three pillars of the UN – Peace and Security, Development and Human Rights. The Day is a reaffirmation of the UN Charter and its principles of resolving disputes among countries through peaceful means.
3) UNODC launches “Lockdown Learners” series in India
•The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) has rolled out a ‘Lockdown Learners’ series in India under its flagship “Education for Justice” initiative. It has launched ‘Lockdown Learners’ series of online dialogues with educators and students in India. The ‘Lockdown Learners’ series emphasizes on COVID-19 and its impact on Sustainable Development Goals, peace and rule of law.
•The ‘Lockdown Learners’ series provides students a stage at which they can receive mentorship and knowledge support via activity-based learning, and make use of their talent as well as skills to spread awareness and advance their ideas and solutions to address these problems. It aims to aware students on problems of vulnerable groups as well as emerging issues like gender-based violence, misinformation, cybercrime, discrimination, corruption etc.
4) India’s 1st COVID-19 sample collection mobile Lab launched
About “Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab”:
•Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab is India’s 1st COVID-19 sample collection mobile Lab. The 1st COVID-19 sample collection mobile Lab is jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization and ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Hyderabad. This mobile lab hae the capability of processing more than 1,000 samples in a day and hence, can enhance India’s capabilities in fighting COVID-19.
5) Indian High Commission in Bangladesh holds webinar on trade promotion
•During the webinar, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh urged all the participants to work together to overcome the difficulties being faced by the businesses in both the countries due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar featured the participation of several industry leaders from both the countries such as Pran Group, Iffad Group, Indofil and CEAT among others.
6) #MyBookMyFriend campaign launched on World Book Day
7) World Games unveil new logo for 2022 edition
•The World Games 2021 Birmingham has been renamed to World Games 2022 Birmingham. The first event of World Games was held in 1981 in Santa Clara, California, United States (US).
