1) PM Narendra Modi to attend first in-person Quad Summit at White House
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the first-ever in-person QUAD ( Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) Leaders’ Summit at the White House, in Washington D.C. on September 24, 2021. Quad nation comprises of India, Japan, the US and Australia. PM Modi will also address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 25, 2021.
2) PM Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University at Aligarh, in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh government is establishing the university in memory and honour of noted Jat figure, Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, the great freedom fighter, educationist and social reformer.
•The University will be spread over an area of over 92 acres at Lodha village and Musepur Kareem Jarouli village of Kol tehsil in Aligarh and will provide affiliation to 395 colleges of the Aligarh division.
3) India–Africa Defence Dialogue to be held biennially at every DefExpo
•The Government of India has proposed to institutionalise the India-Africa Defence Dialogue, as a regular event, to be held on the sidelines of the biennial DefExpo military exhibition. The first India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave (IADMC) was held at DefExpo in February 2020 in Lucknow.
•Following this, second India – Africa Defence Dialogue will be held on the sidelines of the DefExpo, scheduled to be held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat in March 2022. The theme of the 2nd India Africa Defence Dialogue will be ‘India – Africa: Adopting Strategy for Synergizing and Strengthening Defence and Security Cooperation.
4) UNESCO Literacy Prize awarded to NIOS for Innovation in Education
•National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), run by the education ministry, has bagged global recognition from UNESCO for its innovative approach towards education. The recognition is for educating differently-abled people through technology-enabled inclusive learning material. The NIOS move has a specific focus on Indian sign language-based content.
•By awarding NIOS the King Sejong Literacy Prize, the jury has recognized the value of providing for the unique educational and language needs of PwD learners by developing teaching content in sign language through digital mode. The award-winning programme focuses on the use of digital tools and local language to help persons with disabilities the option to access Indian Sign Language (ISL)-based content.
5) Bhanumati Gheewala to get National Florence Nightingale Award 2021
•The Florence Nightingale Award will be given to a nurse, Bhanumati Gheewala, from Sir Sayajirao General Hospital, Gujarat. She has been in charge of COVID-19 positive pregnant women’s deliveries as well as infant care. She worked in the gynaecology department as well in the paediatric ward. In 2019, when the wards of the hospital were waterlogged due to flood. She carried her duty in the gynaecology department and the pediatric ward.
6) Raja Randhir Singh appointed acting president of Olympic Council of Asia
•India’s Raja Randhir Singh has taken over as acting president of the Olympic Council of Asia as Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah appeals a guilty verdict in a Swiss forgery trial. A five-time Olympic shooter and an Asian Games gold medallist in 1978, Singh was promoted to the role from his position as an honorary life vice president.
•During the interim period, Raja Randhir Singh will carry out the duties and responsibilities of the OCA President, starting with the OCA Executive Board Meeting scheduled to be held on 13th September 2021.” Singh had been part of OCA as secretary-general for 24 years since 1991 and is the longest-serving executive board member. He is also an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee.
