Important Dates & Festivities - Current Affairs for February, 2016

President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Amir and people of the State of Kuwait on the eve of their National Day (February 25, 2016). India and Kuwait share friendly bilateral ties.

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Republic of Estonia,on the eve of their National Day (February 24, 2016), and Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the President of the Republic of Estonia. The two nations have bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest – especially information technology, e-governance and cyber security.

President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended greetings to the people of Guyana on their republic day on 23rd February 2016. and the president of this republic is currently Brig. (Retd) David Arthur Granger who met Modi in NY recently. Shri Mukherjee has also extended his greetings and felicitations to the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam, and people of Brunei Darussalam on the eve of their National Day (February 23, 2016). Both Brunei and India are partners in India’s Act East Policy.

The theme was none other than A Just Transition - environmentally sustainable economies and societies. For marking the occasion, numerous activities were organised to emphasise the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This day was created by UNGA in the year 2007 for ensuring social and economic justice for all.

President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended greetings for the citizens and government of St. Lucia on the eve of their Independence Day namely February 22, 2016. The governor general of St. Lucia is currently Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy. St Lucia’s PM met the PM of India in September 2015 on the sidelines of UNGA. Ties between the 2 nations are extremely strong.

IMLD or International Mother Language Day was observed on 21st February 2016. It was observed every year since February 2000 for promoting linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The theme for the year 2016 was”Quality Education, Language of Instruction and Learning Outcomes.” On 16th May 2007, UNGA called for the celebration of 2008 as International Year of Languages.

Pangolins are also known as anteaters or trenggling and are in danger of extinction due to illegal trade and poaching. A division of WWF India, TRAFFIC India, stressed on the eve of World Pangolin Day that one needs to save these creatures facing extinction in India. 2 of 8 species of Pangolin ( 4 in Asia and Africa each) are from India namely Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata and Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla. Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked animal and conservation groups from across the world are trying to save this burrowing mammal.

Indian PM Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram on their statehood day i.e 20th February 2016. Arunachal Pradesh known as the Land of the Rising Sun has celebrated what is its 27th statehood day, having been formed in 1986-1987. Mizoram is the other NE state which celebrated statehood on this day as well.

On February 19, 2016, the 70th Raising Day celebration of the Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless was celebrated. DCPW came into existence in February 1946 as the Inspectorate of Wireless and is a nodal body to MHA for police telecommunications within the country. It also coordinates police communication services of CAPFs/states and union territories.

Shiv Jayanti is the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It was celebrated on the 19th of February 2016. This marks the 368th birth anniversary of one of the greatest rulers in Indian history. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an extremely secular ruler and was born in Junnar’s Shivneri Fort 100 Km east of Mumbai. Local Goddess Shivai was prayed to by his mother Jijabai for his birth. Hence he was named Shiva. "Torna" (Tornagad) or "Prachandgad" was the first fort captured by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his journey to establish a Maratha empire. PM Modi paid rich tributes to the great Maratha warrior and ruler on his birth anniversary.

The National Day of Gambia was celebrated on the 18th February 2016. President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee extended greetings to the people and government of this nation. The current president of the Republic of Gambia is His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, and bilateral cooperation between India and this nation is considerable.

President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended greetings and felicitations to Government and Republic of Lithuania on the eve of their national day on February 16, 2016. The President of the Republic of Lithuania is Her Excellency Ms. Dalia Grybauskaite. Recently, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled in Lithuania. Both countries share close links.

President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended greetings and felicitations to Government and persons of the Republic of Serbia on the eve of their National Day which was February 15, 2016. Currently the president of the Republic of Serbia is His Excellency Mr. Tomislav Nikolic. As co founders of NAM or Non Aligned Movement, India and Serbia have engaged in strong bilateral cooperation over the years.

February 13th has been observed as World Radio Day each year by UNESCO. This day celebrates the awareness and freedom of expression promoted across cultures by promoting activities with broadcasters, communities and organisations across the world. This day was proposed by Spain and approved on 3rd November 2011 by the 36th General Conference of UNESCO. The UNESCO theme for World Radio Day was “Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster.”Radio remains a popular way to communicate since its invention 100 years ago.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science was celebrated on February 11, 2016. The present year marks the first time this day has been observed. UNESCO DG Irina Bokova called for efforts to empower women through science, taking forward the 2030 agenda. The theme for the International Day was “Transforming the World: Parity in Science”.

Ganga Sanskriti Yatra showing the cultural heritage of Ganga will commence at Gangotri on 14th February 2016 at 6:56 am (time of sunrise). Closing ceremony will held in Kapilmuni Ashram, Gangasagar, the summit of Ganga. The yatra aims to spread awareness about cultural diversity and heritage of the Ganga river basin as well as rejuvenation and protection. The festival is being organised from Gangotri to Gangasagar from 14 February to 13 March, 2016 in 262 different venues connecting with over 2.5 crore people. The main aim of the festival is to showcase art forms of Ganga basin deeply associated with the river such as kavi sampan, street plays, dance drama, folk theatre and poster campaigns. Ganga is the longest river in India stretching from Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal with over 400 million people living within the basin. Ganga flows through the following states- Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal under the EZCC.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Shri JP Nadda launched the National Deworming Day at a function in Hyderabad. India will wage a battle against neglected tropical diseases and the first National Deworming Day was observed in 2015. India will now be launching National Deworming Day across the whole country targeting 27 crore children in 536 Indian districts. National Deworming Day will see the mobilisation of health personnel, state governments and other stakeholders for improving investments in controlling STH infections. India has the highest burden of parasitic worms across the globe. According to a 2012 GoI report, 48% of children under the age of 5 years are stunted and 19.8% are wasted, indicating that half of the country’s children are malnourished.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for DoNER and MoS PMO, Dr. Jitendra Singh announced the holding of Destination North East: 2016 at a conference. Aim of Destination North East was to bring India closer to NE states. NE will play a vital role in India’s Act East Policy. Venues for Destination NE will be Mumbai and Bengaluru to be followed by other parts of the nation. 3 day event will have theme particular business summits comprising sectors like Tourism and Handloom apart from cultural events to showcase the heritage of NE states.

On the even of their national day (February 7, 2016) the people of Grenda and its leader were wished by the President of India. Currently, the governor general of Grenada is Dr. Cecile La Grenade. Both countries have cooperated in the field of issues of common concern on the global fora.

World Cancer Day 2016 was observed across the world on 4th February 2016 with the year’s theme- We can. I can. World Cancer Day unites the population across the globe in the battle against cancer. World Cancer Day 2016-2018 will explore how individuals or collective can reduce global burden of cancer. World Cancer Day was founded by the Union for International Cancer Control/UICC for supporting the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, 2008. The primary aim is to significantly reduce illness and death caused by cancer by 2020. UICC was founded during the 1930s and based in Geneva.

Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, the president of India extended his greetings to the National Disaster Response Force on the eve of their raising day. It was the 11th Raising Day’s eve on the 5th of February, 2016. NDRF has saved many lives and helped people during natural disasters such as those in Chennai and Nepal.

World Wetlands Day was observed on 2nd February 2016 across the world to mark the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in Ramsar, Iran during the 1970s. Theme for this day was “Wetlands for our Future: Sustainable Livelihoods.” This showcases the value of wetlands in attaining local livelihood through activities such as rice farming, fishing and tourism. Day is observed to promote and create awareness and facilitate affirmative action for wetland conservation. World Wetlands Day this year is being celebrated by Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in partnership with the WestBengal Government at Sunderbans. Sunderbans is one of the largest blocks of estuarine mangrove forests in the world. It is a natural habitat for many different kinds of c.