Important Dates & Festivities - Current Affairs for January, 2017

To celebrate National Immunisation Day, President Pranab Mukherjee launched the countrywide programme for 2017 by administering polio drops to children aged below five years.

The programme will cover around 17 crore children aged under five years.

It will make an effort to maintain the country’s polio-free status.

Immunization is one of the key interventions in reducing child deaths in country.

Rotavirus virus vaccine has been introduced as part of the Universal Immunisation Programme last year.

The Ministry will soon introduce Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine to reduce the burden of diarrhea, pneumonia and meningitis

It will also conduct a countrywide campaign with Measles-Rubella vaccine in phased manner.

India has reduced under-5 mortality rate from 75 per 1000 live births in 2005 to 45 per 1000 in 2014.

Chinese are lighting incense sticks and praying at temples to wish for a good start to the Lunar New Year.

28^th Jan 2017 the first day of the Year of the Rooster.

Beijing's sprawling spring festival temple fair opened at Ditan Park.

Other New Year's traditions include the eating of dumplings in northern China and the lighting of fireworks. B

Ethnic Chinese and others around the world also marked the holiday with celebrations and visits to temples.

Bharat Parv, a national festival showcasing the country’s diverse culture, cuisines, handicrafts and catch glimpses of a progressive India was held.

It was inaugurated by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Tourism and Culture at Red Fort, Delhi on Republic Day.

Bharat Parv event is being organized by the Government of India at the Red Fort, Delhi from 26th to 31st January 2017, as part of the Republic Day 2017 Celebrations.

The prime objective of organizing the event is to generate a patriotic mood, promote the rich cultural diversity of the country, ensure wider participation.

It is also to popularise the idea of “Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat.”

The Ministry of Tourism has been designated as the nodal Ministry for the event, the highlights of which include:

• Republic Day Parade Tableaux,
• Performances by the Armed Forces Bands (static and moving),
• Multi-Cuisine Food Court,
• Crafts Mela,
• Cultural Performances from different regions of the country and a
• Photo Exhibition by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

The National Voters’ Day (NVD) was observed on 25 January.

This is held commemorate the foundation day of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

This year was 7th edition of the day and its theme was Empowering Young and Future Voters.

On this occasion President Pranab Mukherjee gave away awards for best electoral practices to District Collectors, Superintendents of Police and other functionaries involved in election management.

The day marks the foundation day of ECI which came into existence on 25th January 1950.

This day is also utilized to spread awareness among voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process.

Voting in India: Know More

• A citizen can be enrolled as voter when he or she is 18 years as on January 1 of the year electoral rolls are prepared.
• The electoral rolls are revised once in five years as well as before an election.
• The Commission occasionally does house-to-house enumeration.
• But the onus is on the citizen to register as a voter.
• The Election Commission registers persons as a voter in the constituency where they ordinarily reside.
• When you change your residence, the EC has to be intimated.
• Enrolling as a voter in more than one area is an offence.
• An NRI can vote in his/her hometown after registering as an Overseas Voter.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, son of the UAE’s founding President and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi was the Chief Guest at the 68th Republic Day celebrations.

Bilateral trade, valued at $ 180 million per annum in the 1970s, with UAE is now around $ 50 billion.

This makes the UAE India’s third largest trading partner for 2015-16 after China and the US.

The UAE is India’s second largest export destination, with exports of over $ 30 billion in 2015-16.

For the UAE, India was the biggest trade partner in 2015 — over $ 28 billion in non-oil trade.

As of March 2016, the estimated investment of the UAE in India is $ 8 billion - around $ 4.03 billion is Foreign Direct Investment, the rest is portfolio investment.

The UAE is the tenth biggest investor in India in terms of FDI.

This marks the first time a leader who is neither a Head of State nor Head of Government is Chief Guest.

MBZ, as the Crown Prince is popularly known, is the next generation of the UAE’s leadership, and its future leader.

About 68th Republic Day: Know More

For first time since 1950, foreign troops marched down the Rajpath on Republic Day last year.

French troops, the 35th Infantry Regiment of 7th Armoured Brigade, marched alongside Indian soldiers.

This year, 179 soldiers from the UAE (which includes 144 soldiers and 35 band members), led the parade.

India's elite counter-terror group, the National Security Guard, marched in the parade for the first time ever this year.

India's very own Light Combat Aircraft also made its debut appearance this year.

The Padma Vibhushan awardees for 2017 include legendary singer, Yesudas and political leaders Sharad Pawar and Murli Manohar Joshi.

In sports, Virat Kohli (cricketer), Dipa Karmakar (gymnast), Vikas Gowda (discus throw) and P.R. Sreejesh (hockey) have been awarded the Padma Shri.

Other awardees include AIDS researcher Dr Suniti Solomon, Imrat Khan (artist), Anuradha Koirala (social worker), Bhavna Somaiya (film critic), Vishwa Mohan Bhat (music) and Anuradha Paudwal (singer).

The Burj Khalifa will light up in the colors of the Indian flag today and tomorrow (January 25 and 26) in salute to the Indian Republic Day.

Indian Government 2017: Know More

• Government: Federal parliamentary constitutional republic
• President: Pranab Mukherjee
• Vice-President: Mohammad Hamid Ansari
• Prime Minister: Narendra Modi
• Chief Justice: Jagdish Singh Khehar
• Speaker of the Lower House: Sumitra Mahajan

First edition of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) International Television Dance Festival was held in Hyderabad.

The capital of Telangana, Hyderabad hosted the event sponsored by the Prasar Bharati, India’s public service broadcaster.

It highlighted the traditional and contemporary dance performances by artistes from over 10 counties across the Asia-Pacific region.

Participating countries

The countries that participated in the event include:

• Maldives,
• Afghanistan,
• Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan,
• Philippines,
• Vietnam,
• Cambodia,
• Fiji and
• Indonesia.

• The ABU was established in 1964.
• It is a non-profit, non-government, professional association.
• It aims to assist the development of broadcasting in the region.
• It currently has over 280 members in 57 countries and regions.
• It is reaching a potential audience of about 3 billion people.
• It is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

World Hindi Day was celebrated on 10^th Jan 2017. Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has conducted special events to spread the greatness of the language through its missions abroad.

Hindi is the first language of around 430 million people around the world.

Apart from India, the language is also spoken in Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Fiji and Mauritius.


Every year, the World Hindi Day is celebrated on January 10, marking the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference held in 1975.

The first World Hindi Conference was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Since 1975, the World Hindi Conference has been organised in different countries like India, Mauritius, United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, US.

The World Hindi Day was first observed on 10 January 2006

Facts on Hindi

• Hindi has originated from the Persian word Hind, which means the land of Indus river.
• The gender aspects of Hindi are very strict. All nouns in Hindi possess genders and the adjectives and verbs change according to gender.
• It is written in Devanagari script.
• Hindi is a descendent of Sanskrit. Its words and grammar follows that of the ancient language
• Hindi belongs to the Indo-Iranian sub-family of the Indo-European family of language
• It has been influenced and enriched by Turkish, Arabic, Persian, English and Dravidian (ancient South India) languages
• The earliest form of Hindi was called 'Apabhramsa', which was an offspring of Sanskrit.
• In 400 AD, poet Kalidas wrote Vikramorvashiyam in Apabhramsa.
• The first book believed to be published in Hindi was Prem Sagar.
• Hindi is one of the seven Indian languages that can be used to make web URLs.

The International Kite festival started in Ahmedabad at Sabarmati River Front in Ahmedabad.

It was launched by Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani. Close to 51 kite fliers from 8 different states took part in the event.

More than 100 kite fliers from 31 countries are participating in the event including Israel, italy, Germany, Canada, UK and the US.

The theme was “Tourist Destinations of Gujarat.” The festival involved kite workshops, craft stalls to display local art and food stalls with local delicacies.

International kite fliers will also visit Vadodara, Palanpur, Rajkot, Pavagadh, Valasad and Gandhidham in Gujarat as part of the festival.

Billed as the largest convergence of Indian diaspora, 14^th edition of this fest began in the country’s IT hub today with the spotlight on the role of youth in transforming the society and India’s potential to play the role of a ‘Vishwa Guru’ again.

The ‘Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ was inaugurated as part of the PBD 2017 with an aim to connect with the youth, the new generation of Pravasis growing up all over the world.

An initiative to engage with young diaspora that provides forum to discuss issues that concern them was attended by political leaders. 2015 Youth PBD was about 3Cs - connect, celebrate and contribute, he said it will be 4Ts this year - Talent, Technology, Training and Teamwork,” he said.

About 300-400 overseas Indian youth are participating in the Youth PBD, including nearly 150 PIOs who are visiting India for the Know India programme.

The Youth PBD in 2017 includes plenary sessions on problems faced by Indian students abroad, problems faced by NRI students in India, and startups and innovation which have a social impact in India.

The Youth PBD 2017, with focus on ‘Redefining engagement with the Indian Diaspora’, is being attended by delegates from 72 countries and registration has crossed 7,200 as of yesterday, officials said.

The convention, being held biennially for the first time instead of earlier annual versions, will aim at redefining India’s engagement with its 3.12 crore strong diaspora in diverse spheres, including innovation, start-ups, tourism and education.

Island Tourism Festival is an annual cultural event organized for the promotion of tourism and entertainment for islanders.

The main event is being held in Port Blair. A part of festival are also organized in other places like Wimberlygunj, Wandoor, Neil, Havelock, Rangat, Mayabunder, Diglipur, Hut Bay, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Campbell Bay etc.

The ten-day festival is held annually from 5th January at ITF ground Port Blair.

The highlight of the festival at ITF ground is the exhibition depicting strides made by the Island Administration in various spheres and sale of general merchandise, food stalls, and stalls of interest to tourists, Floating Restaurant etc.

The main focal point, however, is the performance of mainland artists especially reputed music bands, Bollywood singers, dancers, performers etc.

Inaugurated by Lt. Governor Jagdish Mukhi at ITF Ground on 5th Jan, the 10 day mega event will see performances by the cultural troupes from mainland India to help the Islanders renew their cultural ties with mainland.

The cultural troupes from mainland as well as the Isles will also perform in outer Islands apart from South Andaman.

An International Cultural Group from Kazakhstan will also perform in this event. The other attractions of this event will be the food courts, fun games and handicrafts etc. Water sports competitions like Nicobari Hodi race are organized.

World Braille day was celebrated on Jan 4^th 2017. It is celebrated every year on this day across the world to commemorate the birth of French inventor Louis Braille.

Braille invented the Braille language which helps blind people to read as well as write.At the age of 3, he accidentally became blind. However, he had a great yearning to be able to read and write properly, despite his disability.

He developed the Braille language at the age of 15. Louis's work was not only confined to alphabets. He was passionate about music too, and thus, in the latter part of his life, he even developed Braille language for music.

He published his system in 1829.

He was offered a professorship in 1833, teaching history, geometry and algebra, as well as his own system of Braille. He published books explaining how to use his code, which included dots and dashes for demonstration.

The system of Braille was adopted in schools in 1856.

On World Braille Day, awareness is also raised about the new technologies coming in the field of Braille language on this day.

The World Braille Day in 2009 marked the 200th birthday anniversary of Louis Braille.

Braille and Visual Impairment: Know More

• Around 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide.
• According to National Braille Week, around 150 million people use Braille.
• This is a code system of raised dots – as a form of literacy, as it allows users to spell, use punctuation and format text on a page.
• Louis Braille, was born on 4 January 1809 in the town of Coupvray in northern France.
• By the time he was five, he was blind in both eyes, but the tragic accident lead to the birth of braille.
• Braille at the age of 15, had formed six dots which could be used in 63 ways to form a code with the fingertips.
• His code was easily adapted to fit languages other than French, allowing the blind and visually impaired to read more easily.

KITE 2017, Telangana’s second international kite festival on 14–15 January 2017 at the Academy campus.

KITE 2017 aims to promote women’s empowerment, particularly girl child education, and to raise awareness and support for merit-based opportunities to access world class education through collaboration with NGO’s, and corporates and government agencies.

KITE 2017 will also feature an arts and crafts mela.

KITE 2017, Telangana International Kite Festival (TIKF,) is a family fun festival celebrating Sankranthi through the rich regional tapestry of kites, culture and crafts of Hyderabad and the Deccan.

KITE 2017 features an inclusive pre-festival dedicated Schools Program on Friday 13th, followed by 2 days of family fun and kite flying. Surrounded by Telangana

More About KITE 2017

• Held from 12th – 17th January 2017
• Children, students, youth, parents, families, international & national kite flyers will participate.
• KITE 2017 aims to enhance the tourism profile of the rich heritage of Hyderabad as a ‘hidden jewel’ of India.
• Badminton Star PV Sindhu, the festival ambassador, launched Designer Kites on this occasion. Minister said the Kite Festival will be organized in a way to reflect the culture and tradition of Telangana, which will be held from 12^th to 17th January.
• This year the kite festival will be held in Warangal and Yadadri apart from Hyderabad.