Published on: November 2, 2024
Snippets : 2 NOVEMBER 2024
Snippets : 2 NOVEMBER 2024
- The list of 69 recipients of the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award 2024 was recently announced by Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi. This year, the award ceremony will be held at Vidhana Soudha instead of the traditional venue, Ravindra Kalakshetra, to accommodate a larger audience. Additionally, Karnataka is commemorating the 50th anniversary of its renaming as “Karnataka” through the Karnataka Sambhrama-50 Suvarna Mahotsava Awards, which will honor 100 recipients equally divided between men and women, each receiving Rs. 50,000. Among notable awardees is actor Sihi Kahi Chandru for his work on television. The Rajyotsava Award, Karnataka’s second-highest civilian honor, was established in 1966 and is awarded annually on November 1st, Karnataka’s state formation day. The award acknowledges individuals in fields such as arts, literature, science, and social service, and includes a Rs. 5 lakh cash prize, a 24-gram gold medal, and a citation. It has been awarded every year except in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, and 2009.
- India recently committed to increasing its biodiversity conservation budget by 2.5 times by 2030, as part of its enhanced biodiversity funding strategy. This pledge, presented at the 16th Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Colombia, reflects India’s goal to rehabilitate 30% of degraded land and marine areas by 2030. From 2017 to 2022, the government spent an average of Rs 33,200 crore annually on biodiversity, and by 2029-2030, the budget is set to exceed Rs 81,600 crore per year. Key conservation objectives include restoring ecosystems in terrestrial, inland, marine, and coastal areas to boost biodiversity and resilience. India’s biodiversity strategy also identifies major threats to ecosystems, including habitat change, pollution, overexploitation, climate impacts, and invasive species, with 23 targeted plans to address these challenges. As one of 17 mega-diverse nations, India hosts 7-8% of global species on just 2.4% of the earth’s land area. The new biodiversity initiative aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and CBD’s mission to conserve biodiversity, promote sustainability, and ensure equitable resource sharing, following India’s longstanding commitment as a CBD member since 1994.
- The Karnataka Admission Overseeing Committee (AOC), tasked with addressing student and parent grievances against professional colleges, is currently headless after its chairperson’s term ended on October 16. With no leader, staff can only receive and acknowledge complaints, and forward them to member secretaries, leaving over 250 complaints unresolved. This admission season has seen a surge in complaints against colleges demanding excess fees and insisting on hostel stays, particularly from MCA, MBA, Nursing, and Dental colleges. The committee’s inaction has stalled resolutions and hearings, including a pending petition from COMEDK regarding alleged seat blocking at top engineering colleges. Higher Education Minister Dr. M C Sudhakar acknowledges the issue and is awaiting the Chief Justice’s response to appoint a new chairperson, considering appointing the previous chairperson as interim solution if necessary.
- T P Gopalan Nambiar, the founder of the BPL Group and “one of the key architects of the electronics industry in post-independence India” passed away
- The state government has increased the cash prize for the Suvarna Mahotsava Awards from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, recognizing the outstanding contributions of 50 men and 50 women achievers in various fields. This move is particularly significant, as it coincides with the golden jubilee celebrations of the naming of the state, emphasizing the historic importance of this year’s Rajyotsava Day
- The Bengaluru police launched an initiative to promote Kannada-speaking among autorickshaw drivers as part of Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations. They are distributing laminated cards with essential Kannada phrases and English translations to facilitate easy communication between drivers and passengers. The cards include a QR code linking to video demonstrations. This voluntary initiative, inspired by autorickshaw driver Ajmal Sultan’s social media campaign, aims to ensure smooth interactions and is fully funded by the Police Department, with distribution set to continue for a month, according to Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda.
- With the aim of easing the price rise challenge, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the National Co-operative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) have started distributing essential food grains in Bengaluru. NCCF y said that these products are made available in Phase II of Bharat products. Under the initiative, high quality essential grains are made available at an affordable rate for the residents of Bengaluru.Bharat rice is being sold at ₹34, while Bharat wheat flour ₹30, Bharat Chana Dal ₹70 and Bharat Moong Dal is being sold at just ₹107. The market rate for the same products are rice ₹55-60, atta ₹45-50, dal ₹90-100 and moong dal ₹120-130.
- India’s first Mars and Moon analog mission at Leh in Ladakh to simulate life in an interplanetary habitat has been inaugurated. ISRO, AAKA Space Studio Pvt. Ltd, the University of Ladakh, IIT Bombay, and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council have collaborated in this endeavour.
- Rajesh Kumar Singh took over as Defence Secretary
