NATIONAL NEWS

Union Minister addresses the Global Indian Physicians Congress

• Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, on 28^th February, addressed the Global Indian Physicians Congress, organized by the Global Association for Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), through video conference.
• He mentioned that the establishment of the National Medical Commission, Nursing Commission Bill and National Commission for Allied Healthcare Professions Bills. Ambitious plans have been made for expanding medical colleges and revamping the healthcare infrastructure in India.
• He also mentioned India as the Pharmacy of the World.

PM inaugurates the India Toy Fair 2021

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Toy Fair 2021 on 27^th February, through video conference.
• The Toy Fair will be held from 27th February to 2nd March 2021. More than 1,000 exhibitors are participating in the fair.
• It is the first ever digitally accessible exhibition and platform to explore and buy varieties of toys from over 1000 exhibitors across the states and UTs.
• The National Toy Action Plan has been prepared which includes 15 ministries and departments to make the toy industry competitive and to make Indian toys get into the world.

National Conference on Opportunities and Challenges for Bamboo in India

• National Bamboo Mission organized a National Conference on Opportunities and Challenges for Bamboo in India.
• The event was jointly organised by NITI Aayog and Invest India along with the National Bamboo Mission.
• Union Minister of MSME inaugurated the conference on 25th February 2021.
• The aim of this session was to deliberate on the bamboo ecosystem for promoting the holistic growth of the sector across the entire value chain.

DBT celebrates its 35th Foundation Day

• The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) celebrated its 35th Foundation Day on 27^th February, 2021.
• The achievements of DBT are as follows:
  • BIOTECH KISAN programme of DBT has been implemented in 105 Aspirational districts and more than 50,000 farmers have been benefitted.
  • DBT-NGGF - National Genotyping and Genomics Facility- for advanced crop genomics technology and genotyping services to Public and Private Institutions has been established.
  • Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) was established by DBT for deposition, storage, annotation and sharing of biological data generated in the country through extensive funding from various Government Organizations
  • Pan India Genome India was initiated for cataloguing the genetic variation in Indian population with a goal for whole genome sequencing and subsequent data analysis of 10,000 individuals
• The BRITE (Biotechnology Research Innovation and Technology Excellence) Awards were given in various categories.
• The e-book "DBT Fights COVID- From Virus to Vaccine" was also unveiled on the occasion.

ISRO launches 1^st commercial mission of NSIL

• The Indian Space Research Organisation launched the PSLV C51 with 19 satellites on 28^th February.
• The major satellite is of the Brazil’s Amazonia-1, the 1^st dedicated commercial mission of New Space India Limited (NSIL).
• The satellite, a 637 kg in weight is the optical earth observation satellite was completely designed and developed by National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
• Also, 5 student-built satellites were launched. These small rideshare payloads included "Satish Dhawan Satellite" (SDSAT) built by Chennai-based Space Kidz India, a combination of three satellites "UNITYsat" and technology demonstration satellite "SindhuNetra".

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Science Day

• National Science day is celebrated every year on February 28^th.
• The day recalls the invention of “Raman Effect” by India’s Great Scientist Sir C. V. Raman.
• He was awarded noble prize for physics in the year 1930.
• The theme of National Science Day this year is “Future of Science Technology Innovation: Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work".