Gujarat govt to provide 10 % reservation to higher castes

The Gujarat government has decided to give a 10% quota to unreserved categories on the basis of economic backwardness. This 10 percent reservation for EBCs in general category will be available to all non-reserved class, whose total family income is less than 6 lakh annually.

  • The new reservation will not affect the present reservation available to Scheduled Castes (SC)/ Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
  • This decision will breaches Supreme Court’s reservation limit of 50 percent as the State Government is already providing 50 percent reservation to SC, ST and OBC.

NABARD partners Germany for food security initiative

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has entered into collaboration with German Government for a special programme on ‘Soil Protection and Rehabilitation for Food Security‘.

  • The programme is part of the German government’s recently introduced special initiative ‘One World, No Hunger’ initiative.

Sudarsan Pattnaik wins gold in sand art contest in Russia

Odisha hailed eminent sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won gold medal in an International Sand Art Championship held at Russia.

  • Pattnaik has participated in the ninth Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship “The magical world of sand- 2016 and where he produced the sand art of 15 feet high Mahatma Gandhi sculpture for non-violence and peace in the sand art contest.
  • He was Awarded Padma Shri in 2014.

Swat activist Tabassum Adnan wins 2016 Nelson Mandela Award

Pakistani women’s rights activist from Swat valley Tabassum Adnan has won prestigious 2016 Nelson Mandela Graça Machel Innovation Award. She won the award for the individual activist category on the concluding day of the International Civil Society Week (ICSW) held from April 25-28, 2016 in Bogota, Colombia.

  • She started her NGO, Khwendo Jirga (Sister’s Council), which meets weekly to address issues of women’s right, including honour killings, and acid attacks.
  • With this Tabassum Adnan becomes the second woman from Pakistan’s Swat valley to win this international recognition after Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.

Politician NK Singh gets Japan’s prestigious national Award

Former bureaucrat and parliamentarian Nand Kishore Singh has been selected for prestigious ‘Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver’, Japan’s highest civilian award.

  • He was chosen for this prestigious award for promoting economic, educational and cultural ties between India and Japan.