2-Sep-2022: Union Panchayati Raj Minister Shri Giriraj Singh writes letter to Sarpanches/Gram Pradhans, urging them to participate in the revamped National Panchayat Awards
Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh has written a letter to Sarpanches/Gram Pradhans, exhorting them to ensure participation of all Gram Panchayats in the selection process of the revamped National Panchayat Awards. The process inviting applications for revamped National Panchayat Awards will commence from 10th September, 2022. The last date for online submission of entries is 31st October, 2022.
Union Minister, in his letter, informed that the format, procedures and categories of the National Panchayat Awards have been comprehensively revised to establish a multi –level competition to reorganize, felicitate and incentivize the best performing Panchayats at the Block, District, State and National levels in thematic areas related to localization and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in rural areas.
He further informed that this year, to accelerate the pace of localization and achievement of SDGs in Panchayats, the format and categories of National Panchayat Awards has been substantially modified and aligned with nine theme of Localisation of SDGs to conduct a multi-level competition. These 9 themes are (i) Poverty free and enhanced livelihoods village, (ii) Healthy village, (iii) Child friendly village, (iv) Water sufficient village, (v) Clean and Green village, (vi) Self-sufficient infrastructure in village, (vii) Socially Secured and Socially Just village (viii) Village with good governance and (ix) Women-friendly Panchayat (earlier called as Engendered development in village).
The detailed information about the newly restructured National Panchayat Awards system is available on www.panchayataward.gov.in portal.
Background
24th April is observed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj as National Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD) every year to celebrate the constitutional status accorded to Panchayati Ray system in the country. This occasion provides an opportunity for direct dialogue with Panchayat representatives from all over the country as well as recognizing their achievements to empower and motivate them. The objective of celebrating the National Panchayati Raj Day is to increase awareness about Panchayats and Gram Sabhas, the institutions of the local self-governments for the rural areas mandated by the Constitution, and also about their roles, responsibilities, achievements, concerns, resolutions etc. States and Union Territories are requested to celebrate National Panchayati Raj Day in a befitting manner and call upon Panchayati Raj Institutions/ Rural Local Bodies to celebrate National Panchayati Raj Day with a ‘whole of society’ approach ensuring maximum possible ‘Jan Bhagidari’.
Every year, on this occasion, Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been awarding the best performing Panchayats/States/UTs across the country under the Incentivization of Panchayats in recognition of their good work for improving delivery of services and public goods.
22-Feb-2022: Professor Neena Gupta receives Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians
The Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians was awarded to Professor Neena Gupta, a mathematician of the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata, in a virtual ceremony on 22nd February 2022. She received the award for the year 2021 for her outstanding work in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra.
On the behalf of Secretary and Department, Shri Sanjeev Varshney, Head, International Cooperation Division, DST, congratulated Dr. Neena Gupta and said that the award conferred to a female researcher will encourage other female researchers all around the world to take up mathematics as their career. “I am also sure that this recognition will motivate her further to expand research with more noteworthy outcomes in the future. It will also inspire the researchers and young mathematicians not only in our country but in the entire developing world, to undertake research in mathematical sciences,” he added.
The prize is awarded annually to a researcher from a developing country funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Government of India in association with ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) and the International Mathematical Union (IMU).
It is given to young mathematicians less than 45 years of age who have conducted outstanding research in a developing country. It is supported by DST in the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a genius in pure mathematics who was essentially self-taught and made spectacular contributions to elliptic functions, continued fractions, infinite series, and analytical theory of numbers.
Professor Gupta's solution for solving the Zariski cancellation problem, a fundamental problem in Algebraic Geometry, earned her the 2014 Young Scientists Award of the Indian National Science Academy (NSA). The NSA described her solution as ‘one of the best works in algebraic geometry in recent years done anywhere’. The problem was posed by one of the most eminent founders of modern Algebraic Geometry, Oscar Zariski, in 1949. In an interview with an American university, Gupta describes the problem as ---The cancellation problem asks that if you have cylinders over two geometric structures, and that have similar forms, can one conclude that the original base structures have similar forms?
11-Dec-2020: Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians 2020 awarded to Dr. Carolina Araujo from Brazil for outstanding work in Algebraic Geometry
The Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians 2020 was awarded to Dr. Carolina Araujo, Mathematician from the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a virtual ceremony on 9th December 2020.
The prize awarded annually to a researcher from a developing country funded by the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India in collaboration with ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics), and the International Mathematical Union was given for her outstanding work in algebraic geometry. Her work area focuses on birational geometry, which aims to classify and describe the structure of algebraic varieties.
Dr. Araujo, who is Vice President of the Committee for Women in Mathematics at the International Mathematical Union, is the first non-Indian to receive this prize and will be a role model for all women.
Informing her about new programmes for women like Vigyan Jyoti, initiated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST invited Dr Araujo to India to encourage women mathematicians and inspire them by her own example.
Prof. Carlos Kenig, President of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), congratulated her and praised her role in promoting women in mathematics and in organising important mathematical activities. “She has been a Simons Associate with ICTP since 2015,” he added.
Ambassador/Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, Mr. Vishal V. Sharma said that a mathematician does not belong to a particular country. Dr Araujo may be a Brazilian, but she's a mathematician. She belongs to the universe because mathematics is the language of the universe.
At the award ceremony, Dr Araujo spoke about algebraic geometry, including birational geometry and foliations in a talk titled 'Algebraic Varieties with Positive Tangent Bundles'.
The Prize, given every year to young mathematicians less than 45 years of age who have conducted outstanding research in a developing country, has been instituted by DST in the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a genius in pure mathematics who was essentially self-taught and made spectacular contributions to elliptic functions, continued fractions, infinite series, and analytical theory of numbers.
17-Dec-2021: PM honoured with Bhutan’s highest civilian award
The King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, conferred its highest civilian award, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, on Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on the occasion of the country’s National Day. Shri Modi has expressed his gratitude to His Majesty the King of Bhutan for this warm gesture.
In reply to a tweet by PM of Bhutan, the Prime Minister in a series of tweets said;
"Thank you, Lyonchhen @PMBhutan! I am deeply touched by this warm gesture, and express my grateful thanks to His Majesty the King of Bhutan.
I have been privileged to receive the utmost love and affection from our Bhutanese brother and sisters, and take this occasion to convey my greetings to all of them on the auspicious occasion of the National Day of Bhutan.
I admire Bhutan for its unique model of sustainable development and the deeply spiritual way of life. Successive Druk Gyalpos - Their Majesties the Kings - have given a unique identity to the Kingdom, and nurtured the special bond of neigbhourly friendship that our nations share.
India will always cherish Bhutan as one of its closest friends and neighbours, and we will continue to support Bhutan's development journey in every possible way."