NATIONAL NEWS
List of Padma Awards winners 2022
President of India Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Padma Awards 2022 at a civil investiture ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was honoured with the Padma Bhushan award in the field of Public Affairs, while SII MD Cyrus Poonawalla received the Padma Bhushan, in the field of Trade & Industry.
India-Australia Summit: What will be on agenda?PM Narendra Modi and Australian PM Scott Morrison will hold the 2nd India-Australia Summit virtually on March 21, 2022. The two leaders are expected to discuss regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Indo-Pacific region. They are also expected to commit to closer cooperation in critical minerals, in trade, migration, and mobility among others.
NTAGI recommends gap reduction between two doses of Covishield
The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization has recommended the Union Health Ministry to reduce the COVID-19 vaccine Covishield’s duration of the second dose somewhere between 8-16 weeks after the first dose. As per the present guidelines, the second dose of the Serum Institute of India’s vaccine is given after a time period of 12-16 weeks of the first dose. However, this was just a recommendation from NTAGI and no decision has been taken so far. The purpose is to ramp up the vaccination. The Indian Government on the recommendations of NTAGI in May 2021 had extended the gap between two doses of the Covishield from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 weeks.
Government considering alternative educational measure for Indian students returning from Ukraine
The Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai has said that the Central Government is considering alternative measures for medical students who have returned from Ukraine. The Chief Minister said that the course in Ukraine is different from that in India. The Union Government has been thinking about their future seriously as it involves the future of students from various states. The final rites of Naveen Shekharppa, who died in a shelling attack in Ukraine, were performed in Haveri on March 21, 2022. The Chief Minister was also present during the final rites.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
WTI Awards 2021 to be conferred to 75 women entreprenuers
The 5th edition of the Women Transforming India Awards (WTI) will be held today from 7-9 pm today. A total of 75 women achievers will be honoured with WTI Award 2021 for their contribution towards a ‘Sashakt Aur Samarth Bharat’.
International Day of Forests 2022 observed
International Day of Forests was observed on March 21, 2022. The 2022 theme of the day is “Forests and sustainable production and consumption”. The day is significant as it aims to spread awareness regarding the importance of forests and its sustainable use.
China Eastern flight MU573 crashes in China carrying over 130 people
A Boeing 737-800 carrying around 133 passengers crashed into a mountain in China’s Guangxi region earlier today, causing a massive fire in the region. There are no reports yet on survivors. The plane had taken off from Kunming at around 1.11 pm and wash scheduled to land at Guangzhou around 3 pm.
