Current affairs 04 January 2023

Govt names 27 overseas Indians for 2023 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards.

• The government of India has selected 27 people for the highest honour for overseas Indians, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) 2023.
• The awards will be conferred by the President Droupadi Murmu at 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention held at Indore in Madhya Pradesh from January 8-10, 2023.
• President of Guyana Mohamed Irfaan Ali will be the chief guest this year.
• PBW 2023 theme: Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India's Progress in Amrit Kaal.

Government forms Committee to protect Ladakh culture, language & employment.

• The government of India has constituted 17 member, High Powered Committee (HPC) under the Chairmanship of Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.
• Reason: To discuss measures to protect unique culture, language and employment of Ladakh.
• The committee includes Ladakh LG, RK Mathur; MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal; Chairmans of Leh and Kargil Hill councils, representatives of Apex Body Leh, Kargil Democratic Alliance and nominee officials of Home ministry.

Election Commission appoints Maithili Thakur as Bihar's state icon.

• The Election Commission has appointed folk singer, Maithili Thakur as the state icon for Bihar.
• She will create awareness among the voters for their participation in the electoral process.
• She was born in Madhubani district of Bihar.
• She is a trained in Indian classical and folk music.
• She was recently selected for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of the Sangeet Natak Akademi for her contribution to the folk music of Bihar for 2021.

Imoinu Eratpa festival celebrated across Manipur.

• The Meitei community of Manipur celebrated Imoinu Eratpa festival every year.
• They regard the Imoinu goddess as a goddess of wealth and prosperity.
• She is also associated as one of the incarnations of the goddess Leimarel Sidabi.
• This festival falls on the twelfth lunar day of Wakching month of Meitei calendar (falls either in December or January according to the Gregorian calendar).
• This year the festival is falling on January 3, 2023.

Mamata Banerjee launches new campaign "Didir Suraksha Kavach".

• West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee has launched two programme named Didir Suraksha Kawach and Didir Doot, ahead of the 2023 panchayat polls.
• The programme will focus on 15 state government schemes, covering various sectors such as food, housing, health, education, social security, income and employment.
• Didir Doot, a mobile application has also been developed for people to register their problems.
• The programme will be launched on January 11, 2023.