Kerala became First Digital State of the Nation
- President Pranab Mukherjee declared Kerala as the first Digital ! State of the country on February 27, 201o. He disclosed about the State’s ability to put all of its work including public dealing, online. With broadband connectivity in every gram panchayat, the State has emerged truly digital.
- The growth of internet and smart phone penetration transformed the State into a knowledge-based economy. Kerala has 600 e-governance applications covering almost all departments. The State has more than 32 million mobile phone connections.
- In Kerala, motor vehicles and land registration departments see the most corruption. Both’will move to a systems-based functioning because of the f-governance initiatives have begun in the State. More than 3000 offices in the State have already turned digital.
India’s First IT Cooperative UL Cyber Park dedicated in Kozhikode
- President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated UL CyberPark, the first IT park to be set-up by a labour cooperative society, Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) at NeOikode on February 27. 2016.
- The Rs 270-crore IT park is expected to provide direct employment to 4500 people in the first phase and indirect employment to 20000. Six IT companies, including multinational firms and local software units, have already received the approval of the Special Economic Zone authority to begin operations at UL CyberPark.
- The inauguration marks a golden chapter in the 90-year history of ULCCS, which has now diversified business interests, including construction and housing sector. It also has plans to expand its operations to the US and Europe in 2016.
- Its own IT firm, UL Technology Solutions (ULTS), now provides IT solutions in the domain areas of Global Information Systems, Health Care, Enterprise Resource Planning, Business Intelligence and Analytics, to clients mainly ] in the country and West Asia.
Muziris Project Offered the Best of Heritage Tourism
- President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first phase of the Muziris Heritage Project at the International Research and Convention Centre, KKTM College, Kodungalloor, on February 27. 2016. The President also launched the website of the Muziris Heritage Project.
- It is the largest conservation project in the country and the firstl green project of the Kerala government. It had a lot to boast about, be it in the area of heritage, conservation or tourism.
- The Muziris project would open up to Indian and foreign tourists a new destination, bringing economic benefits to the people of the region as well as knowledge and enjoyment for the visitors.
GI Tag for Four Bengali Sweets
- As on February 21, 2016, West Bengal government Is planning to get Geographical Identification (GI) tag’for lour traditional sweetmeat delicacies i.e, MOQ of Jainagar, Sarpurla of Krlshnagar, and Sitabhog and Mihidana of Burdwan to help protect them from imitations.
- While ‘Jainagar-er-moa’ Is made of puffed rice and date palm jaggery at Jainagar in South 24 Parganas district, Krlshnagar of Nadia district is famous for ‘Sarpurla’ which is made of milk cream. ‘Sitabhog’ and ‘Mihidana’ are ricc-based sweets from Burdwan.
- GI lag is given to products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that arc due to that origin. As the Centre has plans to export sweets from the Slate, the GI tags would be of immense help in that endeavour.
‘Swachh Himachal-Padhai Bhi, Safai Bhi’ Campaign Launched
- President of Himimachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, announced ‘Swachh Himachal-Padhai Bhi, Safai Bhi’ campaign at Dharamsala on February 21, 2016.
- The initiative aims at involving youth to promote good health and sanitation in urban and rural areas. The formal launch of the event shall be done by the State governor Acharya Dev Vrat in the first week of March and will last up to March 31, 2017.
- The campaign led by youths hailing from educational institutions, will be driven across 12 districts focusing urban and rural areas. The selected students termed Swachh Captains and Teachers included in it be named Swachh Teachers.
Malayalam Film ‘Ottaal’ Won Crystal Bear
- As on February 21, 2016, Malayalam film Ottaal has been selected the best children’s film at the Berlin International Film Festival and honoured with the Crystal Bear award in the ‘Generation KPlus’ section.
- The film is directed by Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair. The movie is about the story of an old fisherman and his grandson. The movie is an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s short story Vanaka. He has earlier made films based on Shakespeare’s works such as Othello and Antony and Cleopatra.
- This is the third year in a row that Indian films have triumphed. Earlier, winners were Killa 2014 and Dhanak 2015. Ottal already bagged National Award for best film on Environment Conservation/Preservation and it set a record at 20th International Film Festival Of Kerala by sweeping all the top awards.
