Recently 102nd birth anniversary of M.S. Subbulakshmi was celebrated. She was was one of India's greatest carnatic musicians.
She became the first musician to win the Bharat Ratna.
She was the first Indian to receive the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award.
She received the Madras Music Academy’s Sangeetha Kalanidhi award, considered to be Carnatic music’s most prestigious honour.
She is the first Indian to perform at the UN in 1966, on the occasion of the UN Day.
In 2005, the United Nations issued postage stamps commemorating her birth centenary.
ISRO Launches UK Satellites
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched two British satellites (NovaSAR and S1-4) on PSLV-C42.
It is the 44th launch of the Indian rocket the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at Sriharikota, India's rocket port on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh.
No Indian satellite is being launched as this is a fully commercial launch contracted through Antrix Corporation Limited ISRO's commercial arm.
This is fifth fully commercial launch of PSLV and first of the year where the whole rocket has been hired by a foreign company.
NovaSAR satellite has day and night viewing capability for resource mapping, disaster management and ship detection and S1-4 satellite is meant for environment monitoring and urban management.
For this launch, the lightest version of PSLV has been deployed, called 'core alone' version.
Out of previous 43 launches only twice has the PSLV failed, this is a good success rate.
Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM)
An indigenously developed Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) was successfully flight tested.
It is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles.
It has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
This low-weight MPATGM will complement the Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missile to be procured from Israel.
Uzbek Maqom Forum
The international forum is organized on the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to broadly promote the Oriental Maqom art, affirm respect among the younger generation and increase interest in national classical music.
Maqom, the oriental system of music played by string and percussion instruments across Asia.
Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan of India was awarded the second prize for his performance in the solo category.
Serving the Indian Classical Music for more than 50 years, vocalist Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan from Delhi Gharana is well known for his versatility and solid vocal expression.
His expertise in a number of forms of music like Khayal, Thumris, Dadras, Bhajans, Ghazals makes his range very wide. His style of classical singing has won him great acclaim.
He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his contribution to classical music, known as the khalifa or head of the Dilli gharana of Hindustani music.
The International Forum of Maqom Art is held for the first time in Uzbekistan. This event will be held every two years. The coordination is in the hands of the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan and other stakeholders.
The Forum is held under the patronage of UNESCO.
Financial Action Task Force
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has found Pakistan’s recent action against terror financing, particularly on the “legal” front (like freezing of assets, attachment of funds, militant groups infrastructures etc), to be unsatisfactory.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions.
The objectives of the Financial Action Task Force are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
The Financial Action Task Force has developed a series of recommendations that are recognized as the international standard for combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Financial Action Task Force monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally.
The Financial Action Task Force’s decision making body, the Financial Action Task Force Plenary, meets three times per year. India is a member along with 34 other countries and 2 regional organizations (European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council).
