State PCS

• 25 Oct 2023

Ankur Dhama Won Gold Medal in 5000 Meter Race of Asian Para Games

Why In News?

Ankur Dhama of Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh has won the gold medal in the 5000 meters (about 3.11 mi) race in the Asian Para Games on October 24, 2023.

Key Points:

• The Asian Para Games are being held in Hangzhou, China from October 22 to 28, 2023.
• Ankur Dhama had won two gold medals in the 2009 World Youth and Student Championships, and a silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Para Games in 2014.
• Ankur participated in the Para Olympics in 2016. However, I could not get a medal there. After this, in the year 2018, Ankur was awarded the Arjuna Award. He is the only para player among the six Arjuna Awardees of Baghpat.
• Asian Para Games
  • The Asian Para Games, also known as the Para Asia, is a multi-sport event regulated by the Asian Paralympic Committee, held every four years after each Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities.
  • The Games are recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and are the second largest multi-sport event after the Paralympic Games.

Laadli Awards 2023: 'Gaon Connection' gets Double Honor

Why In News?

Recently, ‘Gaon Connection’ has been given double honor in the 13th Laadli Media and Advertising Awards organized for gender sensitivity in Jaipur by ‘Population First’, a prestigious organization working in the field of gender equality.

Key Points:

• Two ground reports from Uttar Pradesh documenting crimes against Dalit girls have been honoured at the Laadli Awards 2023. Both ground reports were awarded in the categories of English Investigative Story and Web Investigative Story respectively.
• The story titled '2 murders, 22 months (about 2 years), 1 court proceeding-families of deceased Dalit cousins in Unnao still awaiting justice', reported by Manvendra Singh and published on December 11, 2022, won the award under the category 'Hindi: Web – Investigative Story'.
• The story was a crime investigation in which three minor Dalit girls were allegedly poisoned in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao in 2021. Two of them died, while one survived.
• The story was part of a 10-part series of 'Gaon Connection' on 10 themes to mark the 10th anniversary of India's largest rural communication and insights platform.
• Despite the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, the family of two minor girls is still awaiting justice.
• The second story 'Accused out on bail for 8 years' published on October 7, 2022; 'Date-to-date for the minor victim's family in the Badaun gang-rape-murder case' won the award under the category 'English: Investigative Story'. It was reported by Shivani Gupta and Abhishek Verma (Cameraperson).
• The story was part of a series called 'Two Cursed' launched by Gaon Connection last year to assess the lives of rape victim's years after the crime took place.
• The 'Laadli Media Awards' is an initiative of Mumbai-based social impact organization Population First, supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and has been working for the past two decades to promote gender sensitization in the media across the country.
• At the 13th edition of the awards ceremony, a total of 87 journalists were awarded the Laadli Media Advertising Award for gender sensitivity, while another 31 received jury commendation certificates. More than 850 entries were received in 13 languages for the awards on gender sensitization from across the country.

Amar Ujala's Chandrabhan Yadav Received 'Laadli Media Award'

Why In News?

Chandrabhan Yadav, chief correspondent of Amar Ujala State Bureau (Uttar Pradesh), has been awarded the 'Laadli Media Awards 2023' by 'Population First', a prestigious organization working in the field of gender equality.

Key Points:

• The 'Laadli Media Award' is given by the 'Population First' organization to promote gender sensitivity. The Laadli media award was announced by the organization on October 21 this year.
• More than 850 journalists from 13 languages from across the country had submitted entries for this award, out of which 87 were selected and honored by the jury members. Apart from these, 31 journalists were given jury commendation letters.
• Chandrabhan Yadav, chief correspondent of Amar Ujala State Bureau, has been given this award for his story published in Amar Ujala titled 'Illness husband and wife both suffer, yet the wife is suffering'.
• Earlier, Chandrabhan Yadav had also received a fellowship from the Reach Media Foundation.
• The vice-chancellor of Baba Amte Divyang University, Jaipur, Prof. S.K. Singh was also present on the occasion. Dr Dev Swarup, Head of Policy and Partnerships, United Nations Population Fund, Jaideep Biswas, Programme Management Specialist, UNFPA, Anuja Gulati, Programme Management Specialist and Kalyan Singh Kothari, Secretary, Lok Samvad Sansthan felicitated Pandey.

Bihar Athlete Shailesh Kumar won Gold Medal in High Jump Event T63 of Para Asian Games 2023.

Why In News?

On October 24, 2023, Shailesh Kumar, an athlete from Jamui district of Bihar, won the gold medal in the high jump competition T63 at the Para Asian Games. The Para Asian Games are being held in Hangzhou, China from October 22 to 28.

Key Points:

• Shailesh Kumar is a resident of Islamnagar in Aliganj block of Jamui district of Bihar.
• Earlier, Shailesh had won a silver medal at the Para Athletics World Championships held in Paris in July. He also won a gold medal in the 21st Para Athletics National Championships held in Pune from March 16 to 20, 2023.
• Apart from this, Shailesh also won a gold medal in the National Championship held in Bhubaneswar from March 28 to 30, 2022.

Arun, Mundiar and Pareek of Rajasthan Patrika Received 'Laadli Media Award'

Why In News?

Recently, Arun Kumar, Senior News Editor of Rajasthan Patrika Jaipur, Kanaram Mundiyar, Editorial In-charge of Rajasthan Patrika Bhilwara and Sikandar Pareek, Editorial In-charge of Magazine Ratlam, have been awarded 'Laadli Media Awards 2023' by 'Population First', a prestigious organization working in the field of gender equality.

Key Points:

• The 'Laadli Media Award' is given by 'Population First' organization to promote gender sensitivity. The 'Laadli Media Award' was announced by the organization on October 21 this year.
• More than 850 journalists from 13 languages from across the country had submitted entries for this award, out of which 87 were selected and honored by the jury members. Apart from these, 31 journalists were given jury commendation letters.
• Arun Kumar, Senior News Editor, Rajasthan Patrika Jaipur, was awarded the award in the gender sensitivity category for a story titled 'Rs 40,000 crore unemployment', Kanaram Mundiyar, editorial in-charge of Rajasthan Patrika Bhilwara, for a story titled 'Phulia Kala Ki Beti Ka Kamal, Touching the Sky Every Year', and Sikandar Pareek, editorial in-charge of Ratlam magazine, was given the award for 'Taleem Se Progress' for the column related to girl education.
• The vice-chancellor of Baba Amte Divyang University, Jaipur, Prof. S.K. Singh was also present on the occasion. Dr Dev Swarup, Head of Policy and Partnerships, United Nations Population Fund, Jaideep Biswas, Programme Management Specialist, UNFPA, Anuja Gulati, Programme Management Specialist and Kalyan Singh Kothari, Secretary, Lok Samvad Sansthan felicitated Pandey.

Prabhat Khabar's Senior Journalist Rajeev Pandey Received 'Laadli Media Award'

Why In News?

Recently, Rajiv Pandey, a senior journalist of Prabhat Khabar's Ranchi unit, has been awarded the 'Laadli Media Awards 2023' by 'Population First', a prestigious organization working in the field of gender equality.

Key Points:

• The Laadli Media Award is given by the 'Population First' organization for promoting gender sensitivity. The Laadli media award was announced by the organization on October 21 this year.
• More than 850 journalists from across the country in 13 languages had submitted entries for the award, out of which 87 were selected and felicitated by the jury members. Apart from these, 31 journalists were given jury commendation letters.
• Prabhat Khabar has received the award at the 13th Laadli Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity (Regional) 2023 organized by Population First Organization. Last year, another journalist of Prabhat Khabar, Guruswaroop Mishra, was also honoured with the award.
• He received the award for a story on domestic workers titled 'Poor condition of domestic workers, no leave and no proper wages' published by Rajiv Pandey, chief correspondent of Prabhat Khabar Ranchi unit.
• The vice-chancellor of Baba Amte Divyang University, Jaipur, Prof. S.K. Singh was also present on the occasion. Dr Dev Swarup, Head of Policy and Partnerships, United Nations Population Fund, Jaideep Biswas, Programme Management Specialist, UNFPA, Anuja Gulati, Programme Management Specialist and Kalyan Singh Kothari, Secretary, Lok Samvad Sansthan felicitated Pandey.
• It is worth mentioning that Rajiv Pandey has already been given three fellowship awards by Chennai-based institute REACH. In the year 2014, jharkhand has received fellowships on the status of TB disease, non-communicable diseases in the year 2019 and diabetes in the year 2023.

Media Institutions will be honored with 'National Media Award-2023' for Voter Awareness.

Why In News?

According to the information given by the Chhattisgarh Public Relations Department on October 24, 2023, the Election Commission of India will award 'National Media Award-2023' to media institutions doing excellent work in the field of voter awareness.

Key Points:

• It may be noted that the Election Commission of India confers the National Media Award every year by selecting media institutions for their outstanding work in the field of voter awareness. The Election Commission of India has invited applications from media houses for the National Media Award year 2023 by December 10, 2023.
• Election Commission of India has invited nominations for the award from media houses in four categories namely Print Media, Electronic (Television) Media, Electronic (Radio) Media and Online (Internet)/social media.
• Media organizations interested in receiving the award can send their applications to Rajesh Kumar Singh, Under Secretary (Communication), Election Commission of India within the above-mentioned time. The applications and recommendations received till the last date will be presented before the jury constituted by the Commission. The institutions selected by the jury will be honored on National Voters' Day on January 25, 2024.

Black Wheat will be Cultivated in Uttarkashi District

Why In News?

According to information received from the media on October 24, 2023, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela motivated the farmers to join the cultivation of black wheat in Genwala village of Dunda block and distributed black wheat seeds.

Key Points:

• It has been started as a pilot project in the district to increase the income of farmers through black wheat which is about 3 times higher than normal wheat.
• Earlier, successful efforts were made to extend red paddy to the Ganga valley in the district.
• Significantly, the practice of black wheat cultivation has started in some selected parts of the country.
• Black wheat -
  • Phosphorus is found in good quantity in black wheat, which helps in the formation of new tissues inside the body and also plays an important role in their maintenance.
  • The nutrients present in black wheat such as protein, magnesium and iron increase the blood level in the human body and remove the lack of blood and control the level of oxygen.