World Arabic Language Day is observed globally on December 18 every year. The Arabic language is one of the pillars of the cultural diversity of mankind. It is one of the most widely used languages in the world, spoken daily by more than 400 million people. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness of the history, culture and development of the language by preparing a program of special activities and events.
The theme of this year's World Arabic Language Day is "The Arabic Language and Civilizational Communication", and it is considered as a call to reaffirm the important role that the Arabic language plays in building bridges of connection between people on the rise of culture, science, literature and many other fields.
United Nations was decided to celebrate the Arabic language on December 18, being the day on which General Assembly resolution 3190 (XXVIII) of December 18, 1973, concerned the inclusion of the Arabic language among the official and working languages of the United Nations.
International Migrants Day
International Migrants Day is observed every year on December 18, to tackle the problem and challenges of global migration.
The United Nations General Assembly in the year 1999 created the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
But on December 4, 2000, keeping an account of the large and increasing migrants across the globe, December 18 was decided as International Migrants' Day.
The theme for the year 2021 was 'Harnessing the Potential of Human Mobility'.
Minorities Rights Day in India
Every year, December 18 is observed as the Minorities Rights Day to uphold the right to freedom and equal opportunities for the ethnic minorities in India and create awareness about the respect and dignity of the minorities. India has faced many obstacles since the British Rule regarding basic human rights. However, these rights were safeguarded after the independence and people must be made aware of it. Thus, we celebrate Minorities Rights Day on December 18 every year.
The Minority Rights Day 2021 aims to uplift all the minority sections of society and back them to voice their opinion.
December 18 was declared as the Minorities Rights Day back in 1992 by the United Nations. The UN had adopted the statement on the individual's Rights belonging to religious or Linguistic National or Ethnic Minorities. In India, it is the responsibility of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to carry out the events on this day. The NCM was established by the Union Government under the National Commission for Minorities Act, in 1992. It was formed on May 17 1993.
It evaluates the progress of the development of Minorities under the Union and States.
Dec 16, 2021
8th Indian Ocean Dialogue
The eighth Indian Ocean Dialogue was held, jointly hosted by External Affairs Ministry and Indian Council of World Affairs.
Dialogue was hosted under the theme- "Leveraging Digital Technologies for Health, Education, Development, and Trade in Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Member States".
IORA was formerly known as Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) and Indian Ocean Rim Initiative. It is an international organisation comprising of 23 states which share borders with the Indian Ocean. It is a regional forum, tripartite in nature. It brings together representatives of Government, Academia and Business to promote co-operation and closer interaction between them.
Coordinating Secretariat of IORA is situated at Ebene in Mauritius.
IORA was first established in March 1995, as Indian Ocean Rim Initiative. It was formally launched in March 1997 with the conclusion of a multilateral treaty called "Charter of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation".
Vijay Diwas
In India, Vijay Diwas (also called Victory Day) is celebrated every year on December 16. The country celebrated the 50th Vijay Diwas in 2021. Vijay Diwas is observed to commemorate the service, valour, and sacrifices of the gallant men of the Indian Armed Forces' victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war. On this day, we pay homage to all the soldiers who had defended the nation in the war.
The Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 which began on December 3 lasted for 13 days and officially ended on December 16, after which Pakistan surrendered to India. It was on this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani forces, General A. A. Khan Niazi, along with 93 thousand troops, had surrendered unconditionally to the allied forces consisting of the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini. The end of the war also resulted in the subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh.
Dec 15, 2021
Madhya Pradesh Govt. Organises First Drone Mela at Gwalior
In Madhya Pradesh, the first drone fair in the country was organised at Gwalior. Gwalior Drone Mela was organised jointly by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Government of India, the Government of Madhya Pradesh, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
Addressing the youths and farmers present at the "Drone Mela" in Gwalior, MP Chief Minister said that Madhya Pradesh will be made a leading state by using drone technology. Mr. Scindia said that five Drone Schools would be opened in Gwalior, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Satna in Madhya Pradesh.
Dec 14, 2021
National Energy Conservation Day
The National Energy Conservation Day is celebrated every year on December 14 since 1991. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under Ministry of Power spearheads the celebrations every year.
The objective to celebrate the National Energy Conservation Day is to drive mass awareness about the importance of energy efficiency and conservation.
BEE recognizes and encourages endeavours of industries in reducing energy consumption by felicitating them with National Energy Conservation Awards. BEE also awards prizes to the national winners of the annual National Painting Competition on Energy Conservation.
Dec 13, 2021
Centre to Organize "Innovation Week" to Encourage Startup Ecosystem in India
As a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, a week-long event, "Celebrating Innovation Ecosystem", to be hosted by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), is proposed to be held in January, 2022.
The event will mark the 6th anniversary of the launch of the Startup India initiative.
DPIIT Secretary, Anurag Jain reviewed the project at a high-level meeting.
The key objectives of the Innovation Week will be to bring together the country's key Startups, entrepreneurs, investors, policy makers and other national/ international stakeholders for a specially curated event on innovation and entrepreneurship and to exchange knowledge on best practices on nurturing Startup ecosystems.
20 Years of 2001 Parliament Attack
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers paid tribute to people who lost their lives in the 2001 Parliament attack for their "service to the nation and supreme sacrifice."
"I pay homage to brave security personnel who laid down their lives on this day in 2001, defending the Parliament of the world's largest democracy against a dastardly terrorist attack. The nation shall forever remain grateful to them for their supreme sacrifice," President Kovind wrote on Twitter.
Five heavily armed terrorists stormed inside the Parliament complex and opened fire indiscriminately on December 13, 2001, killing as many as 14 people, mostly security forces personnel and a civilian.
International Mountain Day 2021
December 11 is celebrated as International Mountain Day every year. The date was designated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Celebrated since 2003, International Mountain Day creates awareness about the importance of mountains to life to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world, according to the United Nations.
This year's theme for International Mountain Day is Sustainable Mountain Tourism. According to the UN, mountain tourism attracts around 15-20 per cent of global tourism.