[CA] IISF - 2019

5th India International Science Festival was held in Kolkata with the theme of “RISEN India –Research, Innovation and Science Empowering the Nation”. The IISF 2019 is the fifth edition since its inception in 2015.

The host city of the 5th IISF-2019 is home to renowned scientific institutions that have been the workplace of pioneering scientists who gave shape to science in India. IISF is the largest science festival in the world.

IISF – Venues
#	Year	Host City
01	2015	New Delhi
02	2016	New Delhi
03	2017	Chennai
04	2018	Lucknow
05	2019	Kolkata

IISF, organized jointly by Science & Technology -related Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha), is an annual festival to celebrate the achievements of India’s scientific and technological advancements with students, innovators, craftsmen, farmers, scientists and technocrats from India and abroad.

IISF-2019 expects to host a gathering of approximately 12,000 participants from India and abroad. Multitude of significant events are lined up for IISF 2019, which will host more than 28 different events during this period.

[CA] IFFI 2019: Lifetime Achievement Award

One of the most famous and most popular French actor of her generation Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert will be conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Jubilee edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2019.

The Union Minister further said that the 50th edition of IFFI will showcase fifty films of fifty women directors which reflect the contribution of women in cinema.

The Lifetime Achievement Award, IFFI, is the highest honour and the most prestigious award of the festival. The award carries a cash prize of INR 10,000,00/- .The French actor will be conferred this prestigious award for her remarkable artistic skills and her outstanding journey and vivid contribution to Cinema.
Related Links:-

IFFI 2019: Awards 

IFFI 2019: Icon of Golden Jubilee of IFFI Award 

[CA] Icon of Golden Jubilee of IFFI

In a first, the Government of India has constituted a special award titled ‘Icon of Golden Jubilee of IFFI’ which will be conferred upon the eminent film personality Mr. S. Rajinikanth.

This was announced by Union Information & Broadcasting minister, Mr. Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi. Ministry of Information in a press release said that, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, during the past several decades, I am happy to announce that the award for the ‘Icon of the Golden Jubilee of IFFI 2019 is being conferred on cine star RajiniKanth.

In a long and eventful career, Rajinikanth has acted in over 170 films in many languages, including Tamil, TelUgu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali. He also had a starring role in the Hollywood production, Blood Stone (1988).

The Government of India has honoured him with the Padma Bhushan (2000) and the Padma Vibhushan (2016). At the 45th International Film Festival of India (2014), he was conferred with the "Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year"

2019 marks the 50th year of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which is often counted amongst one of the earliest film festivals of the Asian continent. The 50th International Film Festival of India,2019 will witness over 200 best films  from 76 countries, 26 feature films and 15 non feature films in Indian panorama section and more than 10,000 people and film lovers are expected to participate in the golden jubilee edition.

[CA] New Political map of India w.e.f Oct 31, 2019

[CA] 2 new UTs of India

On the recommendation of Parliament, the President effectively dismantled Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and gave assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and supervision of Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah, the former state of Jammu & Kashmir has been reorganized as the new Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the new Union Territory of Ladakh on Oct 31, 2019.

The new Union Territory of Ladakh consists of two districts of Kargil and Leh. The rest of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir is in the new Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1947, the former State of Jammu and Kashmir had the following 14 districts - Kathua, Jammu, Udhampur, Reasi, Anantnag, Baramulla, Poonch, Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Leh and Ladakh, Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilhas and Tribal Territory.

By 2019, the state government of former Jammu and Kashmir had reorganized the areas of these 14 districts into 28 districts. The names of the new districts are as follows - Kupwara, Bandipur, Ganderbal, Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama, Shupian, Kulgam, Rajouri, Ramban, Doda, Kishtivar, Samba and Kargil.

Out of these, Kargil district was carved out from the area of ​​Leh and Ladakh district. The Leh district of the new Union Territory of Ladakh has been defined in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Removal of Difficulties) Second Order, 2019, issued by the President of India, to include the areas of the districts of Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilhas and Tribal Territory of 1947, in addition to the remaining areas of Leh and Ladakh districts of 1947, after carving out the Kargil District.

On this basis, the maps prepared by Survey General of India depicting the new Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, as created on October 31, 2019, along with the map of India, are attached below.

[CA] SCOJTEX-2019

Union Minister of Home Affairs Mr. Amit Shah inaugurated the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue (SCOJtEx-2019) on Nov 04, 2019 in New Delhi. 

[CA] 2 Indian Cities in UNESCO

UNESCO has designated Mumbai as a member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of FILM and Hyderabad in the field of GASTRONOMY.

UCCN, created in 2004, is a network of cities which are thriving, active centres of cultural activities in their respective countries. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now counts a total of 246 cities.

The member cities that form part of the Network come from all continents and regions with different income levels and populations. They work together towards a common mission: placing creativity and the creative economy at the core of their urban development plans to make cities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The 7 categories for recognition under UCCN are as follows-

1)   Crafts and Folk Arts

2)   Design

3)   Film

4)   Gastronomy

5)   Music

6)   Media Arts

7)   Literature

Previously, 3 Indian cities were recognized as members of UCCN, namely.,

v Jaipur-Crafts and Folk Arts(2015)

v Varanasi-Creative city of Music (2015)

v Chennai-Creative city of Music(2017)