The Department of Post, under Ministry of Communications, has launched an e-Commerce portal.
It will provide an e-marketplace to sellers who have been left behind in e-Commerce space like rural artisans, self-help groups, women entrepreneurs, state and central PSUs and autonomous bodies to sell their products to buyers across the country.
India Post will be able to leverage its vast postal network for e-commerce services for doorstep delivery of products.
India Post’s Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana
Department of Posts, under Ministry of Communications, has presented scholarship to students under Deen Dayal SPARSH (Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby) Yojana.
Deen Dayal SPARSH yojana was launched to promote philately.
Under this annual scholarships is awarded to children of Standard VI to IX having good academic record and also pursuing Philately as a hobby through a competitive selection process in all postal circles.
Meghdoot Award
Department of Post under Ministry of Communications, presented the Meghdoot Award to Grameen Dak Sevaks and employees of the department.
The scheme of National awards known as ‘Meghdoot Awards’ was instituted in the year 1984 to provide encouragement to the postal employees by recognizing performance of high standard.
The awards given for outstanding contribution in the sphere of official work are given in eight categories.
Mahila Kisan Awards
DD Kisan under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has launched a first-of-its-kind reality show 'Mahila Kisan Awards'. The show will see participation of women farmers from across India.
The format of the show will include two women farmers talking about their achievements in each episode. Judges will score these contestants based on their assessment.
The five contestants who get the highest scores during the show will reach the finals, where one of them will be declared the winner.
The show is also expected to act as a source of inspiration for lakhs of women across the country watching the show.
Jnanpith Award conferred on Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh has won the 54th Jnanpith award (Jnanpith Award-2018) for his contribution to literature.
It is the first time since its inception that the Jnanpith is awarded to a writer in English language.
He was born in 1956, and writes both fiction and non-fiction. He has written many novels and essays. Few of his important works are: Circle of Reason, In An Antique Land, The Shadow Lines (this novel won him Sahitya Akademi award), Trilogy about the opium trade and colonialism- 'Sea of Poppies', 'River of Smoke' and 'Flood of Fire'.
His most recent book, The Great Derangement; Climate Change and the Unthinkable, was released in 2016.
He has also won the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Shri.
The award was established in 1961. It is presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". It is bestowed only on living Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English.
The previous Jnanpith winners include India's greatest writers across its many languages, like Mahasweta Devi, Amrita Pritam, UR Ananthamurthy and Shrilal Shukla.
HC Quashes Centre’s Ban on Oxytocin Manufacture
The Delhi high court quashed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's decision to ban the manufacture and sale of Oxytocin. The court said the decision was arbitrary, unreasonable and unscientific.
It termed the ban “arbitrary and unreasonable”, which did not seem to be based on any scientific study. The court also observed that oxytocin was an essential life saving drug.
Earlier this year, the government had restricted the manufacture of oxytocin formulations for domestic use to public sector only. The state-run Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KAPL) was solely allowed to produce the drug for domestic use.
The court observed that the Centre’s decision to allow only a single, state-run entity with no prior experience in manufacturing Oxytocin may lead to scarcity of the drug which can cause increase in maternal fatalities, during childbirth, impairing lives of thousands of innocent young mothers.
