President inaugurates Srila Prabhupada’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations

President Ramnath Kovind has said that humanity can not be divided on the basis of religion. He said that Indian religious luminaries have always stressed on the divine unity of mankind that was also adopted by Mahatma Gandhi. Inaugurating the 150th birth anniversary celebration of Srila Prabhupada-the founder of Gaudiya Mission at the holy city of Puri in Odisha on Sunday, the President said, Indian culture has always valued the spirit of selfless service, a form of which we have seen in the dedicated service of our doctors, nurses, health workers and covid warriors during the pandemic.  Prof Ganeshi Lal, Governor of Odisha and Union Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also attended the [rpgramme.  Addressing the august gathering, while Prof Ganeshi Lal reflected on the essential divinity of the soul, Union Minister Mr. Pradhan said, that the eternal messages of divine personalities,right from Sri Chaitanya to Srila Prabhupada find expression in each and every page of the New Education Policy being implemented in the country with the blessings of the President and under the able guidance of the Prime Minister.

-The provisional payroll data of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)  highlights that the Organisation has added 14.60 lakh net subscribers during December 2021. It shows an increase of around two lakh in net payroll additions in December last year as compared to 12.54 lakh net subscribers added during the corresponding month of previous year.  Ministry of Labour and Employment in a statement said that of the total 14.60 lakh net subscribers added, 9.11 lakh new members have been enrolled under Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 for the first time. Approximately 5.49 lakh net subscribers exited but rejoined EPFO by opting to continue their membership by transferring their PF accumulations from previous to present PF account instead of opting for final withdrawal. Further, the number of members exiting EPFO has been on a declining trend since July last year. EPFO provides provident fund, pension benefits to the members on their retirement and family pension and insurance benefits to their families in case of untimely death of the member.

-In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, continuing with its overarching digital push, the Government has hosted the ‘Janbhagidari Empowerment’ portal on a different server with higher bandwidth for its easy and ready accessibility to the general public. AIR correspondent reports that this intervention comes following the concerns relating to the slow speed/ bandwidth issues regarding the portal, which has caused disenchantment among users despite its great value as an information platform. Following the movement of the portal on to a different server, the portal has begun to open quickly enough, improving the whole experience of visiting the portal. Worth to mention, around 70 thousand people have accessed the portal until now and with the increase in the bandwidth, the portal is expected to receive more hits in near future. 

-The Gadchiroli police have busted a supply chain of material used by Naxalites to make explosives and arrested four in this connection. Fifth accused however managed to escape. All the accused have been rounded up from Aheri taluka in Gadchiroli district. The police have also seized 10 bundles of Cardex wire measuring 3500 meter in length. Damrancha police and rapid action force jawans launched an anti-Naxal operation yesterday when they came across with these persons and confiscated the material used for making explosives. Naxals use Cardex wire for making BGL, Hand Grenade, bomb and IED. They were on a mission to carry out bomb blasts, but before material could reach to them, the supporters were arrested. This is considered as a big achievement for police.

-The 48th Khajuraho Dance Festival commenced in Madhya Pradesh. The week long festival will be held till February 26th. Governor of Madhya Pradesh Mangubhai Patel inaugurated the festival at Khajuraho on Sunday evening in Chhatarpur district . The festival is being organized on the theme of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.  Renowned artists from across the country and the world are performing at the festival. On the first day Kathak performance by the disciples of late Pandit Birju Maharaj, Kalashram New Delhi is centre of attraction. Besides dance performances tourists are getting acquainted with the local culture, art and food by participating in interesting activities like heritage run, village tour, water rafting, e bike tour organised by tourist department during the festival.