Current Affairs - Important Days/Weeks

The University Grants Commission has recently written to vice-chancellors and principals of all universities and colleges to observe 11th December as ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Divas’.

• The move of the UGC comes after recommendations of a committee - Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti - which was formed in 2021 by the Education Ministry to promote Indian languages. Chamu Krishna Shastry is the chairperson of the language committee.

In India, Engineer’s Day is observed on September 15 to honour Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya - the first Civil Engineer in India. He was also the 19th Diwan of Mysore.

The International Day of Democracy is celebrated on 15 September each year to promote and uphold the principles of democracy in every country.

Hindi Diwas is celebrated on 14th September.

• The day also marks the birthday of Beohar Rajendra Simha who played a crucial role in getting Hindi in Devanagari script approved as an official language of India. He was born on 14 September 1916.

United Nations General Assembly has designated 7th September as the “International Day of Clean Air for blue skies” with an aim to raise awareness and to promote actions to improve air quality.

World Elephant Day is observed every year on August 12, aims to spread awareness on the risk of extinction faced by these much-loved wild animals.

• There are three species of elephants — African Forest, African Savanna (bush), and Asian. The animals can be differentiated by their ears and trunks. African elephants are larger.

World Biofuel Day is celebrated on August 10 in memory of Sir Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine.

• The Day is also used to raise awareness about the unconventional sources of fuels that could work as a substitute for conventional fossil fuels.

World Zoonoses Day was instituted on 6 July 1885 to educate and raise awareness about zoonotic diseases that can transmit from animals to humans.

• It commemorates French biologist Louis Pasteur, who administered the first dose of the first vaccine against rabies.

In recognition of the notable contributions made by Professor (late) Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics and economic planning, Government of India has designated 29th June every year, coinciding with his birth anniversary, as “Statistics Day”.

The International Day of the Tropics is observed on June 29 annually.

• The Day highlights the challenges faced by the nations of the Tropics and the opportunities their citizens have access to.