Padma Awards 2025 - Complete List

Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines / fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March / April every year. For the year 2025, the President has approved conferment of 139 Padma Awards including 1 duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. 23 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners / NRI / PIO / OCI and 13 Posthumous awardees. 

                                                   Padma Vibhushan (7)

SN    -   Name     -     Field    -    State / Countryu

1. Shri Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy - Medicine - Telangana 

2. Justice (Retd.) Shri Jagdish Singh Khehar - Public Affairs - Chandigarh 

3. Smt. Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia - Art - Gujarat 

4. Shri Lakshminarayana Subramaniam - Art - Karnataka 

5. Shri M. T. Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous) - Literature and Education - Kerala 

6. Shri Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous) - Trade and Industry - Japan 

7. Smt. Sharda Sinha (Posthumous) - Art - Bihar

                                                Padma Bhushan (19)

SN   -   Name -    Field -    State / Country 

8. Shri A Surya Prakash - Literature and Education - Journalism-  Karnataka 

9. Shri Anant Nag - Art - Karnataka 

10. Shri Bibek Debroy (Posthumous) - Literature and Education - NCT Delhi 

11. Shri Jatin Goswami - Art - Assam 

12. Shri Jose Chacko Periappuram - Medicine - Kerala 

13. Shri Kailash Nath Dikshit - Others - Archaeology - NCT Delhi 

14. Shri Manohar Joshi (Posthumous)-  Public Affairs - Maharashtra 

15. Shri Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti - Trade and Industry - Tamil Nadu 

16. Shri Nandamuri Balakrishna - Art - Andhra Pradesh

17. Shri P R Sreejesh - Sports -Kerala 

18. Shri Pankaj Patel - Trade and Industry - Gujarat .

19. Shri Pankaj Udhas (Posthumous) - Art -Maharashtra 

20. Shri Rambahadur Rai - Literature and Education - Journalism Uttar Pradesh 

21. Sadhvi Ritambhara - Social Work - Uttar Pradesh 

22. Shri S Ajith Kumar - Art - Tamil Nadu 

23. Shri Shekhar Kapur - Art - Maharashtra 

24. Ms. Shobana Chandrakumar - Art - Tamil Nadu 

25. Shri Sushil Kumar Modi (Posthumous) - Public Affairs - Bihar 

26. Shri Vinod Dham Science and Engineering United States of America

                                                    Padma Shri (113) 

SN  -   Name    -   Field   -      State / Country 

27. Shri Adwaita Charan Gadanayak - Art - Odisha 

28. Shri Achyut Ramchandra Palav - Art  - Maharashtra 

29. Shri Ajay V Bhatt - Science and Engineering - United States of America 

30. Shri Anil Kumar Boro - Literature and Education - Assam 

31. Shri Arijit Singh  -  Art - West Bengal 

32. Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya - Trade and Industry - Maharashtra 

33. Shri Arunoday Saha - Literature and Education - Tripura 

34. Shri Arvind Sharma - Literature and Education - Canada 

35. Shri Ashok Kumar Mahapatra - Medicine - Odisha 

36. Shri Ashok Laxman Saraf - Art - Maharashtra 

37. Shri Ashutosh Sharma - Science and Engineering - Uttar Pradesh 

38. Smt. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande - Art - Maharashtra 

39. Shri Baijnath Maharaj - Others - Spiritualism - Rajasthan 

40. Shri Barry Godfray John - Art - NCT Delhi 

41. Smt. Begam Batool - Art - Rajasthan 

42. Shri Bharat Gupt - Art - NCT Delhi 

43. Shri Bheru Singh Chouhan - Art - Madhya Pradesh 

44. Shri Bhim Singh Bhavesh - Social Work - Bihar 

45. Smt. Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara -  Art - Karnataka

46. Shri Budhendra Kumar Jain -  Medicine - Madhya Pradesh 

47. Shri C S Vaidyanathan - Public Affairs - NCT Delhi 

48. Shri Chaitram Deochand Pawar - Social Work - Maharashtra 

49. Shri Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous) - Literature and Education - Gujarat 

50. Shri Chandrakant Sompura - Others - Architecture - Gujarat 

51. Shri Chetan E Chitnis - Science and Engineering - France 

52. Shri David R Syiemlieh - Literature and Education - Meghalaya 

53. Shri Durga Charan Ranbir - Art - Odisha 

54. Shri Farooq Ahmad Mir - Art  - Jammu And Kashmir 

55. Shri Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid -  Literature and Education - Uttar Pradesh 

56. Smt. Gita Upadhyay - Literature and Education - Assam 

57. Shri Gokul Chandra Das - Art - West Bengal 

58. Shri Guruvayur Dorai - Art - Tamil Nadu 

59. Shri Harchandan Singh Bhatty - Art - Madhya Pradesh 

60. Shri Hariman Sharma -  Others - Agriculture - Himachal Pradesh 

61. Shri Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale - Art - Punjab 

62. Shri Harvinder Singh - Sports - Haryana 

63. Shri Hassan Raghu - Art -Karnataka 

64. Shri Hemant Kumar - Medicine -Bihar 

65. Shri Hriday Narayan Dixit -Literature and Education - Uttar Pradesh

66. Shri Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous) (Duo)* - Literature and Education - Journalism - Uttarakhand 

67. Shri Inivalappil Mani Vijayan - Sports - Kerala 

68. Shri Jagadish Joshila - Literature and Education - Madhya Pradesh 

69. Smt. Jaspinder Narula - Art - Maharashtra 

70. Shri Jonas Masetti - Others - Spiritualism Brazil 

71. Shri Joynacharan Bathari - Art - Assam 

72. Smt. Jumde Yomgam Gamlin - Social Work - Arunachal Pradesh 

73. Shri K. Damodaran - Others - Culinary - Tamil Nadu 

74. Shri K L Krishna - Literature and Education -Andhra Pradesh 

75. Smt. K Omanakutty Amma - Art - Kerala 

76. Shri Kishore Kunal (Posthumous) - Civil Service - Bihar 

77. Shri L Hangthing - Others - Agriculture - Nagaland 

78. Shri Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer - Literature and Education - Journalism - Tamil Nadu 

79. Shri Lalit Kumar Mangotra - Literature and Education - Jammu And Kashmir 

80. Shri Lama Lobzang (Posthumous) - Others - Spiritualism - Ladakh 

81. Smt. Libia Lobo Sardesai - Social Work -Goa 

82. Shri M D Srinivas - Science and Engineering - Tamil Nadu 

83. Shri Madugula Nagaphani Sarma - Art - Andhra Pradesh 

84. Shri Mahabir Nayak - Art -  Jharkhand 

85. Smt. Mamata Shankar - Art - West Bengal

86.Shri Manda Krishna Madiga - Public Affairs - Telangana 

87. Shri Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli - Literature and Education - Maharashtra 

88. Shri Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous) - Art - Andhra Pradesh 

89. Shri Nagendra Nath Roy - Literature and Education - West Bengal 

90. Shri Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous) - Public Affairs - Uttar Pradesh 

91. Shri Naren Gurung - Art - Sikkim 

92. Smt. Neerja Bhatla - Medicine - NCT Delhi 

93. Smt. Nirmala Devi - Art - Bihar 

94. Shri Nitin Nohria - Literature and Education - United States of America 

95. Shri Onkar Singh Pahwa - Trade and Industry  -  Punjab 

96. Shri P Datchanamoorthy -Art - Puducherry 

97. Shri Pandi Ram Mandavi - Art - Chhattisgarh 

98. Shri Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai - Art - Gujarat 

99. Shri Pawan Goenka - Trade and Industry - West Bengal 

100. Shri Prashanth Prakash - Trade and Industry - Karnataka 

101. Smt. Pratibha Satpathy - Literature and Education - Odisha 

102. Shri Purisai Kannappa Sambandan - Art - Tamil Nadu 

103. Shri R Ashwin - Sports - Tamil Nadu 

104. Shri R G Chandramogan - Trade and Industry - Tamil Nadu

105. Smt. Radha Bahin Bhatt - Social Work - Uttarakhand

106. Shri Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy - Art - Tamil Nadu 

107. Shri Ramdarash Mishra - Literature and Education - NCT Delhi 

108. Shri Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar - Art - Maharashtra 

109. Shri Ratan Kumar Parimoo - Art - Gujarat 

110. Shri Reba Kanta Mahanta - Art - Assam 

111. Shri Renthlei Lalrawna - Literature and Education - Mizoram 

112. Shri Ricky Gyan Kej - Art - Karnataka 

113. Shri Sajjan Bhajanka - Trade and Industry - West Bengal 

114. Smt. Sally Holkar - Trade and Industry - Madhya Pradesh 

115. Shri Sant Ram Deswal - Literature and Education - Haryana 

116. Shri Satyapal Singh - Sports - Uttar Pradesh 

117. Shri Seeni Viswanathan - Literature and Education - Tamil Nadu 

118. Shri Sethuraman Panchanathan - Science and Engineering - United States of America 

119. Smt. Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah - Medicine - Kuwait 

120. Shri Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa) - Literature and Education - Rajasthan 

121. Shri Shyam Bihari Agrawal - Art - Uttar Pradesh 

122. Smt. Soniya Nityanand - Medicine -  Uttar Pradesh 

123. Shri Stephen Knapp - Literature and Education - United States of America 

124. Shri Subhash Khetulal Sharma - Others - Agriculture - Maharashtra 

125. Shri Suresh Harilal Soni - Social Work - Gujarat

126. Shri Surinder Kumar Vasal - Science and Engineering - Delhi 

127 Shri Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj) - Others - Spiritualism - West Bengal 

128 Shri Syed Ainul Hasan - Literature and Education - Uttar Pradesh 

129 Shri Tejendra Narayan Majumdar - Art - West Bengal 

130 Smt. Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi - Art - Manipur 

131 Shri Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla - Literature and Education - Gujarat 

132 Shri Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi - Literature and Education - Andhra Pradesh 

133 Shri Vasudeo Kamath -Art - Maharashtra 

134 Shri Velu Aasaan - Art - Tamil Nadu 

135 Shri Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar - Art - Karnataka 

136 Shri Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj - Others - Spiritualism - Bihar 

137 Smt. Vijayalakshmi Deshamane - Medicine -  Karnataka 

138 Shri Vilas Dangre - Medicine - Maharashtra 

139 Shri Vinayak Lohani - Social Work - West Bengal

Note: * In Duo case, the Award is counted as one. 

2025ರ ಆಸ್ಟ್ರೇಲಿಯನ್ ಓಪನ್ ಗೆದ್ದ ಸಿನ್ನರ್ ಮತ್ತು ಕೀಸ್

ಪ್ರತಿ ವರ್ಷವೂ ಆಯೋಜಿತವಾಗುವ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಗ್ರ್ಯಾಂಡ್‌ ಸ್ಲ್ಯಾಮ್‌ ಟೆನ್ನಿಸ್‌ ಪಂದ್ಯಾವಳಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸ್ಟ್ರೇಲಿಯನ್‌ ಓಪನ್‌ ಮೊದಲನೆಯದಾಗಿದೆ.

ಪ್ರತಿ ವರ್ಷ ಜನವರಿ ತಿಂಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಈ ಪಂದ್ಯಾವಳಿಯು ಆಸ್ಟ್ರೇಲಿಯಾದ ಮೆಲ್ಬೊರ್ನ್‌ ನಗರದ ಮೆಲ್ಬೊರ್ನ್‌ ಪಾರ್ಕ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಪಂದ್ಯಾವಳಿಯು ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿಗೆ 1905ರಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಹುಲ್ಲಿನ ಅಂಕಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊನೆಯ ಬಾರಿಗೆ 1987ರಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯಿತು. 1988ರಿಂದ ಈ ಪಂದ್ಯಾವಳಿಯು ಮೆಲ್ಬೊರ್ನ್‌ ಪಾರ್ಕ್‌ನ ಹಾರ್ಡ್‌ ಕೋರ್ಟ್‌ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ.

ಪುರುಷರ ಸಿಂಗಲ್ಸ್:

ವಿಶ್ವದ ಅಗ್ರಮಾನ್ಯ ಆಟಗಾರ ಇಟಲಿಯ ಯಾನಿಕ್ ಸಿನ್ನರ್ ಅವರು ಭಾನುವಾರ (26/01/2025) ದಂದು ನಡೆದ ಆಸ್ಟ್ರೇಲಿಯನ್ ಓಪನ್ ಟೆನಿಸ್ ಟೂರ್ನಿಯ ಪುರುಷರ ಸಿಂಗಲ್ಸ್ ಫೈನಲ್ ಪಂದ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಜರ್ಮನಿಯ ಅಲೆಕ್ಸಾಂಡರ್ ಜ್ವರೇವ್ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ನೇರ ಸೆಟ್‌ಗಳಿಂದ ಜಯಗಳಿಸಿ, ಚಾಂಪಿಯನ್ ಪಟ್ಟವನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರು.

ಸಿನ್ನರ್

ರಾಡ್ ಲೇವರ್ ಅರೇನಾದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಹಣಾಹಣಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಗ್ರ ಶ್ರೇಯಾಂಕದ ಸಿನ್ನರ್ 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3ರಿಂದ ಎರಡನೇ ಶ್ರೇಯಾಂಕದ ಜ್ವರೇವ್‌ ಅವರನ್ನು ಮಣಿಸಿ, ಸತತ ಎರಡನೇ ಬಾರಿ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಗೆದ್ದರು. ಚೊಚ್ಚಲ ಕಿರೀಟದ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ 27 ವರ್ಷ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನ ಜರ್ಮನಿಯ ಆಟಗಾರನಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ನಿರಾಸೆಯಾಯಿತು.

'ಸಿನ್ನರ್ ವಿಶ್ವದ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಆಟಗಾರ. ಈ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಗೆ ಅವರು ನಿಜವಾಗಲೂ ಅರ್ಹರು' ಎಂದು ರನ್ನರ್ ಅಪ್ ಜ್ವರೇವ್ ಹೇಳಿದರು.

₹30,17ಕೋಟಿ- ಯಾನಿಕ್ ಸಿನ್ನ‌ರ್ ಗೆದ್ದ ಬಹುಮಾನದ ಮೊತ್ತ.

₹16.37ಕೋಟಿ- ಅಲೆಕ್ಸಾಂಡರ್ ಜ್ವರೇವ್‌ ಪಡೆದ ಬಹುಮಾನ ಮೊತ್ತ.

ಕಳೆದ ವರ್ಷ ಫೈನಲ್‌ನ ಐದು ಸೆಟ್‌ಗಳ ರೋಚಕ ಹಣಾಹಣಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಷ್ಯಾದ ಡೇನಿಯಲ್ ಮೆಡೈಡೇವ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಸಿನ್ನರ್‌ ಮಣಿಸಿ ಚೊಚ್ಚಲ ಗ್ರಾನ್‌ಸ್ಲಾಮ್ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಗೆದ್ದಿದ್ದರು. 

ಮಹಿಳೆಯರ ಸಿಂಗಲ್ಸ್:

ಮ್ಯಾಡಿಸನ್‌ ಕೀಸ್‌

ಮೆರಿಕದ ಮ್ಯಾಡಿಸನ್‌ ಕೀಸ್‌ 2025ನೇ ಆವೃತ್ತಿಯ ಆಸ್ಪ್ರೇಲಿಯನ್‌ ಓಪನ್‌ ಗ್ರ್ಯಾನ್‌ ಸ್ಲಾಮ್‌ ಟೆನಿಸ್‌ ಟೂರ್ನಿಯ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರ ಸಿಂಗಲ್ಸ್‌ ವಿಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ನೂತನ ಚಾಂಪಿಯನ್‌ ಆಗಿ ಹೊರಹೊಮ್ಮಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ರಾಡ್‌ ಲೇವರ್‌ ಅಂಗಣದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರ ಸಿಂಗಲ್ಸ್‌ ವಿಭಾಗದ ಫೈನಲ್‌ ಪಂದ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ 19ನೇ ಶ್ರೇಯಾಂಕಿತೆ ಮ್ಯಾಡಿಸನ್‌, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 ನೇರ ಸೆಟ್‌ ಗಳಿಂದ ವಿಶ್ವದ ನಂ.1 ಆಟಗಾರ್ತಿ ಅರಿನಾ ಸಬಲೆಂಕಾ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಗೆದ್ದು ತಮ್ಮ ಚೊಚ್ಚಲ ಗ್ರ್ಯಾನ್‌ ಸ್ಲಾಮ್‌ ಕಿರೀಟಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಹಿಮುತ್ತು ನೀಡಿದರು. ಜತೆಗೆ, 19 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂ. ಮೊತ್ತದ ಬಹುಮಾನ ತಮ್ಮದಾಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರು.

India State of Forest Report, 2019

On the 30th of December 2019, the State of Forest Report 2019 was released. According to this report, Karnataka state tops in the forest cover increase.

On 30th December 2019, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar released the biennial “India State of Forest Report (ISFR)”, in New Delhi.

ISFR provides comprehensive information about the forest and tree cover, bamboo resources, carbon stock and forest fires.

The total forest cover of the country is 7,12,249 sq. km which is 21.67% of the geographical area of the country. The tree cover of the country is estimated as 95,027 sq km which is 2.89% of the geographical area.

The total Forest and Tree cover of the country is 8,07,276 sq. km which is 24.56% of the geographical area of the country.

The current assessment shows an increase of 3,976 sq km (0.56%) of forest cover, 1,212 sq km (1.29%) of tree cover and 5,188 sq km (0.65%) of forest and tree cover put together, at the national level as compared to the previous assessment i.e. ISFR 2017.

Forest cover within the Recorded Forest Area/ Green Wash (RFA/GW) has shown a slight decrease of 330 sq km (0.05%) whereas there is an increase of 4,306 sq km of forest cover outside the RFA/GW as compared to previous assessment of 2017.

The top five States in terms of increase in forest cover are Karnataka (1,025 sq km), Andhra Pradesh (990 sq km), Kerala (823 sq km), Jammu & Kashmir (371 sq km) and Himachal Pradesh (334 sq km).

Forest cover in the hill districts of the country is 2, 84,006 sq km, which is 40.30% of the total geographical area of these districts. The current assessment shows an increase of 544 sq km (0.19%) in 140 hill districts of the country.

The total forest cover in the tribal districts is 4,22,351 sq km, which is 37.54% of the geographical area of these districts. The current assessment shows a decrease of 741 sq km of forest cover within the RFA/GW in the tribal districts and an increase of 1,922 sq km outside.

Total forest cover in the North Eastern region is 1,70,541 sq km, which is 65.05% of its geographical area. The current assessment shows a decrease of forest cover to the extent of 765 sq km (0.45%) in the region. Except Assam and Tripura, all the States in the region show decrease in forest cover.

Mangrove cover in the country has increased by 54 sq km (1.10%) as compared to the previous assessment.

The total growing stock of wood in the country is estimated 5,915.76 million cum comprising 4,273.47 million cum inside forest areas and 1,642.29 million cum outside recorded forest areas (TOF). The average growing stock per hectare in forest has been estimated as 55.69 cum.

Total bamboo bearing area of the country is estimated as 1,60,037 sq km. There is an increase of 3,229 sq km in bamboo bearing area as compared to the estimate of ISFR 2017.

In the present assessment, total carbon stock in forest is estimated as 7,124.6 million tonnes. There is an increase of 42.6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of the country as compared to the last assessment of 2017. The annual increase is 21.3 million tonnes, which is 78.1 million tonnes CO2 eq.

Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.

The total mangrove cover in the country is 4,975 sq km.

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) represents the largest pool of carbon stock in forests, which has been estimated 4,004 million tonnes. The SOC contributes 56% to the total forest carbon stock of the country.

There are 62,466 wetlands covering 3.83% of the area within the RFA/GW of the country. The total number of wetlands located within the RFA/GW is 8.13%. Amongst the States, Gujarat has largest area of wetlands within RFA in the country followed by West Bengal.

Dependence of fuelwood on forests is highest in the State of Maharashtra, whereas, for fodder, small timber and bamboo, dependence is highest in Madhya Pradesh. It has been assessed that the annual removal of the small timber by the people living in forest fringe villages is nearly 7% of the average annual yield of forests in the country.

The information on area affected by five major invasive species in States/UTs based on analysis of NFI data has been given in the present ISFR.

Fire prone forest areas of different severity classes have been mapped in the grids of 5km x 5km based on the frequency of forest fires. The analysis reveals that 21.40% of the forest cover of the country is highly to extremely fire prone.

 Some Key Facts : 

An increase of 54 sq Km in mangrove cover has been observed as compared to the previous assessment of 2017.

Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Gujarat (37 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (16 sq km) and Odisha (8 sq km).

The total growing stock of India’s forest and TOF is estimated 5,915.76 million cum of which 4,273.47 million cum is inside the forests and 1,642.29 million cum outside.

There is an increase of 93.38 million cum of total growing stock, as compared to the previous assessment. Out of this the increase in growing stock, there is an increase of 55.08 million cum inside the forests and 38.30 million cum outside the forest areas.

The extent of bamboo bearing area of the country has been estimated 16.00 million hectare. There is an increase of 0.32 million hectare in bamboo bearing area as compared to the last assessment of ISFR 2017. The total estimated green weight of bamboo culms is 278 million tonnes, slowly an increase of 88 million tonnes as compared to ISFR 2017.

Under the current assessment the total carbon stock in country’s forest is estimated 7,124.6 million tonnes and there an increase of 42.6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of country as compared to the last assessment of 2017. The annual increase in the carbon stock is 21.3 million tonnes, which is 78.2 million tonnes CO2 eq.

Wetlands within forest areas form important ecosystems and add richness to the biodiversity in forest areas, both of faunal and floral species. Due to importance of wetlands, FSI has carried out an exercise at the national level to identify wetlands of more than 1 ha within RFA. There are 62,466 wetlands covering 3.8% of the area within the RFA/GW of the country.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package

On March 29, 2020 the centre has approved a Rs 50 lakh medical insurance scheme for healthcare workers who are dealing with coronavirus pandemic. The approval made is a part of measures under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package of Rs 1.7 lakhs announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

i.It provides insurance cover for 90 days to around 22.12 lakh public healthcare providers, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers & community health workers who will have to be in direct contact with the affected patients & who may be at risk of being impacted & lose their lives.

ii.Due to the unprecedented situation, the insurance scheme will also cover private hospital staff, retirees, volunteers, contract workers, daily wagers and outsourced staff hired by the central, state governments and autonomous hospitals of Central, States, Union territories(UT), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) & hospitals of Central Ministries and the cases reported will be subject to the numbers indicated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

iii.The insurance offered under this plan will be higher than any other insurance coverage received by the beneficiary.

• The scheme will be funded by the National Disaster Response Fund(NDRF) budget which is operated by the ministry for this purpose.
• This comes at the backdrop of a 21-day lockdown in the entire country to deal with the spread of the coronavirus.

India ranks 144 in World Happiness Report: Here’s the full list of 156 countries

On March 21, 2020 the United Nations (UN) released the 8th World Happiness Report 2020 to measure the happiness of people of 156 countries where India(3.573) ranks in 144th position &  Finland(7.809) tops the 3rd time.

What is World Happiness Report?

The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. The World Happiness Report 2020 for the first time ranks cities around the world by their subjective well-being and digs more deeply into how the social, urban and natural environments combine to affect our happiness.

World Happiness Report: How is the survey done?

Although the World Happiness Reports have been based on a wide variety of data, the most important source has always been the Gallup World Poll, which is unique in the range and comparability of its global series of annual surveys. The life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll provide the basis for the annual happiness rankings that have always spurred widespread interest. Readers may be drawn in by wanting to know how their nation is faring, but soon become curious about the secrets of life in the happiest countries.

World Happiness Report: The theme

This year the World Happiness Report focuses especially on the environment social, urban, and natural.

Here’s the list of top 20 World’s happiest countries of 2020:

1. Finland

2. Denmark

3. Switzerland

4. Iceland

5. Norway

6. Netherlands

7. Sweden

8. New Zealand

9. Austria

10. Luxembourg

11. Canada

12. Australia

13. United Kingdom

14. Israel

15. Costa Rica

16. Ireland

17. Germany

18. United States

19. Czech Republic

20. Belgium

#‎CURRENT_AFFAIRS_MCQs‬

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♣ಜ್ಞಾನಸೆಲೆ GK4KPSC ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ♣
1. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recently celebrated World Radio Day on which date? 
1. 10 February
2. 13 February
3. 18 December
4. 13 December
5. None of these

Ans. 13 February

2. Scientists have observed a stunning discovery in their quest to fully understand gravity. The gravitational waves were predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity in which years? 
1. Year 1914
2. Year 1916
3. Year 1915
4. Year 1913
5. None of these

Ans. Year 1915

3. Prime Minister NarendraModi has recently inaugurated Make in India Centre at which of the following Places? 
1. Pune
2. Hyderabad
3. Mumbai
4. Jaipur
5. None of these

Ans. Mumbai

4. Which of the following has/have been chosen for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015 awards?
1. Vinita Gupta
2. Nilesh Gupta
3. Kamlesh Kumar
4. Both 1 and 2
5. None of these

Ans.Both 1 & 2

5. International Radio Fair 2016 held at which place?
1. Mumbai
2. Lucknow
3. Hyderabad
4. Bhubaneswar
5. None of these

Ans. Bhubaneswar

6. Madhya Pradesh (MP) Government recently signed four MOUs with which country to collaborate in urban planning, skill development, clean energy and food processing?
1. Singapore
2. Japan
3. Russia
4. China
5. None of these

Ans. Singapore

7. The computer giant Oracle is planning to set up its campus at which places to help more than half a million students in India develop computer science skills?
1. Hyderabad
2. Bengaluru
3. Lucknow
4. Greater Noida
5. None of these

Ans. Bengaluru

8. TERI's governing council appointed which of the following persons as its new chairman? 
1. Ashok Chawla
2. Shiva Prabu
3. Rajesh Prabhu
4. Rakesh Prasad
5. None of these

Ans. Ashok Chawla

9. What is the theme of this year’s World radio day?
1. Radio in Emergency
2. Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster
3. Radio is at any time
4. Radio Helps Always
5. None of these

Ans. Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster

10. India recently won of the South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF) championships by defeating which country? 
1. Pakistan
2. Iran
3. China
4. Afghanistan
5. None of these

Ans. Afghanistan

11. Who has recently been appointed as the Director of United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina?
1. Tamar Jha
2. Tamar Hahn
3. RakeshSoni
4. Mandeep Singh
5. None of these

Ans. Tamar Hahn

12. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has banned umpire AsadRauf for five years after its disciplinary committee found him guilty of corrupt practices. He is from which of the country?
1. Australia
2. South Africa
3. West Indies
4. Pakistan
5. None of these

Ans. Pakistan

13. The 'Pride of Kerala' award by the World Malaya lee Council and Kairali TV awarded to which of the following? 
1. Priyanka Chopra
2. KajolDevgan
3. VidyaBalan
4. Parineeti Chopra
5. None of these

Ans. VidyaBalan

14. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister NarendraModi, recently gave Amitabh Kant the additional responsibility of being Chief Executive Officer of ____? 
1. National Development Council (NDC)
2. NABARD
3. NITI Aayog
4. SIDBI
5. None of these

Ans. NITI Aayog

15. Banaras Hindu University (BHU) founded by Freedom fighter PtMadan Mohan Malviya has turned 100 years on which date? 
1. 14 February
2. 15 February
3. 13th February 
4. 18 February 
5. None of these

Ans. 13th February 

Sikkim Becomes India's First Fully Organic State

ಜ್ಞಾನಸೆಲೆ GK4KPSC ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ

Sikkim has become India’s first fully organic state by implementing organic practices on around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land

Background :

►In 2003 Pawan Chamling-led government decided to make Sikkim an organic farming state through a declaration in the legislative assembly after which the entry of chemical inputs for farmland was restricted and their sale banned. Farmers therefore had no option but to go organic. 

►Around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land was gradually converted to certified organic land by implementing organic practices and principles as per guidelines laid down in National Programme for Organic Production.

Organic farming a boon for sikkim :

►Organic cultivation is free of chemical pesticides and chemical fertilisers as it tries to strike a harmonious balance with a complex series of ecosystems. 

►In the long term, organic farming leads in subsistence of agriculture, bio-diversity conservation and environmental protection. 

►Sustainable farming will also help in building the soil health resulting in sustainable increased crop production.

World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends

ಜ್ಞಾನಸೆಲೆ GK4KPSC ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ

World Bank released report titled World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends

The World Bank on 14 January 2016 released a report titled World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends in Washington DC, the USA.

The report explored the impact of the internet, mobile phones, and related technologies on economic development across the world including India.

Further, it concluded that potential gains from digital technologies are high, but often remain unrealized and proposed policies to expand connectivity, accelerate complementary reforms in sectors beyond information and communication technology (ICT), and address global coordination problems.

In relation to India, the authors of the report that included Kaushik Basu, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of World Bank appreciated the Aadhaar scheme as it saved 1 billion US dollars by bringing down corruption.

Highlights of the report
• The world’s offline population is mainly in India and China, but more than 120 million people are still offline in North America and the digital divide within countries can be as high as that between countries.
• Worldwide, nearly 21 percent of households in the bottom 40 percent of their countries’ income distribution don’t have access to a mobile phone, and 71 percent don’t have access to the internet.
• The increased connectivity has had limited effect in reducing information inequality. For example, there are more contributions to Wikipedia from Hong Kong, China, than from all of Africa combined, despite the fact that Africa has 50 times more internet users.
• Digital technologies, apart from resulting in economic benefits, influenced the participation of women in the labor force, the ease of communication for people with disabilities, and the way people spend their leisure.
• By overcoming information barriers, augmenting factors, and transforming products, digital technologies can make development more inclusive, efficient, and innovative.

• Problem areas: Digital dividends are not spreading rapidly as nearly 60 percent of the world’s people are still offline and can’t fully participate in the digital economy.
• There also are persistent digital divides across gender, geography, age, and income dimensions within each country.

• Some of the perceived benefits of the internet are being neutralized by new risks like vested business interests, regulatory uncertainty, and limited contestation across digital platforms that could lead to harmful concentration in many sectors.
• Quickly expanding automation, even of mid-level office jobs, could contribute to a hollowing out of labor markets and to rising inequality.
• It also cautioned that the poor record of many e-government initiatives points to high failure of ICT projects and the risk that states and corporations could use digital technologies to control citizens, not to empower them.

• Mitigation strategies: Connectivity is vital, but not enough to realize the full development benefits. Digital investments need the support of analog complements like regulations, skills and institutions.
• Regulations are needed which help firms in leveraging the internet to compete and innovate. Improved skills will help people take full advantage of digital opportunities. And, Accountable institutions will ensure governments respond to citizens’ needs and demands.
• Market competition, public-private partnerships and effective regulation of internet and mobile operators encourage private investment that can make access universal and affordable. Public investment will sometimes be necessary and justified by large social returns.
• A harder task will be to ensure that the internet remains open and safe as users face cybercrime, privacy violations, and online censorship.

• Conclusion: The report suggested that Digital development strategies need to be broader than ICT strategies. It cautioned that when the analog complements are absent, the development impact will be disappointing.
• But when countries build a strong analog foundation, they will reap ample digital dividends—in faster growth, more jobs, and better services.

Sailesh appointed as Registrar General and Census Commissioner

ಜ್ಞಾನಸೆಲೆ GK4KPSC ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ

Senior IAS officer Sailesh has been appointed as the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the appointment of Sailesh as Registrar General and Census Commissioner for a period till July 28, 2017.

Sailesh is a 1985 Batch Assam-Meghalaya Cadre IAS officer and would be succeeding C Chandramauli, who completed his central deputation tenure on 7 January 2016.

Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India:

• The post of the RGCC of India comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is usually held by a civil servant holding the rank of Joint Secretary to Government of India. It is is responsible for conducting the decennial Census.
• He/she heads the Census organisation (mentioned in entry 69 of seventh schedule of Constitution) which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Bus service to Nepal resumes after 27 years

ಜ್ಞಾನಸೆಲೆ GK4KPSC ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ

In the midst of uneasiness in India-Nepal relations, a friendship bus service between India and Nepal via Champawat in Uttarakhand resumed today after a gap of 27 years. The service had been suspended 27 years back in the wake of the Indo-Nepal Trade and Transit Treaty . 

Resumption of the service between the two countries after its prolonged suspension has been welcomed by locals on either side of the border . The resumed bus service will run regularly between Kanchanpur in Nepal close to Banbasa border in Champavat district of Uttarakhand and Anand Vihar, Delhi 

Importance of the resumed bus service :

About eight to ten thousand Nepalis travel in these buses on a daily basis from Kanchanpur district, Dandel Dhura, Voti, Sapen, Acham, Kalali, Jagbuddha and Siddhartha Nagar areas in Nepal. People on both sides of the border have family as well as trade relations with each other.

Key Facts :

• The buses are air conditioned with Indian and Nepalese flags painted on their bodies, they will enter the Nepalese district of Kanchanpur at 6 AM every day and start for Delhi from there at 6 PM every evening.
• No special documents are required to travel in these buses which provides free wi-fi connectiviy and a bottle of mineral water for free to the passengers.

Cabinet approves construction of 69 bridges in Myanmar

ಜ್ಞಾನಸೆಲೆ GK4KPSC ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the construction of 69 bridges including approach roads on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of the trilateral highway in Myanmar at a cost of Rs. 371.58 crore. The project is envisaged to be completed by mid-2019.

Importance : 

This will impart all weather usability to the TKK road section, which is also part of the route for the proposed Imphal-Mandalay bus service. It will improve connectivity between India and Myanmar and facilitate movement of goods and traffic

Nodal agency :

The project will be implemented in Engineering Procuring and Construction (EPC) mode through Project Management Consultant (PMC). It will be closely monitored by the Indian Embassy in Yangon, PMC and the Ministry of External Affairs. 

Background : 

During the visit of Prime Minister to Myanmar in May 2012, it was agreed, at the request of Government of Myanmar, to undertake construction of 71 bridges in the Tamu - Kyigone - Kalewa (TKK) road section of the Trilateral Highway. The Government of Myanmar has started work on constructing two bridges, on its own, as these bridges needed urgent attention. As a result, construction of the balance 69 bridges will be undertaken under Government of India's assistance.

Union Cabinet approves MoU for the conservation of raptors

 

ಜ್ಞಾನಸೆಲೆ GK4KPSC ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ

The Union Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has  approved the signing of  Raptor MoU which aims to promote internationally coordinated actions to conserve and reserve the decline of birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia. Raptor or bird of prey include species such as eagles, kites, vultures, hawks and owls.

With the signing of the MoU, India will become the 54th country to sign an international agreement aimed at conserving raptors. Among India’s neighbours, Pakistan and Nepal are already signatories to the agreement.

Raptors are facing a variety of human-induced threats such as habitat loss and degradation, illegal shooting and poisoning, collisions with aerial structures and electrocution by power lines.

Key facts about the MoU :

• Raptor MOU is also in conformity with the provisions of the existing Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, in which the birds have been accorded protection.
• The Raptors MoU extends its coverage to 76 species of birds of prey out of which 46 species, including vultures, falcons, eagles, owls, hawks, kites, harriers, etc. also occur in India.
• The CMS or Bonn Convention, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), aims to conserve migratory species throughout their range. India had become a party to the CMS since November 1, 1983.