Table of Contents:
1. Surekha Yadav - First Woman Loco Pilot to Run 'Vande Bharat' 
2. Shreya Ghodawat Appointed as the Indian Ambassador of ‘SHE Changes Climate’ 
3. 32^nd Vyas Samman Winner - Gyan Chaturvedi
4. Maharashtra Launched New Initiative called ‘Beggar Free City’  

Surekha Yadav - First Woman Loco Pilot to Run 'Vande Bharat' 
 

Surekha Yadav, Asia's first woman loco pilot, has now become the first female to operate the newly-introduced semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express train. According to the Central Railway, she piloted the semi-high-speed train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai. 

Surekha Yadav 

• India’a first female loco pilot 

• First female who became a locomotive pilot in Asia 

• Asia's first woman loco pilot to drive the Deccan Queen from Pune to CST 

• First woman loco pilot to run 'Vande Bharat' 

Vande Bharat Express  

• The high-performing, electric multiple-unit train operated by Indian Railways 

• Formerly known as: Train 18 

• Designed by: Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO)  

• Manufactured by: Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai 

Minister of Railways, India: Ashwini Vaishnaw 

Shreya Ghodawat Appointed as the Indian Ambassador of ‘SHE Changes Climate’ 

SHE Changes Climate is a global campaign, driving awareness of the crucial role of women in accelerating just climate action. Climate Entrepreneur Shreya Ghodawat was appointed as the India Ambassador of ‘SHE Changes Climate’ on 13 march 2023. SHE Changes Climate is working to bring about real transformation by asking global leaders of governments and businesses to look at the talent pool that already exists within their nations to build genuinely representative leadership teams. The global non-profit organisation launched a special initiative for International Women’s Day titled ‘Embrace Equity’ that aims to amplify the voices of women around the impacts of climate change. It has been nominated for awards from The Earth Future Festivals and at the Lift-Off Global Network Session 2022. 

32^nd Vyas Samman Winner - Gyan Chaturvedi
 

Noted Hindi writer Dr Gyan Chaturvedi's 2018 satirical novel, ‘Pagalkhana’, has been selected for the 32nd Vyas Samman, 2002. Instituted by the KK Birla Foundation in 1991, the annual Vyas Samman is given to an outstanding Hindi literary work by an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years. The selection committee was headed by eminent litterateur Prof Ramji Tiwari and they considered the works published during 2012 – 2021. 

Gyan Chaturvedi  

• An Indian writer and satirist in Hindi language 

• Born in: Uttarpradesh 

• Important Works: Baramasi, Narak Yathra, Pagalkhana 

• Received PAdma Shree Award, 2015 

• Winner of the Madhya Pradesh government’s Sharad Joshi Samman for outstanding achievement in the field of satire and essay 

Vyas Samman 

• Awarded annually by the K.K. Birla Foundation 

• First awarded in: 1991 

• First Winner: Ram Vilas Sharma 

• 2021 Winner: Asghar Wajahat 

K K Birla Foundation 

• Established in: 1991  

• Established by: Krishna Kumar Birla in Delhi 

• The  mission is to promote literature, arts, education and social work 

• The awards instituted by the foundation are Saraswati Samman, Vyas Samman, Bihari Puraskar, Shankar Puraskar , Vachaspati Puraskar, and G.D. Birla Award for Scientific  

Maharashtra Launched New Initiative called ‘Beggar Free City’  

The new initiative called ‘beggar-free city’ has been started in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Nagpur City Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said that a notice under 144 CrPC has been issued in this regard. 

This is the joint venture of Nagpur City police and Nagpur Muncipal Corporation.Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has made special arrangements in its owned shelters to restrict homeless people.The civic bodies have also arranged a bus and an ambulance to shift the beggars caught in the police operation to their shelter homes. 

Maharashtra 

• Capital: Mumbai 

• Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari 

• Chief Minister: Eknath Shinde  

• Official Language: Marathi 

• Financial Capital of India: Mumbai