An electric guitar rendition of our National Anthem played at the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland has gotten lots of appreciation by netizens on Twitter.

The 23rd Edition of the Hornbill Festival began at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama on Thursday with Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar as the Chief Guest.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the 23rd edition of the Hornbill Festival at Naga Heritage Village in Nagaland, informed officials on Thursday.

India is planning to showcase Nagaland's Hornbill Festival after it assumes the Group of 20 (G-20) presidency for a year from December 1, 2022, till November 30, 2023.

Tehri Garhwal (Uttarakhand) [India], December 7 (ANI): The last rites of paratrooper Gautam Lal, who lost his life in the violence following a botched anti-insurgency operation in Nagaland, were conducted on Tuesday in the Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand.

New Delhi [India], December 7 (ANI): A delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament on Wednesday at 3:45 pm over Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) issue in the wake of anti-insurgency operation that went awry in Mon district of Nagaland.

Kohima (Nagaland) [India], December 7 (ANI): Amid outrage over the killings of 14 civilians in a botched up army operation against insurgents, Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio said that the state government has decided to write to the Centre appealing for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a law that gives sweeping powers to the army in troubled regions.

Kohima Nov 29 PTI Nagaland Police on Monday launched a mobile application for facilitating the users to get in touch with the law enforcers anywhere in the state Launching the mobile app Call your cop DGP T John Longkumer said it will enable citizens especially those in distress to give a call to the force that will now be just a call away The App has contact numbers of Nagaland Police officers along with other features like alerts emergency numbers and police station details He also said that stress is on stopping violence against women and making mothers and sisters realise that they can get in touch with the police easily Pointing out that the state police have launched a community outreach programme COP Longkumer said this app is a beginning towards interactive communication between the law enforcers and people Meanwhile with the onset of the festive season and the Hornbill celebrations starting December 1 the DGP said a Tourist Police Control Room will be launched on Tuesday with helpline number 112 An effort is on to make the Hornbill Festival the pride of Nagaland - totally safe the DGP said The Tourist Police have a big responsibility to host the guests and visitors with kindness and be ever ready to help them the police chief said The app was developed by the Police Headquarters CID branch in collaboration with Excellogics Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd Nagaland Business Development Manager at Excellogics Solutions Zhavi Nagi said the mobile application is now available on the Google Playstore for Android users PTI NBS MM MM

Kohima Nov 26 PTI The Nagaland government is all set to organise the popular Hornbill festival from December 1 to help artisans and entrepreneurs associated with textile agriculture and allied sectors state tourism advisor Khehovi Yepthomi said on Friday The 10-day programme which boosts the local economy will be held at Naga Heritage village Kisama about 12 km from the state capital Yepthomi also a BJP MLA told the assembly Hornbill Festival showcases the culture heritage food and customs of Naga tribes and people from these tribes come together to celebrate their traditions with colourful dance performances Termed the Hornbill event as the festival of festivals he said the annual programme brings all the 17 tribes of the state on a platform and facilitates promotion of their culture to the rest of the world Nagaland is known as the land of festivals as each tribe has its own traditions language and culture and these are celebrated throughout the year during different seasons of the agricultural calendar This festival is not only an annual cultural affair but also a window to experience the unique identity and legacy of our rich Naga traditions the tourism advisor said The Hornbill festival has been showcasing the culture of Nagaland for the last 21 years and providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to grow he said It has promoted the states tourism and related businesses he said Over 112 lakh tourists came to Nagaland during the Hornbill festival in 2016 while 282 lakh travellers visited in 2019 The festival was celebrated virtually last year amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country Citing a study on the economic impact of the festival he said an investment of Rs 7 crore in the 2018 Hornbill festival translated into a revenue generation of Rs 45 crore The total turnover from spending on transportation food accommodation and local products was at Rs 10073 crore in 2019 and the government pumped in around Rs 1152 crore for the 10-day gala in that year the tourism advisor said The annual festival has not only placed Nagaland on the World tourism map but has helped Nagas strengthen their bonding with culture and heritage and fostered inter-tribal interaction It generated a growing interest among people about the diverse and vibrant cultures of North East India Yepthomi said He also announced that the 9th International Tourism Mart ITM will be held at Kisama in the state for the first time from Saturday ITM is an annual event organised by the Centre with the objective to promote tourism in the northeastern states and establish the region as an attractive destination for domestic and overseas travellers PTI NBS BDC BDC

Kohima Oct 26 PTI The Nagaland government has decided to extend more relaxations including opening of school for lower classes and lifting of night curfew as part of Unlock 8 process a senior minister said on Tuesday The state government has been announcing the unlocking process in a phased manner since July 1 and the current unlock phase seven will end on October 31 The unlock 8 will come into effect from November 1 till December 15 government spokesperson and senior minister Neiba Kronu told reporters during a press conference here on Tuesday The decision was taken at a review meeting of the High Powered Committee HPC on Covid-19 headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio he said On further relaxations during the unlock process Kronu said while regular classes following Covid appropriate behaviour had been permitted in the previous phase of unlocking the HPC this time has allowed resumption of schools for lower classes from class 1 to 4 mainly for the conduct of the academic final examinations which is held in November every year However he said the final decision has been left to the respective District Task Forces DTFs to grant permission for opening of schools depending on the local situation It has also been decided to totally lift the night curfew which was earlier imposed from 10 pm to 4 am he said adding that passenger vehicles both state and private transports can function normally in the Unlock-8 Kronu while requesting everyone to get inoculated with COVID-19 vaccine also appealed to the DTFs to put concerted efforts in carrying out the vaccination drive On the conduct of the Hornbill Festival an annual tourism promotional 10-day event of the state government which could not be held last year since its inception in 2000 the minister said with the ease in pandemic situation this year it would be held but the number of days will be decided by the Tourism Department On permitting entry of tourists he said that only those fully vaccinated would be allowed PTI NBS RG RG