PM interacts with the people of Varanasi on the menace of Coronavirus

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi while interacting with the people of his constituency – Varanasi through video conferencing said that as the MP of Varanasi, he should have been among them in times like this but it could not be possible due to the things which are going on in Delhi. He added that despite being busy, he has been taking regular updates about Varanasi from his colleagues. It was the Prime Minister’s first interaction with the people of Varanasi after the outbreak of Coronavirus.

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the people of Varanasi for performing rituals & offering prayers to Goddess Shailputri to give us all the strength to fight the country’s battle against Coronavirus. He said “At times, people don’t pay attention to things which are important, the same is happening in India.” He also urged people to understand facts & not believe in rumours. He added that Coronavirus doesn’t discriminate between rich & poor and it will not spare anyone. He expressed his condolences to the families of all those killed in the terror attack in Gurudwara in Kabul.

The Prime Minister announced that the Government has formed a help desk, in collaboration with WhatsApp to seek correct information about Coronavirus. He said it can be accessed through the WhatsApp number 9013151515 by texting ‘Namaste’ to this number, in either English or in Hindi. He said that the Mahabharat war was won in 18 days and it would take 21 days for India to win the war against novel coronavirus.

The Prime Minister appealed to all the citizens that if they notice any incident where professionals, such as doctors & nurses, are ill-treated, then they should take an initiative to make such people understand that they are wrong. He said that he has asked Home Ministry & DGPs to take strict action against those who are not supporting or not co-operating with doctors, nurses & other professionals who are serving us in this critical time. He added that this country’s common man believes in taking the right step at the right time. He said that on 22 March, it was clearly seen how all the citizens supported Janata Curfew and then at 5pm, expressed gratitude for the professionals fulfilling their duties in essential services. He added that healthcare professionals working in white uniforms in hospitals are like God for us today, they are saving us from the disease, they are saving us by risking their own lives. He also replied to queries and doubts of people from various walks of life, in his constituency.

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PM to participate in G20 virtual summit tomorrow

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi shall participate in G20 virtual summit tomorrow to discuss on the issues related to Corona virus.

“The G20 has an important global role to play in addressing the COVID 19 pandemic. I look forward to productive discussions tomorrow at the G20 virtual summit, being coordinated by the Saudi G20 Presidency,” PM said in a tweet.

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Telephone conversation between PM and President of the Russian Federation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation today with the President of the Russian Federation H.E. Mr Vladimir V. Putin. The two leaders discussed the global situation in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister conveyed his good wishes for early recovery of all those suffering from the disease in Russia and expressed the hope that Russia’s efforts, led by President Putin, to fight the disease would be successful.

President Putin conveyed to the Prime Minister his good wishes for the success of measures adopted in India to combat COVID-19.

The two leaders agreed on further consultation and cooperation in adequately addressing all challenges faced by this major global crisis, including those pertaining to health, medicine, scientific research, humanitarian matters and impact on global economy. They stressed the significance of international cooperation for unitedly fighting COVID-19, including within the framework of G20.

The Prime Minister appreciated the cooperation of Russian authorities in ensuring well-being of Indian students in Russia and hoped that the same would continue. President Putin assured all help in this regard. The Prime Minister told President Putin that Indian authorities concerned would continue to facilitate in all possible manner the efforts for ensuring the well-being and organised return of Russian nationals, as and when required.

The two leaders also agreed to continue their close cooperation for maintaining the excellent momentum and the warm of the cordial and time-tested bilateral relations. They reiterated that they looked forward to several opportunities for their interaction in person during the course of the year.

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BOOKMARKED: GET TO KNOW JEFFREY PFEFFER, ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR EXPERT AND PROFESSOR AT STANFORD’S GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business may be an organizational behavior expert today, but for some time, he envisioned himself becoming a corporate executive, such as a CEO. So what inspired him to study organizations instead of leading them?

Pfeffer answers that question in his Q&A below, discusses what enables him to continue learning well into his career and shares who inspires him.

Get to know him below.

Glaciers in Sikkim are losing mass faster than other parts of the Himalaya

Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun an autonomous research institute for the study of Geology of the Himalaya under the Department of Science and Technology, have found that glaciers in Sikkim are melting at a higher magnitude as compared to other Himalayan regions.

The study published in Science of the Total Environment assessed the response of 23 glaciers of Sikkim to climate change for the period of 1991-2015 and revealed that glaciers in Sikkim have retreated and deglaciated significantly from 1991 to 2015. Small-sized glaciers in Sikkim are retreating while larger glaciers are thinning due to climate change.

Compared to other Himalayan regions, the magnitude of dimensional changes and debris growth are higher in the Sikkim. A major shift in glacier behavior has occurred around 2000. Contrary to the western and central Himalaya, where glaciers are reported to have slowed down in recent decades, the Sikkim glaciers have shown negligible deceleration after 2000. Summer temperature rise has been prime driver of glacier changes.

To understand the various parameters of Sikkim Himalayas glaciers such as length, area, debris cover, snow-line altitude (SLA), and how they respond to global warming Scientists from WIHG selected 23 representative glaciers from this region. A detailed and rigorous literature survey related to the study was carried out to assess the existing knowledge in the subject. Thereafter, representative glaciers well spread over the study area were selected based on multiple criteria such as size, length, debris cover, slope, aspect, and so on. Then, the multi-temporal and multi-sensor satellite data covering selected glaciers was procured. The team analyzed the results and compared with existing studies, and the impact of various influencing factors was systematically explored to understand the glaciers state.

The behavior of glaciers in the region is heterogeneous and found to be primarily determined by glacier size, debris cover, and glacial lakes. Though a generalized mass loss is observed for both small (less than 3 km square) and large-sized glaciers (greater than 10 km square), they seem to adopt different mechanisms to cope with the ongoing climatic changes. While the first adjust mostly by deglaciation, the latter lose mass through downwasting or thinning.

The Sikkim glaciers have been poorly studied till now, and field-based mass balance measurements have been limited to only one glacier (ChangmeKhangpu) and for a short period (1980-1987). The studies are regional in nature and do no give emphasis on individual glacier behavior. Besides, most of the existing measurements in this region have been focused on length/area changes only. Velocity estimations have also been extremely rare.

This study, for the first time, studied multiple glacier parameters, namely length, area, debris cover, snowline altitude (SLA), glacial lakes, velocity, and downwasting, and explored interlinkage among them to present a clear picture about status and behavior of glaciers in the Sikkim.

Accurate knowledge of magnitude as well as the direction of glacier changes, as highlighted in the present study, can lead to awareness among common people regarding water supplies and possible glacier hazards, particularly to those communities that are living in close proximity. The study can provide ample baseline data on glacier changes and systematically explore the causal relationship between glacier parameters and various influencing factors. A clear understanding of glacier state will help orienting future studies as well as taking necessary measures.

Figure- Example of lake changes on two glaciers in the Sikkim during 1991–2015.

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SNC/KGS(DST)

ARCI develops technology to improve fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines

International Advanced Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST), has developed ultrafast laser surface texturing technology, which can improve the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines.

Laser surface micro-texturing, which offers precise control of the size, shape and density of micro-surface texture features has gained momentum as a way to control friction and wear. In this technology, a pulsating laser beam creates micro-dimples or grooves on the surface of materials in a very controlled manner. Such textures can trap wear debris when operating under dry sliding conditions and sometimes provide effects like enhancing oil supply (lubricant reservoir) which can lower friction coefficients and may enable reduced wear rate.

The texture surfaces were created on automotive internal combustion engine components, piston rings and cylinder liners using 100 fs pulse duration laser. The micro dimples of 10-20 μm diameter and about 5-10 μm deep which have been created with laser beams had a regular pattern. The created textures were tested in an engine test rig under different speeds and temperatures of coolant and lubrication oil, and it was observed that there was a 16% reduction in the lube oil consumption with the use of texture on the piston rings. The 10-hour lube oil consumption test shows that the blowby substantially reduced with textured rings.

Fabrication of a pattern of micro dimples or grooves on the surface of materials results in a change in surface topography which generates additional hydrodynamic pressure, thereby increasing the load-carrying capacity of the surfaces. Hence these become useful for trapping wear debris when operating under dry sliding conditions and sometimes provide effects like enhancing oil supply (lubricant reservoir) which can lower friction coefficients and may enable reduced wear rate.

In order to control the friction, it is important to understand the mechanisms which occur during the conformal or non-conformal contact in dry and lubricated conditions. Ultrafast lasers create micro or nano features without vacuum conditions. These features are smaller than the diffraction-limited laser focal spot diameter – a unique property of ultrashort duration laser-matter interaction. The process is a thermal, and pulse durations are orders of magnitude smaller than thermal diffusion times.

Fig. 1: Femtosecond laser surface texturing (a) dimples, (b) grooves and (c) cross-hatches

Fig. 2: (a) Ball-on-disk test of different textured samples and (b) Engine test of textured piston rings

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MHA issues an Addendum to the Guidelines regarding Nationwide Lockdown to fight COVID-19 Additional essential Goods and Services included in the Exempt List

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an addendum to the guidelines to all Ministries/Departments issued yesterday (https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1607997), regarding the Nationwide lockdown to fight Corona Virus.

This addendum lays down additional categories of essential goods and services exempted under the Disaster Management Act, with respect to the 21- day lockdown.

Original Guidelines Document

Addendum to the Guidelines

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PFC extends support to fight COVID-19 in Rajasthan

Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC), the Central PSU under Union Ministry of Power and leading NBFC in power sector has agreed in principle to provide a financial assistance of Rs. 50,00,000 (Rupees Fifty Lakh only) to Indian Red Cross Society.

Under the CSR Initiative, the financial aid provided by PFC will be used for distribution of Health Masks and Sanitizers, as a part of preventive measures against COVID-19, in the Sate of Rajasthan through Indian Red Cross Society. This move of PFC is significant because Jaipur in Rajasthan has emerged as one of the epicenters of coronavirus in India.

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SEVEN TIPS FOR IMPROVING THE PEDIGREE OF YOUR SUCCESSION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

In my last blog post, I talked about how technology-supported succession planning and career development initiatives can pump talented employees into the pipeline — but not unless employers clearly understand that it takes the right people with the right skills to fill critical roles connected to key business drivers.

So how can business leaders and line managers “see” into these roles – and the associated skills and competencies – to know if the current workforce is ready to take on greater responsibility when needed, or to decide if additional development is necessary?

One forward-thinking way is by creating talent pools, rather than just replacing individuals. The objective here is to develop and coach these “pools of talent” continuously in order to bridge the talent gap and increase the workforce’s overall talent mobility.

Here are seven other tips for lifting succession management and career development programs from ineffective and lackluster to ones that exhibit a “best practice” world-class pedigree:

Tip 1: Provide multiple paths. Climbing the ladder of success isn’t always a journey straight to the top. Modern organizations require diverse capabilities and skills, so employers should offer multiple routes in a career journey to create a culture that encourages risk-taking and innovation.
Tip 2: Reward managers. Organizations that value talent create effective incentives for managers to recommend employees for promotions and new assignments.
Tip 3: Use enterprise learning as a performance lever. Gaps in knowledge, skills and behaviors can be addressed through development plans that tie directly to learning. Career development can drive engagement and retention, as employees see clearly how the organization is helping them grow and advance professionally.
Tip 4: Understand that senior management is just one way to achieve. Not every valuable employee is destined for the C-Suite. Creating a career track for technical experts and non-management positions allows employees with specialized skills and knowledge to build a career while focusing on what they do best.
Tip 5: Train managers to coach, but give them the tools. Line managers may excel within their functional areas, but may not have a clue how to be a career coach. Whether through learning (classroom or online) or access to development tools within a talent management system, focus on cultivating the leadership skills of those who have a direct impact on workforce development.
Tip 6: Allow employees to move horizontally or vertically. Employees have different needs at different life stages. For example, a new parent may not be willing or able to access a foreign assignment. Or a young and rising star may want to attend graduate school. Providing opportunities for employees to make horizontal (as well as vertical) moves can drive both retention and engagement.
Tip 7: Make transparency a priority. Effective succession management and career development thrives on providing information access. Example: Executives need insight into talent gaps and opportunities. Managers and employees need to be aware of measurement criteria and career opportunities. Technology can facilitate this openness.

Combine these suggestions with the right programs and talent management software solution, and succession management and career development will become dynamic processes that empower both the workforce and the organization. An employer who can make this happen will foster a strong talent pipeline, eliminate any talent gaps and ensure world-class succession planning.

To read more about succession management and career management best practices, download the white paper, “Two Sides of the Same Coin: Using Succession Management and Career Development to Improve Talent Mobility.”

PM interacts with the people of Varanasi on the menace of Coronavirus PM calls for Restraint, Resolve and Sensitivity PM announces helpdesk number on Coronavirus

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VRRK/AK

GOM reviews current status, and actions for management of COVID-19

A high level meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 was held at Nirman Bhawan, here today under the chairpersonship of Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare. Sh. Hardeep S. Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation, Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Sh. Nityananda Rai, Minister of State for Home, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping, & Chemical and Fertilizers and Sh. Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State, Health & Family Welfare were present, along with Sh. Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff.

Ms. Preeti Sudan, Secretary, (HFW), Sh Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary, Dr. Balram Bhargava, Secretary DHR & Director General ICMR, Sh. Ravi Capoor, Secretary (Textiles), Sh. Sanjeeva Kumar, Spl. Secretary (Health), Sh. Sanjay Bandopadhyay, Addl. Secretary (Shipping), Shri Dammu Ravi, Additional Secretary Ministry of External Affairs, Sh. Anil Malik, Addl. Secy (MHA), Dr. Rajiv Garg, DGHS and Sh. Lav Agarwal, JS (MoHFW) along with other officials from Army, ITBP, Pharma, DGCA and Textiles were also present.,

The Group of Ministers (GoM) had detailed deliberation on prevention and management of COVID-19 in the meeting. The GOM also discussed the actions taken so far, current status of social distancing measures as a preventive strategy and the stringent actions to contain the spread of COVID-19 by the States so far. The GOM discussed about strengthening capacity of states, which need to devote adequate resources for creating dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, equipping the medical institutes with PPEs, ventilators and other essential equipment etc. States have been asked to ensure that essential services and supplies remain open. These include hospitals, medical shops and establishments engaged in manufacturing of medicines, vaccines, sanitizers, masks and medical devices. GoM was also informed that Gujarat, Assam, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Goa, Karnataka, MP and J&K are setting up hospitals dedicated for the management of COVID-19. A total of 118 laboratories have been included in the ICMR network of COVID19 testing. Group of Ministers (GoM) was also apprised that Cabinet Secretary has also written letters and conducted Video Conference with Chief Secretaries, Health Secretaries and DGs of Police and instructed them to enforce implementation of lockdown measures.

Highlighting the critical importance of social distancing as an effective strategy for prevention of COVID-19 and limiting the spread of the disease, Dr. Harsh Vardhan reiterated his appeal to all those who have are in home and facility quarantine about observing it according to the protocol laid down by the Health Ministry, and which is also available at the Ministry website. “As announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister yesterday, the country has been put under lockdown. As part of this lockdown, we need to ensure that within our homes too we practice social distancing”, said Dr. Harsh Vardhan. He further added that around 64,000 persons have arrived from other countries to India since 21^st March, 2020 out of which 8,000 have been put in various quarantine facilities and 56,000 are in home isolation. “We are fighting an infectious disease. In order to protect ourselves and others, it is highly important that we follow all the protocols, guidelines and directions issued by the Government, failing which may lead to legal actions u/s 188 of IPC.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan also reiterated his appeal to everyone to not ostracise doctors and other medical staff who are on the forefront of this health emergency and serving to save us from COVID-19. We should also avoid spreading rumours or un-authenticated information, he added.

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Retention of houses allowed for allottees under Central Government General Pool Residential Accommodation(CGGPRA) Rules, 2017 till 31st May 2020

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has been receiving calls from various allottees of General Pool Residential Accommodations (GPRA), who were/ are due to vacate their flats/ houses and are not able to do so in the light of the advisories regarding social distancing issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) under the current global Corona Virus Pandemic (COVID-19). Guidelines have been issued by Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) with do’s & don’ts for government personnel vide their O.M. dated 17.03.2020 to contain the spread of this Virus.

Further, in view of the Order for nation-wide complete lockdown to contain the fast spreading infection issued by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 24 March, 2020, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has considered the extraordinary situation which is not conducive to move out of any accommodation to vacate and has, therefore, allowed suo-moto retention for the period from 17.03.2020 to 31.05.2020 for all allottees under the Central Government General Pool Residential Accommodation(CGGPRA) Rules, 2017 who were/ are expected to vacate or shift their flats/ houses.

This relaxation will be applicable to all cases of retention and change of accomodation under GPRA Rules.

The Retention will be suo moto i.e. allottees need not apply for it.The suo-moto retention period will be on the payment of licence fees as applicable to the allottee under these rules. No damage will be charged for this period.

These relaxations will be given to such allottees also where (s)he has become unauthorized occupant of government accommodation before 17.03.2020. However, in such cases, after the retention period of 75 days i.e. upto 31.05.2020, the damages at telescopic rates, as was continuing prior to this period, will be resumed.

The instructions regarding suo moto extension upto 31.05.2020 is made available on GPRA website.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is committed for the well being of all residents and urges them to stay indoors. It reiterates the message of Hon’ble Prime Minister to strictly adhere to social distancing, not to panic and take all necessary precautions to stay healthy and safe.

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Textiles Ministry Sets up Emergency Control Room to Monitor Production and Supply of Medical Textiles

The Ministry of Textiles has set up an Emergency Control Room to monitor production and supply of medical textiles (N-95 mask, Body Coveralls and meltblown fabric) which are required in connection with Covid-19.

Emergency control office will work under the supervision of Shri. P K Kataria, Special Secretary (Mobile No. 9818149844). Following officers of the Textiles Ministry are part of the control room:

Sr. No.	Name	Designation	Mobile No.
1	NiharRanjan Dash	Joint Secretary	9910911396
2	H K Nanda	Director	9437567873
3	Balram Kumar	Director	9458911913
4	Pankaj Kumar Singh	Dy. Secretary	9555758381
5	Padmapani Bora	Dy. Secretary	9871070834

Following field level officers have also been appointed to take stock of the situation from ground level:

Sr. No.	Name	Designation	Mobile No.
1	MolayChandanChakravarthy	Textile Commissioner, Mumbai	8910267467
2	RanjitRanjanOkhandiar	Member Secretary, Central Silk Board, Bangalore	7987331656
3	Ajit B Chavan	Secretary, Textile Committee, Mumbai	9958457403

Anyone having any problem relating to supply of medical textiles (N-95 mask and Body Coveralls) may contact these officers.

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Textiles Ministry Sets up Emergency Control Room to Monitor Production and Supply of Medical Textiles

Emergency control office will work under the supervision of Shri. P K Kataria, Special Secretary (Mobile No. 9818149844). Following officers of the Textiles Ministry are part of the control room:

Sr. No.	Name	Designation	Mobile No.
1	NiharRanjan Dash	Joint Secretary	9910911396
2	H K Nanda	Director	9437567873
3	Balram Kumar	Director	9458911913
4	Pankaj Kumar Singh	Dy. Secretary	9555758381
5	Padmapani Bora	Dy. Secretary	9871070834

Following field level officers have also been appointed to take stock of the situation from ground level:

Sr. No.	Name	Designation	Mobile No.
1	MolayChandanChakravarthy	Textile Commissioner, Mumbai	8910267467
2	RanjitRanjanOkhandiar	Member Secretary, Central Silk Board, Bangalore	7987331656
3	Ajit B Chavan	Secretary, Textile Committee, Mumbai	9958457403

Anyone having any problem relating to supply of medical textiles (N-95 mask and Body Coveralls) may contact these officers.

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MHA issues an Addendum to the Guidelines regarding Nationwide Lockdown to fight COVID-19 Additional essential Goods and Services included in the Exempt List

This addendum lays down additional categories of essential goods and services exempted under the Disaster Management Act, with respect to the 21- day lockdown.

Original Guidelines Document

Addendum to the Guidelines

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