Month: December 2022

“60% of China may get infected by Covid-19 in the next 90 days”, says experts.

Epidemiologists estimate that over the next few days more than 60 per cent of China’s population and 10 per cent of Earth’s population would likely to get infected by Covid-19 and this would be just the ‘start’. 

Skyrocketing infections, inundated hospitals, overflowing morgues — elation from the lifting of zero Covid curbs proved tragically short-lived as China reels under a Covid explosion.

Amid this grim state of affairs, a top infectious disease expert has projected that more than 60 per cent of China’s population is likely to be infected by the coronavirus in the next three months and witness millions of Covid-related deaths.

Chinese authorities have failed to bolster the elderly vaccination rate, upping surge and intensive care capacity in hospitals, and stockpiling antiviral medications, which could spell disaster for the country’s 1.4 billion citizens, warned experts.

"60% of China may get infected by Covid-19 in the next 90 days", says experts.

Epidemiologists estimate that over the next few days more than 60 per cent of China’s population and 10 per cent of Earth’s population would likely to get infected by Covid-19 and this would be just the ‘start’. 

Skyrocketing infections, inundated hospitals, overflowing morgues — elation from the lifting of zero Covid curbs proved tragically short-lived as China reels under a Covid explosion.

Amid this grim state of affairs, a top infectious disease expert has projected that more than 60 per cent of China’s population is likely to be infected by the coronavirus in the next three months and witness millions of Covid-related deaths.

Chinese authorities have failed to bolster the elderly vaccination rate, upping surge and intensive care capacity in hospitals, and stockpiling antiviral medications, which could spell disaster for the country’s 1.4 billion citizens, warned experts.

After Russia, Sri Lanka to use Indian rupee(INR) for internation trade.

India’s rupee trade settlement mechanism, which was set up by the Reserve Bank of India in July 2022, is attracting interest from more countries apart from Russia.

The mechanism is a means of using rupees instead of dollars and other big currencies for international transactions in order to promote growth of global trade with emphasis on exports from India and to support the increasing interest of global trading community in the rupee.

Dollar-strapped Sri Lanka and sanctions-hit Russia will be the first countries to use the Indian rupee trade settlement mechanism.

Sri Lanka has agreed to use Indian rupee (INR) for international trade. It comes days after the Government of India said it is looking at ways to bring countries that are particularly short of dollars into the ambit of Indian rupee trade settlement mechanism. Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said it is waiting for RBI’s (Reserve Bank of India) approval to designate Indian rupee as foreign currency of Sri Lanka.

Tajikistan, Cuba, Luxembourg and Sudan have begun talking to India about using the mechanism, reported Reuters, quoting two sources and an official document. It has already been used by Russia following the imposition of sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war.

After Russia, Sri Lanka to use Indian rupee(INR) for internation trade.

India’s rupee trade settlement mechanism, which was set up by the Reserve Bank of India in July 2022, is attracting interest from more countries apart from Russia.

The mechanism is a means of using rupees instead of dollars and other big currencies for international transactions in order to promote growth of global trade with emphasis on exports from India and to support the increasing interest of global trading community in the rupee.

Dollar-strapped Sri Lanka and sanctions-hit Russia will be the first countries to use the Indian rupee trade settlement mechanism.

Sri Lanka has agreed to use Indian rupee (INR) for international trade. It comes days after the Government of India said it is looking at ways to bring countries that are particularly short of dollars into the ambit of Indian rupee trade settlement mechanism. Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said it is waiting for RBI’s (Reserve Bank of India) approval to designate Indian rupee as foreign currency of Sri Lanka.

Tajikistan, Cuba, Luxembourg and Sudan have begun talking to India about using the mechanism, reported Reuters, quoting two sources and an official document. It has already been used by Russia following the imposition of sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war.

Key points of UN COP15 summit held at Canada.

After four years of fractious talks, nearly 200 countries, including India, approved a historic Paris-style deal on Monday to protect and reverse dangerous loss to global biodiversity following an intense final session of negotiations at the UN COP15 summit here in Canada.

The UN Development Programme said the “historic agreement” meant people around the world could hope for real progress to halt biodiversity loss.

The main points include:

  • Maintaining, enhancing and restoring ecosystems, including halting species extinction and maintaining genetic diversity
  • “Sustainable use” of biodiversity – essentially ensuring that species and habitats can provide the services they provide for humanity, such as food and clean water
  • Ensuring that the benefits of resources from nature, like medicines that come from plants, are shared fairly and equally and that indigenous peoples’ rights are protected
  • Paying for and putting resources into biodiversity: Ensuring that money and conservation efforts get to where they are needed.

Furthermore, the framework also calls for increasing the amount of money sent to poor countries to at least $20 billion every year by 2025 which could be increased by $10 billion each year by the end of the decade. However, the document only calls for identifying subsidies by 2025 which can be reformed or phased out and work on reducing them by 2030. 

The draft comprised four broad goals and 22 targets addressing the protection of nature and sharing its benefits which included, the management of wildlife, working on the restoration of habitats and using less plastic. 

Key points of UN COP15 summit held at Canada.

After four years of fractious talks, nearly 200 countries, including India, approved a historic Paris-style deal on Monday to protect and reverse dangerous loss to global biodiversity following an intense final session of negotiations at the UN COP15 summit here in Canada.

The UN Development Programme said the “historic agreement” meant people around the world could hope for real progress to halt biodiversity loss.

The main points include:

  • Maintaining, enhancing and restoring ecosystems, including halting species extinction and maintaining genetic diversity
  • “Sustainable use” of biodiversity – essentially ensuring that species and habitats can provide the services they provide for humanity, such as food and clean water
  • Ensuring that the benefits of resources from nature, like medicines that come from plants, are shared fairly and equally and that indigenous peoples’ rights are protected
  • Paying for and putting resources into biodiversity: Ensuring that money and conservation efforts get to where they are needed.

Furthermore, the framework also calls for increasing the amount of money sent to poor countries to at least $20 billion every year by 2025 which could be increased by $10 billion each year by the end of the decade. However, the document only calls for identifying subsidies by 2025 which can be reformed or phased out and work on reducing them by 2030. 

The draft comprised four broad goals and 22 targets addressing the protection of nature and sharing its benefits which included, the management of wildlife, working on the restoration of habitats and using less plastic. 

Outstanding Achievement for NIT Calicut in NBA Accreditation

 Five Major B.Tech Programmes of NITC receives NBA Accreditation for 6 Years Five major B.Tech programmes offered by National Institute of Technology Calicut namely B.Tech in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Electronics Engineering., Electronics & Communication Engineering., and Computer Science & Engineering have been accorded with the highest accreditation status of 6 years (2022-2028) by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), New Delhi. 6 years is the maximum possible duration of accreditation where “Not Accredited” or “Accredited for 3 years” being the other two possible status. 

The present result of NIT Calicut is based on the inspection visit of an expert committee composed of 11 senior professors from top Institutions in the country during 11-13 November 2022. The committee evaluated all aspects of these 5 programmes with a special emphasis on the data during the period 2019-22 during which all academic institutions in the country experienced several challenges due to Covid pandemic. While the programmes offered by colleges affiliated to other universities in the country come under Tier-II accreditation process, all NITs and other Deemed Universities come under the TierI scheme, which is known to be much more stringent in terms of most of the quality assessment parameters. Moreover, the current evaluation was done based on the new format introduced by the NBA in the year 2021 which is tough to achieve as compared to previous formats in practice. NIT Calicut is one of the very few institutions in the country to achieve this feat. 

On this occasion, Director Prof.Prasad Krishna told, “This reiterates the outstanding quality that NIT Calicut ensures for the teaching and research. Over the last few years, we have conducted a few faculty recruitments which also have helped us to achieve this laurel. I congratulate all my faculty members, students, alumni and employers for their consistent efforts and exemplary contributions. As India is a full signatory in washington accord now, this achievement will help our students to secure admissions in top universities of the world for higher studies as well as employment all over the world- particularly in US, Europe and Middle-East” Prof. P. S. Sathidevi, Deputy Director and Chairperson, Centre for Quality Assurance & Enhancement said “The Centre for Quality Assurance and Enhancement at NITC and Office of Dean (Academic) are taking concerted efforts to ensure the academic quality of the programmes offered in the Institute. Regular Academic Audit is conducted to ensure that the highest levels of academic and research quality are maintained in the Institute. 

The remarkable achievement of six year accreditation for the five UG programmes by the NBA is indeed a pointer to the quality conscious academic environment in the Institute”. “In Tier-I format, NBA considers the performance of the programmes on multiple aspects such as Course Outcomes and Program Outcomes, Program Curriculum and Teaching-Learning Processes, Students’ Performance, Faculty Contributions, Institute Resources, Governance and Continuous Improvement. Outstanding achievement in almost all these criteria is required in order to get 6 years accreditation. This shows the non-compromising attitude of students and faculty members in the teaching-learning process even during the challenging time of Covid and ensures the global competencies of our graduates”, Prof. Sameer S. M., Dean (Academic) said. 

NBA came into existence as an independent autonomous body with effect from January 2010 with the objectives of assurance of quality and relevance to technical education, especially of the programs in professional and technical disciplines, i.e., Engineering and Technology, Management, Architecture, Pharmacy and Hotel Management and Catering Technology, through the mechanism of accreditation of programs offered by technical institutions. The NBA conducts evaluation of programs of technical institutes on the basis of laid down norms as prescribed by the Washington accord, a global consortium of accreditation bodies of 22 countries including USA, UK, Canada, Australia and India. 

Argentina wins FIFA world cup.

The Lusail Stadium hosted what will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, World Cup finals of all time. Argentina were cruising for much of the match, until Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty and scored a sensational equaliser to force the game into extra-time. That led to more insane football as chances flew around at both ends. Messi scored late in the second-half of extra time to seemingly win it for Argentina, only for them to concede a penalty mere seconds later. The flawless Mbappe converted that as well, thus becoming the first player since 1966 to score a hat-trick in the final of a World Cup. And yet, he ended up on the losing side, with Argentina winning the penalty shootout. Messi finally got his hands on the covetted World Cup trophy in what he said will be his last match in this tournament. 

Mbappe wins the Golden Boot, but Messi bagged the World Cup. It was the battle of the Number 10s, as two titans of the game stepped up and gave it their all. But it was the veteran that stood tall in the end. Nobody expected Argentina to dominate the way they did for the first eighty minutes of the match. Nobody expected them to lose their lead twice in the match. And certainly nobody expected Mbappe to score a hat-trick and still find himself on the losing side. But for all the criticism that Argentina had received over the years for crumbling under pressure, this World Cup has shown that there is none better than them when it comes to penalties, where nerves mattered the most.

Argentina wins FIFA world cup.

The Lusail Stadium hosted what will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, World Cup finals of all time. Argentina were cruising for much of the match, until Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty and scored a sensational equaliser to force the game into extra-time. That led to more insane football as chances flew around at both ends. Messi scored late in the second-half of extra time to seemingly win it for Argentina, only for them to concede a penalty mere seconds later. The flawless Mbappe converted that as well, thus becoming the first player since 1966 to score a hat-trick in the final of a World Cup. And yet, he ended up on the losing side, with Argentina winning the penalty shootout. Messi finally got his hands on the covetted World Cup trophy in what he said will be his last match in this tournament. 

Mbappe wins the Golden Boot, but Messi bagged the World Cup. It was the battle of the Number 10s, as two titans of the game stepped up and gave it their all. But it was the veteran that stood tall in the end. Nobody expected Argentina to dominate the way they did for the first eighty minutes of the match. Nobody expected them to lose their lead twice in the match. And certainly nobody expected Mbappe to score a hat-trick and still find himself on the losing side. But for all the criticism that Argentina had received over the years for crumbling under pressure, this World Cup has shown that there is none better than them when it comes to penalties, where nerves mattered the most.

North East as the new engines of growth

 Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Shri  Sarbananda Sonowal has said the North Eastern Council (NEC) has been the catalyst of growth in the North East. He said under the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister North East as the new engines of growth, is poised to drive the forward journey of new India.

Sharing his views after attending the Golden Jubilee Celebration of NEC in Shillong, Shri Sonowal said, “Today, the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji laid the foundation stones and dedicated projects worth ₹2450 crore on the Eve of Golden Jubilee celebration of Northeast Council (NEC) in Shillong.  With these launches, it is a true reflection of the Modi ji’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’ for the holistic development of the country. Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji, the road to growth & development of Northeast Region has been laid out with permanent peace & respect to the communities to become partners in this wonderful journey of the region. These projects, inaugurated by the PM Modi today, will accelerate development of not just Meghalaya but of the entire Northeast. I convey my sincere gratitude to Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji for recognising the Northeast as the Astalakshmi and heralding a new age of development in the region.”

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India has jumped from 7th to 3rd global ranking in scientific publications

 India has jumped from 7th to 3rd global ranking in scientific publications. This was disclosed here today by Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh after a review with Union Secretary Department of Science & Technology (DST) Dr S. Chandrasekhar.

Lauding the consistent efforts of India’s scientific fraternity, Dr Jitendra Singh gave all credit to an enabling milieu and freedom of working provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said, the very fact that such quantum leaps in our scientific pursuits are happening only in the last few years is a testimony to the push given by PM Modi both in terms of the ease of policy as well as his personal indulgence and prioritisation.

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that as per the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Science & Engineering Indicators 2022 report of the United States, India’s position globally in scientific publications, has improved from 7th position in 2010 to 3rd position in 2020. He also added that India’s scholarly output increased from 60,555 papers in 2010 to 1,49,213 papers in 2020.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, this became possible only because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who not only has a natural predilection for science but is also forthcoming in supporting and promoting science and technology based initiatives and projects in the last 8 years. He said, India’s scientific prowess is going to have a major role in the making of “AtmaNirbhar Bharat ”.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, India’s research performance in science and technology has improved significantly over the past few years which is visible through large amount of scientific knowledge in terms of research publications, development of technologies and innovations contributing to overall development.

Dr Jitendra Singh also took pride that India now ranks 3rd in terms of number of PhDs in science and engineering. He was also apprised of the fact that the number of patents granted to Indian scientists at India Patent Office (IPO) during the last three years has also increased from 2511 in 2018-19 to 4003 in 2019-20 and 5629 in 2020-21.

The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.

It may be recalled that as per the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022 brought out by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), India’s GII ranking has also improved significantly from 81st in 2014 to 40th position in 2022.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, the government has taken several steps to boost the science and technology sector which includes successive increase in allocations for Scientific Departments, incentivizing investment by private sector to increase their share in GERD, improving the ease of doing business in the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) activities; introducing flexible tools for public procurement; creating avenues for collaborative STI funding through portfolio-based funding mechanisms such as Public-Private-Partnerships and other innovative hybrid funding mechanisms.

A senior official informed that the Department of Science and Technology is likely to get 20 percent more money in the upcoming Union Budget 2023-24 in comparison to last year.

In the last budget, DST received Rs 6,002 Crore, which was 42 percent of the total fund of Rs 14,217 Crore allocated to the Ministry of Science and Technology. DSIR received Rs 5,636 Crore (40%), while DBT got Rs 2,581 Crore (18%).

The Government has allowed corporate sector to make R&D investments under the provision of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Corporates can invest in technology business incubators or contribute in research efforts carried out by institutions and national research laboratories as a part of their CSR. There are specific investment incentives offered such as Location-based tax incentives that enables 100% deductions of profits generated from establishing and doing business in northeastern states of India.

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Good Governance Week 2022, “Prashasan Gaon Ki Ore” a Nationwide Campaign

 3,120 New Services identified by District Collectors across the country will be added for Online Service Delivery during the 5-day “Prashasan Gaon ki Ore campaign” to be inaugurated by Union Minister for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh tomorrow at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

During the Preparatory Phase of the Good Governance Week 2022 held from December 10-18, 2022, District Collectors have also identified 81,27,944 applications for Service Delivery to be disposed, along with 19,48,122 Public Grievances to be redressed in State Grievance Portals.

Secretary, DARPG, Shri V.Srinivas informed that  373 Best Good Governance Practices identified for discussion in District Level Workshops on December 23, 2022. He said, 43 Success Stories in Public Grievances will also be shared during the Good Governance Week-2022, “Sushasan Saptah” from 19th to 25th December, 2022.

Prime Minister has extended his greetings and best wishes for the success of the Sushasan Saptah across all Districts and Tehsils of India. In his message the Prime Minister said “It is particularly pleasing to note that this year too, the Prasahsan Gaon ki Ore campaign continues to be a part of Good Governance Week. We have undertaken various citizen centric initiatives including redressal of public grievances, online services, disposal of service delivery applications and good governance practices. Our vision is to expand the outreach of service delivery mechanisms making them more effective.”

The Nation-wide campaign for Redressal of Public Grievances and Improving Service Delivery will be held in all Districts, States and Union Territories of India. Over 700 District Collectors will be participating in the Campaign and officials will be visiting Tehsils and Panchayat Samiti Headquarters.

Dr. Jitendra Singh will be launching the Good Governance Week 2022 portal, www.pgportal.gov.in/GGW22 , a dedicated portal in which District Collectors will be uploading progress along with Good Governance Practices and video clips. The Sushasan Saptah will witness the Nation’s Grievance Redressal Platforms functioning in unison – Grievances received on CPGRAMS will be redressed along with Grievances received on State portals. This is the second time in Amrit Kaal Period, that the Government of India will be conducting a National Campaign at Tehsil level to address Public Grievances and Improving Service Delivery. Prashasan Gaon ki Ore Abhiyaan will create a national movement for good governance that will inspire future generations.

The Annual Report on CPGRAMS for 2022 will be released on this occasion to reflect the progress the Nation has made in Redressal Public Grievances in 2022.

The Preparatory Phase of the Good Governance Week 2022 was held from December 10-18, 2022. District Collectors have identified the following targets on the dedicated portal that will be redressed in the period December 19-25, 2022.

 

Applications Disposed under Service Delivery

81,27,944

Grievances Redressed in State Grievance Portals

19,16,142

Grievances Redressed in CPGRAMS

31,980

Number of New Services added for Online Service Delivery

3120

Best Good Governance Practices

373

Success Stories in Public Grievances

43

 

In the category of Service Delivery applications – Madhya Pradesh Districts have identified a target of 55,72,862 and Punjab Districts have identified a target of 21,96,937. In the category Redressal of Public Grievances, Madhya Pradesh Districts have identified a target of 16,67,295 grievances and Tamil Nadu Districts have identified 1,38,621 grievances for redressal.

A workshop on District Level Innovations will be conducted under the chairmanship of District Collector on December 23, 2022 in every District. The workshop will focus on District level innovations. 373 District Level Innovations have been identified for presentation in the District level workshops on December 23, 2022.  The focus has been on innovations aimed at Digital Transformation of Institutions and Digital Empowerment of Citizens.

The Second Sushasan Saptah will help in furthering Good Governance at every level in India.

 

7th edition of India Water Impact Summit Concludes

 The 7th edition of the India Water Impact Summit concluded on 17th December 2022 after 3 days of fruitful deliberations on important aspects of water conservation and river rejuvenation, with special emphasis on revival of small rivers for the protection of large basins. On the third and final day of the 7th India Water Impact Summit, experts from water, environment and administrative sectors unanimously consented to an urgent need of forming a National River Framework in the country, which would determine the parameters for monitoring river health, process and responsibility. All experts were unanimous that the direction of river health cannot be ascertained based on only biochemical parameters. Condition of aquatic life present in river can be an indicator of river health. In this process, the indigenous species of aquatic life must be included rather than the exotic species which have been developed in the river for commercial purposes.

  • DG, NMCG presides over the valedictory session of the 7th Edition of India Water Impact Summit
  • Consensus over need to form a National River Framework among all stakeholders
  •  A strong need to establish a system for exchange of official information in water-related issues felt
  • DG, NMCG emphasized on ground implementation of the findings

The valedictory session was presided over by Shri G. Asok Kumar, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). Prof. Vinod Tare, cGanga moderated the session. DG, NMCG re-emphasized to shift the focus to implementation and hoped that by next positive changes would be seen on ground. “The deliberations have enabled us to identify the areas we have to work upon. Now, it is time to implement and see results on ground.” He said that water in India has come of age and in the past 6-7 years, there has been better awareness on water related issues in the country. “Water is crucial for the existence of mankind and is finally getting the respect and value it deserves,” he said, adding, “We all can see that, now, a lot of focus is on water-related issues even at the district administration level which was not the case about a decade ago.”

He said that Namami Gange has taken the lead in water management, circular economy, resource recovery, ensuring rivers are not polluted, and take initiatives such as river-city alliance that are central to include protection of rivers at the urban planning level. He also noted that with NMCG’s initiative, water is now being looked at as a resource for increasing GDPs of local districts through tourism, healthcare, etc.

Commenting on the theme of this year’s India Water Impact Summit, Shri Kumar said that, rightly, a lot of discussions took place on revival of small rivers which is crucial to rejuvenate large basins. He also emphasized on the need to break silos and view water as one resource. “Water has no geographical boundaries and silofication of water needs to be broken down,” he added. He spoke about work being done in the direction of monetization of wastewater and sludge, natural farming, livelihood generation etc. under Arth Ganga to make Namami Gange a self-sustainable model.

Moderating the session, Prof. Tare noted that integration and coordination of sector-wise programmes is as important as the implementation of projects with sector specific knowledge and expertise. The deliberations highlighted that the bottom-up approach (community-driven small river basin committees) with large basin and national level coordination is immensely significant.

On the concluding day of the Summit, Session A3 was centred on the ‘Formulation and Execution of River Monitoring Programmes’. The objective of the session was to determine challenges in river restoration and conservation programmes. Session E2 was on the ‘Impact of Land use on Rejuvenation of Small Rivers’. The session highlighted how the health of the smallest stream has a ripple effect on the next order stream, and is responsible for bringing a rich variety of aquatic biodiversity. The deliberations showed the significance of drafting policies, interventions, and strategies to safeguard the small rivers from adverse effects of poor land-use planning and development. Session A4 was themed on the Information/Data Collation, Utilization and Dissemination Strategy, while Session C5 was on Physical / Hybrid Model.

The sessions also showed that large basin/national level knowledge based organisations should play the leadership role for gathering information about health status of all the rivers in a sustained manner. It was observed that reclamation of resources from wastes and its reuse in restoration and conservation of natural resources (river systems and soils) should be valued and appropriately accounted in economic sense for creating novel financing models/instruments. Moreover, river health needs to be used as an important criterion for evaluating the progress of RRC programmes as well as the status of rivers, instead of the designated Best Use Water Quality criteria. Deliberations were also done on removing the bottlenecks in river restoration. Three main points emerged from discussions today included change in land use, stopping exploitation of ground water, sand mining, and mixing of solid and liquid waste in rivers. In another session, data collection and exchange of information. A need to establish a system for exchange of official information in water-related issues was also strongly felt during the afternoon session.

Representatives of European Union, Norway, Germany and Slovenia participated in the discussion on the international track at the summit. The international participated unanimously agreed to the fact that river and basin management under geographical diversity makes India a natural laboratory of river science. International participants observed that the way work is going on in the direction of river restoration, one can say that India would emerge as world teacher of river science. International representatives stressed that a COP conference on water should also be started on international level. The theme of the 7th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS 2022) is ‘Restoration and Conservation of Small Rivers in a Large Basin’ with emphasis on the select aspects of ‘Mapping and Convergence of 5Ps’ – People, Policy, Plan, Programme and Project….

 

Figure 1: Shri G. Asok Kumar, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, presided over the valedictory session of the 7th Edition of the India Water Impact Summit on 17th December 2022.

 

Figure 2: Shri G. Asok Kumar, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga at the valedictory session of the 7th edition of the India Water Impact Summit

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Golden Jubilee celebrations of the North-Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah participated in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the North-East Council, in Shillong in Meghalaya today. On this occasion, many dignitaries including Governor of Meghalya, Governor Brig. (Dr) B. D. Mishra, Chief Minister of Meghalya Conrad Sangma and Chief Ministers of other North-Eastern States were present.

Union Minister said that in the recent meeting of the North-East Council (NEC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister not only appreciated the work of the last 50 years in the North-East Council but also directed the preparation of a blueprint of all dimensions of development of the North-East in the next 25 years and fix targets. Today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the North-East is moving forward on the path of peace and development.

Shri Shah said that earlier funds allocated to the North-East did not reach the bottom most level, but after Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, funds are reaching villages and being utilised for development, and this is a great achievement. He said that the Prime Minister has always given priority to the North-East. The Prime Minister has visited the North-East more than 50 times in the last 8 years, while ministers have also visited the North-East more than 400 times.

 

 

The Union Home and Cooperation Minister said earlier the development of North-East region was stuck due to the limited budget allocated to the North-East Council, but the Prime Minister has given a new shape and provided a new dimension to the infrastructure of the North-East by initiating large projects at the Central level. Due to improved infrastructure, the possibilities of tourism have increased in the North-East, as also many small industries, educational institutions and sports-related institutions have also opened. He said the Prime Minister has also taken up the project of connecting every capital of the North-Eastern States by road, train and through air connectivity.

 

Union Minister Shri Amit Shah said that due to the leadership of the Prime Minister, the North-East is now free from all disputes and peace has been established in the region. Till eight years ago, the entire North-East was only known for bandhs, strikes, bomb blasts and firings, and the people of North-East could not live peacefully due to the activities of different militant groups. In the past eight years there has been a 74% reduction in insurgency incidents, 60% reduction in incidents of attacks on security forces and 89% reduction in civilian deaths, while about 8,000 youth have surrendered and joined the mainstream. Shri Shah said that these are great achievements made possible due to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi because without peace it is impossible to develop institutions of development, education and health.

Shri Amit Shah said during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the agreement with the NLFT in 2019, the Bru and Bodo Agreement in 2020, and Karbi Agreement in 2021 were agreed upon. The Assam-Meghalaya and Assam-Arunachal border disputes have also almost ended, and due to the restoration of peace, the North-East region has moved on the path of development. The biggest example of this is earlier there used to be a demand to remove AFSPA from the North-East, but now the demand does not arise, rather the Government of India is taking steps and initiatives to remove AFSPA. He said that now 60% area of Assam, seven districts of Nagaland, 15 police stations in six districts of Manipur and Tripura and Meghalaya have become completely AFSPA free, while in only one district in Arunachal AFSPA is yet to be lifted.

The Union Home Minister expressed confidence that the NEC and the Chief Ministers of the North-Eastern States will work with comolete determination to fulfill the goals set for the NEC by Prime Minister Modi to help develop the region and help create a developed, peaceful, employment-rich North East like other regions of the country.

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Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission at AIIMS Bibinagar

 The Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the Ayushmann Bharath Digital Mission (ABDM) services of AIIMS Bibinagar today and witnessed the practical demonstration of real time video specialist consultation. ABDM is the initiative started by the Government to digitalise health records across the country and includes QR code-based patient registration, Health Management Information System (HMIS) a software to manage data in any Hospital including many digital services like patient registration, patient Que management, Lab information system, Doctors desk, OP Billing etc. Dr. Mandaviya said that “with the help of Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) card, patients can access their medical records anywhere, anytime without losing them all over India. This would enhance accessibility to their health records on the palm of their hands.”

The Union Health Minister delivered the Maharshi Charak shapath the newly joined batch of MBBS students (2022-23) and congratulated the first- year students. He said that “AIIMS is a prestigious institute. Its reputation is such that, people think that if there is no treatment available at AIIMS, then there is no treatment available elsewhere in the whole country.”

Speaking at the occasion, the Union Health minister called upon every medical student to inculcate the two important traits for success, commitment and dedication. Shri Mandaviya reiterated that health is never to be treated as business, it is a service to humanity. Recalling how India supplied critical medicines to rest of the world at the pre-COVID prices without taking advantage of the crisis, he said that was in sync with the principle of ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’. He exhorted the teachers at AIIMS to ensure that the young doctors accord highest priority to serve the poorest of the poor. Union Health Minister also had lunch with students in the Institute’s canteen and he interacted with the students on various issues.

 

 

Under Swacch Bharath Abhiyaan, Herbal Plantation drive was taken up in the presence of Health Minister, where 101 herbal plants were planted by the newly joined 1st year MBBS students of AIIMS Bibinagar. The Minister was presented with progress report of AIIMS Bibinagar by Executive Director Dr. Bhatia later Dr. Mandaviya visited the project site of construction to review the work under progress.

Shri Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Member of Parliament, Bhuvanagiri constituency, Executive Director Prof (Dr.) Vikas Bhatia. Dean (Academics) Prof (Dr.) Rahul Narang and Medical Superintendent, Prof (Dr.) Neeraj Agarwal also participated in the event.

 

References:YouTube Live link: https://youtu.be/SDaO_GexZjo

Tweet Links of AIIMS Bibi Nagar event:

Relevant Links:

1.         Prime Minister of India launches countrywide Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission-

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1758520

https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1758502

https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1758511

2.         NHA is keen to collaborate with all technology providers/individuals to build a national digital health network-

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1816789

3.         Citizens can access and manage their digital health records anytime, anywhere and can also avail paper-less digital health services under ABDM-

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1884387

 

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