The 51st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is scheduled to open  at 3PM today.  All preparations are complete for IFFI. The opening ceremony will be held in the presence of Minister of Information and Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar and Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant. IFFI is considered as a platform to project various dimensions of excellence in film art.  

Like every year the city of Panaji is celebrating 51st edition of IFFI.All preparations are done for  IFFI which is Asia’s first international film festival.This year IFFI is being organised in hybrid manner because of Covid19 pandemic.Delegates will have an option to participate in physical as well as virtual mode. More than 200 films are lined up. Italian cinematographer Mr Vittorio Storaro will be honoured with lifetime achievement award.For this year Bangladesh will be the country of focus.

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities has notified 3 thousand 566 posts in the Central Government establishments as suitable for persons with benchmark disabilities  under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in a statement said that  these posts include one thousand 46 in Group A, 515 in Group B, one thousand 724 in Group C and 281 in Group D posts.

Posts have also been identified suitable for new categories of persons with disabilities such as dwarfism, acid attack victims, muscular dystrophy, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, specific learning disability, mental illness and multiple disability have been added. This list is not an exhaustive one and Central Ministries, Departments, Autonomous Bodies and Public Sector Undertakings may further supplement. This notification will broaden the scope for employment for persons with benchmark disabilities in Government establishments.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with startups and address ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ through video conferencing this evening. The two-day Summit is being organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It is being organised as a follow up of the announcement made by the Prime Minister at the fourth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit held in Kathmandu in August 2018 wherein India committed to host the BIMSTEC Startup Conclave.

The virtual summit will bring together speakers from around the world and India, facilitate discussions on technologies, innovation, robust policies, and initiatives, enable government and international organisations to share their views and set on fire the minds of young Indian entrepreneurs, driving them to solve the problems and challenges that matter, not just for India but also for the entire world.

The Summit marks the fifth anniversary of the Startup India initiative, launched by the Prime Minister on 16th January, 2016. With participation from over 25 countries and more than 200 global speakers, the summit will be the largest startup confluence organised by the Government of India since the launch of the Startup India initiative. In addition to deliberating on good practices from best of the ecosystems across the world, the sessions of the Summit are designed to showcase the spread and depth of entrepreneurship based on innovation in India. The objective is to focus attention of global capital for startups in India, mobilize domestic capital, provide opportunities for accessing international markets to our startups and evolve enabling policy provisions.

The country’s COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 96.56 per cent. A total of 16 thousand 977 COVID patients recovered during the last 24 hours. The total number of recoveries has gone up to over one crore one  lakh and 79 thousand 715. The Health Ministry said, the actual caseload currently comprises only 2  per cent of the total positive cases. Presently, the total number of active cases in the country is  two lakh 11 thousand 33.

During the past 24 hours, 15 thousand 158 new cases were reported taking the total number of positive cases in the country to one crore five lakh 42 thousand 841. The Ministry said, currently, India’s Case Fatality Rate is at 1.44 per cent, which is one of the lowest globally. During the last 24 hours, 175 deaths were reported taking the toll to one lakh 52 thousand 93. According to Indian Council of Medical Research, more than eight lakh three thousand tests were conducted during the last 24 hours. The total number of samples tested so far has reached 18 crore 57 lakh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India’s COVID 19 vaccination campaign is based on very humane principles. Launching the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination program through video conferencing, Mr Modi said people who need it the most will get the corona vaccine first.

He stressed that this type of large-scale vaccination campaign has never before been run in history. He pointed out that India is vaccinating three crore people in its first phase of vaccination. Mr Modi added that in the second phase, 30 crore people will be vaccinated. He said there are only three countries in the world with a population over 300 million – India, China and America.

The Prime Minister praised those scientists who had been involved in making the vaccine against Corona for the past several months. He exuded pride how two Made in India vaccines were readied in such a short period.

Mr Modi highlighted the need to have two doses of corona vaccine. Between the first and second doses, a gap of about one month will be kept. The body will develop the immunity against the corona only 2 weeks after the second dose. He said India’s fight against COVID 19 has been one of self-confidence and self-reliance.

Government has approved procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircraft, LCA, Tejas worth about 48 thousand crore rupees from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for Indian Air Force. The Cabinet Committee on Security, CCS chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday met in New Delhi.

In a series of tweets, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said this deal will be a game changer for self reliance in the Indian defence manufacturing. He said the LCA-Tejas is going to be the backbone of the Indian Air Forces fighter fleet in the years to come. He added that LCA-Tejas incorporates a large number of new technologies many of which were hitherto unattempted in India. The Defence Minister said the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, HAL has already set-up second line manufacturing facilities at its Nasik and Bengaluru Divisions.

The Defence Minister said the LCA-Tejas programme would act as a catalyst for transforming the Indian aerospace manufacturing ecosystem into a vibrant Atma Nirbhar-self-sustaining ecosystem. Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, India is continuously growing its power to indigenously design, develop and manufacture advanced cutting edge technologies and systems in the Defence Sector. About 500 Indian companies including MSMEs in the design and manufacturing sectors will be working with HAL in this procurement. 

Preparations for the world’s largest Corona vaccination drive have gained momentum with planes carrying vaccines flying into airports across the country. From various airports, the vaccines are being dispatched to small cities and towns in readiness for the inoculation exercise beginning Saturday. From Assam to Goa and from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala, the vaccines were carefully and swiftly transported to far corners of the country.
 
According to sources, 95 per cent of the 1.1 crore doses of Covishield vaccine purchased by the government have been delivered and shipped to nearly 60 consignee points across India in the past two days. Of the 55 lakh doses of indigenously developed Covaxin of Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech ordered by the Centre, the first tranche of 2.4 lakh doses have been dispatched to 12 states. Health Ministry said, vaccines have been allocated to all states and UTs in proportion to their healthcare workers database.
 
In accordance with the national priority list, the vaccine will be first given to healthcare and frontline workers. Each vaccination session will cater to a maximum of 100 beneficiaries per day.

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog launched its new edition of Atal Tinkering Lab, ATL handbook yesterday. It reinforces detailed establishment and operational processes of the Atal Tinkering Labs and its journey towards an innovative ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
 
The handbook named ‘The Atal Tinkering Lab Handbook 2.0’ outlines a practical guidance on structural, selection, establishment and celebration aspects of the Atal Innovation Mission-  AIM’s flagship ATL programme. The handbook, which is available online on AIM’s official website, also provides a detailed guidance for schools across the country on building a technically robust mechanism of grass root innovations through ATLs.
 
Gracing the occasion through a special video message, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar said, the second version of the ATL Handbook encompasses 3 years of on-the-ground work done by the AIM team in a framework using four key pillars of the ATL initiative – Selection, Establishment, Enablement, and Celebration.
 
An Atal Tinkering Lab provides a maker space where young minds can give shape to their ideas through hands on do-it-yourself mode and learn innovation skills. To foster entrepreneurship and innovation, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog has established over 7000 ATLs across the country.

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has said that COVID-19 has further aggravated the terrorism concerns for the world.

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council open debate on the topic of Threats to International Peace and security caused by terrorist acts, Dr Jaishankar said the economic uncertainty caused due to the pandemic has made the radical extremist ideologies more susceptible towards terrorist activities.

External Affairs Minister proposed an eight point action plan in order to combat the menace of terrorism. He said, the council should not countenance double standards in their battle against terrorism.

Dr. Jaishankar added that there are no good and bad terrorists. He asserted, those who propagate such distinctions have an agenda and those who cover up for terrorists are equally culpable. He urged the council members to stand united in the fight against terrorism. Dr. Jaishankar exhorted that linkages between terrorism and transnational organized crime must be fully recognized and addressed vigorously. He said, India has seen crime syndicate responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts not just given State protection but enjoying 5-star hospitality in that country.

External Affairs Minister gave a call to all the member nations to fulfill the obligations enshrined in the international counter-terrorism instruments. He said, enlisting and delisting individuals and entities under the UN sanctions regimes must be done objectively and not for political or religious considerations.

Dr. Jaishankar also pointed out that some nations lack legal and operational frameworks and technical expertise to detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist financing cases. He said, on the other hand, there are nations that are guilty of aiding and supporting terrorism and provide financial assistance, safe havens to them.

Dr. Jaishankar said, in recent years, the terrorist groups and lone-wolf attackers have enhanced their capabilities by gaining access to emerging technologies, including drones, virtual currencies and encrypted communications. He said, social media networks have contributed to radicalization and recruitment of youth.

The External Affairs Minister called for enhanced United Nations coordination with FATF for checking the financial aid to terrorist organisations. He called for a relook at the functioning of the various committees in this regard and asked for greater transparency, accountability and effectiveness.

The Centre has urged the farming community to take advantage of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), which has completed 5 years yesterday, in order to become “self-reliant farmers”. In a statement, the Union agriculture ministry said claims worth 90,000 crore rupees have so far been disbursed to farmers since the launch of the scheme on 13th January 2016.
 
The Central Government’s flagship crop insurance scheme – the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has successfully completed 5 years of its operation.
 
The government took a historic step towards strengthening risk coverage of crops for farmers and approved the scheme on 13th January, 2016. The scheme was conceived as a milestone initiative to provide a comprehensive risk solution at the lowest uniform premium across the country for farmers. In the scheme, premium cost over and above the farmer share is equally subsidized by the Centre and States. Ministry of Agriculture has said that the average sum insured per hectare has increased from 15 thousnad 100 during the pre-PMFBY Schemes to 40 thousand 700 under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
 
The Ministry said, as an end to end risk mitigation mechanism for farmers, the scheme extends coverage for the entire cropping cycle from pre-sowing to post-harvest including coverage for losses arising out of prevented sowing and mid-season adversities. Individual farm level losses arising out of localized calamities and post-harvest losses are also covered due to perils such as inundation, cloudburst and natural fire. It also said that integration of land records with the PMFBY portal, Crop Insurance mobile-app for easy enrollment and usage of technology such as satellite imagery and machine learning to assess crop losses are some of the key features of the scheme. The scheme makes it easier for the farmer to report crop loss within 72 hours of occurrence of any event through the Crop Insurance App, CSC Centre or the nearest agriculture officer.
 
With an aim to  constantly bring about improvements, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was made voluntary for all farmers, post its revamp in February 2020. Besides, the States have also been provided flexibility to rationalize the sum insured so that adequate benefit can be availed by the farmers. The Scheme covers over 5.5 crore farmers’ applications year on year and till date, claims worth 90 thousand crore rupees have already been paid out under the Scheme. Aadhar seeding has helped in speedy claim settlement directly into the farmer accounts. Even during COVID-19 lock down period nearly 70 lakh farmers benefitted and claims worth  over  8 thousand 741 crore rupees were transferred to the beneficiaries. The government has urged the farmers to take advantage of the scheme by associating themselves to become self-sufficient in times of crisis and support the creation of an Aatmanirbhar Kisan.

As a part of the Republic Day Celebrations-2021, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting along with National Film Development Corporation, NFDC is organizing and hosting an Online Short Film Competition on MyGoV open forum to create a patriotic mood surrounding this years’ Republic Day. The theme for the entries will be ‘Emergence of a New India with a can do, will do attitude’.
 
People can upload their films on online streaming sites like Youtube or Vimeo only and paste the link to the film in the comment box as their entry. Films uploaded through Google drive or wetransfer links will not be accepted. Storyboards, s as Word or PDF documents or pictures will not be accepted as entries.
 
The selected top entries will be awarded cash prizes. First Prize is one lakh rupees, Second Prize is 50 thousand rupees and Third Prize is 25 thousand rupees.
 
Submission of the entries for Short Film Contest has commenced on 8th of January and it will continue till 20th of this month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the New National Education Policy focuses on development of better individuals and from better individuals to a better country. Addressing the valedictory function of the Second National Youth Parliament Festival yesterday through video conferencing, Mr Modi said, this policy gives priority to our youth’s understanding, their decisions and beliefs.

The Prime Minister said, the new National Education Policy is a step towards nation-building and the Government is building an eco-system which will give better opportunities to the youth. Mr Modi said that our youth should come forward and write the destiny of our country. He exhorted the Youth to contribute selflessly and constructively in politics. 

The Prime Minister has lauded the winners and final panelists of the second National Youth Parliament Festival. Mr Modi said, as he  was hearing them speak, a thought came to him and he decided that he will tweet their presentations from his twitter handle, not just of the  three winners but, if recorded material is available, he  will tweet the speeches of all those who were on the final panel. Later, he tweeted the speeches of the winners and final panelists of the second National Youth Parliament Festival from his twitter handle. 

Indian Navy will coordinate second edition of largest coastal defence exercise Sea Vigil-21 starting today. The inaugural edition of the exercise was conducted in January 2019. The two-day biennial pan-India coastal defence exercise, will be undertaken along the entire 7,516-kilometre long coastline. The exercise will also include Exclusive Economic Zone of the country and will involve all the 13 coastal States and Union Territories along with other maritime stakeholders. It will also include the fishing and coastal communities. The entire coastal security set up was reorganised after the 26/11 Terror attack at Mumbai which was launched via the sea route.

The scale and conceptual expanse of the exercise is unprecedented in terms of the geographical extent, the number of stakeholders involved. The exercise is a build up towards the major Theatre-level exercise TROPEX [Theatre-level Readiness Operational Exercise] which Indian Navy conducts every two years. SEA VIGIL and TROPEX together will cover the entire spectrum of maritime security challenges, including transition from peace to conflict. Assets of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Customs and other maritime agencies will participate in SEA VIGIL. The exercise is also being facilitated by the Ministries of Defence, Home Affairs, Shipping, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Fisheries, Customs, State Governments and other agencies of Centre and State.

AIR correspondent reports, the Exercise SEA VIGIL-21 will provide a realistic assessment of our strengths and weaknesses and thus will help in further strengthening maritime and national security.

Talking about the prevailing situation of Bird Flu in different parts of the country, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, the government has formalized a roadmap, which needs to be followed at an earliest. He said, District Magistrates will also have a major role to play to check the spread of the disease. Mr Modi said, those states, where no case of Bird Flu has been reported, should be on a constant vigil.

Union Government has said that Avian Influenza has so far been confirmed in 10 states of the country. The ten states include Kerala, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Giriraj Singh said that even after writing to the states three times, they did not taken proactive measures to contain the spread of the disease. He said, if the states had taken timely action, the spread of Avian Influenza could have been contained.

The country’s COVID-19 recovery rate has reached to 96.49 per cent. More than 18 thousand COVID patients recovered during the last 24 hours. The total number of recoveries has gone up to over one crore one lakh. Health Ministry said, the COVID-19 recovery rate of India is amongst highest in the world. The actual caseload currently comprises only 2.07 per cent of the total positive cases. Presently, the total number of active cases in the country is around two lakh 16 thousand.
 
During the past 24 hours, 12 thousand 584 new cases were reported taking the total number of positive cases in the country to over one crore four lakh. The Ministry said, currently, India’s Case Fatality Rate is at 1.44 per cent, which is one of the lowest globally. During the last 24 hours, 167 deaths were reported taking the toll to one lakh 51 thousand 327.
 
According to Indian Council of Medical Research, more than eight lakh 97 thousand tests were conducted during the last 24 hours. The total number of samples tested so far has reached 18 crore 26 lakh.