Paddy procurement for 2020-21 is progressing smoothly and has commenced so far in 3 states viz Punjab, Haryana and UP. As on 01.10.2020, cumulative procurement of Paddy in KMS 2020-21 is 1,97,136 MT. The total no of farmers benefitted are 15,705 and total MSP outflow is Rs372.194 crore. The pace of paddy procurement shall pick up in a week’s time.
Cotton season 2020-21 started from 1st October. Cotton Corporation of India has geared up its infrastructure for MSP procurement. MSP Purchase started in Haryana on 01st October 2020.
Greetings and gratitude to you all, for joining this conversation. This forum has got together distinguished talent, both Pravasi and Indian. Vaishwik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit 2020 celebrates science and innovation from India and the world. I would call it a true Sangam, or confluence of great minds. Through this gathering, we seek to form a long-lasting association for empowering India and our planet .
Friends,
I would like to thank the scientists who offered their comments, suggestions and ideas today. You have brilliantly covered many subjects in your interventions. Most of you highlighted the importance of greater collaboration between Indian academic and research ecosystem with their foreign counterparts. Indeed, that is the fundamental aim of this Summit. You correctly point towards the need of driving scientific research, towards the needs of society. You also made some good suggestions, for improving the research ecosystem in India. I would like to thank all of you, for your views. Listening to your words, I could see that this Vaibhav Summit is going to be a rich and productive exchange.
Friends,
Science has remained at the core of the progress of human-kind. When we look back, at the centuries of human existence, how do we divide the time periods? Stone age, Bronze age, Iron age, Industrial age, Space age and Digital age. These are some of the terms used. Clearly, each phase has been shaped by some significant technological advance. Changes in technology have brought changes in our life-styles. It also increased scientific curiosity.
Friends,
The Government of India has taken numerous measures to boost science, research and innovation. Science is at the core of our efforts towards socio-economic change. We broke inertia in the system. The long break in vaccine introduction was broken. In 2014, four new vaccines were introduced into our immunisation programme. This included an indigenously developed Rota-virus vaccine. We encourage indigenous vaccine production. Recently, we also gave market authorisation for an indigenously developed Pneumococcal vaccine. These vaccination programmes and our POSHAN mission take the health and nutrition of our children to the level of importance it deserves. Our vaccine developers are active and globally competitive during this pandemic. We understand that time is of the essence.
We have launched an ambitious mission to remove TB in India by 2025. This is five years before the global target.
Friends,
There are other on-going efforts as well. We have launched major missions on supercomputing and on cyber-physical systems. These have expanded on fundamental research and application in areas such as: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Sensors and Big Data Analytics. This will provide a great boost to Indian manufacturing. It will help create skilled young human resource. The start-up sector will prosper. 25 Technology Innovation Hubs have already been launched under the mission.
Friends,
We want top class scientific research to help our farmers. Our agricultural research scientists have worked hard to ramp up our production of pulses. Today we import only a very small fraction of our pulses. Our food-grain production has hit a record high.
Friends,
Recently, India got a National Education Policy. After over three decades, India has such a policy. The making of this policy involved wide-spread consultations for several months. This National Education Policy, राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति, aims to boost curiosity towards sciences. It gives much needed boost to research and innovation. I am particularly optimistic about the focus on multidisciplinary studies. The open and broad based academic environment will nurture young talent.
Today, India is also a major contributor and partner in various scientific research and development efforts at the global level. Some of these are: Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), approved in February 2016; European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), where India has been an associate member since January 2017; and, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (I-TER). For this supporting research is being carried out in my home state Gujarat at the Institute of Plasma Research.
Friends,
The need of the hour is to ensure more youngsters develop interest in science. For that, we must get well-versed with: the science of history and the history of science. Over the last century, leading historical questions have been solved with the help of science. Scientific methods are now used in determining dates and helping in research.
We also need to amplify the rich history of Indian science. Sadly, for long, many youngsters have been fed the lie that everything before modernity was superstition and dark ages. Today is the age of computers, programming, mobiles and applications. But even there, what is at the base of all computing? It is binary code 1 and 0.
Friends,
When one speaks of zero, how can one not speak of India? Zero made much of mathematics, and commerce, accessible to all. Our youth must know about: Baudhayana, Bhaskara, Varahmihira, Nagarjuna, Sushruta and many others, like Satyendra Nath Bose and Sir CV Raman in the modern era. The list is long!
Friends,
Inspired by our glorious past and powered by our achievements in the present, we are looking ahead with great hope. We are aiming to build a secure and prosperous future for the coming generations. India’s clarion call of an Aatmnirbhar Bharat, a self-reliant India, includes a vision of global welfare. In order to realise this dream, I invite you all and seek your support. Just recently India introduced pioneering space reforms. These reforms provide opportunities for both industry and academia .You are all aware of India’s vibrant start-up ecosystem. These advances would never be complete without the ground work done by scientists, innovators and academics. Our start up sector would gain from your mentorship .
Friends,
The Indian diaspora are excellent ambassadors of India at the world stage. Wherever they have gone, they have taken with them the ethos of India. They have also embraced the cultures of their new homes. The Indian diaspora has been successful in many fields. Academics is one shining example. Most of the top global universities, and many of the top technological corporations in the world, have benefited greatly from the presence of Indian talent.
Through VAIBHAV, we present to you a great opportunity. An opportunity to connect and contribute. Your efforts will help India and the world. Afterall, when India prospers, the world also takes a leap ahead. These exchanges will certainly be useful. Your efforts will help create an ideal research ecosystem. It will merge tradition with modernity. It will make India provide home-grown solutions to the challenges we face. It will create prosperity for others. It will help India create disruptive technologies.
Friends,
We are meeting on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. I am reminded of something that Gandhi Ji had said almost 100 years ago, in 1925, while speaking at the Maharaja College, Thiruvananthapuram. He wanted the fruits of scientific progress to reach rural India, where most of our people live . Bapu also believed in broad-basing science. In 1929, he tried something unique. He tried crowd-sourcing . He sought ways to design a light-weight spinning wheel. His care for the villages, the youth, the poor, and his vision to integrate the larger public with science, inspire us. Today, we remember another proud son of India on his Jayanti. Our former PM Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji. We remember his humility, simplicity and great leadership.
Friends,
I wish you all the best for your discussions, and assure you that we will work to make VAIBHAV, and its outcomes, a grand success. Before ending, I advise all of you to take full care of your health, to take all precautions, and to remain safe.
The RAISE-2020 Summit, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, will witness experts like Professor Daniela Rus, Director of Computer Science and AI lab at MIT, USA, Dr. Milind Tambe, Director, AI for Social Good at Google Research India, Mr. Sandip Patel, MD, IBM India and South Asia, Dr. Jonathan Stuart Russel, Computer Scientist, UC Berkeley, and Ms. Arunima Sarkar, Lead, AI, World Economic Forum, among others, participating on October 7, the third day of the Summit. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog are organizing a Global Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020,’ from October 5-9, 2020.
Professor Rus will talk about the vision of Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, which India joined as a founder member in June 2020, along with the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, Korea and Singapore. She will be joined in this session by Dr. Russel and Ms. Sarkar, along with Mr. Umakant Soni, Co-founder, AI Foundry.
Dr. Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft, will address a session on building skills for an AI-ready workforce, where she will be joined by Ms. Laura Longcore, VP, Worldwide Learning Field and Ms. Kirti Seth, Lead, Future Skills, NASSCOM.
Dr. Milind Tambe will address a session on the need for research into building responsible AI.Mr. Sandip Patel will headline a session on the challenges and opportunities of harnessing AI for Growth, where he will be joined by Mr. Ranjan Sharma, CIO, Supply Chain and E-Commerce, Bestseller India, Mr. Tarun Aggarwal, AVP, Maruti Suzuki India, Mr. Arvind Sivaramakrishnan, CIO, Apollo Hospitals, Mr. Anup Mahapatra, Deputy MD, State Bank of India, Ms. Lula Mohanty, GM, IBM Global Business Services, and Ms. Shalini Warrier, ED, COO, and Business Head – Retail, Federal Bank.
The day will also witness a fireside chat between R.S. Sharma, Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and R. Chandrashekhar, Chairperson, Centre for The Digital Future, on the need of keeping humans at the center while devising AI solutions.
There will be a special session titled AI Research – Lab to Market, which will be addressed by Professor Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. The session will also be attended by Dr. Sriram Rajamani, MD, Microsoft Research India, and Professor Narendra Ahuja, Research Professor, UIUC, USA.
Dr. Sunil Wadhwani, Founder-Donor, WISH Foundation and Wadhwani AI, will address a session on new age of connected healthcare and the importance of delivering last mile access to healthcare.
He will be joined by Dr. Amandeep Gill, CEO and Project Director, International Digital Health & AI Research Collaborative (I-DAIR), Dr. Indu Bhushan, CEO, National Health Authority and Dr. Sanjay Padhi, Head of AWS Research.
Ms. Arati Deo, MD, Accenture Rechnology Centre in India, and Dr. Rushi Bhatt, Head of AI at LinkedIn will participate in a session on Explainable AI, post which, Professor Kaushik Roy from Purdue University will hold a talk on brain inspired AI.
So far, more than 35,034 stakeholders from academia, research industry and government representatives from 123 countries have registered to participate in RAISE 2020.
From agriculture to fin-tech and healthcare to infrastructure, India is at the cusp of rapid development in artificial intelligence. India can become the AI laboratory of the world and contribute to inclusive development and growth through empowerment. The RAISE 2020 Summit (http://raise2020.indiaai.gov.in/) will serve as a platform for discussion and consensus building to help create a data-rich environment, which will help to eventually transform lives globally.
About RAISE 2020:
RAISE 2020 is a first of its kind, global meeting of minds on Artificial Intelligence to drive India’s vision and roadmap for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment through responsible AI. Organized by Government of India along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and NITI Aayog,the event will witness robust participation from global industry leaders, key opinion makers, Government representatives and academia.
The National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune in association with the Regional Outreach Bureau Maharashtra and Goa, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, virtually hosted a curtain raiser for the 48-Day Webathon which is to begin from tomorrow, Oct 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
Under the Webathon, 48 webinars on the theme “Mahatma Gandhi- The Healer”, will be streamed live on National Institute of Naturopathy’s Facebook page https://facebook.com/punenin from 11AM to 12 noon for 48 days every day.
The webinars are intended to propagate the relevance of Gandhiji’s thoughts on Health and Nutrition in the 21st century among people of all walks of life.
Dr. K. Satyalaxmi, Director, National Institute of Naturopathy(NIN), Pune in her welcome address said, “The 48-day Webathon will be introducing 48 eminent personalities in the field of Gandhian Philosophy and Naturpoathy from all over the world who will be sharing the knowledge and expertise in the form of anecdotes, interactive sessions, presentations in these webinars.”
Gandhi Kathas, Gandhi Bahjans and rare footage of Gandhiji will also be shared. This will not only educate the public but will also sensitize Naturopathy fraternity with regard to Gandhi’s views on self-health reliance, public health and naturopathy’.
Prof. R K Mutatkar spoke about Gandhi’s contribution to health care and also mentioned that National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune which is a mother institution of Nature cure stands as the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. He mentioned about the significance of food which is also a medicine.
Speaking about Gandhiji’s efforts in eradicating leprosy pollution and caste pollution, Prof. R K Mutatkar mentioned that, “Gandhiji included leprosy in his constructive programmes extending his concept of truth and non-violence to clear off leprosy.”
Joint Secretary, M/o Ayush, P N Ranjit Kumar, spoke about the relevance of the Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts, policies and solution today when the world is fighting the Pandemic.
He said “Bapu’s solutions are all rooted in basic elements of life and these solutions are in the vicinity. All we have to do is look around, with an alert mind and a determination to adopt and implement.”
“This Pandemic has made people conscious of one’s own health, reminding our responsibility towards our own health which is exactly what Gandhiji had insisted in his books on health”, he added.
DG, Western Region, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Manish Desai, spoke about Mahatma’s lesser known passions which was about the study of food and nutrition. Shri Desai cited how Gandhiji had introduced the concept of Aatma Nirbharata and sustainable living to the world years before.
“Long time ago Mahatma Gandhi Ji propagated the concept of food security. He emphasised the need to lessen hunger and malnourishment among people and advocated self-sufficiency at village level. He believed in making villages self-sufficient to consume locally available food to achieve food and nutrient security for health – the concept of Aatma Nirbharata. He even taught everyone around him the meaning of true sustainable living long before the word became fashionable in current days,” he said.
Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually attended Diamond Jubilee Celebration of Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (Department of Higher Education) as Chief Guest today. Union Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre also attended the event through video conferencing as Guest of Honor.
The Commission has done important work in the creation and development of Scientific and Technical Terminology for Hindi and other Indian languages in its proud journey of 60 years, the Education Minister said. Inaugurating the program, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, congratulated the terminology commission family on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. He said that the development of vocabulary in Hindi and other Indian languages by the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology for more than 9 lakh English words in various subjects including Science, Engineering and Technology, Agriculture and Medical Sciences, during its proud journey of six decades is highly commendable. The eighth fundamental duty enshrined in Part 4 of our Constitution instructs us to “develop humanism and the spirit of learning and reform from a scientific perspective.” For the scientific approach and the process of learning, it is necessary to have knowledge in your language and to develop your language scientifically and appropriately.
On this occasion, the Education Minister expressed that both National Education Policy and Terminology Commission should contribute together, so that we can also become self-sufficient in the expression of language and knowledge for the creation of self-reliant India. We need to work with utmost vigilance towards the creation, dissemination of terminology in various streams like knowledge, science and technology, and its easy access and use to the general public. With the implementation of the National Education Policy, the work of the Terminology Commission becomes even more important in this direction. Expressing the statement of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, the Minister quote Mahatma Gandhi – “If our faith has risen from our languages, it is a sign that we have no faith in ourselves”. We are fully committed to the empowerment of all Indian languages, from the new education policy to the work of the Commission. Guest of Honor at this function Shri Sanjay Dhotre, the Minister of State for Education also appreciated the work done by the Commission and congratulated everyone on the Diamond Jubilee, as well as the great definition created by the Commission in the fields of science, mechanics, agriculture, engineering and technology.
Shri Dhotre further said that, the Commission is performing its duties in the true sense and this can be inferred from the glossaries created by the Commission. The achievements of the Commission showed that the Commission is constantly moving in right direction. This is an important change in the field of education, it is very important to explain the importance and role of Indian languages in the medium of education and to work in accordance with it. With the creation of vocabulary and university level books of scientific technical subjects, the commission’s responsibility also becomes more explicit.
On the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Shri Pokhriyal launched various initiatives of the commission which include the logo of the Diamond Jubilee of the Commission, the official website of the Commission, the publication website, the mobile app, the Hindi Science You Tube official channel, the e-Souvenir and the Comprehensive Glossaries in 20 volumes.
Chairman of the Commission Prof. Avanish Kumar said that the Commission has continuously developed the Commission from its various schemes for the last six decades and from its various vocabulary repositories, the vocabulary of Hindi and Indian languages is available to the education world in many subjects. Also, by making all the publications of the Commission available as an e-book on the publication website of the Commission, it has increased the reach of people to the people. It was also informed that more and more technology needs to be used in the work of the Commission, whose efforts are being made, all the publications of the Commission have been made available through online medium. This area requires more attention. With the development of terminology, there seems to be a need to acquire skills through technology in the translation of scientific and technical books.
On this occasion the distinguished Guest of the program Professor Sachchidanand Joshi and Professor Yogendra Nath Sharma, ‘Arun’ have also extended their good wishes and appreciated the work done by this terminology commission. Padmashri Dr. Shyam Singh Shashi, who has presided over the program, also congratulated and thanked everyone at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Commission and also extended best wishes for the two-day webinar on Indian Languages, National Education Policy and Self Reliant India.
To develop the terminology for Indian languages, the President of India ordered the formation of a permanent commission on 27 April 1960, based on the recommendation of a committee pursuant to clause (4) of Article 344 of the Constitution of India. Under the provisions, the Scientific and Technical Terminology Commission was established by the Government of India on October 1, 1961. The Scientific and Technical Terminology Commission develops and uses, distributes and promotes standard terminology.
The arrival of Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21 has just begun and the Government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at MSP from farmers as per its existing MSP Schemes as done in previous seasons.
The procurement of Paddy during KMS 2020-21 has started from 26th September, 2020 in Haryana and Punjab. Upto 30.09.2020, the Paddy Procurement of 13,412 MT in Haryana and 91,005 MT in Punjab totaling 1,04,417 MT having MSP value of Rs.197 crore at MSP of Rs 1888 per quintal has been done from 8059 farmers of Haryana and Punjab.
Further, based on the proposal from the States, approval has been accorded for procurement of 14.09 LMT of Pulse and Oilseeds for Kharif Marketing Season 2020 for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana and 1.23 LMT of Copra (the perennial crop) for the State of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala . For other States/UTs approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposals for procurement of Pulses, Oilseeds and Copra under Price Support Scheme (PSS) so that procurement of FAQ grade of these crops can be made at notified MSP for the year 2020-21 directly from the registered farmers, if the market rate goes below MSP during the notified harvesting period in the respective States/UTs by the Central Nodal Agencies through State nominated procuring agencies.
Upto 29.09.2020, the Government through its Nodal Agencies has procured 46.35 MT of Moong having MSP value of Rs.33 lakhs benefitting 48 farmers in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, 5089 MT of copra having MSP value of Rs. 52.40 crore has been procured benefitting 3961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu against the sanctioned quantity of 1.23 LMT for the Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The procurement of Cotton for the season 2020-21 commences from today and Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) is starting purchase of FAQ grade Cotton from today onwards.
Kerala’s first and nation’s twentieth mega food park in Palakkad district of Kerala was virtually inaugurated today by the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan. Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Shri Rameshwar Teli was also present on the occasion. This project will give impetus to the development of food processing sector.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Tomar said that Mega Food Park will prove to be a milestone in the development of the food processing sector in Kerala. It will leverage an additional investment of about Rs. 250 Crore in 25-30 food processing units in the park and would eventually lead to a turnover of about Rs. 450-500 Crore annually. The Park will also provide direct and indirect employment to 5,000 persons and benefit about 25,000 farmers in the CPC and PPC catchment areas. Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Government of India is constantly striving to make the country a flexible food economy and the world’s food factory. The government has made food processing a major-thrust area of “Atma Nirbhar Bharat”. Twenty mega food parks in the country have been opened in collaboration with the Centre, seventeen other projects have also been approved, including a park in the Alleppey district of Kerala has been approved.
Shri Tomar said that we are proud of the farmers of our country and, due to their hard work, the country has sufficient stock of food grains, the needs of the countrymen are being fulfilled, food grains are surplus. He added that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is continuously working to fill the gaps in the agriculture sector. Agri Infra Fund of one lakh crore rupees has been announced, while Kisan Rail has been started as per the budget announcement.
Shri Tomar said that there is more potential in the export of value-added goods, which will not only earn foreign exchange but will also create employment opportunities in the domestic market. Government of India is working on rejuvenation of the agricultural sector. Agreeing on the recommendations of the Finance Commission, the government has also increased the state funds. Central sector scheme PM Kisan Sampada Yojana is benefiting farmers a lot. Further, as part of the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” campaign, the Centre has launched a new scheme – PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME).
Kerala Chief Minister Shri Vijayan said that this MFP will play an important role in providing assistance and relief to the farmers of Kerala. With this, the conditions of farmers will improve with the involvement of agricultural entrepreneurs. Expressing satisfaction over its establishment in the said time-frame, he said that this is one of the important schemes of Kerala, along with the Petro Park, Kochi-Bangalore Industrial Corridor, Defense Park, and other projects. All these have become a better medium to project Kerala in front of investors. Shri Vijayan said that Kerala entrepreneurs will take advantage of the assistance being received from the Centre and the food park is expected to give a big boost to the food processing industry.
Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Shri Teli said that the facilities created in the park will not only reduce wastage of agricultural produce but will also ensure value addition. With this, farmers will get better prices of their agriproducts and their income will also increase. He added that this will provide processing opportunities to farmers, self-help groups, and micro-entrepreneurs and create more employment opportunities in the surrounding areas.
Industries Minister of Kerala, Mr. E.P. Jayarajan, and Water Resources Minister Shri K.K. Krishnan Kutty also addressed the occasion. Smt. Pushpa Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, and Dr. K. Elengovan, Principal Secretary (Industry), Kerala, briefed about the project. Sh. Santosh Koshi Thomas, Managing Director, Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra), expressed his gratitude. Regional public representatives, project officials, farmers, and other related officials of food park were also present on the occasion.
The KINFRA Mega Food Park has been set up in 79.42 acres of land at a project cost of Rs. 102.13 crore. The facilities created by the Implementing Agency at Central Processing Centre (CPC) of this Mega Food Park include Multi-product Cold Storage-5000MT, Drywarehouse-12000 MT, Pack House (Sorting Grading, Packing) 10MT/Hr, Ripening Chambers- 120MT, Condiment processing with mechanical drying facility-15MT/day, Food Testing Laboratory besides state of art enabling infrastructure. The Park has a common administrative building for office and other uses by the entrepreneurs and 04 Primary Processing Centres (PPCs) at Ernakulam (Mazhavanur), Thrissur (Koratty), Malappuram (Kakkanchery) and Wayanad (Kalpetta) districts with Packhouse facilities for primary processing and storage near the farms in the catchment area to benefit farmers. This Mega Food Park will benefit the people of Palakkad-District as well as nearby Districts of Malappuram & Thrissur of Kerala and nearby district of Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog are organizing a Global Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020,’ from October 5-9, 2020. The Summit will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the august presence ofMinister of Electronics & IT, Communications and Law &Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, eminent global AI expert Professor Raj Reddy, Turing awardee, Padma Bhushan awardee, and former Co-Chair of the US President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee, Mr. MukeshAmbani, MD and Chairman, Reliance Industries Ltd and Mr. Arvind Krishna, CEO, IBM, among other dignitaries.
Professor Raj Reddy will hold a session about developing voice-enabled AI that removes linguistic barriers on October 6, the second day of the summit. Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, and Brad Smith, President & Legal Head, Microsoft Global will also participate in sessions.
Mr. Pai will share his views about developments in data and AI-powered financial services in India, which have been key to driving financial inclusion. Mr. Smith will shed light upon the regulatory framework for developing responsible AI that is trustworthy and non-discriminatory.
RAISE 2020 will have a dedicated session on building inclusive AI that empowers one billion plus Indians. This session will have Jenny Lay Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer of Microsoft sharing her views. Ms. Flurrie has vast experience of research and is an expert at formulating IT strategy. Anita Bhatia, Assistant Secretary General, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women shall also deliver a keynote in this session, which will have an all-women panel and is being curated by UN Women.
On the afternoon of October 6, there will be a fireside chat between Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, and Mr. Noshir Kaka, Senior Partner at Mckinsey, who will talk about the need to integrate AI while building public digital platforms. Mr. Kaka is the Managing Director of McKinsey’s India offices and the founder of its global Outsourcing and Offshoring Practice.
This will be followed by a session on Education and Awareness for Responsible AI by Ms. Urvashi Aneja, Founding Director, Tandem Research, and Rahul Sharma President, Amazon Internet Services Pvt. Ltd, Public Sector, India & South Asia.
A session on Unlocking Maps for Societal Impact will then be headlined by Dr. LaliteshKatragadda, Founder, Indihood and Mr. Rohan Verma, CEO and Executive Director, MapmyIndia.
So far, more than 15,000 stakeholders from across academia, the research industry and government representatives from across the world have registered to participate in RAISE 2020.
Home to the world’s third largest startup ecosystem, elite science and technology institutions like the IITs, robust and ubiquitous digital infrastructure, and millions of newly-minted STEM graduates every year, India is well-positioned to become a global leader in the development of artificial intelligence.
Industry analysts predict that AI could add up to USD 957 billion to India’s economy by 2035. In the spirit of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi plans to leverage AI for inclusive development, representing the country’s ‘AI for All’ strategy. Directed by the Prime Minister’s vision, India will soon stand out in the international community not just as a leader in the Artificial Intelligence field, but also as a model to show the world how to responsibly direct AI for social empowerment.
From agriculture to fin-tech and healthcare to infrastructure, artificial intelligence can be a truly transformative force. India is uniquely positioned to become the AI laboratory of the world and contribute to inclusive development and growth through empowerment. The RAISE 2020 Summit (http://raise2020.indiaai.gov.in/)will serve as a platform for discussion and consensus building to help create a data-rich environment, which is a stepping stone to eventually transform lives globally.
It will facilitate an exchange of ideas to create mass awareness about the need to ethically develop and practice AI.
About RAISE 2020:
RAISE 2020 is a firstofits-kind, global meeting of minds on Artificial Intelligence to drive India’s vision and roadmap for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment through responsible AI. Organized by Government of India along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and NITI Aayog,the event will witness robust participation from global industry leaders, key opinion makers, Government representatives and academia.
Air Marshal RJ Duckworth took over as Air Officer in charge Personnel at Air Headquarters Vayu Bhawan, Indian Air Force on 01 Oct 20. He was commissioned into Fighter Stream of the IAF on 29 May 1983 as a Fighter Pilot. In a distinguished career spanning nearly 38 years, the Air Officer has flown wide variety of fighter and trainer aircraft in the inventory of IAF. He has a flying experience of more than 3000 hours including operational flying on MiG-21 and MiG-29 fighter aircraft.
During his illustrious career in the IAF, the Air Officer has held numerous important appointments. He was Commanding Officer of a frontline fighter squadron and has also commanded a premier Fighter Base. As an Air Vice Marshal, he held the coveted appointments of Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Technical Intelligence) at Headquarter Integrated Defence Services, Air Officer Commanding Advance Headquarter Central Air Command, Air Defence Commander, Southern Air Command. As an Air Marshal, he held the appointments of Senior Air Staff Officer, Central Air Command. Prior to his present appointment, he was Senior Air Staff Officer, Western Air Command. The Air Marshal is an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College.
In recognition of his distinguished service, the Air Marshal was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in 2008.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit on 2nd October at 6:30 PM, via video conferencing.
The VAIBHAV Summit is a global virtual summit of overseas and resident Indian Researchers and Academicians, and is being organized from 2nd October to 31st October 2020. The aim of the summit is to bring Indian origin luminaries in academic institutes and R&D organizations across the world and resident counterparts on a single platform to debate upon collaboration mechanisms to strengthen academic and S&T base in India for global development.
The inauguration will be followed by online deliberation sessions. The initiative involves multiple levels of interactions among overseas experts and Indian counterparts over a month-long series of webinars, video conferences etc. More than 3000 overseas Indian origin academicians and scientists from 55 countries and more than 10,000 resident academicians and scientists are taking part in the summit. About 200 academic institutes and S&T departments, led by Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India, are organizing the summit running through the month of October.
Over 1500 panelists from 40 countries, 200 leading Indian R&D and academic institutions will virtually deliberate in 18 different areas and 80 topics in more than 200 deliberation sessions. Concluding session is planned on 31st October 2020, on the occasion of Sardar Patel Jayanti.
The Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) is taking action on mission mode to provide employment to migrant workers who have returned to their native villages of 6 states namely Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Abhiyaan is now empowering villagers with livelihood opportunities in 116 districts of these states.
By the 13th week a total of about 30 crore mandays employment has been provided and Rs 27,003 crore has been spent so far in the pursuit of objectives of the Abhiyaan. A large number of structures have been created including 1,14,344 water conservation structures, 3,65,075 rural houses, 27,446 cattle shed, 19,527 farm ponds, and 10,446 Community Sanitary Complex. 6727 works have been taken up through District Mineral Funds, 1,662 Gram Panchayat have been provided internet connectivity, a total of 17,508 works related to solid and liquid waste management undertaken, and 54,455 candidates have been provided skill training through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) during the Abhiyaan.
The Abhiyaan’s success so far can be seen as convergent efforts of 12 Ministries/Departments and State Governments, which are giving higher quantum of benefits to the migrant workers and rural communities.
GKRA was launched to boost employment and livelihood opportunities for migrant workers returning to villages and similarly affected citizens in rural area, in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. The stage is set for longer term action for a longer term initiative for jobs and livelihoods for those who chose to stay back.
The Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhantoday launched CSIR Technologies for rural development under a joint initiative of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) and Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA). The event was organized through online platform on the occasion of CSIR-NISTADS 40th Foundation Day, here.The technologies released included:
Improved bee hive for quality and hygienic extraction of honey, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur
Technology for manufacturing of Ginger paste, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore
Dehumidified drier for food and agri products, CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram; and
Technology for agricultural waste (wheat bran, sugarcane bagasse and fruit peels) based biodegradable plates, cups and cutleries, CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram
The Minister also released CSIR-NISTADS e-Compendium and e-Coffee Table Book, on the occasion.
Dr. Shekhar C Mande (DG-CSIR, Secretary, DSIR, GOI), Padma Bhushan Shri Vijay P. Bhatkar (Chairman-National Steering Committee, UBA), ProfRam Gopal Rao (Director, IIT Delhi), Prof. Virendra K. Vijay (National Coordinator, UBA), Dr. Ranjana Aggarwal (Director, CSIR-NISTADS) were among the speakers throwing light on the synergy among science and technology interventions and rural upliftment. Various stakeholders including famous dignitaries, science experts, field experts, all Regional Coordinating Institutes and Participating Institutes of UBA, non-profit organisations, UBA volunteers, villagers and farmers of the adopted villages also participated in this programme organized with a purpose to enable the outreach of CSIR rural technologies to society.
A tripartite MoU to this effect was signed by the three parties on 28th July 2020 at CSIR to work jointly for post-COVID fast track action plan to create livelihood opportunities in rural areas, particularly for the people who have returned to their native villages in the lockdown period.
Over the years CSIR has developed several appropriate technologies which could be deployed in rural areas for development and livelihood generation and achieving sustainable development goals. These technologies will now be disseminated to society through the Higher Education Institutional network of UBA and local chapters of VIBHA. CSIR- National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR-NISTADS) is acting as a nodal CSIR Lab to establish linkages between CSIR laboratories, UBA, VIBHA, and stakeholders.
In his keynote address, Dr Harsh Vardhan congratulated CSIR-NISTADS on their 40th Foundation Day, and said, “they have been involved in exploring continuously the interface between Science, Technology and Society and have played an important role in science policy research in CSIR and at National Level also”. Stating that “appropriate intervention of Science & Technology can play a crucial catalytic role in bringing equity and equality in the process of development”, Dr Harsh Vardhan said that “Corporates, Research agencies, Organizations working with medium, small, and cottage level entrepreneurs, voluntary social organizations, NGOs, and socially cognizant citizens need to partner on a common platform to address various problems affecting the lives of millions”. He said, “the challenges that we would be facing need actions at several levels, and we need to explore and reinvent innovative approaches for actions from different stakeholders that include not just Government agencies but also voluntary social organizations, NGOs, Corporates, Entrepreneurs, academicians & Scientists and constructively supplement these efforts”.
He highlighted that “Unnat Bharat Abhiyan” is a flagship programme of Ministry of Education conceptualised and launched in IIT Delhi, with a vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India.“Unnat Bharat Abhiyan now constitutes 45 Regional Coordinating Institutions (RCIs) and 2,614 Participating Institutions (PIs). Till date, a total of 13,760 villages have been adopted under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan”, he added.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan expressed his confidence that “the agencies known for its knowledge, grassroot presence and technical competency, like IIT Delhi, VIBHA and their joining hands with CSIR can prove to be very useful for deployment of indigenously developed technologies by CSIR in rural areas”. He called for “greater synergy among innovative scientific solutions and tradition knowledge systems so that the fruits of this combination reaches to the every person, every village to for betterment of their lives and development of the country.”
CSIR, UBA, Vijnana Bharti have planned to work jointly on a framework for scientific intervention to create sustainable livelihood opportunities in the rural clusters under synergy of S&T Organizations (CSIR/DST/DBT/DRDO etc), VIBHA and UBA. It began with strengthening the network, where R&D organizations and institutions to take the role of nodal agencies who provide solutions to the felt need of the communities in the country. UBA nodal centers- RCIs are the solution facilitators and are the link that build capacities and connect to the solution seekers (community, farmer etc.) and solution disseminators such as Development agencies, Institutes, NGOs, and Panchayati Raj Institutions etc.
CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies(NISTADS), New Delhi is one of the constituent laboratory of CSIR. It is devoted to a study of various aspects of interaction among science, society and state and exploring continuously the interface between Science, Technology and Society. Currently, the faculty comprises of highly qualified faculty members drawn from a variety of academic disciplines. This intellectual diversity is the mainstay of the institute. The Institute has core competence in Science and Technology policy Research mainly addressing the concerns and problems of developing countries. The institute’s strength mainly lies in Interdisciplinary research teams, multi-discipline in faculty, long experience of field research.
Vijnana Bharti(Vibha): VIBHA, a science movement with swadeshi spirit, has a greater role to play. Swadeshi Science Movement was started in Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru by some eminent scientists under the guidance of Prof. K. I. Vasu. One of the founding principles of VIBHA is – Swadeshi Movement with modern sciences adapted to national needs.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE) and High Commission of Australia holds meeting for Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training.In an endeavor to support Vocational Education and Training (VET) in India and Australia, the Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dr. MahendraNath Pandey and Mr. Barry O’Farrell, Australian High Commissioner, today participatedin a virtual meeting to operationalize & implementCooperation in VET to promote development of occupational standards in priority industry sectors.
This was in line with the joint participation of the Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of Australia in the India-Australia Leaders’ Virtual Summit held on 4thJune, 2020. Earlier, on this occasion, a Joint Statement for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership document between both the countries was announced including the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Department of Education, Skills.
During the meeting, Minister emphasized on making firm progress in the forthcoming Joint working group meeting between India & Australia. Talking about post-COVID era, Dr Pandey highlighted the skill priorities of India like, mapping of job roles in the health sector and better migration and mobility. These are high priority areas for India as per the New Education policy in enhancing Vocational education in School education and the collaboration with Australia shall be crucial in this aspect.
Mr. Barry O’Farrell, Australian High Commissioner, said, “The joint working group meeting will further assist us in formulating focussed interventions to deliver on the skills agenda across both the nations. Through this partnership, we will ensure a collaborative and clear plan of action to address the priority areas in skill development.”
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