Citizen participation in the national campaign for segregation of waste at source

The goal of the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0’ is to make cities garbage free. One of the key aspects is to segregate waste at source. This key step will help to reduce the amount of waste that goes to legacy dumpsites. Sustainable waste management being one of the critical challenges, the priority is to shift from the current practice of dumping and burning to sustainable waste management practices that promote segregation, collection, recycling and a circular economy. With rapidly changing urban landscapes, ecosystems, population migrations, and ever-increasing households and establishments, it is essential that behaviour change is reinforced from time to time among citizens.

October is the month of festivals and with behaviour change at the centre of the campaign, MoHUA launched thematic activities to propel segregation of waste at source campaign. The core activities involve dissemination of key messages to the citizens through public outreach, door-to-door messaging and engagement with schools.

Traditionally on Diwali, most households undertake home cleaning. Children as change agents have been long established under Swachh Bharat Mission and are known to impact overall community behaviors. This Diwali the school children can gift swachhta ka uphaar to their family and friends.

Urban Local Bodies are being encouraged to organize public outreach activities to garner the attention of the residents to promote the practice of segregation. The core activities include – door-to-door messaging with support from NGOs, SHGs, schools, colleges, youth organizations, RWAs, other civil societies, volunteers, etc demonstrating proper segregation covering all wards. ULBs can arrange separate storage systems to be fitted in the collection vehicles – wet (green), dry (blue) and any means of the collection – partitions, large bags, cane baskets, plastic/metal bins, or others. These core activities will ensure collected segregated waste remains segregated until processing facilities.

The special activities engaging school children have begun and will go on till 30th of October. Selfie points are being created using installations representing pair of bins -green (for wet waste) and blue (for dry waste). ULBs will engage with the public/school children through tongue-twister challenges. Participants can be challenged to repeat quickly ‘Hara Geela Sookha Neela’ as many times as possible. Mobile Vans/trucks can play “Humein Garv Hai” song and promote messages on clean/SUP free Diwali.

To encourage student participation in promoting segregation of waste both at school and at home, some of the activities planned are ‘Bins Out of Waste’ – Students can be encouraged to collect a bin from home and create art out of it at school using different painting media, students can participate in the Toycathon challenge (Register on https://innovateindia.mygov.in/swachh-toycathon/) where they can be asked to bring in 5-6 segregated dry waste items from home and create toys out of waste. To encourage Home to School Connect, students can create two labels each – green for wet waste and blue for dry waste with messages on segregation at source written on them. The finished labels can be taken back home and pasted on their bins meant for wet and dry waste. Students can also create labels for their homes that can be stuck outside their house proclaiming ‘My house segregates waste’. This can serve as an indirect platform to remind and motivate their visiting friends and family to segregate.

In a massive drive, in the first 72 hours more than 10 lakh children have already been engaged. Participating schools can register on the website sbmurban.gov.in. Each school can be awarded a certificate of participation after the activities.

Celebrating eight years of accomplishments of SBM-Urban, the Hon’ble President of India Droupadi Murmu, on 1st Oct 2022, urged the citizens of India to join in the ‘Segregation of waste at Source’ campaign that focuses on reinforcing correct waste segregation practices among the different sections of the society. As a part of the two-week long Swachh Amrit Mahotsav, MoHUA rolled out the national campaign for segregation of waste at source on 2nd October, Gandhi Jayanti.

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KASHI TAMIL SANGAMAM

Union Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan along with MoS, I&B and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri L. Murugan today announced the “KASHI TAMIL SANGAMAM” to be held from 16th Nov to 19th Dec 2022. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan also launched the website for registering for “KASHI TAMIL SANGAMAM”.

Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS) has come up with a proposal to rediscover, reaffirm and celebrate the age-old links between the Tamil culture and Kashi that has existed since centuries. A month long “Kashi Tamil Sangamam” is to be organized in Varanasi (Kashi) from 16th November to 19th December,2022 during which academic exchanges – seminars, discussions etc will be held between experts/ scholars on various facets of the two ancient manifestations of Indian Culture, with focus on bringing out the links and shared values between the two. The broader objective is to bring the two Knowledge and Cultural traditions closer, create and understanding of our shared heritage and deepen the people-to-people bond between the regions.

While addressing the press conference, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that India is a symbol of civilizational connectivity. The Kashi-Tamil Sangamam shall be an ideal platform to understand the unity in India’s civilizational assets through two historic centres of knowledge & culture. The Sangamam to be organised under the overall framework and spirit of “Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat” will create a bridge between ancient India and contemporary generation. Kashi Sangamam will rediscover the link between these two ancient centres of knowledge, culture and heritage, he further added.

Shri Pradhan informed that Kashi-Tamil Sangamam will be centred around a series of themes that cover various facets of knowledge – literature, ancient texts, philosophy, spirituality, music, dance, drama, yoga, Ayurveda, handlooms, handicrafts as well as the modern innovations, trade exchanges, edutech and other gen next technology etc. Seminars, discussions, lectures, lec-dems etc will be held on these themes, for which subject experts will be invited. This shall be unique learning experience for students, scholars, academics, practising professionals, etc. on various facets of Indian Knowledge Systems, Education & Training Practices, Arts & Culture, Language, Literature, etc, he added.

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To ensure that the benefit of these discussions reaches the actual practitioners of these knowledge streams, it is proposed that in addition to experts, common practitioners from various groups from different parts of Tamil Nadu, can be brought for an 8-day visit of Varanasi and its neighbouring areas. Tentatively, 12 such groups have been identified including students, teachers, literary (authors, poets, publishers), cultural experts, professionals (practicing arts, music, dance, drama, folk art, yoga, Ayurveda), entrepreneurs, (SMEs, start-ups) business people, (community business groups, hoteliers,) artisans, heritage related experts (archaeologists, tour guides, bloggers etc) spiritual, rural, sampradaya organizations. These people will participate in the academic programs, interact with people of Varanasi associated with the same field, and visit places of interest in and around Varanasi.

It is proposed that around 210 people from different parts of Tamil Nadu can be taken in one group for a period of 8 days. 12 such groups, comprising around 2500 people can visit over a month.

At the end of the Sangamam event, people of Tamil Nadu shall get an immersive experience of Kashi and the people of Kashi shall also get to know the cultural richness of Tamil Nadu through a healthy exchange of knowledge sharing experiences – events, visits, conversations, etc.

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“KASHI TAMIL SANGAMAM” and launches the website for the registration process

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It is proposed that around 210 people from different parts of Tamil Nadu can be taken in one group for a period of 8 days. 12 such groups, comprising around 2500 people can visit over a month.

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rivate sector to take advantage of Government’s policies & contribute to Nation Building by modernising the Armed Forces

India must set new goals according to the constantly-evolving global scenario and research & development, with active private sector participation, is the way to achieve the preparedness required to deal with future challenges. This was stated by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh while addressing a seminar ‘Aatmanirbharta in Defence R&D – Synergistic Approach’ organised by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of the 12th DefExpo in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on October 20, 2022.

Shri Rajnath Singh listed out a number of policy reforms undertaken by the government to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence crucial for staying ready to deal with future security challenges. He made special mention of the announcement of fourth positive indigenisation list of 101 made by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during the opening ceremony of DefExpo 2022, terming it as a matter of great pride that now over 400 defence items will be procured from domestic vendors.

The Raksha Mantri also spoke about the decision to dedicate one-fourth of the defence R&D budget to industry led R&D, saying that these are just some of the many steps which have laid the foundation of a strong self-reliant defence industry, sufficient to equip the Armed Forces with latest weapons/equipment. He exuded confidence that with the active participation of the private sector, the Armed Forces will be better prepared to deal with security challenges faced by the nation.

“India has embarked on a journey of self-reliance of R&D in defence. Private sector will play a crucial role in taking us to the destination. Both public and the private sectors are the wheels, with which the R&D vehicle will move towards complete self-reliance. With collaborative efforts of the Government and the industry, we will realise the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’,” Shri Rajnath Singh said.

The Raksha Mantri also highlighted the crucial role played by DRDO in synergising the efforts of the industry, academia and Defence R&D towards fuelling India’s mission of ‘Aatmanirbharta’. He lauded DRDO for contributing towards enhancing the capability of the Armed Forces by developing various futuristic and first-of-its-kind innovations and technologies. He added that the organisation is no longer a sole service provider for defence R&D, but has also become a facilitator for in-house R&D and the private sector.

On the occasion, Shri Rajnath Singh felicitated the ‘Dare to Dream 3’ winners and launched the ‘Dare to Dream 4’ contest to encourage innovation through the Indian scientific community. He congratulated the winners of Dare-to-Dream 3 and said that the contest promotes new ideas and innovative thinking in individuals and start-ups.

The Raksha Mantri also presided over the signing of MoUs with academic institutions and Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO), Indian Navy for the formation of DRDO-Industry-Academia – Centres of Excellence (DIA-CoEs). The academic institutions included IIT Roorkee, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT BHU and Bharatiya University. These centres act as research nodes for the country in identified subjects which are building blocks for futuristic technologies. The MoUs with academic institutions will initiate the work in the focussed areas for advanced research in defence. Long term and short-term research areas will be balanced to address the current needs and lay the foundations for futuristic technologies.

In addition, Rotary Wing Research & Design Centre division of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and M/s Accord Systems and Software were awarded the design organisational approval certificates. Guidelines on the Human Reliability Factors and Human Reliability Assessment was released by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt for the benefit of all the stakeholders of the ecosystem. Two monographs authored by the former scientists of DRDO were also released by the Raksha Rajya Mantri. Design Organisation Approval Scheme certificates were also handed over to the industries on the occasion.

A book titled ‘Compilation of 8 years major achievements of DRDO, Ministry of Defence (2014-2022)’ was also released by Shri Rajnath Singh. The book contains various achievements of DRDO giving brief descriptions of major launches, flight trials, ToTs, DRDO-industry-academia partnership, etc.

The second session was chaired by Secretary DDR&D Dr Samir V Kamat wherein presentations were made by all stakeholders of the defence R&D. Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri Dr G Satheesh Reddy chaired the panel discussions. The seminar was also attended by senior distinguished service officers, officials from Ministry of defence, IIT Directors, industry representatives, academia, DRDO scientists and others.

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CSIR-NIScPR Organises Fit India Freedom Run 3.0

National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research NIScPR), New Delhi is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) which serves the Nation with its mandates of policy research and science communication related studies. To strengthen the ‘Fit India Mission’ of Government of India, CSIR-NIScPR is organizing ‘Fit India Activities during 2-31 October 2022. Many sports activities are scheduled under this endeavor.

Dr. Sujit Bhattacharye, Director In-Charge, CSIR-NIScPR flagging off ‘Fit India Freedom Run 3.0’

Today, CSIR-NIScPR organizes ‘Fit India Freedom Run 3.0’ of 3 Kilometer distance for its staff members, Project Associates, Research Interns, AcSIR Students, Outsource manpower, friends and family members. NIScPR’s Director In-Charge Dr. Sujit Bhattacharya flagged off this Fit India Freedom Run from its New Delhi Pusa Campus at 10:30 AM. On the occasion, Dr. Bhattacharya says that Fit India Run is an innovative gesture to make aware the staff members and other human resources of the institute for health and fitness. The Chairman of CSIR-NIScPR Committee for the Fit India Mission, Shri Ashwani Kumar Brahmi briefed all the participants of Fit India Freedom Run about the concerned guidelines of the Govt. of India. In this activity, Dr. Mohammad Rais, Dr. Naresh Kumar, Dr. L. Pulamte, Dr. B. L. Garg, Dr. Sandhya Wakdikar, Dr. Madhulika Bhati, Dr. Suman Ray, Dr. Puspanjali Tripathy, Dr. Shiv Narayan Nishad, Dr. Arvind Meena, Dr. Manish Mohan Gore, Dr. Meher Wan, Dr. Paramananda Barman (Scientists of CSIR-NIScPR), Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh Roshan, Controller of Administration, Shri Ajay Kumar, Controller of Finance & Accounts, Shri Pankaj Goswami, Administrative officer and other staff members of the Institute actively participated in this Fit India Run. The number of participants was more than 200.

Staff members of CSIR-NIScPR are participating in Fit India Freedom Run

CSIR-NIScPR is very active in sports activities and it regularly participates in Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Memorial Tournaments (SSBMT) along with the in-house sports activities. The SSBMT is a platform created by CSIR Sports Promotion Board to bring together the participation of different CSIR institutes to build a committed CSIR family and create team spirit, leadership and zeal to excel against all odds. Under SSBMT, competitions in games of Cricket, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Badminton, Chess, Carrom and Bridge are organized. CSIR-NIScPR is an active member of SSBMT.

What is Thesis Statement and How to Write Thesis Statement

under-utilization of CRMs and application of bio-decomposer in Punjab

An Inter-Ministerial meeting under the co-chairmanship of Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying on the issue of Parali Management of crop residue burning in Delhi NCR, was held today.

Discussions were held regarding status of implementation of the respective action plans of the NCR States and NCTD, utilization of machinery for in-situ and ex-situ management, extensive use of bio-decomposers for in-situ management of paddy straw, arrangement for supply of paddy straw to various industrial, commercial, bio-energy and other applications, facilitation of farmers, aggregators, manufacturers, entrepreneurs for setting up of paddy straw baling / raking operations, storage, pelletizing and transport infrastructures, co-firing in Thermal Power Plants (TPPs), using non-basmati Parali as Fodder in Fodder deficient areas in Gujarat and Rajasthan among others. Monitoring and control action taken by States on the reported fire incidences etc. were also discussed.

MoA&FW made a brief presentation on the actions taken by DoAH&D for Management of Crop Residue Burning. He highlighted that the status of Parali management in Haryana is significantly better than that in Punjab. 9 out of 22 districts in Punjab and 4 out of 22 district in Haryana are major contributors of stubble burning in these states. So, these 13 districts need to be focused upon more. Sangrur, Moga, Tarn Taran and Fatehabad are among them. Till 15th October, the trend for fire events was less as compared to last year but now it has started growing rapidly, especially in Punjab. Early harvesting is the reason for high fire counts in Amritsar and Tarn Taran. It was also apprised that the coverage of land for the application of Pusa decomposer is less in Punjab which needs to be promoted and enhanced.

Representative of Ministry of Power informed that it has mandated 5% blending of biomass pellets with the coal for co-firing in Thermal Power Plants (TPPs). The co-firing also helps to prevent CO2 emissions. Till now, 0.1 million MT CO2 emissions have been prevented.

Chairman, CAQM informed that they have prepared a detailed framework for in-situ and ex-situ management of parali and the States have been advised to implement the same to contain stubble burning. It was mentioned in the meeting that in spite of several meetings and efforts by CAQM, the steps taken by Punjab are inadequate.

It was mentioned in the meeting that one of the main concerns is the delayed delivery of CRM Machines in Punjab and Haryana. The NCT of Delhi and NCR States are expected to utilize the funds effectively and for the maintenance of the provided CRM machines. Pusa decomposer application needs to be promoted. A proper supply chain management also needs to be developed by the States for utilization of pellets in TPPs.

For reducing the paddy straw generation, promotion of basmati variety and crop diversification are effective ways to reduce the menace. The State’s Comprehensive Action Plans to curb air pollution need to be strictly implemented. There must be a coordinated ecosystem for collection, aggregation, storage and transportation of the paddy straw for effective ex-situ management of parali, as discussed in the meeting.

It was informed that efforts of ISRO and MoA&FW have helped to get the accurate data on co-firing by TPPs.

Chief Secretary, Govt. of Punjab was asked to enhance the application of Pusa decomposer and control the increasing rate of Active Fire Events in Amritsar and to ensure 50% reduction in cases of Active Fire Events in the State in comparison to last year.

Chief Secretary, Govt. of Haryana reported a 55% reduction in Active Fire Events in the state in comparison to last year. With the help of Remote sensing monitoring and experts from Haryana Agriculture University (HAU), the farmers are being trained about the desired farm practices and prevention of stubble burning.

Chief Secretary, Govt. of UP was advised to carry on with their positive efforts and ensure maintenance of progress achieved so far in the field of parali management.

Chief Secretary, NCT of Delhi informed about the increase in the coverage of land area under Pusa application coverage.

Minister of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry & Dairying mentioned that there is a shortage of fodder in various part of the country and suggested that an efficient system is essential to be developed for transportation of the stubble available in NCR region to the fodder deficient regions.

Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare further informed that an event on Pusa decomposer application is being organized on 4th November 2022 for educating the famers about the details. The event is likely to include an open discussion with the scientist of ICAR.

Speaking during the meeting Shri Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said that it is heartening to note that Government of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have done remarkable work towards control of stubble burning. They have implemented the framework in the States which includes in-situ management, ex-situ management, effective monitoring and enforcement and IEC activities which have resulted in less events of stubble burning.

Shri Yadav expressed concern that Government of Punjab had not been able to take coordinated actions to contain stubble burning in the state. He reiterated that the State had been provided sufficient number of equipment and farm machineries under CRM scheme of MoA&FW and also adequate funds have been provided yet there has not been sufficient progress in implementation of the action plan.

HMEF&CC stated that sufficient number of machineries have been distributed for parali management. He further directed Government of Haryana to ensure 24 hour supply of electricity in Sonipat, Panipat, Faridabad and Gurugram.

HMEF&CC hoped that coordinated actions will lead to significant improvement of air quality in the region.

The Senior officers of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, CAQM and Chief Secretaries and officers from Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, NTPC etc. attended the meeting.

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Crop Residue Management

The Union Inter-Ministerial Meeting with the States on the issues of Crop Residue Management was chaired by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar with the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupendra Yadav and the Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala in co-chair. The three ministers held intense discussions with the states to check the burning of stubble. Shri Tomar said that there is a need to fix the accountability of the collectors in the affected districts by the respective State Governments, while Shri Yadav said that the states should implement effective measures immediately. Shri Rupala stressed on proactive steps, especially for the problem of stubble burning in Punjab.

In the high-level review meeting, senior officials of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi state government and top officials of all the three central ministries as well as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Central Pollution Control Board, Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, Ministry of Power and senior officials of other central ministries and departments participated. It was informed in the meeting that the states need to ensure effective utilization of 2.07 lakh machines already supplied by the Center during the last 4 years and 47,000 machines being provided during the current year. Under the Central Scheme on Crop Residue Management, the Government is already providing financial assistance to Punjab, Haryana, U.P. and NCT Delhi to combat air pollution in Delhi NCR due to stubble burning. Rs. 601.53 crore has already been released by the Center during the current year so far. Also, out of the amount given in the last four years, about Rs 900 crore is available with the states. The need for effective utilization of funds provided by the Government of India to the states for stubble management was emphasized in the meeting.

Shri Tomar said that the states should promote widespread use of bio-decomposer developed by the Pusa Institute for effective in-situ decomposition of stubble. He said that the Central Government has tried its best to fulfil the expectations of states. If the state governments also work diligently in the same way, it will bring good results. Especially, if effective checking is done on stubble burning in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts of Punjab, then half the job will be done, because these two districts are facing the maximum problem. Effective control in these four states will also help contain the problem from spreading to other states. If we work with holistic efforts in a planned manner, the availability of fodder for cattle will also be easy. Shri Tomar said that a workshop is being organized in Pusa, Delhi on 4th November, in which farmers from Punjab and adjoining areas have been called for this purpose, senior officers of Punjab should also participate in this workshop so that their doubts regarding the Pusa decomposer are cleared. Shri Tomar said that Pusa decomposer is the cheapest and most effective solution for Crop Residue Management, which needs to be promoted.

Environment Minister Shri Yadav said that more than two lakh machines given by the Center are sufficient, it is necessary that they should be fully utilized for addressing the problem. Other contributing factors of pollution have also been considered by the Center. Emphasizing on effective control to prevent stubble burning, especially in Punjab, Shri Yadav called upon the state’s Chief Secretary to take immediate and appropriate action as well as to promote the use of Pusa decomposer.

During the meeting, explaining the need to implement appropriate IEC activities for the targeted farmers, the states have been advised to make a strategic plan by deploying all the necessary resources and deal with the situation. Considering the benefits of bio decomposer, states have been advised to demonstrate this technology in farmers’ fields on a large scale. During the current year, a target has been set to bring more than 8.15 lakh hectares of land in the states under the ambit of this technology. To promote and disseminate the ex-situ use of stubble by mapping the demand of stubble from biomass-based power plants, bioethanol plants and nearby industries as well as to reach out to all the stakeholders through Kisan Melas, publications, seminars, consultations, it has been urged to undertake IEC activities for awareness among farmers through intensive campaigns with their participation. This will effectively control stubble burning.

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Television Watching

Television-watching
is a wonderful source of delight. The youngsters and the aged alike find
recreation at their own homes. When a man is tired of daily work, he retires to
a room and starts listening to the television music, watching dances and adds
to his knowledge by listening to the news and other commentaries. Thus, television
watching gives both instruction and joy.

Television-programmes
were introduced in India more than a decade ago. Therefore, the expansion of
television net-work in India is yet to take place. Efforts are being
ceaselessly made and much success has been achieved. The people watch this
programme in the tele-clubs, which have become very popular these days. The
children watch their lessons on their school television-sets and they
understand these lessons very nicely.

Television-programmes
have become very popular in schools. The best instructors may speak to
thousands of students and thus teach the lesson in an interesting manner. The
laboratory experiments are performed and the science students also usually
benefit form such programmes. There are certain lessons. Sometimes, very
uncommon things are shown to the students on the T.V which are not possible in
the classrooms and they are managed on the T.T. and the students understand
their lesson very easily. The television lessons give both instruction and
enjoyment to the students. The students sometimes watch certain films based on
educational themes very clearly on the television screen. Such films give
instruction and entertainment both, at a stretch.

In
India we find a large number of tele-clubs in big cities, where children and
elders throng to watch the films.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II DEATH: THE END OF A LEGENDRY MONARCH

We all are shocked by the death of Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) who reigned over the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations from 6 February 1952 until she died in 2022. During her lifetime, she reigned over 32 sovereign nations, with 15 remaining at the time of her death. Her reign was the longest of any British queen and the longest documented reign of any female monarch in history, lasting 70 years and 214 days.

Her legacy started when her father died in February 1952, at the age of 25 years. She became queen of seven separate Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), as well as the Commonwealth’s Head of State. Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, as well as her Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinum jubilees in 1977, 2002, 2012, and 2022, are significant events of her life. Although she faced criticism along with her family on certain occasions, especially after the breakdown of her children’s marriages, her annus horribilis in 1992, and the death in 1997 of her former daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales, support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom remained consistently high throughout her lifetime, as did her personal popularity. The queen died peacefully in 2022 at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire and was succeeded by her eldest child, Charles III. Hers was the first state funeral held in the United Kingdom since Winston Churchill’s in 1965.

SILVER JUBILEE

Elizabeth celebrated the Silver Jubilee of her accession in 1977. Parties and events were held around the Commonwealth, with many of them coinciding with her connected national and Commonwealth visits. Despite nearly coincidental bad news coverage of Princess Margaret’s split from her husband, Lord Snowdon, the celebrations reaffirmed Elizabeth’s popularity. In 1978, Romania’s communist leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, and his wife, Elena, paid an official visit to the United Kingdom, despite Elizabeth personally believing they had “blood on their hands.” The next year saw the unmasking of Anthony Blunt, former Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, as a communist spy, and the killing of her relative and in-law, Lord Mountbatten, by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

GOLDEN JUBILEE

The queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of her ascension, in 2002. Her sister and mother died in February and March, respectively, and the media debated whether or not the Jubilee would be a success. She embarked on another extended tour to her kingdoms, beginning in Jamaica in February, where she dubbed the departure supper “memorable” when a power outage dropped the King’s House, the governor-formal general’s house, into darkness. There were street dances and memorial festivities, as there had been in 1977, and monuments were named in honour of the occasion. One million people attended each of the three days of the major Jubilee celebration in London, and the public’s passion for Elizabeth was stronger than many journalists had imagined.

DIAMOND JUBILEE

Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 commemorated her 60th year on the throne, and festivities were staged across her countries, the Commonwealth, and beyond. Her husband and she went on a lengthy tour of the United Kingdom, while her children and grandchildren went on royal visits to other Commonwealth countries on her behalf. Jubilee beacons were lighted across the world on June 4th. Elizabeth and her husband celebrated their blue sapphire wedding anniversary in November (65th). On December 18, she became the first British royal since George III in 1781 to attend a peacetime Cabinet meeting.

PLATINUM JUBILEE

Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee began on February 6, 2022, celebrating 70 years after her father’s death, when she ascended to the throne. On the eve of the wedding, she hosted a reception at Sandringham House for retirees, members of the local Women’s Institute, and charitable volunteers. Elizabeth repeated her promise to a lifetime of public service, which she made in 1947, in her accession day statement. Later that month, Elizabeth, along with several employees and family members, developed “moderate cold-like symptoms” and tested positive for COVID-19. She cancelled two virtual audiences on February 22, but spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson the next day about the crisis on the Russian-Ukrainian border, after which she made a gift to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. On 28 February, she was reported to have recovered and spent time with her family at Frogmore. On 7 March, Elizabeth met Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau at Windsor Castle, in her first in-person engagement since her COVID diagnosis. She later remarked that COVID infection “leave[s] one very tired and exhausted … It’s not a nice result”.

Elizabeth was deeply religious and civic-minded, and she took her Coronation Oath seriously. In addition to her formal religious function as Supreme Governor of the established Church of England, she attended both that church and the national Church of Scotland. She advocated for interfaith dialogue and visited with leaders from different churches and religions, including five popes: Pius XII, John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. Her annual Christmas Message to the Commonwealth frequently included a personal comment about her beliefs. Elizabeth supported around 600 organisations and charities. According to the Charities Aid Foundation, Elizabeth helped raise almost £1.4 billion for her patronages during her reign. Her major hobbies were equestrianism and pets, particularly her Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Her lifelong passion for corgis began in 1933 with Dookie, her family’s first corgi Scenes of carefree, casual home life were occasionally observed; she and her family made dinner together and cleaned the dishes together occasionally.

TITLES

21 April 1926 – 11 December 1936: Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York
11 December 1936 – 20 November 1947: Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth
20 November 1947 – 6 February 1952: Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh
6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022: Her Majesty The Queen

Educational Service Provider

nuclear power reactors at Jaitapur site in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra

France Minister, Ms. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, currently on India visit, called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science & Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, DoPT, Administrative Reforms, Public Grievances, Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh at North Block, New Delhi to discuss Indo-French collaboration in Nuclear Energy. She was accompanied by a high-level French delegation.

The two sides discussed ways to speed up the setting up of the nuclear power reactors at Jaitapur site in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra by joint collaboration. Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India and other French officials including Thomas Mieusset, Nuclear Counsellor joined the deliberations.

Indian Government has already accorded ‘In-Principle’ approval for setting up six nuclear power reactors of 1650 MW each in technical cooperation with France which would make it the largest nuclear power generating site with a total capacity of 9900 MW as part of an umbrella nuclear deal signed with France in September 2008

The French company EDF last year submitted to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) its binding techno-commercial offer to build six European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) at Jaitapur. In May, this year, a high-level team from EDF visited India and held detailed talks with NPCIL officials.

Dr Jitendra Singh assured the France Minister that the technical, financial and civil nuclear liability issues will be resolved at the earliest by both the sides and well before the scheduled visit of the French president Mr Emmanuel Macron in early 2023 as announced by Ms Chrysoula Zacharopoulou. The France Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is also scheduled to visit India by the middle of December.

Referring to warm and all-encompassing bilateral ties between the countries, Dr Jitendra Singh underlined that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a 3-day Europe visit, met President of France, Emmanuel Macron in Paris during the final leg of his tour in May this year. Both the leaders spoke on various subjects, including bilateral and global issue, and Mr Modi remarked that “India and France are proud developmental partners and this partnership is being spread across different sectors”.

In today’s meeting, both the sides reaffirmed the commitment to the success of the strategic Jaitapur EPR project for access to reliable, affordable and low-carbon energy and agreed to sort out the pending issues at the earliest.

NPCIL will be responsible for the construction and commissioning of the units, as well as obtaining all necessary permits and consents in India as the owner and future operator of the plant. This includes certification of the EPR technology by the Indian regulator.

Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that nuclear power is clean and environment friendly, apart from having a huge potential to ensure the country’s long term energy security on a sustainable basis. The nuclear power plants have so far generated about 755 billion Units of electricity saving about 650 million Tons of CO2 emission.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the net zero targets are expected to be met through a combination of various clean energy sources including nuclear power. In this context, the present nuclear power capacity of 6780 MW is planned to be increased to 22480 MW by 2031 on progressive completion of projects under construction and accorded sanction.

Digi Locker Partner Organizations to provide Subscriber Centric online Services

Central Record Keeping Agencies (CRAs) of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) have become Digi Locker Partner Organizations to provide Subscriber Centric online Services .

As a tribute to 75 Years of India’s Independence Day Celebration and to commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, PFRDA is providing following additional features through Digi Locker:

Account opening using Driving License (DL) through Digi Locker
Updation of existing address using DL through Digi Locker

The facility can be availed by prospective subscribers opening their accounts with Protean CRA and existing subscribers of Protean CRA for updating their address.

Digi Locker is a key initiative under Digital India, the Government of India flagship program with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and a pensioned Society. Digi Locker embraces Digital India’s vision areas of providing the Citizens a shareable private digital space with a consent framework and making all documents/certificates digitally available and accessible at ease. The number of Registered Users of Digi Locker are nearly 13 cr and 5.60 billion issued documents under various Categories viz Central/ State Governments, Banking & Insurance, Education, Health etc.

Steps for opening the NPS account using Driving License issued in DigiLocker

Open the NPS registration page on Protean CRA website. (https://enps.nsdl.com)
Select the option of New Registration with Documents with DigiLocker and select Driving License (DL).
Applicant will be redirected to DigiLocker Website, where he can login with login credentials and provide consent for sharing of documents/information with CRA.
Allow NPS to access DigiLocker and issued documents.
The demographic Information and the photo as per Driving License will be auto populated in the account opening Page.
Provide PAN, personal details, Information related to Bank Account, Scheme & Nomination and other details to complete the application.
Payment can be made towards NPS Contribution.
NPS Account generated successfully.

Steps for updating the address in NPS account using Driving License issued in DigiLocker

Login to NPS account using credentials on Protean CRA website
Select the option Update Personal Details under the tab Demographic Changes
Select Update Address Details and further select through DigiLocker and select Driving License under documents.
Applicant will be redirected to DigiLocker Website, where he can login with login credentials and provide consent for sharing of documents/information with CRA.
Allow NPS to access DigiLocker and issued documents and submit.
Address as per Driving License will be updated in NPS account.

PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022

‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’ for Divyangjan

A ‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’ for distribution of aids and assistive devices to ‘Divyangjan’ under the ADIP Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India was organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) in association with ALIMCO, Social Justice and Empowerment Department and District Administration Alwar today at Pratap Auditorium in Alwar City, Rajasthan.

Ku. Pratima Bhoumik, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment the Chief Guest of the function inaugurated the distribution camp. Shri Tikaram Jully, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Rajasthan presided over the function alongside Member of Parliament of Alwar Shri Balak Nath , local public representatives and dignitaries.

Addressing the gathering Ku. Pratima Bhoumik, Union MoS said that central government is committed towards the empowerment of Divyangjan and is working on the vision of Prime Minister by serving the last man in line and to empower them to bring them in the main stream of society. Speaking over the achievement and work done by her ministry Union Minister of State informed that central government implemented Right to persons with Disability Act 2016 which now provided the provision to increase the category of Disabilities from 7 to 21. Reservation of persons with disability in education institutes increased from 3 to 5 percent and reservation in government jobs has been increased from 3 percent to 4 percent. Scheme of Universal ID cards for Divyanjan will ease the difficulty faced by Persons with Disabilities as it is accepted pan India basis.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Tikaram Jully, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Rajasthan informed about the work done by state their government for empowering Divyangjan highlighting the work done towards digitization and online facilities which are made available by government.

Member of Parliament of Alwar Shri Balak Nath, thanks the central government and the union minister for implementing such welfare scheme to provide benefit to the needy in his constituency.

A total of 2933 Aids and Assistive devices of different categories with value of worth Rs. 2 Crore 01 Lakh will be distributed Block wise manner free of cost among 1564 pre identified Divyangjan who were assessed during assessment camps organized by ALIMCO in the various location of Alwar.

Different type of assistive devices which will be distributed among identified Divyangjan beneficiaries in a phase manner who were registered during assessment camps at Block Level which includes 231 Motorized Tricycle, 528 Tricycle, 285 Wheelchairs, 834 Crutches, 340 Walking Sticks, 16 Rollators, 09 Smart Phone, 37 Smart Cane, 05 Braille Kit, 04 C. P Chair, 170 MSIED Kit, 01 ADL Kit (for leprosy) with Cell phone, 212 Hearing Aid machines and 261 Artificial Limbs and calipers.

Dr Jitendra Kumar Soni, District Collector, SP, Alwar district, senior official from Social Welfare Department, Alwar and ALIMCO were also present during the function.

*****

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QUEEN ELIZABETH II DEATH: THE END OF A LEGENDRY MONARCH

SILVER JUBILEE

GOLDEN JUBILEE

DIAMOND JUBILEE

PLATINUM JUBILEE

TITLES

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