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.

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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has bowed to Mahatma Gandhi on his Jayanti.

“We bow to beloved Bapu on Gandhi Jayanti. 

There is much to learn from his life and noble thoughts.

May Bapu’s ideals keep guiding us in creating a prosperous and compassionate India”, the Prime Minister said.

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Bringing an end to all speculations, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday (September 30, 2020) issued new guidelines for opening up of more activities in areas outside the COVID-19 containment zones and said that the States and UTs can reopen schools, colleges and education institutions after October 15. The Centre also issued various guidelines for the reopening of schools and other educational institutions.

“For re-opening of schools and coaching institutions, State/ UT Governments have been given the flexibility to take a decision after 15th October 2020, in a graded manner. The decision shall be taken in consultation with the respective school/ institution management, based on their assessment of the situation,” stated the MHA.

They also said that the decision shall be taken with considering the following conditions:

1. Online/ distance learning shall continue to be the preferred mode of teaching and shall be encouraged.

2. Where schools are conducting online classes, and some students prefer to attend online classes rather than physically attend school, they may be permitted to do so.

3. Students may attend schools/ institutions only with the written consent of parents.

4. Attendance must not be enforced and must depend entirely on parental consent.

5. States /UTs will prepare their own SOP regarding health and safety precautions for reopening of schools/ institutions based on the SOP to be issued by Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, Government of India, keeping local requirements in view.

6. Schools, which are allowed to open, will have to mandatorily follow the SOP to be issued by Education Departments of States/ UTs.

7. Department of Higher Education (DHE), Ministry of Education may take a decision on the timing of the opening of Colleges/ Higher Education Institutions, in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), based on the assessment of the situation. Online/ distance learning shall continue to be the preferred mode of teaching and shall be encouraged.

However, Higher Education Institutions only for research scholars (PhD) and post-graduate students in science and technology stream requiring laboratory/ experimental works will be permitted to open from October 15, 2020, as under:

1. For Centrally Funded Higher Education Institutions, the Head of Institution will satisfy herself/ himself that there is a genuine requirement of research scholars (PhD) and post-graduate students in science and technology stream for laboratory/experimental works.

2. For all other Higher Education Institutions e.g. State Universities, Private Universities etc., they may open only for research scholars (PhD) and postgraduate students in science and technology stream requiring laboratory/experimental works as per decision to be taken by the respective State/UT Governments.
Earlier, the Government of India had allowed partial resumption of activities in schools for students of classes 9th to 12th on a voluntary basis, for taking guidance from their teachers from September 21.

Social media has become part of our lives and at this point, we cannot even imagine the world without different social media channels. We are all aware of how important social media is for small, medium, and large businesses, thus here I will focus on individuals, and how social media affects our lives.

Like everything, social media has a good and bad side and hence, has a positive and negative effect on us.

Social Media can “Influence” as well as “Impact” a persons life in many ways. Those ways can be good and bad in comparison. There are people that do nothing but sit online all day every day and soak up what Social Media has to offer and do nothing productive with their lives, or beneficial for others. People take what they see on the platform as Truth without thinking for themselves, investigating the information or doing thorough research that necessitates whether that information is correct or not.

Social media can be a great place if you don‘t take it too seriously. Being always updated by your relatives, watching your friend tell funny stories and all that can be entertaining and I think only few people become addicted in these cases. At the same time, Social Media can be a platform for success! People network and solve issues through this medium. People provide answers, such as this platform. People can have thriving businesses via this method. People that have been lost, have been found as a source of using this tool. People keep in touch with friends and loved ones that they could not otherwise see from anywhere on the Globe as a result of Social Media. People share their most personal and private information which may account as a plus to some and a hindrance to others.

The place for social justice – bullying

It is easy to state your opinion on social media – everybody does that. It is even easier to do that if you are behind a nickname and there are a lot of people like that. With or without it, social media has become a place of social justice. One can get judged by the other social media users because of wrongdoing, the #Metoo campaign is a very good example of it. Sometimes this kind of social media campaigns can be good and have a positive outcome, sometimes people who did nothing wrong might become victims

It has made communication more touchable

It might sound confusing, as social media is often blamed for damaging honest, natural communication. However, with the help of social media communication is so much easier. One can contact people or brands and businesses directly in a way that was impossible in the past. Messenger or DM takes us closer to every kind of person and we can vocalize our thinking very quickly and in a very easy way.

Mental health issues

It is one of the most negative and serious issues related to Social media. It is more common among young girls who often compare themselves to others. They often see rate themselves based on the number of followers and the number of likes on their pictures. Some of the surveys claim that most of the young people who do not receive “enough” likes on their pictures find their day ruined, and even delete these pictures. They measure their self-worse based on these metrics which negatively affects their mental health.

Sex is seen as taboo in most cultures and societies. Sex Education is seen by many people as something unnecessary and an uncomfortable thing to discuss as any discussion regarding. we can, should, and need to make sure that basic education is available to any person who asks. And we need to present enough to insure that they do actually ask, or can go read the rest for themselves. Mostly, this is about kids, but it can be anybody. Not all adults have this education themselves!

Sex Education isn’t just about telling kids about safe sex and preventing STDs, its also about informing students about the various physiological and the psychological changes that happen during Adolescence. In India, sex education is still a taboo. Forget sex education, the word sex is still a taboo among many Indian households. Although India has developed and modernized in a lot of ways, we still have to overcome many of our taboos and prejudices. Education is the primary tool to achieve that.

In India, in schools, we are taught about the anatomy of male and female reproductive organs and reproduction. STD are given a cursory glance, contraceptives are mentioned in a line and that is the extent of it. This is just a part of sex education. It doesn’t cover a lot of other topics. This is a major problem.

According to UNICEF, 47% of the girls are married before 18 years of age and 28.5% of women give birth to their first child before that age. (Mentioned in a United Nations Population Fund report). Almost none of them have any basic idea about sexual and reproductive health, birth control and healthy sexual habits. For years together the only aspect of sex education the government has been focused on is population control. This doesn’t even cover a minor part of sex education.

This mindset is changing slightly as result of private workshops being setup in many urban areas, but it is not enough.
If we want the present generation and the next generation to live a safe and secured life, there is a need for a comprehensive sex education at home and in school dealing with the psychological, physiological and social issues pertaining to sex and reproduction.

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 40^th Foundation Day, here.The technologies released included:

1. Improved bee hive for quality and hygienic extraction of honey,  CSIR-IHBT, Palampur
2. Technology for manufacturing of Ginger paste,  CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore
3. Dehumidified drier for food and agri products,  CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram; and
4. 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 4^thJune, 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.”

The closing ceremony of the 3rd Rashtriya Poshan Maah which was celebrated from 7th – 30th September this year was held today through virtual mode. Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, being the nodal Ministry for POSHAN Abhiyaan, coordinated the celebration of the Poshan Maah in convergence with partner Ministries and departments, at National, States/UTs, Districts, and grass root level. Identification of Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) Children and their management and plantation of Poshan Vaatikas- Nutri gardens, were undertaken as focus activities during the Poshan Maah, along with awareness generation regarding importance of early breast feeding, need for good nutrition during first 1000 days of life, measures for reducing anaemia in young women and children etc.

Addressing the webinar organized to mark the occasion, Union Minister of State for Women & Child Development Sushri Debasree Chaudhuri appreciated the celebration of the Poshan Maah while observing adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. She said that while the Covid pandemic has posed many challenges to promoting maternal and child nutrition, growth monitoring and detection of malnutrition, frontline workers have not only risen to the occasion to provide essential services but also observed Poshan Maah 2020. She stressed that the Hon’ble Prime Minister has repeatedly emphasized on the importance of maintaining good nutrition and health as also on how it could be achieved by consuming local diets. The Minister expressed hope that the efforts to realize the mission of Suposhit Bharat will continue at the same speed even after the Poshan Maah.

Earlier, Secretary, Women & Child Development, Government of India, Shri Ram Mohan Mishra in his welcome address, said that the Hon’ble Prime Minister has fixed the target of Kuposhan Mukt Bharat which requires the contribution of citizens, government departments and social organizations at the national, state and local levels. Conveying the appreciation of Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Textiles Smt Smriti Zubin Irani at the outstanding contributions by various organizations and individuals throughout the month, he said that Poshan Maah activities are just a beginning and need to be upscaled further to achieve the target.

Representatives of various Central Government ministries like Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Health & Family Welfare, Department of School Education and States/UTs like Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Gujarat and Mizoram gave an overview of the activities conducted by them during Poshan Maah 2020. Joint Secretary, Women & Child Development Smt Aastha S. Khatwani gave a presentation on the activities and initiatives undertaken during the Poshan Maah 2020.

The Naval Investiture Ceremony – 2020 for Western Naval Command (WNC) was held at INS Shikra on 30 Sep 20.  Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar ,Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command presented gallantry and distinguished  service awards to recipients. The FOC-in-C (West) also presented Unit Citations  to selected Units for their contributions in the past year.

The investiture ceremony commenced with a 50 men Guard of Honour inspected by Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar  followed by the award of 12 medals which included one  Bar to Nausena Medal (Gallantry), three Nausena Medals (Gallantry), three Nausena Medals  (Devotion to Duty), three Vishisht Seva Medals , one Capt Ravi Dhir Memorial Gold Medal for promoting Flight Safety and one Jeevan Raksha Padak for displaying courage and alacrity in saving life.

The C-in-C also presented Unit Citations to INS Hansa and INS Sindhuvijay and acknowledged the contribution of all the family members of the awardees for their unstinted support to the service personnel in performance of their duty.

The Government had in December 2019 prescribed that the GST Taxpayers having aggregate annual turnover more than Rs. 100 crore in any preceding Financial Year will be required to issue e-invoice for all the Business to Business (B2B) supplies, in the manner prescribed under rule 48(4) of the CGST Rules, 2017 w.e.f. 1^st April 2020. Further, it was also mandated under rule 48 (5) of the CGST Rules, 2017 that a B2B  invoice or an export invoice issued by such a taxpayer, in any other manner, shall not be treated as an invoice.

In March 2020, the date of implementation of e-invoice was extended to 1^st October 2020. Keeping in view the hardships faced by the taxpayers due to COVID-19 lockdown, in July 2020, it was further prescribed that the taxpayers having aggregate turnover of Rs. 500 crore and above only would be required to issue e-invoice w.e.f. 1^st October 2020.

It has been reported that even after more than 9 months of the first notification in this regard, some of these taxpayers having aggregate turnover of Rs. 500 crore and above are still not ready. Accordingly, as a last chance, in the initial phase of implementation of e-invoice, it has been decided that the invoices issued by such taxpayers during October 2020 without following the manner prescribed under rule 48(4),  shall be deemed to be valid and the penalty leviable under section 122 of the CGST Act, 2017, for such non-adherence to provisions, shall stand waived if  the Invoice Reference Number (IRN) for such invoices is obtained from the Invoice Reference Portal (IRP) within 30 days of date of invoice.

The same is illustrated with an example: In case a registered person has issued an invoice dated 3^rd October, 2020 without obtaining IRN but reports the details of such invoice to IRP and obtains the IRN of the invoice on or before 2^nd November, 2020, then it shall be deemed that the provisions of rule 48 (5) of the CGST Rules, 2017 are complied with and the penalty imposable under section 122 of the CGST Act, 2017 shall also stand waived. Relevant notifications would follow.

It may be noted that no such relaxation would be available for the invoices issued from 1^st November 2020 and such invoices issued in violation of rule 48(4) of the CGST Rules 2017 would not be valid and all the applicable provisions of CGST Act and Rules would apply for the said violation. 

Hardeep Puri to release Compendium & Dynamic GIS portal showcasing innovative practices for effective SWM

Document on response of Indian Cities towards COVID-19 : Sanitation perspective to be released

Session on experience sharing of past six years by states/cities & chalking out next steps towards a Swachhatam Bharat

4,327  URBAN LOCAL BODIES (ULBS) declared ODF so far under SBM-U

66 Lakhs individual household toilets & over 6 lakhs community/ public toilets completed

1,319 cities certified ODF+ & 489 cities certified ODF++ so far

59,900 toilets across 2900+ cities made live on Google maps

97% of wards have complete door-to door collection under SWM

77% of wards have source segregation of waste while 67% of total waste generated is being processed –jump of nearly 4 times over 2014 levels of 18% processing.

Indore, Ambikapur, Navi Mumbai, Surat, Rajkot and Mysuru rated as 5-Star Cities, 86 Cities as 3-Star and 64 Cities as 1-Star, as per MOHUA’s star rating protocol for garbage free cities

12 crore citizens participated in Swachh Survekshan 2020

Emphasis on dignified livelihoods to all sanitation workers and informal waste pickers in line with Mahatma’s vision of ensuring equality and inclusion for all sections of society

Over 84,000 informal waste pickers integrated into mainstream while over 5.5 lakh sanitation workers linked to various welfare schemes

More than 150 Workshops conducted for capacity building with participation of over 6,000 officials from over 3,200 ULBs

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is celebrating the sixth anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) by organizing a webinar titled ‘Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal’ on 2^nd October 2020.  The day, which also marks the 151^st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, will focus on celebrating the achievements of the past six years under the Mission along with experience sharing by States and cities and partner organizations. Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C), MoHUA will chair the Webinar on the occasion along with Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA and Shri Kamran Rizvi, Additional Secretary, MoHUA.

The Minister will release a compendium and a dynamic GIS portal showcasing innovative practices for effective solid waste management (SWM) practices from across India. Alongside, a document on Response of Indian Cities Towards Covid-19: A Sanitation Perspective prepared by NIUA, ‘Frontline Stories of Resilience: India’s Sanitation Champions’ – a collection of inspirational stories of sanitation workers compiled by the National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM) Alliance and a Toolkit for Safety of Sanitation Workers prepared by Urban Management Centre (UMC) will also be released by the Ministry.

The second half of the session will focus on experience sharing of the past six years by select States and cities and chalking out the next steps towards a Swachhatam Bharat. The event will be an opportunity for all stakeholders to learn from each other and envision the next phase of the Mission. 

Since its launch in 2014, SBM-U has made significant progress in the area of both sanitation and solid waste management.  4,327 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have been declared ODF so far. This has been made possible through construction of more than 66 lakhs individual household toilets and over 6 lakhs community/ public toilets, far exceeding the Mission’s targets. The Mission is now focusing on holistic sanitation through its ODF+ and ODF++ protocols with a total of 1,319 cities certified ODF+ and 489 cities certified ODF++ as on date. Additionally, over 59,900 toilets across 2900+ cities have been made live on Google Maps. In the area of solid waste management, 97% of wards have complete door-to door collection, 77% of wards have source segregation of waste while 67% of the total waste generated is being processed – a jump of nearly 4 times over 2014 levels of 18% processing. A total of 6 cities (Indore, Ambikapur, Navi Mumbai, Surat, Rajkot and Mysuru) have been rated as 5-star cities, 86 cities as 3-Star and 64 cities as 1-Star, as per MoHUA’s Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities. Moreover, from being a government program, the Mission has transformed into a people’s movement, a true ‘Jan Andolan’ with participation of over 12 crore citizens being recorded in Swachh Survekshan 2020, the last edition of the annual cleanliness survey conducted by MoHUA.  The Mission has also laid great emphasis on providing dignified livelihoods to all sanitation workers and informal waste pickers which is directly in line with Mahatma’s vision of ensuring equality and inclusion for all sections of society. To this end, the Mission has successfully integrated over 84,000 informal waste pickers into the mainstream while over 5.5 lakh sanitation workers have been linked to various welfare schemes under the Government.

Capacity building of officials and staff of ULBs has been an integral part of the Mission. As part of this endeavor, the Ministry, with the help of National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) has conducted over 150 workshops across India witnessing the participation of over 6,000 officials representing over 3,200 ULBs.

Swachh Bharat Mission, the flagship program of the Government of India, was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 2^nd October 2014 from Rajghat, New Delhi and aimed to achieve the vision of a ‘Clean India’ by 2^nd October 2019, the 150^th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. The urban component of the Mission which is being steered by MoHUA had the broad objectives of making urban India open defecation free (ODF) along with modern and scientific waste management through large scale behavior change among citizens.

With a very high number of COVID patients recovering every single day, India’s steady trend of posting high level of daily recoveries also continues. 85,376 recoveries have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country.

India’s total recoveries stands at 52,73,201 today. Higher number of single day recoveries have resulted in continuous increase in the national recovery rate, which is currently pegged at 83.53%.

The rise in total recovered cases has been steep. The last 10 lakh recoveries were added in just 12 days.

77% of the total recovered cases are recorded in 10 States/UTs.

Maharashtra has contributed the highest number to the total recovered cases followed by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

A total of  86,821 new confirmed cases have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country.

76% of the new cases are concentrated in ten states. Maharashtra contributed more than 18,000 to the new cases. Karnataka and Kerala, both contributed more than 8,000.