Tag: Institutions

United Service Institution of India to organise Annual UN Forum 2023 on ‘International Humanitarian Law & Peacekeeping’ in New Delhi

 United Service Institution of India (USI), the country’s oldest think-tank established in 1870 for research and debate on national security and military affairs, is organising its Annual UN Forum 2023 in New Delhi in November 21-22, 2023. The forum on ‘International Humanitarian Law and Peacekeeping’ is being organised in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Centre for UN Peacekeeping Operations.

With contemporary UN peacekeeping missions increasingly being deployed in volatile environments characterised by asymmetric warfare, ensuring adherence to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) principles has become critical. However, applying IHL norms presents challenges arising from the complexity of modern conflicts, actions by non-state actors and blurred lines between combatants and civilians in urban battlespaces.

Against this background, the forum aims to discuss the applicability and limitations of implementing IHL frameworks in UN peace operations through an interactive, multi-stakeholder approach. The sessions will enable a deeper examination of some of the contemporary issues like the protection of civilians, accountability for crimes against peacekeepers, the role of women in peacekeeping operations, and leveraging technology for more effective operations.

The forum will involve insightful perspectives presented by both academicians and practitioners who have first-hand experience of peacekeeping challenges. Keynote addresses will be delivered by senior officials from the Indian Armed Forces and the Ministry of External Affairs. The forum will be held over two days as under:

  • Session 1 will discuss application of IHL principles to peacekeeping given situations involving non-state actors and urban warfare.
  • Session 2 will analyse constraints to protection of civilian mandates and overcoming them by integrating IHL norms.
  • Session 3 will examine legal frameworks to ensure accountability when peacekeepers are targeted, and measures to enhance their protection.
  • Session 4 will focus on the importance of gender-inclusive peacekeeping and challenges for women peacekeepers.
  • Session 5 will discuss utilising technology for more effective peacekeeping through data analytics, AI and advanced surveillance.

The event will conclude with a plenary session aimed at consolidating takeaways for peacekeeping practitioners and providing recommendations to further informed discourse on IHL and its integration into UN peace operations. The dialogues during the forum can contribute to developing training modules and policy frameworks to make peacekeeping more effective while ensuring the rights and safety of peacekeepers and civilians.

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Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021

 Atal Rankings of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 will be virtually announced by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar on 29th December 2021.

ARIIA is a very unique joint initiative of Ministry of Education and AICTE to systematically rank higher educational institutions in India on indicators related to Innovation, Startup and Entrepreneurship Development amongst students and faculty. ARIIA critically evaluate institutions on parameters like patent filing and granted, number of registered students and faculty startups, fund generation by incubated startups, specialised infrastructure created by institutions to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, etc.

Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, highlighted said that India is constantly improving on Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking and has now moved upward to 46th position in 2021 from 81st in 2015. We have also emerged as world’s third largest startup hub but still we have huge scope for improvement, he added. He further said thatt AICTE firmly believes that in coming years, our technical institutes will become fountainhead of next generation technology driven start-ups if we can create a vibrant Innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. ARIIA ranking is a major attempt in that direction.

Dr. Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer of Ministry of Education said that the first edition of the ARIIA was launched in 2018 and it has given huge impetus for developing innovation ecosystem in our HEIs. He added that ARIIA-2021, has seen unprecedented participation as compared to earlier editions. This year 1438 institutions (including all IITs, NITs, IISc, etc.) participated as compared 674 HEIs during the 2nd edition of ARIIA (ARIIA-2020) last year. This is more than double as compared to 2nd edition and approximately 4 times as compared to the first edition.

ARIIA-2021 ranks will be announced in 9 separate categories which includes Centrally funded technical institutions (eg IITs, NITs, etc), State Universities, State standalone Technical colleges, Private universities, Private standalone technical colleges, non-technical government and private universities and institutions.