The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the extension of the term of the Commission to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes, by six months that is up to 31.7.2020.

The Cabinet has also approved addition of following Term of Reference to the existing Terms of Reference of the “Commission” –

“iv. to study the various Entries in the “Central List of OBCs and recommend correction of any repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription.”

Impact:

The Communities in the existing list of OBCs which have not been able to get any major benefit of the scheme of reservation for OBCs for appointment in Central Government posts & for admission in Central Government Educational Institutions are expected to be benefitted upon implementation of the recommendations of the Commission. The Commission is likely to make recommendations for benefit of such marginalized communities in the Central List of OBCs.

Financial Implications:

The expenditure involved are related to the establishment and administration costs of the Commission, which would continue to be borne by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Benefits:

All persons belonging to the castes/communities which are included in the Central List of SEBCs but which have not been able to get any major benefit of the existing scheme of reservation for OBCs in Central Government posts & for admission in Central Government Educational Institutions would be benefitted.

Implementation strategy and targets:

Orders for extension of the term of the Commission and addition in its Terms of Reference will be notified in the Gazette ‘in the form of an Order made by the President, after receipt of the approval of the Hon’ble President to the same.

Background:

The Commission was constituted under article 340 of the Constitution with the approval of President on 2^nd  October, 2017. The Commission, headed by Justice (Retd.) Smt. G. Rohini commenced functioning on 11th October, 2017 and has since interacted with all the Stats/UTs which have subcategorized OBCs, and the State Backward Classes Commissions. The Commission has come to the view that it would require some more time to submit, its report since the repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription etc appearing in the existing Central List of OBCs need to be cleared. Hence the Commission has sought extension of its term by six, that is upto 31st July 2020 and also addition in its existing Terms of Reference.

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The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the Model Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for unilateral/bilateral recognition of Certificates, pursuant to Regulation  1/10 of International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seafarers, 1978 as amended to be signed between the Directorate General of Shipping, Government of India and its counterparts in foreign countries, with the approval of Minister-in-charge of Shipping and the Minister of External Affairs.

Benefits

The unilateral MoU would facilitate unilateral recognition by another country of the certificates issued by the Directorate General of Shipping to Indian seafarers, without seeking similar recognition by India of the certificates issued by that country.

Indian Seafarers, therefore, will be eligible to be placed on ships under the flag of that country for employment, thus leading to increased employment opportunities. The proposed bilateral MoU will enable India and another country with which such an MoU may be entered, to mutually recognize maritime education and training, certificates of competency, endorsements, documentary evidence of training and medical fitness certificates, issued to the seafarers who are citizens of respective countries in accordance with the provisions of regulation 1/10 of the STCW Convention.

The bilateral MoU would therefore, make the seafarers of both the countries to be eligible for employment on ships of either party based on the certificates so recognized.  India being a seafarer supplying nation with large pool of trained seafarers will stand to be benefitted.

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The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the proposal of the Legislative Department for allowing the Election Commission to enter into Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia (ISIE) and the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission(PNGEC) for elections for cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration.

Impact:

The MOUs would promote bilateral cooperation, aimed at building technical assistance/ capacity support for the Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia (ISIE) and the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission(PNGEC) for elections for cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration, envisaging cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration and providing a leg-up to such bodies in conducting elections in their respective countries. This would also result in bolstering India’s international relations.

Background

The Election Commission has been participating in promoting cooperation in the field of election matters and electoral processes across the world with certain foreign countries and agencies by adopting the mode of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the concerned parties. The Election Commission, a constitutional body, conducts the largest electoral exercise in the world. It is the responsibility of the Election Commission to organise free and fair elections in the country of about 85 crore voters with diverse socio-political and economic backgrounds. In recent years, the role being played by the Election Commission ensures greater participation of people in political affairs. India, today, is considered as the world’s ‘largest’ democratic country. The success of democracy in India has attracted the attention of almost every political system around the world.

In its pursuit of excellence, the Election Commission has been receiving various proposals from foreign electoral bodies for developing bilateral relations in the field of election and matters connected therewith. The Election Commission forwarded a proposal to the Ministry of Law and Justice, Legislative Department relating to signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by it with the Election Commission of Maldives on cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration.

These MoUs contain standard articles/clauses which broadly express promotion of cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration including promotion of exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of organizational and technical development of electoral process; support in exchanging information, institutional strengthening and capacity building, training of personnel, holding regular consultations; etc.

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The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2020 today (January 22, 2020) at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Click here to see the List of awardees

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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the first PRAGATI meeting of the year 2020, today. It marked Prime Minister’s thirty-second interaction through PRAGATI – the ICT based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving Central and State governments.

In today’s PRAGATI meeting, PM discussed a total of eleven items, out of which nine are delayed projects. These nine projects, worth over Rs. 24,000 crores, are spread over nine states viz. Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh and three Union ministries. These include three from the Ministry of Railways, five from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and one from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Progress under insurance schemes- PMJJBY and PMSBY schemes reviewed

Prime Minister in the meeting, reviewed the performance with regard to in grievances related to insurance schemes under Department of Financial Services viz. ‘Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana’ (PMJJBY) and ‘Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana’(PMSBY).

Prime Minister also reviewed the progress under Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project- a comprehensive and integrated system for effective policing through e-Governance.

In the previous thirty-one PRAGATI interactions, Prime Minister has reviewed a total of 269 projects with a total investment of Rs. 12.30 lakh crores. Prime Minister has also reviewed the resolution of grievance redressal related to 47 government programmes and schemes across 17 diverse sectors.

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The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2020 today (January 22, 2020) at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Click here to see the List of awardees

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The following Recruitment Results have been finalized by the Union Public Service Commission during the month of December, 2019. The recommended candidates have been informed individually by post.

Click here for details

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Minister of State(I/C) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Kiren Rijiju said that the youth of J&K are full of capabilities but require opportunities to prove themselves. He stated this while addressing the Central Government’s special public outreach programme to disseminate information about the implementation of its policies and programmes for the overall development of Jammu and Kashmir and its people today at Suchetgarh, Jammu.

Emphasising that Article 370 was the real impediment towards the development of the erstwhile state, the Minister said that the youth of J&K have been deprived of sports opportunities in the past or otherwise the Union Territory of J&K would have been a great destination for sports.The minister said that participation in every sport would have been more from J&K if the sports infrastructure had been improved in the past. He said, “the day has come when all the pending approvals related to sports or infrastructure will be cleared by the central government and a new sunrise in the development will be shown to the UT of J&K”.

Shri Rijijuinformed that the government has decided to organize winter games at Gulmarg and Srinagar in February, and will also explore opportunities for water sports in the UT. He also said that the youth should take sports as a career so that India would be at the top of all the sports competitions in the world, be it Olympic Games or other competitions.

Referring to the special task force for Olympics constituted by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Minister said that the target has been set for Tokyo Olympics and Paris Olympics.He said, “We cannot be satisfied now with just 2 or 3 medals when this country has 65 percent youth population. The need of the hour is to bring in new changes in the sports, its infrastructure and training.” He also emphasised on the identification of the talent so that world champions could be made in India.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, the Minster said that India lives in villages and by this special public outreach programme, the whole cabinet has come to the doorsteps of common masses inside villages and blocks to meet people directly, listen to their grievances andreceive  their feedback so as to implement the centrally sponsored schemes efficiently. Shri Rijijureiterated that a new dawn of development would be set in the UT of J&K. He said people now should compare the pace of development before and after the abrogation of Article 370.

Earlier the Minister inaugurated a CFC building at Chakroi and a Sub Centre at Chak-Mullo being constructed under Border Area Development Cluster Programme. The Minister distributed sports kits to various youth clubs and also inaugurated a Kabaddi and a Volley ball tournament at sports stadium Chakroi.

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The Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya today participated in the High-level roundtable of UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) on the theme Access for all: Leveraging Innovations, Investments and Partnerships for Health at World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.

In a one-hour long discussion Shri Mandaviya stated that, “Health needs to be accessible for all and innovative technologies and solutions can play a key role, including in bridging economic inequalities”.  Shri Mandaviya is on a Four-day official visit to Davos to attend World Economic Forum.

The Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya attended the High-level roundtable of UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) at World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland today.

Shri Mansukh Mandaviya in the High-level roundtable discussed about what Government of India has done for Health Access to All in the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He mentioned various schemes initiated by Government of India for ‘Creating a Healthy India’. He deliberated about the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat) – the largest healthcare programme in the world and Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana – to provide affordable quality medicines for all.

Earlier in 2015, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya had delivered his key-note address in United Nations on “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. In his address he mentioned  how Government of India is changing the scenario of health-sector, and the policy changes driven by Government for Affordable and Quality Health Access to All.

UNAIDS provides the strategic direction, advocacy, coordination and technical support needed to catalyse and connect leadership from governments, the private sector and communities to deliver life-saving HIV services. UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

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The Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya today participated in the High-level roundtable of UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) on the theme Access for all: Leveraging Innovations, Investments and Partnerships for Health at World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.

In a one-hour long discussion Shri Mandaviya stated that, “Health needs to be accessible for all and innovative technologies and solutions can play a key role, including in bridging economic inequalities”.  Shri Mandaviya is on a Four-day official visit to Davos to attend World Economic Forum.

The Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya attended the High-level roundtable of UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) at World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland today.

Shri Mansukh Mandaviya in the High-level roundtable discussed about what Government of India has done for Health Access to All in the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He mentioned various schemes initiated by Government of India for ‘Creating a Healthy India’. He deliberated about the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat) – the largest healthcare programme in the world and Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana – to provide affordable quality medicines for all.

Earlier in 2015, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya had delivered his key-note address in United Nations on “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. In his address he mentioned  how Government of India is changing the scenario of health-sector, and the policy changes driven by Government for Affordable and Quality Health Access to All.

UNAIDS provides the strategic direction, advocacy, coordination and technical support needed to catalyse and connect leadership from governments, the private sector and communities to deliver life-saving HIV services. UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

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The Union Minister of State (I/C) Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that three-tier teams should be set up for scientific research involving older and younger generations, so that continuity can be maintained in research work. He said that exhibitions should be organised with focus on educating the young students, so that they can choose science as a career in future. He was addressing at the inauguration of India’s first global Mega Science Exhibition “Vigyan Samagam” at National Science Centre, here today.

Dr Jitendra Singh congratulated the organisers for organising this exhibition, which is first of its kind initiative. He informed that this is fourth such exhibition after bring organised at Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. He said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has a natural temper for science and under his leadership the Government has taken various initiatives for the development of science and technology. He mentioned about the ‘Hall of Nuclear Energy’ that was set up in Pragati Maidan, Delhi and has attracted a lot of students. A Hall is being planned on similar lines for space technology, the Minister added. He also spoke about India’s Gaganyaan, Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan missions.

The Minister said that India has covered unimaginable journey in the field of space technology. India has become a frontline nation in the development of space technology, he said. Dr Singh said that the space technology has entered almost every household of country. Speaking about the diversified uses of space technology, he said that space technology is being used for unmanned railway tracks, smart city project, among others. He further said that a national meet was organised in Delhi where space experts held deliberations with various ministries and departments for enhanced utilisation of Space Technology in Governance and Development. Speaking about nuclear energy, the Minister said that India has used nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. He also emphasised that industry and other stakeholders should also be involved in the space technology so that issue related to lack of resources can be addressed.

Dr. R. Chidambaram, Former Principal Scientific Adviser to GoI, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) said that India, of our dream is India which is economically developed and scientifically advanced and our country is moving in that direction. He said that we need to build an excellent research, development and innovative eco-system, which provides our scientists and engineers an opportunity to excel in basic research, applied research, technology development and R&D-led innovation. We want to build advanced super structures, but advanced Mega Science and Mega Technology research and development projects can no longer be taken by a single country, he said. He further emphasized that international cooperation is needed and India is participating in such projects today as an equal partner. Such successful stories must be communicated to the young audience and Vigyan Samagam is exactly doing the same, Dr Chidambaram said.

Congratulating the joint organizers of Vigyan Samagam for organizing this Exhibition. Dr Paul Ho, a world – renowned Astrophysicist and Director General of East Asian Observatory shared his experience about the first image of a supermassive black hole, “The Event Horizon Telescope, a network of 8 radio telescopes, operating at millimeter-wavelengths, and spanning the surface of the earth, has successfully produced the first picture of a black hole. We achieved the highest angular resolution in astronomy by using the Very Long Baseline Interferometry. This Supermassive Black Hole, in the nucleus of the M87 galaxy, is the first case where we can resolve the event horizon, where even light itself cannot escape from the gravity of the black hole.”

Shri K. N. Vyas, Chairman, AEC and Secretary, DAE, said that it has been an exciting time during the entire journey of Vigyan Samagam and we are extremely proud to have the final edition in New Delhi. He said that our objective throughout the exhibition has been to showcase to the people of India, that how science can influence, specially our youngsters, in this changing world, which is beyond imagination. The distinct objective of organizing an exhibition of a global stature was to showcase the journey from the origin of the universe, the nature of particles we are made from and fundamental science, he said.

Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST) said that India is diligently preparing to be well versed in the area of innovations and experiments, the new generation is focused and will stop at nothing to secure a respectable position for India in world Science domain. The programmes at Vigyan Samagam will popularise science and technology among students and the people, he said.

During the exhibition, Science & Technology enthusiasts will witness the world-renowned Mega Science projects and listen to eminent scientists at the National Science Centre Delhi. Projects are being showcased by CERN, FAIR, INO, ITER, LIGO, MACE, SKA and TMT. Under the aegis of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), this prestigious science exhibition Vigyan Samagam is being jointly organised. These three organisations will be hosting some of the world’s biggest science projects under one roof. The capital will be marking the completion of this caravan event. The exhibition will be open to public till 20^th March, 2020.

The Exhibition is expected to ignite the minds of students, academia and industry to look for opportunities to pursue fundamental science and research as a strong career option. These projects will help our scientist to work and contribute to international collaborations on fundamental science and research. The Exhibition has themed galleries consisting of infographics, working models and exhibits, informative audio-visual content, electronic displays and interactive kiosks for each of the Mega Science Projects. A one-day scientific event comprising of invited talks and lectures by eminent speakers from the field of science, technology and Industry has been held at the NSC. As part of project awareness activities, each participating project will be carrying out a week-long activities consisting of popular talks, science demonstrations, interactive quiz programmes, etc.

The details about the exhibition, projects and schedule are available on the Vigyan Samagam website www.vigyansamagam.in and also on the mobile app Vigyan Samagam. Events such as talk shows, lectures planned during the Exhibition will be available in digital platforms and through popular social media platforms. The Exhibition will be open on all days including Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays till 20^th March 2020 from 10 am to 6 pm.

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The Union Minister for Law & Justice, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that the technology should be designed to make life easier and simpler. He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the 2nd Edition of NIC TechConclave 2020, organized by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), here today.

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the NIC should engage people from outside the system to have their views and advises to amend the system accordingly. He further said that we need a Government that has transformational change as a character. Technology has become the biggest enabler of governance for transformation, he added.

He advised the Technocrats to start dreaming big and try hard to concretize that dream into a reality and said that the technology is the biggest facilitator for that. If you have the vision, if you have the ambition, if you have the dream and if you have the commitment to concretize, things can happen, he added.

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Digital India has to be a transformational programme. We have the challenge to articulate the digital India and Digital India which is designed empower ordinary citizen into the power of technology, he said. Digital India is designed to bridge digital divide of haves and have-nots and Digital India must bring in digital inclusion, he added.

The Minister for Electronics and IT said that technology should be low cost, developmental and inclusive. He coined a new slogan that Digital India means technology from the Classes to the Technology for the masses. This conclave must find the emerging challenges and also the way out for it, he tasked.

Saying that more and more rural empowering missions must be thought of as a model of governance, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said that NIC has helped monitoring the Swachch Bharat Campaign in the country. Technology should be designed to fulfill the aspirations of the people, he added.

The Minister for Electronics and IT said that financial inclusion is supplementing digital inclusion which is going to be the roadmap of the future of our nation. Digital India should be supplemented by the digital inclusion, he added.

He hoped that a woman in a remote village with a Smartphone in her hand should get the bank in her hand. A good team of women entrepreneurs be formed in every village ranging from financial inclusion skilling, digital inclusion skilling to further empower them, he said.

Saying that India is waiting for a big revolution of financial inclusion, the Minister for Electronics and IT said that let the digital inclusion and financial inclusion must become the benchmark of India’s transformational governance.

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said that data is going to drive the Technology and governance. We all must understand the impact of data. He narrated five corners for Data – Data Availability, Data Utility, Data Innovation, Data Anonymity and Data Privacy. We need to have these five corners in mind while handling data, he said. India should become a big centre for Data refining process and NIC should work in that direction, he added.

The Secretary – MeitY, Shri Ajay Sawhney, the President, CISCO (India and SAARC), Shri Sameer Garde, the Director General, NIC, Dr. Neeta Verma and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

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The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, in its first meeting of 2020 met today to consider a number of new and ongoing proposals for procuring critically needed platforms and equipment for the Armed Forces.

To promote indigenisation, the DAC accorded approval for procurement of equipment worth over Rs 5,100 crore from indigenous sources. These include sophisticated Electronic Warfare Systems for the Army designed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured locally by the Indian industry. These systems will be used in deserts and plains and will provide comprehensive Electronic Support and Counter Measure capabilities to the field formations in both communication and other aspects of Electronic Warfare.

The DAC also approved prototype testing of trawl assemblies designed by DRDO for T-72 and T-90 tanks providing an important indigenous de-mining capability to the Army.

In another significant step, the DAC approved shortlisting of Indian Strategic Partners (SP) and the potential Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that would collaborate with SPs to construct six conventional submarines in India. This programme is being progressed under the ‘Strategic Partnership Model’, promulgated in 2017 to give a major boost to ‘Make in India’ in Defence Sector. The Strategic partner is expected to play a transformational role in building an eco-system in the country, comprising development entities, specialised vendors and suppliers; especially those from the MSME sector. SP Model also aims at promoting India as a manufacturing hub for defence equipment, in addition to establishing an industrial and R&D eco-system capable of meeting the future requirements of the Armed Forces besides giving boost to exports.

The DAC also accorded approval for inclusion of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) in Defence Procurement Procedure. This would provide avenues in capital procurement for the Armed Forces to startups and innovators working for iDEX and provide huge fillip to their budding efforts.

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Indian Navy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Geological Survey of India (GSI) for ‘Sharing of seabed sediments data, products and expertise for Naval Application in Meteorology and Oceanography’. The MoU was signed today between Commodore AA Abhyankar, who heads Indian Navy’s Oceanology and Meteorology Directorate and Shri N Maran, Deputy Director General of GSI.

GSI’s Marine and Coastal survey Division based at Mangaluru has mapped most of India’s 2.1 Million km2  Exclusive Economic Zone and has a vast repository of offshore data. This data collected using GSI’s state-of-the-art oceanic research vessels Samudra Manthan, Samudra Kaustubh, Samudra Shaudhikama and Samudra Ratnakar, will now be used by Indian Navy’s rapidly growing blue water fleet for reliable and accurate oceanographic modeling to support their expansive maritime operations in the Indian Ocean region

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Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry will showcase a tableau on Startup India in this year’s Republic Day Parade at Rajpath in New Delhi. The tableau on the theme Startups: Reach for the Sky will showcase stages of the lifecycle of a startup and the all-round support provided by the Government in this journey. The tableau will depict how ideas come to life and how the innovations that emerge positively affect lives of the citizens of India.

The front of the tableau depicts a creative mind, full of ideas to solve real world problems. The Startup India Tree, in the middle, represents the different kinds of support given to startups. The staircase denotes the stages of growth – proving a concept, creating a prototype, preparing a business plan, building a team, launching into markets and eventually scaling up. The wheel at the rear depicts sectors of economy where Indian entities have driven economic growth and created employment opportunities on a large scale. The map of India represents the spread of the startup movement, steadily reaching the semi-urban and rural areas. The wheel and the map together depict the width and the depth of the Startup India movement in the country.

Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to build a strong ecosystem to nurture innovation, drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities. The objective of Startup India is to inspire and motivate the youth of India to follow their dreams to generate wealth and become job creators and not just job seekers.

The Startup India Action Plan, launched on 16^th of January 2016, has stirred entrepreneurial spirit across the country. Under the Startup India Scheme, eligible companies can get recognized as startups by DPIIT in order to access a host of tax benefits, easier compliance, IPR fast tracking and other benefits. More than 26,000 startups from 551 districts of 28 States and 7 Union Territories have been recognized in this period. Working across IT, Industry 4.0, education, healthcare, agriculture, energy, finance, space, defence and all other sectors of economy, Indian startups have attracted substantial global investments and created more than 2,91,000 jobs.

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