Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi shall inaugurate Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra, an interactive experience centre on the Swachh Bharat Mission, on 8th August, 2020. A tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra (RSK) was first announced by the Prime Minister on 10th April 2017, on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of Gandhiji's Champaran Satyagraha.
The installations at RSK will introduce future generations to the successful journey of world's largest behaviour change campaign, the Swachh Bharat Mission. A balanced mix of digital and outdoor installations in the RSK will impart information, awareness and education on Swachhata and related aspects. The complex interplay of processes and activities will be presented through assimilative learning, best practices, global benchmarks, success stories and thematic messages in an interactive format.
In Hall 1, the visitors will experience a unique 360° audio visual immersive show, which will narrate India's Swachhata Story - a journey into the largest behaviour change campaign in the history of the world. Hall 2 contains a series of interactive LED panels, hologram boxes, interactive games and much more, to tell the story of the work done to achieve Bapu’s vision of a Swachh Bharat. The open-air displays in the lawn adjacent to RSK will showcase three exhibits which are anecdotes from the journey of India from Satyagraha to Swachhagraha, The artistic wall murals around the Kendra also chronicle the core elements of the Mission's success.
After taking a tour of the RSK, Prime Minister will interact with 36 school students from Delhi, representing the 36 States and Union Territories, at the amphitheatre of the RSK, adhering to social distancing protocols. This will be followed by Prime Minister’s address to the nation.
The Swachh Bharat Mission has transformed rural sanitation in India and has changed the behaviours of over 55 crore people from open defecation to using a toilet. India has received high praise from the international community for this and we have set a precedent for the rest of the world to follow. The mission is now in its second phase, aiming to take India’s villages from Open Defecation Free (ODF) to ODF Plus, with a strong focus on sustaining ODF status and ensuring solid and liquid waste management for all.
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1644011
Following is the text of Prime Minister’s message on National Handloom Day.
"On National Handloom Day, we salute all those associated with our vibrant handloom and handicrafts sector. They have made commendable efforts to preserve the indigenous crafts of our nation. Let us all be #Vocal4Handmade and strengthen efforts towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat." https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1291583934057156608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1291583934057156608%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpib.gov.in%2FPressReleasePage.aspx%3FPRID%3D1643977
Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar flagged off the inaugural run of ‘Devlali-Danapur Kisan Rail’ today through Video Conference in the presence of Union Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal who presided over the function. Union Minister of Finance Smt Nirmala Sitharaman had made an announcement in the Union Budget 2020-21 to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, inclusive of milk, meat and fish and it was also stated that the Indian Railways will set up a Kisan Rail through PPP arrangements.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that Kisan Rail will help transport the produce of farmers to different parts of the country at a nominal cost, thus the farmer will benefit, this will help in achieving the vision of the Prime Minister of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022. Shri Tomar thanked Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi about his vision of strengthening the transportation network across the country with a special emphasis on the transportation of perishable goods in a time bound manner. He said that due to non-availability of transportation, the farmers are not getting remunerative price for their farm produce and appreciated the efforts of Ministry of Railways to start Kisan Rail in the wake of the difficult Covid pandemic situation. Addressing the gathering through video conference, the Agriculture Minister stated that the government is committed towards the welfare of farmers by building a seamless national cold supply chain for perishable products in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry sector. Mentioning that basic needs of farmers are being fulfilled by Kisan Rail, he expressed happiness that farmers activities have not been affected even during the Covid lockdown and all the activities related to harvesting of Rabi Crops and sowing of summer and Kharif Crops have progressed in a satisfactory manner.
Shri Piyush Goyal mentioned that the first rail was run in 1853 from Bori Bundar to Thane and now first Kisan Rail is being run in 2020 by Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The Government has launched PM KISAN scheme in which Rs. 6000/- are being given to farmers’ families and other many schemes/ programmes in order to double the farmers’ income. Ministry of Railways is also working for increasing food chain supply so that farmers could get higher prices for their crops.
The flagging off ceremony was held in the presence of Shri Suresh Angadi, Union Minister of State for Railways, Shri Raosaheb Danve, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Purshottam Rupala and Shri Kailash Choudhary, Union Ministers of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Shri Chhagan Bhujbal, Minister of Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Protection, Govt. of Maharashtra. The Secretary (AC&FW), Member Traffic (Ministry of Railways), and other officers of Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Ministry of Railways were present during the event.
In order to serve the purpose of the farming community of the country, Kisan Rail shall be trains with multi commodities, multi-consignors and multi consignees. These trains shall run between fixed Origin–Destination pairs with en-route stoppages, and loading/ unloading shall be permitted at any of the en-route stoppage. The Origin–Destination pairs, routes, stoppages, and frequency of the train shall be decided jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Ministry of Railways. Indian Railways will plan to run the trains accordingly.
The first-mile arrangements including aggregation of consignments through FPOs, warehousing, setting-up of temperature-controlled storages, etc. shall be coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare. MoA&FW will also promote startups in agri-infrastructure, promotion of new FPOs and strengthening of existing FPOs for backward integration. The Ministry will provide details of Production Centres on the Kisan Special Routes along with seasonality of produce. MoA&FW shall also ensure that information regarding Kisan Rail is duly disseminated among all the stake-holders, such as mandis, farmers’ co-operatives, NGOs, etc. Action required for ensuring that adequate back-end infrastructure is available shall also be ensured by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare.
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1644088
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a GMR Group-led consortium, today announced that it has developed a first-of-its-kind portal where India-bound international arriving flyers can fill the mandatory self-declaration form and also apply online for exemption from mandatory institution quarantine process. The online forms have been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of External Affairs and Governments of various states and union territories including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttrakhand and Madhya Pradesh among others. As per the MoCA guidelines, this facility will be available for all international arriving passengers from August 8, 2020.
This will help in making passengers’ journey more convenient and comfortable in a contactless way as they won’t have to fill the physical copies of the forms on arrival. Delhi Airport continues to be a hub for international travel. With India establishing air bubble with several countries, the number of international arrivals is likely to go up. Then, this new online self-declaration & quarantine exemption portal will prove to be beneficial for the government officials in taking a swift and informed decision on granting exemption or know the latest health condition of the international arriving passenger.
Passengers seeking exemption under the five specific categories will need to fill the e-form available on the website of Delhi Airport “www.newdelhiairport.in”. They will have to submit it along with supporting documents, including copy of their passports, at least 72 hours before boarding their flights. However, there is no such time capping for passengers filling for the Self-Declaration form.
This process will help passengers avoid the hassle of providing the same set of information and documents to different authorities multiple times as online portal has the smart option to autofill the second application using the previous application’s request number. All applications will get auto-routed to the respective state government depending upon the first port of arrival. Similarly, all self-declaration applications will be routed to Airport Health Organization (APHO), under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
A copy of approval or rejection of exemption requests on specific grounds will be emailed to the passengers. Those who would be given exemption from mandatory institutional quarantine can show the same at transfer area after landing at Delhi Airport, and walk out of the airport hassle-free. This process would not only help the flyers, who can seek exemptions, but also the authorities in completing the requisite formalities faster, and reduce congestions at the arrival hall of the Airports.
Passengers would be considered for exemption only if they fall under any one of the five exempted categories - Pregnant women, Suffered a death in the family, Suffering from serious illness (Description to be provided), Parents accompanied by children below 10 years and Covid-19 negative in recent RT-PCR test. Airlines may also notify passengers at the time of reservation that the receiving Indian State Government(s) may authorize exemptions from institutional quarantine for five specific categories on a case-to-case basis.
Commenting on this development, Mr. Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO-DIAL, said “Covid-19 has certainly changed the way Delhi Airport operates. The focus of our activities remains on the safety and convenience of our passengers. Keeping in view the inconvenience faced by arriving international passengers during this pandemic situation, Delhi Airport has associated with the Government of India to take an initiative that is crucial for the well-being of all international arriving passengers, who are waiting to come back to India. Having an approved exemption form will not only ease the quarantine process, but also mitigate the problem of inordinate delay while queuing up for quarantine process. Further, passengers can also avoid the hassle of the filling physical copies of the self-declaration twice.”
Ms Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA, appreciated the Delhi Airport’s initiative and said, “It’s been a while since International repatriation service resumed in India. Passengers are planning to travel for various reasons on limited international flights during the pandemic. MoCA appreciates Delhi Airport’s contribution in helping digitize and streamline this process of health self-declaration and exempting passengers. E-platform prepared by DIAL would be used by all airports in the country & help the States/ health authorities to fast track the process of clearances for international arrivals. This will further facilitate to scale up the number of flights handled at Indian airports.”
As per the current government mandate, all passengers arriving by international flights in India must undergo seven days institutional quarantine at their own cost, followed by seven days of home quarantine. It is mandatory for international arriving passengers to undergo health screening by APHO. This includes thermal temperature screening by discreetly mounted, highly accurate, mass screening cameras.
About DIAL
The GMR Group led, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) is a consortium; comprising of GMR Group, Airports Authority of India and Fraport. The consortium has a mandate to finance, design, build, operate and maintain the Delhi Airport for 30 years with an option to extend it by another 30 years. It has truly proven to be a shining example of Public Private Partnership (PPP). The Airport has been adjudged as the best airport by size and region (over 40 MPPA in Asia Pacific) by Airports Council International (ACI) in the Airport Service Quality Program for 2019. DIAL completed the modernization of Delhi’s IGI Airport including the commissioning of Terminal 3 (T3) - India’s largest building post-independence, in a record time of 37 months.
The Passenger Terminals managed by DIAL are recognized for their state-of-the-art infrastructure, design and operational efficiency. T3 serves as a hub for many carriers and has truly redefined the way Indian passengers fly. Delhi Airport is a leading Indian airport both in Passenger and Cargo capabilities with an annual traffic of 69.8 mppa in 2018. DIAL lays strong emphasis on green sustainable technologies and has won numerous awards and recognitions for the environmental sustainability initiatives. For further details visit http://www.newdelhiairport.in
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan today interacted with media through video conference, where he briefed media about the progress of the major ongoing schemes- Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana-1 & 2, Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and One Nation One Ration Card of the Department of Food & Public Distribution.The main aim of these centrally sponsored schemes is to provide food grains and pulses/chana to all PDS and Non-PDS card holders, migrant labourers and those who are not covered under any food grain scheme, so that the poor and vulnerable beneficiaries under NFSA and other welfare schemes do not suffer on account of the non-availability of food grains during the unprecedented time of crisis.He also shared the data related to these schemes like details of dispatch,lifting and distribution of food grains and chana/pulses among beneficiarieswith the media persons.While praising the work of FCI and other organizations under DoFPD, he said sufficient food grains stock is available with FCI. He said that officials should randomly check the food grains distribution work at grassroot level and organize conferences at local level to deal with any complaint related to food grains distribution received from beneficiaries.
One Nation One Ration Card
While briefing the media,Shri Paswan informed thatfourmore States/UT namely Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Nagaland and Uttarakhand have been integrated in national portability with existing 20 States/UTs on 1st August 2020. Now a total of 24 States/UTs are connected under One Nation One Ration Card scheme. He said with this, about 65 crores (80%) of total NFSA population is now potentially enabled for receiving food grains anywhere in these States/UTs through national portability of ration cards. He hoped that remaining States/UTs will be integrated in national portability by March 2021. Referring to incident of deletion of names from nearly 2.98 lakh ration cards, Shri Paswan said that the States/ UTs should include their names and provide them with ration cards, if their names are deleted by mistake. He said, DoFPD is receiving positive feedback from States/UTs and other Stakeholders for One Nation One Ration Card scheme and urged that States and UTs should fully implement this scheme so that the ration card holder will get their share of food grains without any delay and difficulty.
The 24 States/UTs are namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
NFSA Scheme:
The Minister said under NFSA scheme, food grains (Wheat/Rice/Coarse Grains) are provided on subsidized rates to around 81 crore NFSA card holders. He said that the Government of India is bearing 91% financial burden of the scheme,while States/UTs share only 9% financial burden of this scheme. He reiterated that States/UTs shouldalso acknowledge and inform beneficiaries while distributing the food grains under this scheme that these food grains are distributed with the help of central government sponsored scheme.
Total food grain stock:
While speaking about food grains distribution work,Shri Paswan said that in some States distribution of food grains has interrupted due to flood situation, he said States can lift their total allocated food grains quotaof NFSA and other welfare schemes from FCI at one go.
Further he added that as per Food Corporation of India report dated 06.08.2020, FCI currently has 241.47 LMT rice and 508.72 LMT wheat. Hence, a total of 750.19 LMT food grain stock is available. About 95 LMT food grains is required for a month under NFSA, PMGKAY and other welfare schemes.
He said since lockdown, about 139.97 LMT food grains have been lifted and transported through 4999 rail rakes. In July 2020, 42.39 LMT food grains have been lifted and transported through 1514 rail rakes. Since lockdown, 191.83 LMT food grains have been lifted and transported through 6851 rail rakes.
He said, apart from the rail route, transportation was also done through roads and waterways.Total 285.07 LMT food grains have been transported to other parts of the country and 13.89 LMT food grains has been transported to the North-Eastern States till 30th June 2020. A total of 87.62 LMT food grains has been transported to other parts of the country and total 3.85 LMT food grains have been transported to the North-Eastern States since in July 2020. Since lockdown, total 384.83 LMT to other parts of the country and 18.26 LMT food grains to North EasternStates.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana-1
As informed under the PMGKAY-1, for the 3 months April, May and June 2020, a total of 119.5 LMT food grains (104.3 LMT rice and 15.2 LMT wheat) was required of which 101.51 LMT rice and 15.01 LMT wheat have been lifted by various States and UTs. Shri Paswan informed that total of 117.08 LMT food grains has been lifted. In the month of April 2020, 37.50 LMT (94 %) food grains have been distributed to 75.0 crore beneficiaries, in May 2020, total 37.43 LMT (94%) food grains distributed among 75.0 crores beneficiaries and in the month of June 2020, 36.54 LMT (92%) food grains have been distributed to 73.0 crores beneficiaries (distribution for June month is still on). Total average distribution in three months is around 93.5 percent.
As regards Pulses, Shri Paswan said the total requirement for the three months was 5.87 LMT. So far, 5.83 LMT Pulses have been dispatched to States/UTs and 5.80 LMT have reached the States/UTs, while 5.23 LMT pulses have been distributed. Total average distribution in three months is around 90 percent.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana-2:
Food grain (Rice/Wheat):
Since 01 July 2020, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana 2 has been started, which will continue till November 2020. During this period, a total of 201 LMT food grains will be distributed among 81 crore beneficiaries, as well as a total of 12 LMT whole chana will be distributed among 19.4 crore families.
Shri Paswan while briefing about PMGKAY-2, the Minister informed that total of 201.08 LMT (40.27LMT/per month) food grains have been allocated for PMGKAY-2 to States and UTs for the 5 months period from July to November 2020. This includes 91.14 LMT wheat and 109.94 LMT rice. A total of 49.82 LMT food grains have been lifted and 25.66 LMT food grains have been distributed by States/UTs. In the month of July 2020, total 24.94 LMT (62%) food grains have been distributed among 49.87 crore beneficiaries and in August, 2020 total 72,711 MT(1.8%) food grains have been distributed among 1.45 crore beneficiaries(distribution for month of July and August is still on) by States/UTs. The Government of India is bearing 100% financial burden of approximately Rs. 76,062 crores of PMGKAY-2 scheme. Wheat has been allocated to 4 States and UTs, rice has been allocated to 15 States/UTs and both rice and wheat have been allocated to the remaining 17 States/UTs.
Chana:
As regards to chana, the Minister informed that the total requirement for the next five months is 9.70 LMT. A total of 2.10 LMT chana dal has been dispatched and out of this1.56 LMT chana dal has been reached the States/UTs.He Said about 11,979 MT chana has been distributed among beneficiaries by States/UTs. The Government of India is bearing 100% financial burden of approximately Rs 6849 crore under this scheme. He said total of 10.01 LMT pulses (Toor-5.24 LMT, Moong-1.12 LMT, Urad-2.10 LMT, Chana-1.27 LMT and Masur-0.27 LMT ) is available in the stock as on 06.08.2020. Around 27.72 LMT chana is available in PSS stock and 1.27 LMT chana is available in PSF stock.
Food grain distribution to migrant labourers: (Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan)
Under Atma Nirbhar Bharat package, Government of India had decided that 8 LMT food grains will be provided to projected 8 crore migrant labourers, stranded and needy families, who are not covered under NFSA or State scheme PDS cards. 5 kg of food grain per person was to be distributed free of cost for the months of May and June to all migrants. Shri Paswan informed the media that under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the states and UTs have lifted 6.39 LMT of food grains. States and UTs have distributed 2.46 LMT of food grains to (in May 2.42 crore and in June 2.51 crore) beneficiaries.
The Government of India also approved 39,000 MT chana for projected 1.96 crore migrant families. An estimated 8 crore migrant labourers, stranded and needy families, who are not covered under NFSA or State scheme PDS cards would be given 1 kg of gram/dal per family for the month of May and June for free. This allocation of gram/dal is being done according to the need of the states. The Minister informed that around 33,745 MT chana have been dispatched to the states and UTs. A total 33,388 MT chana has been lifted by various States and UTs. Total 15,681 MT chana has been distributed by the states and UTs. The Government of India is bearing 100% financial burden of approximately Rs. 3,109 crores for food grain and Rs 280 crores for gram under this scheme.
Food grain Procurement:
Shri Paswan while briefing informed that as on 06.08.2020, total 389.81 LMT wheat (RMS 2020-21) and 752.96 LMT rice (KMS 2019-20) were procured.
In his concluding remarks, Shri Paswan praised the role of Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Shipping and applauded the performance ofFCI, CWC, CRWC, State Warehouses and State and UTs civil supplies department /corporation , their officers and employees as they all worked in perfect coordination to make food grain distribution possible in the difficult time of covid-19 pandemic.
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1644148
0 Comments