The 5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS), organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga)began today with the theme of comprehensive analysis and holistic management of local rivers and water bodies with focus on Arth Ganga - river conservation synchronised development.
The summit was inaugurated by the Jal Shakti Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. He said that NamamiGange is one of the largest, holistic and successful river conservation programs in the country which is laying down a model framework for river rejuvenation. The decisions in this program are based on studying the unsatisfactory results of previous programs. Sharing his Government’s vision to establish an eco-system where economic development goes hand-in-hand with ecological conservation, he said, “This summit is aimed at discussing and disseminating the needs for the modalities of embracing Arth Ganga and the vision ofthe Prime Minister in sectors that closely interweave with river conservation.” Speaking about knowledge transfer and experience sharing between countries he said, “The 5th IWIS will forge greater interaction between investors and stakeholders in the water sector and promote international cooperation between India and many foreign countries for water and river management.”
MOS, Ministry of Jal Shakti , Shri Ratan Lal Kataria stressed that the Government is working towards sustainable development. “This can be seen from the fact that all the sewage treatment projects have been developed by keeping future capacity in mind,” he said.
Emphasizing the need for water use efficiency Shri. U. P. Singh, Secretary, Jal Shakti Ministry, said “There is huge scope of water conservation both at the demand side and supply side management and is.required to rejuvenate the river.” He proposed “5 Rs” for waste water management which are recycle, reuse, reduce, recharge (ground water) and respect for water.
Acknowledging the contribution of IITs in shaping and modelling theNamamiGange program, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, NMCG said, “As part of Gyan Ganga initiative, we are engaging with scientists and researchers at the national and international level, to gain from their knowledge and experience.” He shared that the Summit will try to discuss and address issues of Agriculture, Human Habitation, both urban and rural, on banks of rivers, Tourism, Energy and Flood Management. Prof. Vinod Tare, IIT Kanpur expressing their intentions to work towards implementation of the Prime Minister’s vision of Arth Ganga on the ground said, “River conservation itself is an economic activity giving employment to many and is contributing to the GDP.” He added that Ganga represents all rivers and water. Hence, learnings from Ganga rejuvenation would help in management of other rivers and water bodies also.
The summitIWIS which is organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studieswill continue till 15th December and will bring together various stakeholders to discuss, debate and develop model solutions to some of the biggest water related issues in the country.
"The media has an important role in dealing with anti-India forces. It is the responsibility of all of us, including the media persons, to ensure that our media is not misused by the anti-India forces against our own country." said Minister of State for DefenceShripadNaik at the valedictory function of media communication course organized by the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) for defence personnel on Thursday. On this occasion, the Director-General of IIMC Prof. Sanjay Dwivedi, Additional Director General (Administration) Shri K. Satish Namboodiripad and Additional Director General (Training) Smt. Mamta Varma were also present.
Speaking as the chief guest of the program, Mr. Naik said that today, when the trend of fake news and hate news is increasing, media literacy is needed by everyone. In this era of new media, media literacy is not only important for communicators, but for every section of society. He said that today, when almost everyone has a smartphone in their hands, the possibility of misuse of media has increased manifold and it can be controlled only through media literacy.
According to the Minister of State for Defence, Media literacy also helps us to counter the psychological warfare that we see today globally. We have to be alert from this psychological warfare being adopted as a tool by the anti-India forces. Rather, we have to learn how to use the media strength for the betterment of the country and the countrymen.
Shri Naik said that the courage, valor, commitment and dedication of the Indian defence forces are unparalleled. Even then there are elements in the country that are active round the clock to tarnish their image. We can counter all vicious campaigns against our defence forces by adopting the right media approach and utilising different media platforms in an organised manner.
On this occasion, the Director General of IIMC Prof. Sanjay Dwivedi said that today the whole world is facing corona epidemic. In this era of Corona, a word has become very popular and many of its results and consequences have also been seen. This word is 'Infodemic'. The term refers to the explosion of excessive information or colloquial information. He said that when it becomes difficult to choose from this excessive information, which information to believe and what not, such a situation gives rise to a discussion. And the name of this discussion is media and information literacy.
Prof. Dwivedi said that today fake news has become a big business in itself and digital media has also influenced it. In such a situation, the need for media literacy increases. The program was conducted by Mrs. Vishnupriya Pandey, who is handling these Media Communication Courses at IIMC as Course Coordinator.
IIMC organizes short term training courses related to media and communication for defence personnel every year. Officers from the Captain's level to Brigadier level take part in these courses. Due to Corona, this training program has been conducted online for the first time this year. This year information from folk media to new media and modern communication techniques has been provided to military officers. Apart from this, in the new media era, how the relations between army and media can be improved, its training has also been given to the officers.
Sources https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1679687
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said that the last date for submission of application forms for Haj 2021 has been extended up to 10th January 2021. Embarkation Points-wise estimated cost per Haj pilgrim has also been reduced. Shri Naqvi was addressing a press conference after chairing a meeting of Haj Committee of India at Haj House, Mumbai, today.
Shri Naqvi said that today, that is, 10th December 2020 was supposed to be the last date for submission of application forms for Haj 2021 and now it has been extended up to 10th January 2021. More than 40,000 applications have been received for Haj 2021 till now, including more than 500 applications under women without “Mehram” category.
More than 2100 women had applied for Haj 2020 under ‘without “Mehram” (male companion)’ category. These women will go to Haj 2021 as the application filled by them for Haj 2020 is valid for Haj 2021 also. Besides, new forms are also being accepted from the women, who want to perform Haj 2021 without “Mehram”. All the women under “without Mehram” category will be exempted from the lottery system. The people are applying online, offline and through Haj Mobile App.
Shri Naqvi said that after thorough discussions according to Embarkation Points and feedback received from Saudi Arabia; the Embarkation Points-wise estimated cost per Haj pilgrim has been reduced.
The estimated cost per Haj pilgrim after reduction is approximately Rs. 3,30,000/- for Ahmedabad and Mumbai Embarkation points; approximately Rs 3,50,000/- for Bengaluru, Lucknow, Delhi and Hyderabad Embarkation Points; approximately Rs 3,60,000/- for Cochin and Srinagar Embarkation Points; approximately Rs 3,70,000/- for Kolkata Embarkation Point and approximately Rs 4 lakh for Guwahati Embarkation Point.
Shri Naqvi said that national-international Protocol Guidelines due to Pandemic Position will be implemented and followed strictly during the Haj 2021. Shri Naqvi said that Haj 2021 is scheduled for June-July 2021, and the entire Haj process is being held according to the necessary guidelines issued by the Saudi Arabia Government and the Government of India in view of Corona Pandemic to ensure health and well-being of the people in India and Saudi Arabia.
Shri Naqvi said that the Haj 2021 process has been chalked out after deliberations among the Union Ministries of Minority Affairs, Health, External Affairs, Civil Aviation; Haj Committee of India, Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia and India’s Consul General in Jeddah and other agencies keeping in view all aspects of the pandemic challenges.
Shri Naqvi said that the arrangements for Haj 2021 have been made under special circumstances with special norms, rules and regulations, eligibility criteria, age restrictions, health and fitness requirements and other relevant conditions of the Saudi Arabia Government amid the Corona pandemic. The entire Haj travel process has been done with significant changes in view of the pandemic. These include accommodation, period of stay of pilgrims, transportation, health and other facilities both in India and Saudi Arabia. All the necessary guidelines for Haj 2021 amid Pandemic position from the Saudi Arabia Government will be implemented strictly. There may be changes in age criteria for performing Haj due to the Corona pandemic. Each pilgrim will have to undergo Corona test 72 hours before Haj journey as per prevailing international air travel protocol. Each pilgrim will have to submit a PCR test certificate issued by approved laboratory with a negative result before journey to Saudi Arabia.
In view of the Pandemic position and feedback received from Air India and other agencies, embarkation points for Haj 2021 have been reduced to 10. Earlier, there were 21 Haj embarkation points across the country. For Haj 2021, the 10 embarkation points are- Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Srinagar.
Ahmedabad embarkation point will cover entire Gujarat; Bengaluru will cover entire Karnataka; Cochin (Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar); Delhi (Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh; Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, western districts of Uttar Pradesh); Guwahati (Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland); Kolkata (West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Jharkhand, Bihar); Lucknow (all parts of Uttar Pradesh except western parts); Mumbai (Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli) and Srinagar embarkation point will cover Jammu-Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh-Kargil.
Senior officials of Union Ministry of Minority Affairs; Haj Committee of India CEO Shri M. A. Khan and other officials were present in the meeting today.
Sources https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1679640
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the three lane 1.5 km long Koilwar bridge over Sone river in Bihar through Video Conferencing today. A sum of Rs 266 crore has been spent on the bridge. The existing two lane bridge for both rail and road traffic is 138 years old. A six-lane bridge is being made in its place, of which, a three-lane carriageway has been opened for public. After completion of the other carriageway, the traffic on NH-922 and NH-30 will ease substantially. The bridge is major road for transport between Bihar and UP.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Gadkari announced that as proposed by the Chief Minister of Bihar Shri Nitish Kumar and local MP Shri Rajeev Pratap Rudy, the Ministry has approved a four-lane elevated road from Bharauli (Buxar) to Haidaria for providing connectivity to the Poorvanchal Expressway. The DPR for this 17-km-long link road will be ready by June next year. The Ministry has also approved the widening of 70-km Mokama- Munger road, for which DPR will be completed by April next. Similarly, work on widening of Muzzaffpur – Barauni road will start soon. The proposal of four-laning of Khagaria-Purnea road (NH-31) has also been approved and its DPR will be ready by the coming April. The four-laning of Muzaffarpur- Sitamarhi-Sonewarsha road (NH-77), which is part of Ramjanki Marg, will simplify the travel to Jakanpur Dham (Nepal), and its DPR will be ready May next year.
The Union Minister also referred to the proposals sent by Union Minister Shri R K Singh for development of road network in Bihar. He said, keeping in view his suggestions, a new alignment has been prepared for the Sasaram-Aarah-Patna Greenfield project. On the Aarah Ringroad, 90 per cent work will be covered by the existing three projects, he said. Union Minister of state (I/C) for Power and New and Renewable Energy Shri R K Singh, expressed happiness over the inauguration of bridge. He thanked the Prime Minister and Roadways Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari for transforming the Road and Highway landscape of the Arrah region of Bihar. He asked the Roadways minister to sanction Ring Road for Arrah by connecting Patna-Arrah-Sasaram Greenfield project with Patna Arrah-Buxar Road.
Shri Gadkari informed that road works worth Rs 30000 crore are ongoing in Bihar. A sum of Rs 4600 crore has been released for compensation against land acquisitions. Under the PM’s package, which involves 24 projects of 1459 Km, the work is on over 875 kms. Under this, tender for 125 km. has been issued and by next March tender will be released for another 459 kms. He said, under CRF works worth Rs. 2097 crore has been approved in the last six years in Bihar, against which Rs 1281 crore has been released till now.
The Minister informed that the 7-km four lane Koshi bridge worth Rs 1478 crore is likely to be completed by the year 2023. Tender the 4 km long Rs 1110 crore Vikramshila bridge has been issued and the construction likely to complete in 2024. The work on Buxar bridge, lying within the 48 km. road project, will be completed by the next year. This bridge will provide an alternative route of 250 km which takes 6 to 8 hours for travel. The tender for 6 km Rs 1900 crore Sahibganj bridge connecting Bihar and Jharkhand has been issued, and the construction is scheduled to complete by September 2024. Work on the remaining two-lane bridge over river Ganga in Patna will be completed by next year. A sum of Rs 1742 crore is being spent on reconstruction of this 5.5 km. bridge. He also announced the construction of a new four lane, five-km long bridge over Ganga near the existing bridge in Patna, for which an agreement has been signed in this October. This will be a unique bridge with 242 metre span facilitating movement of large ships under it. He added that the Ramjanaki Marg is being constructed between Ayodhya and Janakpuri (Nepal), of which 240 kms. is in Bihar worth Rs. 2700 crore. He said, work on 177 kms will be completed by June next year. The balance 63m kms will start in March 2021.
The event was attended by Chief Minister Shri Nitin Kumar, Deputy CMs Shri Tarkishore Prasad and Smt Renu Devi, Union Ministers Shri R K Singh and Gen (Dr) V K Singh, several Ministers of the State, Senior officers of the Centre and the State.
Sources https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1679630
The clarion call made by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to all Indians of Fitness Ka Dose Aadha Ghanta Roz has received praise from the World Health Organisation. In a tweet, WHO said, "WHO applauds India's initiative on promoting physical activity through its campaign Fitness Ka Dose Aadha Ghanta Roz."
The campaign launched as part of the nation-wide Fit India Movement by Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju on December 1, has gained the support of celebrities from different fields - Bollywood, sportspersons, writers, doctors, fitness influencers, among others, who have enthusiastically urged Indians to follow the basic mantra of 30 minutes of fitness every day.
Badminton World Champion and Olympic Medalist PV Sindhu tweeted "Fitness is a huge part of my life and this is the chance for everyone to come together and unite for this great movement!"
Writer Chetan Bhagat further added that one’s fitness has a “profound effect on immunity, mood, health and overall wellness in life.” And thus, is great that all of us can do.
Lifestyle and wellness expert Luke Coutinho agreed to their thoughts and added “Working out for just 30 minutes a day can go a long way in contributing to your fitness and overall health levels! Thank you so much @narendramodi & @KirenRijiju for making me a part of this wonderful initiative!”
ISSF World Cup Gold Medalist shooter Apurvi Chandela also supported their view and tweeted “Do something today, that your future self will thank you for!! A minimum of 30 minutes of daily exercise can bring about many positive changes in your body, mind and soul. #NewIndiaFitIndia #FitIndiaMovement.”
They were also joined in their call by two time Olympic Bronze medalist & wrestler Sushil Kumar, Olympic Bronze Medalist shooter Gagan Narang, Former India Cricketer Suresh Raina, Paralympic Silver Medalist Deepa Malik, sprinter Hima Das, Commonwealth Gold medallist Manika Batra, actor Anil Kapoor, TV actress Saumya Tondon, cricketer Mithali Raj, CWG Silver Medalist Manish Kaushik, writer Chetan Bhagat, among many others.
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