States Too Share Responsibility for Security in Border Areas
Home Minister Amit Shah at a meeting of Eastern Zone Council indicated to chief ministers that the states too share a responsibility along with the BSF for security in India's border areas.
Illegal infiltration, trans-border smuggling and the vulnerable India-Bangladesh boundary were among subjects discussed at the 25th Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) meeting, chaired by Shah, at the West Bengal secretariat.
Talks on transportation facilities and water-sharing among the states were also held at the 25th EZC meeting, which were attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her counterpart from Jharkhand Hemant Soren, Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and Odisha minister Pradeep Amat.
Jitendra Announces 'One Week, One Lab' Countrywide Campaign
Union Minister for Science & Technology, Jitendra Singh, who is also the Vice President of CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research), announced the launching of "One Week, One Lab" countrywide campaign from January 6, 2023.
In this, each of the 37 premier Laboratories/Institutes of CSIR spread across the country will, one after the other in every successive week, showcase their exclusive innovations and technological breakthroughs to the people of India.
Addressing the 200th Governing Body Meeting of CSIR at the Science Centre in New Delhi, Jitendra Singh said that the "One Week One Lab" theme-based campaign is expected to ignite the minds of young innovators, students, start-ups, academia, and industry to look for opportunities through deep tech ventures.
Manipur Govt. Launches Alternative Farming System for Poppy Planters
In a bid to counter illicit poppy cultivation in the state, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh launched the alternative farming system for poppy planters in nine hill districts of Manipur.
Illegal poppy cultivation has become one of the major causes of concern for officials in Manipur. According to official sources, 14,315 acres of illicit poppy, cultivated mostly in the hill districts of Manipur, were destroyed by security forces in the previous term of the present government.
Concerned by the trend of large scale illicit poppy plantation, the Manipur government had earlier this year launched the 'War on Drugs' campaign.
The alternative farming system will benefit 'jhumias' or poppy planters of nine districts, namely Churachandpur, Pherzawl, Noney, Tamenglong, Senapati, Kangpokpi, Ukhrul, Kamjong, Tengnoupal and Chandel.
Dec 18, 2022
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Inaugurate 7th India IWIS 2022
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat inaugurated the 7th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS 2022) at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. The theme of the summit this year was 'Restoration and Conservation of Small Rivers in a Large Basin'. It will also focus on the select aspects of 'Mapping and Convergence of 5Ps' – People, Policy, Plan, Programme and Project. The three-day-long summit aimed to give an insight into the potential causes for divergence and formulate a strategy to achieve convergence. The event also hosted a finance forum to bring together global financial institutions and investors interested in river restoration and conservation programmes.
Dec 17, 2022
India Launches 'Group of Friends' to Promote Accountability for Crimes against Peacekeepers
India launched a 'Group of Friends' to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announcing that New Delhi will soon have a database that will record all crimes against the Blue Helmets.
India, Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Morocco and Nepal are co-chairs of the 'Group of Friends to Promote Accountability for Crimes Against Peacekeepers' launched during India's current presidency of the UN Security Council.
Jaishankar said that the Group of Friends represents the political will of member states, particularly of the troop and police contributing countries, to champion the implementation of the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 2589, which was adopted in August 2021 under India's Presidency of the Council.
Central Government Offers to Establish Permanent Secretariat for No Money for Terror
The Central government offered to establish a permanent Secretariat for the No Money for Terror (NMFT) in the country, said Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.
He was responding to a question in Rajya Sabha about whether the government has any proposal to set up a permanent Secretariat to coordinate the global efforts against terror funding.
Government of India hosted the 3rd Ministerial Level Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing 'No Money for Terror' (NMFT) during November 18-19, 2022 to collaborate with countries across the world for suppressing the funding sources that allow terrorists and extremists to carry out their violent acts.
Delegations from 77 countries and 16 multilateral organizations participated in the Conference.
The proposed Secretariat is not expected to be an investigative body. It will operate on the concept of collaboration and cooperation between nations.
Dec 16, 2022
Centre Awards Nine GI Tags to Take Total to 432
Adding to the present collection of Geographical Indications (GIs), nine new items, including gamocha of Assam, Tandur red gram of Telangana, Raktsey Karpo apricot of Ladakh, and Alibag white onion of Maharashtra, were given the coveted GI tag. Kerala was awarded five GI tags for its agricultural produce.
With this, the total number of GI tags in India comes to 432. The top five states holding the maximum number of GIs are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Dec 15, 2022
NTPC Commissions Capacities of 150 MW & 90 MW Devikot Solar PV Projects at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan
NTPC announced that consequent upon successful commissioning, entire capacities of 150 MW & 90 MW Devikot Solar PV Projects at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, are declared on Commercial Operation.
With this, standalone installed and commercial capacity of NTPC became 58041.27 MW, while group installed and commercial capacity of NTPC became 70656.27 MW.
Karnataka Sets up Ministerial Panel on Providing Internal Reservation for SCs
In a significant political move ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, the BJP government in Karnataka constituted a five-member cabinet sub-committee to make recommendations on providing internal reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs).
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy is heading the sub-committee.
The other members in the panel are Water Resources Minister Govind M. Karjol, Fisheries Minister S. Angara, Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan and Health & Family Welfare Minister K. Sudhakar. Mr. Karjol, Mr. Angara and Mr. Chauhan belong to scheduled castes.
In a meeting held in November the State Cabinet had decided to constitute a sub-committee for classification of internal reservation among SCs.
The Justice A.J. Sadashiva Commission report, which was submitted in 2012, recommended reclassification of the SCs for equitable distribution of reservation.
The Congress has been accused of not taking a decision on the report when it was in power between 2013 and 2018.