The Ministry of Railways announced the closure of the Central Organisation for Modernization of Workshops (COFMOW), New Delhi. It will come in effect from December 1, 2022. Railway Board confirmed the winding up of the four-decade old organization that contributed significantly towards the modernization of the workshop across the railway networks, with the recommendations of the Principal Economic Advisor, and Ministry of Finance.
COFMOW has successfully helped in the modernization of production units and workshops since its inception in 1979. The organisation acquired unmatched expertise in developing specifications for machinery for over four decades.
Oct 20, 2022
Sanjay Malhotra Succeeds Bajaj as Revenue Secretary; Giridhar Named Defence Secretary
Road Transport and Highways Secretary Aramane Giridhar was named the new defence secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre.
Giridhar, a 1988 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, was appointed as an Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Defence.
Mallikarjun Kharge Wins Congress Presidential Election
Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the new Congress president after he secured 7,897 out of the 9,385 votes polled. His rival, Shashi Tharoor, however sprung a surprise by securing 1,072 votes.
Kharge the first non-Gandhi leader in 24 years to occupy the party's top post, will take charge on October 26.
In the nearly 137-year-old history of the Congress, it was the sixth time that the party witnessed an electoral contest for the top post.
Outgoing Congress President Sonia Gandhi, accompanied by general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Mr. Tharoor were among the leaders who visited Mr. Kharge's residence to congratulate him.
Electronics MoS Flags off First SemiconIndia FutureDesign Roadshow in Gujarat
Union Minister of state for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar flagged off the first SemiconIndia FutureDesign roadshow in Gujarat.
Addressing the occasion, Chandrasekhar said that the roadshows have been planned with an aim to inspire the start-ups, next-gen innovators and industry leaders to invest in Semiconductor Design. It will help create a robust semiconductor ecosystem in the country, as envisioned by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
"We intend to take the Semicon India program to every student, every college and make as many young Indians excited by and participate in the Semicon India journey," he added.
Oct 19, 2022
India Offers Training to African Countries
India and a group of 50-plus African countries announced that they would enhance cooperation in the field of military training, and increase the number of slots for training military personnel and capability-building of defence forces.
This was the key take-away from the India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD) that was conducted on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022.
The "Gandhinagar Declaration" was adopted as an outcome document. It proposes to enhance cooperation in the field of training.
It was also decided that India and the 50-plus African nations will conduct exercises for humanitarian assistance during natural disasters. India has offered a fellowship for experts from African countries through the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis.
ICAS Bharati Das Named as the New Controller General of Accounts
The government of India appointed Bharati Das, an officer of the Indian Civil Accounts Service of the 1988 batch, as the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. She is the 27th Controller General of Accounts, Ministry of Finance.
She has served as the Principal Chief Controller of Accounts at the Central Board of Direct Taxes, at the Ministry of External Affairs and at the Ministry of Home Affairs. She has also served as the CCA at the Ministry of Health and Family welfare, Director at the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways.
The Controller General of Accounts is the principal advisor on accounting matters of the Union Government. The CGA is responsible for establishing and managing a technically sound Management Accounting System and preparation and submission of the accounts of the Union Government. The CGA is also responsible for exchequer control and internal audits for the Centre.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh Launches Integrated Pensioners' Portal for Central Govt. Pensioners
Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh launched an Integrated Pensioners' Portal (IPP) for the central government pensioners. This portal will act as a one-stop solution for all the needs of pensioners.
The Minister said, BHAVISHYA, a portal for pension payment and tracking system is being integrated with pension seva portal of SBI. He said, it will enable pensioners to get all information and services at one place with single login. On completion of all phases of integration, the retirees can choose a bank and branch for opening an online pension account, check their monthly pension slips, status of life certificate and change their pension disbursing bank through BHAVISHYA. Remaining 16 pension-disbursing banks will now begin their integration with BHAVISHYA.
Oct 18, 2022
Goa to Host 9th World Ayurveda Congress & Arogya Expo
The 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) and Arogya Expo, will be held in Panaji, Goa from 8th to 11th December 2022. The 9th World Ayurveda Congress aims to transformationally push Ayurveda to bring it into global focus. The 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) is going to be hosted in Goa and it aims to create an accessible and affordable healthcare system that is in harmony with modern medical practices.
The theme for the 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) this year is 'Ayurveda For One Health'.
According to the prelude of WAC, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister Ayush, Dr. Pramod Sawant Goa Chief Minister, and Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State for tourism will attend a curtain raiser event at Hotel Vivanta by Taj.
The event will also be felicitated by Vishwajit P Rane, Goa Minister of Health, Govind Gaude, Goa Minister of Arts and Culture, and Vaidya Rajesh Korecha, Secretary, Union Minister of Ayush.
The event is going to be a four-day event that is supported by both central and state governments.
Railway Minister Inaugurates India's First Aluminium Freight Rake
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated India's first aluminium freight rake — 61 BOBRNALHSM1 — at Bhubaneshwar Railway Station.
This was a dedicated effort for Make in India programme as it had been fully designed and developed indigenously in collaboration with Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), HINDALCO and Besco Wagon. Notably, it is the first-time aluminium rake has been manufactured in India with the feature of fully lock-bolted construction with no welding on the superstructure.
India to Host SCO National Coordinators Meet
India hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) national coordinators' meeting in Delhi. The meet was the first such national coordinator meet under the Indian presidency. New Delhi took over the presidency of the nine-member grouping earlier this year at the Samarkand SCO summit.
National coordinator, basically the role "Sherpas" play in G20 meetings, decides on the issues that would be taken up in the grouping. India's national coordinator for SCO is Yojna Patel, an IFS of 2000 batch. The meet took place in a hybrid mode, the Pakistani delegation also attended it. During the course of the event, the focus was also on agenda under the Indian presidency of the grouping.
India will be holding the SCO foreign, defence, national security advisers and summit-level meeting of the grouping next year. This month India also hosted anti-terror SCO drills in Haryana and the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) council meet.
Apoorva Srivastava Named as India's Ambassador to Slovak Republic
Indian Foreign Service, Apoorva Srivastava was appointed to serve as India's Ambassador to the Slovak Republic. An officer of the 2001 batch, she currently serves as Consul-General at the Consulate of India in Toronto. Prior to this, she served in various positions in the Ministry of External Affairs and has been posted in Kathmandu and Paris, among other locations.
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, and the Czech Republic to the northwest.
Arya.ag and FWWB India Partner with UNDP to Implement Project Excel
UNDP partnered with integrated grain commerce platform Arya.ag and Friends of Women's World Banking India (FWWB India) for agri-value chain intervention, enterprise promotion and skilling in agriculture sector. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is implementing Project Excel in Jamnagar and Dwaraka Devbhumi districts of Gujarat to improve the incomes of 10,000 farmer households through enterprise promotion, agri-value chain interventions, skilling, employment and social protection.
By December 2023, the collaboration for Project Excel hopes to have assembled a team of community resource people who will support, encourage, and coach local business owners.
The project's goal is to develop and generate possibilities for communities in rural and semi-urban areas to improve their lives in industries like agriculture, dairy, poultry, handloom, goat farming, and handicrafts. This promotes stronger market relationships and aids in managerial capacity growth.
The collaboration is to create a conducive business environment with end-to-end solutions consisting of training and technical support, capital and market linkages and skill enhancement support, empowering women and ensuring a sustainable income at the individual and collective level.
Number of Poor People in India Fell by about 415 Million, a 'Historic Change': UN
The number of poor people in India fell by about 415 million between 2005-06 and 2019-21, a "historic change" and a demonstration that the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty by 2030 is possible to achieve, even at a large scale, according to the UN.
As per the new Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford, in India 415 million people exited poverty between 2005-06 and 2019-21.
India is an important case study for the Sustainable Development Goals, the first of which is to end poverty in all its forms and to reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions, according to national definitions by 2030, all while leaving no one behind.
The report said based on 2020 population data for India, it has by far the largest number of poor people worldwide (228.9 million), followed by Nigeria (96.7 million projected in 2020).
Despite progress, India's population remains vulnerable to the mounting effects of the covid pandemic and to rising food and energy prices. Integrated policies tackling the ongoing nutritional and energy crises should be a priority.
Oct 17, 2022
Partha Satpathy Appointed India's New Envoy to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Partha Satpathy, an Ambassador of India to the Republic of Hungary, was appointed India's next Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He is expected to take up his assignment shortly.
In November 2021, Partha Satpathy was appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Hungary.
Centre Approves India's 1st Cable-cum-suspension Bridge across Krishna River
The central government approved construction of an iconic cable stayed-cum-suspension bridge across Krishna River connecting Telangana and Andhra Pradesh while passing through the picturesque Nallamala forest range. The information was shared by Union Minister for Road Transport and National Highways Nitin Gadkari.
Describing the bridge as "#PragatiKaHighway", Gadkari said that the iconic bridge would have several unique features like the longest glass pedestrian walkway across a river, gopuram like pylons, signature lighting and a large navigational span.
Once completed, the bridge would be second of its kind in the world and first in India.
Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2022
The Election Commission of India announced the dates for upcoming assembly election in Himachal Pradesh as 12 November.
According to the Election Commission, the counting of votes would be held on December 8. More than 43,000 fist time voters will participate in the state Assembly polls.
Elaborating the schedule of the Assembly polls, the ECI said that date of issue of gazette notification for single phase election for 68 Assembly seats will be released on 17 October.
While the last date of making nominations has been set as 25th October, the scrutiny of nominations will take place on 27 October, while the last date for withdrawal of candidatures has been set as 29 October.
PM Chairs Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Society Meeting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Society.
Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Jitendra Singh were present at the meeting.
The CSIR is a Society under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology and the Prime Minister is the Society's President.
The CSIR Society comprises eminent scientists, industrialists, and senior officials of scientific ministries. The Society meets annually to review CSIR activities and deliberate on its future programmes.
According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, CSIR's research efforts are now mainly focused on green energy technologies, STI (science, technology and innovation) interventions to generate employment and raise income levels in rural India.
+91-85588-96644
