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Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya
will chair the 14 th  Conference of Central Council of Health & Family
Welfare (CCHFW), an apex advisory body of Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare (MoHFW), as “Swasthya Chintan Shivir”, at Kevadia,
Gujarat from 5 th  to 7 th  May, 2022.
Why is it in news?
The objective of the three-day conference is to review the
implementation of policies and programmes relating to medical and
public health sectors and to recommend ways and means for better
implementation of these policies/programmes for benefit of the common
people.
Highlights
 The conference will have panel discussions with eminent speakers
and experts from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NITI
Aayog, industry fora, startups, academia, etc., along with
interactive sessions with the stakeholders.
 The sessions are planned in a manner to allow for ample
interaction with stakeholders, with a view to evolve a participative
approach for time-bound implementation of policies and
programmes.
 The sessions will focus on themes such as affordable, accessible
and equitable health for all, preparing India for future health
emergencies, Heal in India and Heal by India, preparing  a
roadmap for Healthy India, sharing of best practices in health

sector, cooperation and coordination with States for “healthy
States, Healthy Nation’ concept etc.

Trichy Airport

Trichy Airport undergoing upgradation to offer better services
The terminal will be an energy efficient building with sustainable

features

Trichy terminal will be ready by April 2023

Airports Authority of India has undertaken the expansion work of Trichy
Airport which includes Construction of a New Integrated Passenger
Terminal Building, a new Apron, Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower, and
upgradation of Air side facilities to cater the growing passenger traffic
and reduce congestion during peak hours at the airport.
Why is it in news?
The new terminal building being constructed at the cost of Rs.951.28
Crores has been designed to process 2900 passengers during peak
hours. Equipped with 48 check-in counters and 10 boarding bridges,
the terminal will be an energy efficient building with sustainable
features.
Highlights
 With an area of 75000 sq m, the new terminal building has been
designed as an iconic structure of dynamic and dramatic building
form with majestic roof.
 The interiors of the building reflect the colors and culture of the
city through materials and textures in a contemporary manner. 
 The intuitive form of the new terminal will create a unique
architectural identity in southern region and will add a new
dimension to the terminal design.
 Strong references to the local culture and traditional architecture
will be expressed by the building’s architecture. Arriving and
departing passengers will sense this identity and reference to the
place.

 The airport expansion project also includes new apron, associated
taxiways, isolation bay to make the airport suitable for Multiple
Apron Ramp System i.e. five wide- body (Code E) or 10 narrow
body aircraft (Code C). 
 Other than this, construction of a Control Room, supporting
Equipment Rooms, Terminal RADAR, RADAR simulation,
Automation facilities, VHF, AAI offices and Meteorological
offices are also the part of the project.
 Project also includes four-lane elevated access road connecting
the Terminal Building to the city.
 More than 75% of the construction work for terminal building is
completed and the project will be ready by April 2023.
 Trichy is the second largest airport in International Passenger
Traffic next to Chennai & Coimbatore.
 Development of Aviation Infrastructure will ensure enhanced air
connectivity for the people of Trichy and surrounding area in
Tamil Nadu.

The Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, with active support from
Government of Assam, organized a Yoga Utsav at the iconic holy site of
Shivdol at Sivasagar in Assam to mark the 50 days countdown to
International Day of Yoga, 2022 today.
Why is it in news?
The event organised  by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga
(MDNIY) under the Ministry of Ayush, saw participation of more than
10,000 yoga enthusiasts from all the northeastern states of India.
Highlights
 The Utsav was simultaneously held at seven historic locations of
Sivasagar district in Assam which included Thora Dol, Rudrasagar
Dol, Ronghar, Tolatol Ghar, Kareng Ghar & Joydol, all places of
historic importance, within the periphery of Sivasagar town.
 The event was aimed at creating awareness about the various
dimensions of Yoga and its ability to enrich human lives.
 The Utsav theme is ‘Make Yoga a Part of Your Life’. It was
attended by dignitaries, students and government officials.

 
 The Chief Minister of Assam, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma; the
Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping & Waterways Shri
Sarbananda Sonowal; the MoS for Ayush and WCD Dr Munjpara
Mahendrabhai Kalubhai, the Union Minister of State for Petroleum
& Gas and Labour, Rameshwar Teli along with the State Health
Minister of Assam, Keshab Mahanta, the Health Minister of
Sikkim, Dr M K Sharma, the Health Minister of Arunachal
Pradesh, Alo Libang, the Health Minister of Nagaland, S. Pangnyu
Phom attended the event.
 Apart from the ministers, the Members of Parliament from Assam,
Nagaland, Arunachal Senior officials from Central and all
northeastern states including eminent dignitaries & experts, Yoga
enthusiasts and students participated in this Utsav.
 The demonstration of Common Yoga Protocol was done by a team
of MDNIY led by its Director, Dr Ishwar V. Basavaradi on early
morning today at the holy premises at Sivadol in Shivsagar.
 Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping &
Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal said that the idea
behind the Utsav is to encourage people to take up Yoga, a
wonderful gift of our thousands of years of civilization, so that
they can enrich their quality of life.
 He further said that as thousands of people from all the
northeastern states came together at this pious land in the beautiful
town Sivasagar to perform yoga, it reinforces our sustained effort
to put the iconic heritage sites of Assam in the tourism map of the
world through this event today.
 The Minister said that in this event, we tried to highlight the
importance of Yoga in enriching our health & mind as well as
celebrating our socio-cultural heritage by highlighting beautiful
Ahom era architecture.
 Sivasagar has been selected for the Yoga Utsav because the Prime
Minister of India had unveiled a plan to develop five
Archaeological sites viz. Rakhigari (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar

Pradesh), Sivasagar (Assam), Dholavira (Gujarat) and
Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu) into “iconic” sites across India.
 The historical significance of Sivasagar is paramount as it was the
epicenter of the Ahom kingdom which ruled between 13th and
19th century CE.
 The eighth edition of International Day of Yoga (IDY2022) is
being promoted through multiple programmes by the Ministry to
take the message of Yoga across the world to a wider audience.
 A curtain raiser event to mark the 100 days countdown to
IDY2022 was celebrated on 13th March while a 75 day countdown
event was organized at the Red Fort in Delhi.
 The 25 days countdown to IDY2022 will be celebrated in
Hyderabad.
 The International Day of Yoga is celebrated across the world on
June 21 every year. This year, the Yoga Utsav is being celebrated
across 75 heritage sites of historical importance as part of ‘Azadi
Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ in order to give a fillip to the brand India.

President of India Lays Foundation Stone for Bhagwan Mahavir Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi

President of India Lays Foundation Stone for Bhagwan Mahavir Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation stone for Bhagwan Mahavir Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi today (May 3, 2022). 

Why is it in news?

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that priority has been given to service in the Jain tradition. He noted that a state-of-the-art Bhagwan Mahavir Super Speciality Hospital with 250 beds would be completed by the year 2023. He said that it is a matter of happiness that in this super specialty hospital, high quality health services will be made available to all sections of the society at affordable rates, and free of cost to the poor. He was also happy to note that this Hospital has rendered its services as Covid care Hospital during the pandemic. He cautioned people that Covid is not completely over yet. He appealed to all citizens to be alert and follow all the government’s guidelines. 

Highlights

·       Speaking about the importance of face masks, the President said that we know that the introduction of surgical masks into modern history dates back to the year 1897 when surgeons began using masks to protect themselves from bacteria during operations.

·       But Jain saints understood the importance of masks centuries ago. By covering their mouth and nose, they were not only able to avoid killing living beings but they were also able to prevent the entry of micro-organisms into their body.

·       During the Covid-19 pandemic, masks have been used as an effective means of protection against the virus.  He said that Jain saints also laid great emphasis on walking to underline the importance of physical exercise.

·       He expressed confidence that this hospital would follow the path of making humanity healthy on the basis of scientific traditions shown by the saints. 

·       The President said that the Jain tradition teaches us to adopt a balanced and environment friendly lifestyle. The way of life and eating habits in present times is not suitable with the nature. We know that Jain saints and their disciplined followers eat their food only between sunrise and sunset.

·       Adopting the lifestyle according to the daily movement of the Sun is an easy way to stay healthy. This is the lesson we get from the ideal lifestyle of Jain saints. He said that integration of such scientific traditions with modern medical systems in hospitals will be helpful for a healthy life.

 

 


India and Germany agree to work together with focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Start-Ups as well as 'AI' research and its application in Sustainability and Health care

India and Germany agree to work together with focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Start-Ups as well as 'AI' research and its application in Sustainability and Health care


Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh held bilateral talks with German Minister for Education & Research Ms. Bettina Stark-Watzinger in Berlin and expressed satisfaction over the ongoing bilateral Science & Technology Cooperation

Why is it in news?

Frontier areas like Electric Mobility, Cyber Physical System, Quantum Technologies, Future Manufacturing, Green Hydrogen Fuel, Deep Ocean research are emerging as new areas of partnership between India and Germany: Dr Jitendra Singh

Highlights

·       India and Germany have agreed to work together with focus on Artificial Intelligence ('AI') StartUps as well as AI research and its application in Sustainability and Health care, said Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences after his "bilateral" talks with German Minister for Education & Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger.

·       Both the Ministers agreed that there is a lot of scope to work together in Artificial Intelligence for which experts on two sides have already met. An Indo-German call for proposals for this would be raised soon inviting proposals from researchers and industry.

Description: https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/image/image001YWF9.jpg

·       Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that in November 2019, during Chancellor Merkel’s visit to Delhi, Germany and India had agreed to establish a joint research programme in Artificial Intelligence.

·       They also decided on the extension of the Indo-German Partnership in Higher Education for another four years, with contributions of 3.5 Million Euros each.

·       Both India and Germany have expressed satisfaction on the ongoing Science & Technology Cooperation between the two countries which is one of the strategic pillars of our bilateral relationship.

·       Academia, Research Institutions and Industries of both countries have strong bonding and are playing the role of catalyst in our strategic research and development partnerships.

·       On the third day of his official engagement in Berlin, Dr Jitendra Singh mentioned that both the countries are now working in frontier areas of science & technology, including Electric Mobility, Cyber Physical System, Quantum Technologies, Future Manufacturing, Green Hydrogen Fuel, Deep Ocean research and proposed to develop joint cooperation in these areas. Two countries have already started mapping each other’s strength in areas like application of Artificial Intelligence in Sustainability and Healthcare.

·       Both the Ministers expressed satisfaction on recently concluded MOU between Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India and German Research Foundation (DFG) to support the International Research Training Groups (IRTG) program would further boost the cooperation towards capacity building targeting the training of Indian and German students for pursuing the PhD program. The maiden call for inviting proposals under this program from Indian and German research groups is already on.

·       Both Ministers felt delighted that several initiatives for human capacity developments in science and engineering have recently been worked out, which includes Women Involvement in Science and Engineering Research (WISER) to facilitate lateral entry of women researchers into ongoing S&T projects and Paired Early Career Fellowships creating an inclusive ecosystem for the Indo-German S&T cooperation with exchange of young researchers on both sides. Industrial Fellowships aimed at industrial exposure of young Indian researchers in a German industrial ecosystem.

·       Dr Jitendra Singh mentioned that the Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives great importance to innovation. The present Government puts emphasis on promoting the value chain of innovation, entrepreneurship and IP generation. Indian innovation system is more purpose driven rather than process driven with focus on affordability and accessibility.

·       Bettina Stark-Watzinger supported the idea to further strengthen bilateral scientific cooperation by partnering in emerging science & technology areas where both Germany and India have strength to work together and serve two societies.