Envoys of Three Nations Present Credentials to President of India
The President of
India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind accepted credentials from Ambassadors of Slovak
Republic, Republic of Sudan and Nepal at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (11 May,
2022).
Why is it in news?
Through the
Ambassadors, the President also conveyed his personal regards to their
leaderships. The envoys present at the event reiterated their commitment to
work closely to strengthen their ties with India.
Highlights
Those who presented
their credentials were:
1. H.E. Mr. Robert Maxian,
Ambassador of the Slovak Republic
2. H.E. Mr. Abdalla Omer
Bashir Elhusain, Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan and
3. H.E. Dr. Shankar
Prasad Sharma, Ambassador of Nepal
After presentation
of credentials, the President interacted with the three envoys separately. He
congratulated them on their appointments and emphasized on the warm and
friendly relations that India shared with the countries and the multifaceted
relationship that India enjoyed with each of them. The President also wished
them success in strengthening bilateral ties and for their well-being and
progress and prosperity of the friendly people.
Advancements in futuristic technologies need of the hour: Raksha Rajya Mantri during National Technology Day function at DRDO
Government is making all efforts to meet defence
requirements through domestic procurement, says Shri Ajay Bhatt
Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt
has called upon the scientific community to make advancements in technologies,
such as Artificial Intelligence (AI),
so that the Nation is prepared to deal with future threats. He was addressing
the National Technology Day function organised
by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in New Delhi on May
11, 2022. The Government is making all efforts to meet the defence requirements
through domestic procurement, he said, exhorting all sectors of the defence
ecosystem to work together to achieve excellence in cutting edge technologies.
Why is it in news?
The Raksha
Rajya Mantri lauded the efforts of DRDO in establishing a self-reliant R&D
ecosystem which provides the Armed Forces with state-of-the-art equipment, in
line with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. “DRDO has proved
itself through design, development and production of highly-sophisticated
weapon platforms/systems. It has enhanced the involvement of the private
sector. Due to these efforts, India is now among the top 25 nations exporting
defence equipment,” he said.
Highlights
·
National Technology Day is observed
on May 11 every year to commemorate the nuclear tests conducted in Pokhran in
1998. The theme this year is ‘Integrated
Approach in Science and Technology for Sustainable Future’. Shri Ajay Bhatt
said, the theme underlines the importance of all-round development of science
and technology for the progress of a nation.
·
During the event, the Raksha Rajya
Mantri distributed DRDO awards for the year of 2019 to the scientific
fraternity for displaying outstanding acumen in realising the technological
dreams of the Nation. The category of awards included awards for Life-Time
Achievement, Technology leadership, Senior Scientists Awards, Academy
Excellence, Techno-Managerial, Self-Reliance and Performance Awards.
·
Shri Ajay Bhatt also released two
monographs – ‘Endeavours in Self-reliance Defence Research (1983-2018)’
authored by former Director DRDO Dr KG Narayanan and ‘Concepts and Practices
for Cyber Security’ by former Director General at DRDO Dr G Athithan. A Defence
Technology Spectrum was also released on the occasion. The event also witnessed
three orations from DRDO scientists on advanced technologies.
·
In his address, Secretary Department
of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the
scientists & technologists and appreciated their contribution towards
building a self-reliant defence ecosystem. Secretary, Department of Space and
Chairman, Space Commission Shri S Somanath; senior officials of Ministry of
Defence and DRDO scientists were among those present on the occasion.
India Elected as Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-24
India has been unanimously elected as the new Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities
(AAEA) for 2022-2024 at the recently held meeting of the Executive board
and General Assembly at Manila, Philippines on May 7, 2022. Commission on
Elections, Manila was the current chair of AAEA. The new member in the
Executive Board now includes Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Taiwan
and Philippines.
Why is it
in news?
The Election Commission of India 3-member delegation headed
by Deputy Election Commissioner Shri Nitesh Vyas, along with CEO Manipur Shri
Rajesh Agrawal and CEO Rajasthan Shri Praveen Gupta, attended the Executive
Board meeting at Manila and presented the work plan for 2022-23 as also
futuristic activities for 2023-24 to the Executive Board. A presentation on ‘Gender Issues in Elections’ was also
given, highlighting various concerted and targeted interventions by India to
break socio-political barriers in electoral and political processes for
inclusive and participative elections.
Highlights
· The mission of the Association
of Asian Election Authorities is to provide a non-partisan forum in the
Asian region for sharing experiences and best practices among election
authorities to discuss and act upon ways to promote open and transparent
elections with the objective of supporting good governance and democracy.
· Officials from many AAEA
member countries have been regularly attending International Training
Programmes conducted by India
International Institute for Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) from
time to time. Since 2019, more than 250 officials from AAEA member countries have
attended these programmes. IIIDEM also conducts customised capacity development
training programs for specific AAEA member countries. 50 officials of
Bangladesh Election Commission were trained during 2021-22.
· Delegates from AAEA have also been regularly participating
in the International Election Visitors Programme organised by Election
Commission of India. 62 officials from 12 AAEA members participated in the 3rd
International Virtual Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) hosted by ECI during
Assembly Elections in 2022. AAEA is also an Associate Member of the 118 member
Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).
Establishment and Membership of AAEA
In pursuance of the resolution passed by participants of the
Symposium on Asian Elections in the Twenty First Century held from January
26-29, 1997 in Manila, Philippines, the Association of Asian Election
Authorities (AAEA) was established in 1998. Currently 20 Asian EMBs are
members of AAEA. ECI is a founder member EMB of the AAEA and also served
on the Executive Board of the AAEA as the Vice Chair during 2011-13 and Chair
during 2014-16.