Nitin Gadkari inaugurates and lays foundation stones for 2 National highways
Shri Nitin Gadkari
inaugurates and lays foundation stones for 2 National highways projects worth
Rs 1,791.46 crore in Dhule, Maharashtra
Why
is it in news?
Union
Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and
laid foundation stones for 2 National highways projects worth Rs 1,791.46 crore
in Dhule, Maharashtra. Speaking on the occasion he said these projects will
give impetus to the economic development of Dhule and Nandurbar districts
as well as provide new employment opportunities
in the region.
Highlights
· Shri
Gadkari said these road projects will be useful in streamlining the
transportation of agricultural produce in Dhule district, which is famous for
its pepper production.
· He said planned
under Bharatmala scheme these projects will provide modern and high quality
roads to Dhule-Nandurbar districts and will further strengthen the connectivity
of Maharashtra with Gujarat, Karnataka and other states. This will help in
reducing the traffic congestion in Dhule and Chalisgaon, he added.
· The
Minister said these road projects will make it easier for the citizens to reach
the tourist attractions like Brass Cave-Caves and Gautala Sanctuary, the world
famous Ajanta Caves and Daulatabad Fort as well as Chalisgaon Railway Station
will be easily accessible.
· He said it
will be easy to reach religious places in Dhule as well as Aurangabad district
.He said the Shewali-Nandurbar road project will be useful for the development
of tribal areas in the region.
Panchayati Raj Diwas and Technology Exhibition
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to visit Jammu to grace the nationwide “Panchayati Raj
Diwas” celebrations at Palli in Samba district this Sunday
Technology Exhibition at PM's rally to motivate Start-Ups: Dr Jitendra Singh
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science
& Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS
PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr
Jitendra Singh said here today that Technology Exhibition at PM's rally will
motivate Start-Ups and help create awareness about enormous new avenues of
livelihood being availed across the country but not receiving enough attention
in this region due to lack of awareness.
Why is it in news?
Soon after arriving here from New Delhi this morning, Dr
Jitendra Singh held a thorough review of more than a dozen stalls being put up
by the Union Ministry of Science & Technology for Exhibition during the
Prime Minister’s visit to Jammu to grace the nationwide “Panchayati Raj Diwas”
celebrations on this Sunday.
Highlights
·
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Stalls put up by various
departments and wings of the Union Ministry of Science & Technology will
display latest technologies and innovations beneficial for rural areas and
farming.
·
The Minister had already inspected the 500 KV Solar Plant
and other Exhibition themes on Tuesday at the Palli Panchayat of Samba
District, which was completed in record time.
·
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the carbon-free solar plant
has been installed on a total area of 6,408 square metres and was completed in
a record time of 18 days and will provide clean electricity and light to 340
houses in the Panchayat.
·
It was built by Central Electronics Limited, PSE under
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Union Ministry of Science and
Technology, the Minister added.
·
Dr Jitendra Singh informed that some of the themes
identified for the Exhibition are: poverty and enhanced village livelihood,
Healthy village, Child-friendly village, Water sufficient village, Clean and
green village, Self-sufficient infrastructure in village, Engendered
development in village to be implemented by different departments of Science
Ministries will bring about revolutionary transformation in augmenting the
household income of the rural populace.
·
Similarly, the Minister said, Stalls showcasing
integration of Science & Technology with the themes of Rural Development
and Panchayati Raj will be put up for the benefit of common man.
·
He added that instead of having conventional stalls at
the event, efforts are being made to showcase latest technology which can add
value to farmers’ income and science-based demonstration with Panchayati Raj
features.
·
Dr Jitendra Singh also reviewed with senior scientists of
CSIR the Aroma Mission and the overall impact of Purple Revolution in
augmenting income resources of common man.
·
He said, “Purple Revolution” is Jammu & Kashmir’s
contribution to "Start-ups India". The Minister informed that the
CSIR had, to begin with introduced high-value essential oil bearing lavender
crop through its Jammu based laboratory, Indian Institute of Integrative
Medicines (IIIM) for cultivation in districts Doda, Kishtwar, Rajouri and later
also in the other districts including Ramban, Pulwama, etc.
·
In a brief span of time, aroma/lavender cultivation has
become a popular option in farming for agricultural Start-up, he said.
·
Dr Jitendra Singh said, there is a need for widespread
publicity that IIIM Jammu was helping the Start-ups in aroma and lavender farming
to sell their produce.
·
Prominent companies like Mumbai based Ajmal Biotech
Private Limited, Aditi International and NavnaitriGamika, etc., are the primary
buyers, he added.
·
Pertinent to mention that Aroma Mission is attracting
Start-ups and agriculturists from across the country, and during Phase-I CSIR
helped cultivation on 6000 hectares of land and covered 46 Aspirational
districts across the country.
·
More than 44,000 persons have been trained and several
crores of farmers' revenue generated. In the second Phase of Aroma Mission, it
is proposed to engage over 45,000 skilled human resources with the aim of
benefitting more than 75,000 farming families across the country.
·
Dr Jitendra Singh also expressed satisfaction that more
and more technocrats are leaving lucrative jobs in corporate sector and taking
up DBT promoted Dairy Start-ups.
·
He said, over 10 thousand dairy units were set up in the
last two years in Jammu and Kashmir. Recently, the Minister met Dinkar Kaushal,
a B.Tech, who quit his job in Bengaluru and launched a start-up with Sahiwal
cattle dairy under Department of Biotechnology and making handsome earnings.
The Minister said, such initiatives must be replicated across the UT for giving
decent earning opportunities for the youth.
·
He said, there is huge scope in Dairy Start-up to promote
the setting up of modern dairy farms for the production of clean milk,
encourage heifer calf rearing, and generate self-employment.
ECI delegation led by CEC Shri Sushil Chandra visits South Africa and Mauritius
ECI delegation led by CEC
Shri Sushil Chandra visits South Africa and Mauritius
CEC urges members of Indian Community to register as Overseas Voters
Extension of ETPBS facility to overseas voters under consideration: CEC Shri
Sushil Chandra
An
Election Commission of India (ECI) delegation led by Chief Election
Commissioner of India, Shri Sushil Chandra visited South Africa and
Mauritius from April 9-19, 2022.
Why is it in news?
During
this visit, a series of meetings were held with the Election Commission of
South Africa and Mauritius as well as interactions with the large NRI community
in the two countries.
Highlights
· Both Election Management
Bodies (EMBs) are also MOU partners with ECI.
· The three countries share a
relationship which is fundamental, unique and rooted in the collective
experiences and cumulative strength of their people.
· During interaction with the
members of the Indian community, CEC urged them to register as overseas voters
as the present numbers are abysmally low.
· He also shared with the
members that extension of Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System
(ETPBS) facility to overseas voters is being contemplated.
· A major highlight of the
visit was the rare occasion of a tripartite meeting between ECI, Mr. Glen
Mashinini, Chairperson, Electoral Commission of South Africa and Mr. Jonghyun
Choe, Secretary General, Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB) held at
Pretoria on 12th April 2022.
· India is currently the
Chair of AWEB, the largest conglomeration of 118 EMBs of the world and South
Africa is the Vice Chair.
· As AWEB completes ten years
of its foundation and steps into a new decade, the meeting
was positioned at the right juncture wherein it was time to reflect
on the way forward for AWEB as an organization.
· AWEB provides a unique
platform for exchange of knowledge and information between its members. During
the meeting, it was acknowledged that this umbrella organization had EMBs
with a lot of experience and expertise which could assist and advise those
EMBs who were looking for further development and upgradation of their
systems.
· It was felt that the focus
must now be on increasing membership and enhancing the sense of belonging of
the members. More avenues must be explored so that the members can interact and
meet more often.
· During the
meeting, CEC Shri Sushil Chandra expressed profound
appreciation for the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South
Africa for organizing this meeting.
· He said that South Africa
has made big strides in democracy and would be hosting the next General
Assembly of AWEB in October 2022.
· India has a very
intense and active association with AWEB. Both India and South Africa are the
founding members of this organization.
· He stated that coming to
the land which made Mahatma out of Gandhiji and the land of Nelson Mandela was
a veritable pilgrimage for him.
· Shri
Chandra recapitulated the numerous activities and initiatives taken by ECI
for strengthening cooperation among AWEB members by way of organizing webinars,
International Election Visitor Programme events and also coming out with
several international publications.
· Thereafter, he shared
India’s experience of conducting 11 state assembly elections and
various by-elections during the unprecedented time
of COVID-19 pandemic and the new protocols devised by ECI for
conducting safe elections from the perspective of voters, polling
personnel and polling stations.
· While highlighting the need
for AWEB to reinvent itself, CEC Shri Chandra stressed on three areas
for further strengthening of this institution. First, AWEB must
endeavour to come out with standard protocols for various aspects of election
management which will be known as AWEB global standards and will help EMBs to
work towards achieving these goals. Two, increasing the interaction between
members through regional thematic summits, celebrating significant dates in the
AWEB calendar like its foundation day on the pattern of India’s National
Voters’ Day and developing an annual activities calendar for AWEB. Three,
intensifying sharing of best practices, training and capacity building. He
offered that ECI would be happy to organize more training programs
including customized programmes for AWEB members at India
International Institute of Democracy and Election Management
(IIIDEM).
· During his visit, CEC also
paid homage to Mahatma Gandhiji on 15th April 2022 at the Constitution
Hill, a former prison complex now converted into a museum, in
Johannesburg. He also visited the Gandhi-Mandela Exhibition Centre at the
Constitution Hill.
· CEC met with Mr. Mohd.
Irfan Abdool Rahman, Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius at Port Louis on
18th April 2022. During this meeting, he stated that the two
countries shared a filial bond of brotherhood, ancestry, kinship and
affection. The two EMBs are not only closely connected through the
formal relationship of MoU but also by a close relationship of understanding of
each others’ systems, support and drawing strength from each other. CEC gave
a snapshot of recent elections held in India and stated that the two
Commissions would continue sharing best practices, skills and experiences for
mutual benefit.
Meeting with NRIs
· During the visit to the two
countries, a briefing cum interaction was organized with the
NRI community at Cape Town on 10th April; Johannesburg on
12th April and at Port Louis on 18th April 2022.
· CEC Shri Sushil Chandra
shared the Indian experience of conducting elections with the members of the
diaspora. He said that India, being the largest democracy,
conducts elections for more than 950 million voters across more than a
million polling stations.
· Over the past few years,
Indian elections have made steady progress towards making elections
inclusive and accessible which has led to greater participation
of women, persons with disabilities and senior citizens in Indian elections.
· He added that this
remarkable achievement of conducting free, fair and participative elections in
a country as diverse as India - linguistically, geographically comes as result
of robust election management practices which include use of technology for enhancing
participation of voters through applications like cVIGIL, voter education
through SVEEP, use of EVM-VVPAT, all women managed polling booths, single
unified electoral roll on a single digital platform, deployment of central
observers and very robust expenditure monitoring mechanisms.
· CEC Shri Chandra also
highlighted the new electoral reforms undertaken in the past few months which
included four qualifying dates in a year for registration of eligible citizens
as electors as compared to once a year earlier, linking of Electoral Roll and
Aadhar data and extension of postal ballot facility to new categories of voters
i.e. senior citizens aged 80 plus years, PWDs and Covid affected persons.
