Shri Jual Oram, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs inaugurated the “Aadi Mahotsav” a National Tribal Festival to celebrate, cherish and promote the spirit of tribal craft, culture, cuisine and commerce at Delhi Haat, INA today. Shri Jaswant sinh Suman bhai Babhor,and Shri Sudarshan Bhagat Ministers of State for Tribal Affairs and several dignitaries were present on the occasion. The Mahotsav has been organized by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED from 16-30 November, 2018 at Dilli Haat, INA; from 21-30 November, 2018 at Nehru Park and from 16-19 November, 2018 at Central Park, New Delhi.
Delivering inaugural address, Shri Jual Oram, said that the Tribes constitute over 8% population. This is a very significant number. In real term, it corresponds to 10 crore Indians. The national object of inclusive development (Sabka Vikas) includes the development of Tribes as an important component. The Mahotsav comprises of display and sale of items of tribal art and craft, tribal medicine & healers, tribal cuisine and display of tribal folk performance, in which tribal artisans, chefs, folk dancers/musicians from 23 States of the country are participating and providing glimpse of their rich traditional culture.
He said that the theme of the festival is: “A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture, Craft, Cuisine and Commerce”. The Mahotsav features exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery and much more through 100 stalls. Over 200 tribal artisans and artists from different States creating a Mini-India are participating in the festival.
Shri Oram said that the Adivasi way of life is guided by primal truths, eternal values and a natural simplicity. The greatness of the tribes lies in this that they have managed to retain the primal skills and natural simplicity. Their creations issue from the depths of time. This quality gives their arts and crafts a timeless appeal. The crudest tribal handicraft instantly touches a primal instinct in all of us. This is particularly true in tribal music and dance. A colourful cultural programme was also orgnaized on the occasion in collaboration with Ministry of Culture.
More than 600 Artisans from 23 States, 80 Tribal Chefs from more than 20 States and 14 Dance Troupes comprising more than 200 Artists will participate in the Mahotsav. The highlights of the Mahotsav are – Live demo for making Mahua wine, TAA Ras and Candy Mahua Imli Chutney etc; Live demo for making Lac bangles; Painting demo for 4 different school of painting i.e. Worli, Pithora, Gond and Saura; Fashion show for tribal textiles, fashion accessories etc. (23rd November) and Tribal Cuisines making and sale from different States.
Shri Nitin Gadkari calls upon the experts to promote the use of indigenous building material and precast technology in the highways sector
Says the focus should be on improving quality while reducing cost
CSIR-Central Road Research Institute has organized a two-day international conference titled “Pavements and Computational Approaches” from 16-17 November 2018, at its premises in New Delhi. The objective of the conference is to deliberate upon advancements in pavement technology and road infrastructure engineering across the world, with special emphasis to the requirements of developing countries. Experts will discuss issues related to design and construction of pavements, material characterization, computational analysis and modelling. Deliberations during the conference are likely to bring out new thoughts on technology up-gradation and its successful implementation in the field.
Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation has said in a video message that the mission of the Road Transport & highways Ministry is to build high quality roads at low costs. He called upon the experts at the conference to be ready to experiment with innovative technology, make all possible use of indigenous raw material including waste material, and promote pre-cast technology. He said the thrust of technological innovation should be on reducing costs and time for completion of projects without any compromise on quality.
The ageing infrastructure, road congestion, growth in heavy vehicle traffic, and insufficient maintenance have rendered the road transport inefficient in developing countries. Major challenges to the road network require a clear focus on enhanced pavement design, construction, performance evaluation, management and preservation for developing long-lasting, low-maintenance pavements. Within this milieu, enhanced and optimized solutions to the current problems have a key role in developing and preserving the road infrastructure. Dedicated R&D efforts are needed in the theme areas such as development of smart materials, innovative design and maintenance technologies, improved data analysis approaches for pavement performance and management, improvements in material behaviour characterization, use of soft computing tools for analysis and modelling of pavements.
About the Council: Composition: The Himalayan State Regional Council will be chaired by the Dr VK Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog and will consist of the Chief Secretaries of the Himalayan States as well as the Secretaries of key Central Ministries, senior officers of NITI Aayog as well as special invitees.
Objective: The Council has been constituted to review and implement identified action points based on the Reports of five Working Groups, which were established along thematic areas to prepare a roadmap for action.
Functions: The Himalayan States Regional Council will be the nodal agency for the Sustainable development in the Himalayan Region which consists of the twelve States namely Jammu &Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, two districts of Assam namely Dima Hasao and KarbiAnglong and Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal.
The terms of reference of the Council states that it shall monitor the implementation of action points for Central Ministries, Institutions and 12 Himalayan State Governments in Indian Himalayan Region which include river basin development and regional cooperation, spring mapping and revival across Himalayas in phased manner for water security; develop, implement and monitor tourism sector standards as well as bring policy coherence, strengthen skill & entrepreneurship with focus on identified priority sectors, among other action points.
Background: Recognizing the uniqueness of the Himalayas and the challenges for sustainable development, Five Working Groups were constituted by NITI Aayog on June 2, 2017. The five thematic reports were released by the NITI Aayog in August, 2018 and framed the action points for the Terms of Reference of the Council constituted.
These Working Groups were tasked with preparing a roadmap for action across five thematic areas namely:
Inventory and Revival of Springs in Himalayas for Water Security Sustainable Tourism in Indian Himalayan Region. Shifting Cultivation: Towards Transformation Approach. Strengthening Skill & Entrepreneurship (E&S) Landscape in Himalayas. Data/Information for Informed Decision Making.
The theme of the festival is: “A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture, Craft, Cuisine and Commerce”.
About Aadi Mahotsav: The Mahotsav will comprise of display and sale of items of tribal art and craft, tribal medicine & healers, tribal cuisine and display of tribal folk performance, in which tribal artisans, chefs, folk dancers/musicians from 23 States of the country shall participate and provide glimpse of their rich traditional culture.
The festival will feature exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery and much more through 100 stalls. Over 200 tribal artisans and artists from different States creating a Mini-India will be participating in the festival.
Significance of the event: As the name of this event Aadi Mahotsav suggests, it is it’s ‘Adi’ factor that is important about them. The Adivasi way of life is guided by primal truths, eternal values and a natural simplicity. The greatness of the tribes lies in this that they have managed to retain the primal skills and natural simplicity. Their creations issue from the depths of time. This quality gives their arts and crafts a timeless appeal. The crudest tribal handicraft instantly touches a primal instinct in all of us. This is particularly true in tribal music and dance.
These projects are “Development of North East Circuits: Bhalukpong- Bomdila – Tawang Project & Nafra- Seppa- Pappu, Pasa, Pakke Valleys- Sangdupota- New Sagalee- Ziro- Yomcha Project”.
About Swadesh Darshan Scheme: The Tourism Ministry had launched ‘Swadesh Darshan’ scheme with an objective to develop theme-based tourist circuits in the country. These tourist circuits will be developed on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner.
Features of Swadesh Darshan Scheme: The scheme is 100% centrally funded for the project components undertaken for public funding.
To leverage the voluntary funding available for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of Central Public Sector Undertakings and corporate sector.
Funding of individual project will vary from state to state and will be finalised on the basis of detailed project reports prepared by PMC (Programme Management Consultant).
A National Steering Committee (NSC) will be constituted with Minister in charge of M/O Tourism as Chairman, to steer the mission objectives and vision of the scheme.
A Mission Directorate headed by the Member Secretary, NSC as a nodal officer will help in identification of projects in consultation with the States/ UTs governments and other stake holders.
PMC will be a national level consultant to be appointed by the Mission Directorate.
India has been participating in the EAS since its very inception in 2005.
About East Asia Summit: The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian regions. Membership expanded to 18 countries including the United States and Russia at the Sixth EAS in 2011.
EAS meetings are held after annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.
EAS is an initiative of ASEAN and is based on the premise of the centrality of ASEAN.
EAS has evolved as a forum for strategic dialogue and cooperation on political, security and economic issues of common regional concern and plays an important role in the regional architecture.
There are six priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS. These are – Environment and Energy, Education, Finance, Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases, Natural Disaster Management, and ASEAN Connectivity. India endorses regional collaboration in all six priority areas.
Evolution of EAS: The concept of an East Asia Grouping was first promoted in 1991 by the then Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad. The final report of the East Asian Study Group in 2002, established by the ASEAN+3 countries (i.e. China, Japan and ROK), recommended EAS as an ASEAN led development limited to the ASEAN +3 countries.
However, the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) held in Vientiane on July 26, 2005 welcomed the participation of ASEAN, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand, in the first EAS. USA and the Russian Federation were formally included as members of the EAS at the 6th EAS held in Bali, Indonesia on 19 November 2011.
Outcomes of the meeting: The meeting deliberated upon various issues including the steps required for the capacity building and reforms in customs.
It also discussed and deliberated upon amended Kyoto protocol, digital customs, e-commerce among other issues.
Summary of various efforts made by National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) for trade facilitation was also tabled in the meeting.
World Customs Organisation (WCO): What is it? WCO is independent intergovernmental body whose mission is to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of Customs administrations. It was established in 1952 as Customs Co-operation Council (CCC). It is the only international organization with competence in Customs matters and is considered as voice of international Customs community.
It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
Composition: It represents 182 Customs administrations across the globe that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade.
Functions: It plays leading role in discussion, development, promotion and implementation of modern customs systems and procedures. It offers range of Conventions and other international instruments, as well as technical assistance and training services to its members. It also actively supports its members in their endeavours to modernize and build capacity within their national Customs administrations.
Objectives: It aims to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of member customs administrations and assist them to contribute successfully to national development goals, particularly revenue collection, national security, trade facilitation, community protection, and collection of trade statistics.
The general assembly of 22 prominent cooperative organizations from eight countries unanimously decided to focus on C2C and capacity development to meet challenges of climate change as transformative cooperatives.
About NEDAC: NEDAC was set up in 1991 by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). NEDAC sensitises Governments in the region on the role of agricultural cooperatives in promoting agricultural and rural development to ensure rural food and livelihood security for millions of people in Asia and Pacific.
The initiative is aimed at imparting in-service online training and information to police personnel through specialised courses available online which have been designed by experts in various fields.
The online courses on this portal have been designed in collaboration with University Grant Commission (UGC), FICCI, NHRC, NCPCR and Janaki Devi Memorial College, Delhi University under project CLAP “The Collaborative Learning and Partnership”.
It will have online courses and resources on law, standing orders, investigation checklists, forms for case files, latest High Court and Supreme Court rulings. It is envisioned that Investigating Officers (IOS) will be able to take benefit of this information during course of their duty or while handling case.
Significance: Through this portal Delhi Police officers can now access information by just logging on the portal. They can take course from anywhere at any time. It will make easier for the police officer to upgrade their skills and re-enforce their learning while balancing training time along with their daily routine work.
Context: Maldivian Coast Guard Ship (MCGS) Huravee has successfully completed her refit at Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam and the ship was formally handed over to Maldives recently.
Background: MCGS Huravee was originally commissioned as INS Tillanchang, a Trinkat class patrol vessel built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkatta in Mar 2001 and was subsequently gifted to Maldives by the Govt of India in Apr 2006 to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations and work together to ensure the maritime safety of the Indian Ocean Region.
Context: India International Cherry Blossom festival is scheduled to be held from November 14 to 17 in Shillong, Meghalaya.
Significance: This festival is the world’s only autumn cherry blossom festival. The festival is organised by Government of Meghalaya’s Forest & Environment Department as well as by the Institute of Bioresources & Sustainable Development (IBSD) in collaboration with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
Aim: The aim of the festival is to celebrate the unique autumn flowering of Himalayan Cherry Blossoms. The Cherry Blossom tree flowers only for a short period in a year. The festival will showcase full pink and white cherry blossoms found all along the roadside of the famous Ward Lake. Alongside, the festival will also showcase the region’s food, wine and crafts in addition with several cultural events.
IndusInd Bank launches India’s first interactive credit card with buttons.
The card empowers customers with a choice of payment options such as EMI, Reward Points or Credit at the push of a button at the point of sale.
The card has been created in partnership with Dynamics Inc, which is headquartered in Pittsburgh USA, and designs and manufactures intelligent, battery powered payment cards.
What is it? Astronomers have discovered a frozen planet with a mass over three times that of the Earth, orbiting the closest solitary star to the Sun.
Key facts: The potentially rocky planet is a ‘super-Earth’ and orbits around its host star once every 233 days, said researchers from Queen Mary University of London.
The planet lies at a distant region from the star known as the ‘snow line’ This is well beyond the habitable zone in which liquid water, and possibly life, could exist.
The planet’s surface temperature is estimated to be around -170°C, they said. However, if the planet has a substantial atmosphere the temperature could be higher and conditions potentially more hospitable.
Barnard’s star b is the second closest known exoplanet to our Sun. The closest lies just over four light-years from Earth. That exoplanet, Proxima b, orbits around the red dwarf Proxima Centauri.