Prasar Bharati News Service - PBNS

2023-06-06 11:56:25 Didi Cafe providing access to low-cost food, snacks, coming up in UP


A strategy has been framed to introduce 'Didi Cafe' in 17 municipal corporation cities in Uttar Pradesh, including Mathura, Firozabad, and Vrindavan in the Agra division. This Didi Cafe will only be maintained by women's self-help groups, which will provide access to low-cost meals, snacks, and other facilities in areas where women are employed through these canteens, reported HS.

The effort is part of the Centre's goal of empowering women who are connected to self-help groups established via the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM). Officials have said that many efforts by women's organisations from Chhattisgarh and other states will be involved in the cause. A pilot experiment is already ongoing in Varanasi, according to a senior member.

The decision to begin the campaign is believed to have been made during a meeting also attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Amrit Abhijat, Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department.

It was also determined that the 'Didi Cafe' would be run in the municipal corporations of the Agra division in the first phase, the results of which would enable the authorities devise a future strategy. Mathura, Vrindavan, Firozabad, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Jhansi, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Meerut, Aligarh, Moradabad, Saharanpur, and Shahjahanpur may emulate Agra after successful implementation of the project.

Vishal Sharma, Vice Chairman of Hindustani Biradari, commented on the idea, saying, "While building Didi Cafe is a commendable step and will greatly assist in the upliftment of women, only urban women will be able to find work in such a scheme due to its location in cities. A comparable plan for rural women should be implemented by the government." He further claimed that previous Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had given acid attack survivors land plots in Agra and Lucknow to build cafes and generate jobs for acid attack survivors. The caf?s were a huge success and aided in the rehabilitation of acid attack victims. ओपन / कमेंट

2023-06-06 11:33:05 India, US finalise roadmap for defence industrial cooperation & co-development of new tech


India and US have decided to identify opportunities for the co-development of new technologies to facilitate increased collaboration between defence start-up ecosystems of the two countries, the Defence Ministry of India informed on Monday, June 5. The decisions were locked during the range of bilateral meetings between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III in New Delhi.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in India on a two-day visit to discuss ways to further expand bilateral strategic engagement ahead of PM Narendra Modi's official state visit to Washington on June 22. During the meeting, both countries discussed a substantial range of bilateral defence cooperation issues and also concluded a roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation for the next few years. 

The decision intends to transform the "paradigm" for bilateral defence sector collaboration between the two countries, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi said in a statement. It will "fast-track technology cooperation and co-production in areas such as air combat and land mobility systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, munitions, and the undersea domain", it said.

According to the US Embassy's statement, the roadmap includes specific proposals that could provide India access to cutting-edge technologies. It said both leaders pledged to review regulatory hurdles impeding closer industry-to-industry cooperation and also agreed to initiate negotiations on a Security of Supply Arrangement and a Reciprocal Defence Procurement agreement, which will promote long-term supply chain stability.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary Austin explored ways of building resilient supply chains. They also discussed regional security issues given their shared interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Taking to Twitter, Minister Rajnath Singh said, "Our talks revolved around enhancing defence cooperation in several areas, including convergence of strategic interests and enhanced security cooperation." The Minister further added that the India-US partnership is critical for ensuring a free, open, and rules-bound Indo-Pacific region. "We look forward to closely work with the US across the domains for capacity building and further consolidating our strategic partnership," he said. 

At a media briefing, Defence Secretary Austin said the US-India partnership is a "cornerstone" for a free and open Indo-Pacific and the deepening ties showed how technological innovation and growing military cooperation between the two "great powers" can be a force for global good. Emphasising further on the importance of joint military exercises between India and US, he added, "We face a rapidly changing world. We see bullying and coercion from China, Russian aggression against Ukraine, and transnational challenges such as terrorism and climate change."

Thanking Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Secretary Austin tweeted, "His leadership has helped paved the way for deeper collaboration, joint exercises, and technology sharing between our two countries."

The two sides reviewed their extensive and varied defence cooperation efforts on a bilateral basis and decided to keep the dialogue going. They also welcomed the opening discussions on defence artificial intelligence and defence space. In light of their shared goal of preserving peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, they also spoke about regional security challenges. ओपन / कमेंट

2023-06-06 10:17:52 India Rankings 2023 released, IIT Madras retains its top position in engineering


The India Rankings 2023 has been released, which serves as a valuable tool for students in selecting universities. The selection of universities is based on their relative standing in various categories and subject domain. The multi-dimensional parameters of India Rankings have successfully captured the quality and excellence of HEIs in the country.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras retains its 1st position in Overall Category for fifth consecutive year and in engineering for eighth consecutive year. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru tops the Universities Category for eighth consecutive years. It stood first in Research Institutions Category for the third consecutive year.

IIM Ahmedabad tops in Management subject retaining its first position for fourth consecutive year. It was ranked amongst the top two in management subject of the India Rankings from 2016 to 2019.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi occupies the top slot in medical for the sixth consecutive year. Moreover, AIIMS is ranked at 6th position in Overall category thereby improving from its 9th position in 2022.

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad tops the ranking in pharmacy for first time pushing Jamia Hamdard to the second slot.

Miranda House retains the 1st position amongst Colleges for the seventh consecutive year. IIT Roorkee stands at 1st position in Architecture subject for the third consecutive year.

National Law School of India University, Bengaluru retains its first position in Law for the sixth consecutive year. Colleges in Delhi maintained their dominance in ranking of colleges with five colleges out of first 10 colleges from Delhi.

Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Education and External Affairs released the India Rankings 2023. It implements the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) drafted for this purpose by the Ministry of Education in 2015.

Dr. Ranjan on this occasion, stated that ranking and accreditations are vital for evaluating the quality of educational programs offered by higher education institutions in colleges and universities. He said that the Ministry of Education took the commendable steps of drafting National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2015, which defines multi-dimensional parameters to capture quality and excellence of HEIs in India across various categories and subject domains and rank them based on their cumulative score on these parameters.

India Rankings help universities in identifying areas for improvement in teaching, research, resources and infrastructure. There has been an increase in the number of institutions who have applied for ranking in different categories and subject domains. However, the minister stressed upon the requirement of working collectively to bring more and more institutions under the ambit of India Rankings as well as accreditation.

This is the eighth consecutive edition of India Rankings of HEIs in India. During the maiden year of India Rankings 2016, rankings were announced for universities as well as for three domain-specific rankings, namely engineering, management and pharmacy institutions. Over the period of eight years, four new categories and five new subject domains have been added to bring the total tally to five categories namely- Overall, University, Colleges, Research Institutions & Innovation and 8 subject domains, namely Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Architecture & Planning, Medical, Law, Dental and Agriculture and Allied Sectors.

A noticeable increase in institutional participation this year indicates its recognition amongst institutions of higher education in India as a fair and transparent ranking exercise. 100 institutions are being ranked in Overall Universities, Colleges and Engineering since inception of India Rankings in 2016. Moreover, the number of institutions ranked in Management and Pharmacy have increased from 75 to 100 each from 2022 onwards. ओपन / कमेंट

2023-06-06 09:47:48 राजनाथ सिंह और जर्मनी के रक्षा मंत्री के बीच सुरक्षा और रणनीतिक मामलों पर होगी बातचीत


रक्षा मंत्री राजनाथ सिंह आज, 6 जून 2023 को नई दिल्ली में अपने जर्मन समकक्ष बोरिस पिस्टोरियस के साथ द्विपक्षीय बातचीत करेंगे। जर्मनी के रक्षा मंत्री पिस्टोरियस भारत की चार दिवसीय यात्रा पर कल राजधानी पहुंचे हैं।

इन मुद्दों पर होगी चर्चा

दोनों के बीच होने वाली इस बैठक में औद्योगिक सहयोग पर ध्यान देने के साथ-साथ द्विपक्षीय रक्षा सहयोग के कई मुद्दों पर भी चर्चा होने की संभावना है। उधर, नई दिल्ली में इनोवेशन फॉर डिफेंस एक्सीलेंस (iDEX) की ओर से आयोजित एक कार्यक्रम के दौरान जर्मनी के रक्षा मंत्री के कुछ रक्षा स्टार्ट-अप्स से मिलने की भी संभावना है।

जर्मनी के रक्षा मंत्री करेंगे मुंबई की यात्रा

वहीं, कल बुधवार, 7 जून 2023 को जर्मनी के रक्षा मंत्री मुंबई की यात्रा करेंगे, जहां वो पश्चिमी नौसेना कमान के मुख्यालय और मझगांव डॉक शिपबिल्डर्स लिमिटेड का दौरा करेंगे।

भारत और जर्मनी के संबंध

भारत 1951 में युद्ध पश्चात जर्मनी के साथ युद्ध की स्थिति समाप्त करने वालों और जर्मनी संघीय गणराज्य को मान्यता देने वाले पहले राज्यों में से एक है। लोकतंत्र के साझे मूल्यों तथा कानून के शासन पर आधारित संबंध 1990 में भारत के आर्थिक उदारीकरण तथा शीत युद्ध समाप्त हो जाने के बाद काफी सुदृढ़ हुए हैं। पिछले दशक में, भारत और जर्मनी के बीच आर्थिक एवं राजनीतिक दोनों तरह की अंत:क्रिया में काफी वृद्धि हुई है। आज जर्मनी द्विपक्षीय एवं वैश्विक दोनों संदर्भों में भारत के सबसे महत्वपूर्ण साझेदारों में से एक है।

याद हो बीते वर्ष मई 2022 में जर्मनी के संघीय गणराज्य और भारत सरकार ने संघीय चांसलर ओलाफ स्कोल्ज और प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी की सह-अध्यक्षता में, अंतर-सरकारी परामर्श के छठे दौर का आयोजन किया था। उस दौरान सुरक्षा के क्षेत्र में सहयोग को मजबूत करने की दृष्टि से, दोनों पक्षों ने वर्गीकृत सूचनाओं के आदान-प्रदान से जुड़े एक समझौते पर बातचीत शुरू करने पर अपनी सहमत व्यक्त की थी। साथ ही दोनों पक्षों ने वैश्विक सुरक्षा चुनौतियों का संयुक्त रूप से समाधान करने के लिए रणनीतिक साझेदार के रूप में द्विपक्षीय सुरक्षा एवं रक्षा सहयोग को और अधिक मजबूत करने की जरूरत को भी स्वीकारा था। दोनों पक्ष सुरक्षा और रक्षा से जुड़े मुद्दों से संबंधित द्विपक्षीय आदान-प्रदान को तेज करने पर भी सहमत हुए।

इसके अलावा, दोनों पक्षों ने सक्रिय रूप से यूरोपीय संघ के तहत और अन्य भागीदारों के साथ अनुसंधान, सह-विकास और सह-उत्पादन की गतिविधियों को द्विपक्षीय आधार पर बढ़ाने की मांग की। इस संबंध में, दोनों पक्ष नियमित रूप से द्विपक्षीय साइबर परामर्श जारी रखने और रक्षा प्रौद्योगिकी उप-समूह (डीटीएसजी) की बैठक को फिर से आयोजित करने पर सहमत हुए थे। दोनों सरकारों ने दोनों देशों के बीच रक्षा सामानों सहित उच्च-तकनीक के व्यापार को बढ़ाने के प्रति अपना समर्थन व्यक्त किया था।

वहीं आज, 6 जून 2023 को जर्मनी के रक्षा मंत्री बोरिस पिस्टोरियस भारत के रक्षा मंत्री राजनाथ सिंह के साथ औद्योगिक सहयोग पर ध्यान देने के साथ-साथ द्विपक्षीय रक्षा सहयोग के कई मुद्दों पर चर्चा करने वाले हैं, जो दोनों देशों के रिश्तों को और मजबूत करेंगे। ओपन / कमेंट

2023-06-06 09:42:50 India and Namibia co-chair the 1st Joint Commission of cooperation

India and Namibia co-chaired the inaugural session of the Joint Commission of Cooperation, with the Indian side led by External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and the Namibian side by DPM and FM Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Monday.

Aimed at strengthening the cooperation between the two countries, the inaugural Session of the JCC, will enhance and consolidate the cordial and fraternal relations between the two countries.

Taking to Twitter while speaking of the details of the meeting, the EAM said, "Co-chaired the 1st Joint Commission of cooperation between India and Namibia with DPM and FM Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah this morning. Underlined that our contemporary cooperation should build on long-standing political goodwill and our growing development partnership.

"Discussed advancing our ties in energy, green hydrogen, transport & connectivity, digital, pharmaceuticals, food security, science & technology and culture. As also wildlife collaboration and eco tourism. Our perspectives regional and global issues are similar and drive our working together in international forums," EAM added.

Further, shedding light on the India-Namibia ties, the EAM said Namibia occupies a very special place in the hearts of Indians.
He said India supported Namibia’s independence and Indians were very pleased to see Namibia take its rightful place in the comity of nations.

Meanwhile, in Namibia on his first official visit, EAM Dr. S Jaishankar also held meeting with Namibian President Dr Hage G. Geingob and conveyed the personal greetings of PM Narendra Modi. During the visit, EAM Dr. S Jaishankar also participated
in inauguration of India-Namibia Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (INCEIT) in Windhoek.

Earlier on Sunday, EAM Dr. S Jaishankar also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Windhoek, Namibia.

During the address, the EAM sheds light on the shared India-Namibia historic ties, as well as the new expression of friendship. He also apprised the Indian diaspora about the progress in India and its impact on Indians living abroad. ओपन / कमेंट

2023-06-06 08:42:23 New Cooperation Policy to be unveiled in July, promises to strengthen grassroot movement

The New Cooperation Policy is expected to be unveiled in July, 2023 after consulting all the stakeholders including state governments, central ministries and departments, National Cooperatives and other relevant organizations. In this regard, a presentation to Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, was made by Suresh Prabhu-the chairman of the National Level Committee for drafting New National Cooperation Policy document.

Committee members also briefed Shah about objectives, vision and mission of the draft Policy along with key recommendations in various sectors and Shah also gave his guidance on how to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s vision of ‘Sehkaar se Samriddhi’ and to strengthen the cooperative movement at the grassroot level through the new policy.

The committee for drafting New National Cooperation Policy was formed on 2nd September 2022 with a view to prepare a new National Policy under Amit Shah. The other members of the committed are Dileep Sanghani, Chairman, NCUI, K V Shahji, Chairman, NABARD, Jyotindra Mehta, Chairman, NAFCUB, P K Aggarwal, Financial Advisor, D/o Cooperation, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Dr. Umakant Dash, Director, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Satish Marathe, Director, RBI, Dr C Pitchai, Professor, Gandhigram Rural University, Dr. Hema Yadav and Director, VAMNICOM. Secretary (Cooperation), Additional Secretary (Cooperation) and a few others.

The briefing by the committee members also included structural reforms & governance, cooperatives as vibrant economic entities, level playing field for cooperatives, sources of capital and funds, inclusion of priority sections, use of technology, upskilling and training, sustainability and implementation plan and a few others.

The policy is intended to further strengthen the cooperative movement at the grassroot level through the new policy. The committee will prepare a revised draft as per the guidance received from the concerned minister.

The drafting Committee is chaired by Suresh Prabhu, former Union Minister. It comprises of 49 members drawn from all over the country and various stakeholders such as officers of cooperation department of various state governments, ministries, departments of central governments, institutions like IRMA, RBI, National federations like IFFCO, NCCF, NAFCARD, NAFCUB, KRIBHCO, NFCSF, NCUI, NAFED, representatives from Cooperative Societies in various sectors, academicians and experts.

The process of forming a new National Cooperation Policy was initiated when the concept was discussed in the conference of State Cooperation Secretaries held in 2022. More than 500 suggestions were received from various stakeholders and the general public for the draft policy document. ओपन / कमेंट

2023-06-06 04:02:24 JUNE 6, 2023, TUESDAY, ASHADH, KRISHAN PAKSHA, TRITIYA, मंगलवार , आषाढ़, कृष्ण पक्ष , तृतीया, वि. सं. 2080
TODAY AN EYE ON
• रक्षा मंत्री राजनाथ सिंह नई दिल्ली में जर्मनी के रक्षा मंत्री बोरिस पिस्टोरियस के साथ द्विपक्षीय वार्ता करेंगे

• भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक (RBI) की छह-सदस्यीय मौद्रिक नीति समिति (MPC) की बैठक 6-8 जून के बीच होगी, बैठक के अंतिम दिन आरबीआई गवर्नर शक्तिकांत दास अपने निर्णय की घोषणा करेंगे

• केरल के मुख्यमंत्री पिनाराई विजयन शाम 4 बजे तिरुवनंतपुरम में विधानसभा के आर शंकरनारायणन थम्पी हॉल में K-FON परियोजना का शुभारंभ करेंगे

• तमिलनाडु के मुख्यमंत्री स्टालिन तेयनमपेट जोन चेन्नई में विजयराघव रोड पर 500 शहरी स्वास्थ्य केंद्रों का उद्घाटन करेंगे

• आंध्र प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री वाई.एस. जगन मोहन रेड्डी पोलावरम परियोजना स्थल, अमरावती का दौरा करेंगे

• महिला जूनियर एशिया कप 2023 में भारत और दक्षिण कोरिया के बीच काकामीगहारा, जापान में शाम 5:30 बजे मुकाबला ओपन / कमेंट

2023-06-06 03:51:35 JUNE 6, 2023, TUESDAY, ASHADH, KRISHAN PAKSHA, TRITIYA, मंगलवार , आषाढ़, कृष्ण पक्ष , तृतीया, वि. सं. 2080
TODAY AN EYE ON
• Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh to hold bilateral talks with German Federal Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in New Delhi

• RBI’s Six-Member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to meet between June 6-8, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das to announce its decision on last day of the meet

• Kerala,CM Pinarayi Vijayan to launch K-FON project at R Sankaranarayanan Thampi Hall of legislative Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram at 4 PM

• Tamil Nadu CM Stalin to inaugurate 500 urban health centers at Vijayaraghava Road in Teynampet zone Chennai

• Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to visit Polavaram project site, Amaravati

• Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023, India vs South Korea Kakamigahara, Japan at 5:30 PM IST ओपन / कमेंट

2023-06-05 16:19:41 India is moving forward with clear roadmap for climate change, environment: PM Modi


"India of the 21st century is moving forward with a very clear roadmap for climate change and environmental protection," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while addressing the nation on World Environment Day.

Underlining the theme of this year's Environment Day, the campaign to get rid of single-use plastic, PM Modi expressed happiness that India has been working continuously in this direction for the past 4-5 years. He said, "On the one hand, we have banned single-use plastic while on the other hand, plastic waste processing has been made mandatory". The Prime Minister further informed that there has been a compulsory recycling of about 30 lakh tonnes of plastic packaging in India which is 75 percent of the total annual plastic waste produced in India.

Stating that India has created a balance of present requirements and future vision, PM Modi said solar power and LED bulbs have helped in saving people’s money as well as contributing towards protecting the environment.

PM Modi also noted in his speech that the number of wetlands and Ramsar sites in India has increased almost 3 times as compared to earlier. In addition, he also announced two more schemes, namely ‘Amrit Dharohar Yojana’ and ‘Mishti Yojana’ that have been launched today to further the campaign of Green Future, Green Economy.

‘Amrit Dharohar Yojana’ will ensure the conservation of these Ramsar sites through public participation, making them the center of eco-tourism and a source of green jobs for thousands of people. The ‘Mishti Yojana’ will help in reviving as well as protecting the mangrove ecosystem of the country. Additionally, the PM informed that mangrove cover will be restored in 9 states of the country and help in mitigating the threat to lives and livelihoods in coastal areas from disasters like cyclones.

“In the thousands of years old culture of India, there is nature as well as progress”, the Prime Minister remarked as he credited its inspiration to India’s attention to ecology and economy. He said that as India is investing unprecedentedly in its infrastructure, it is focussing equally on the environment. He further added that while India built 4 crore houses for the poor, there has been a record increase in the number of Wildlife Sanctuaries as well as wildlife in India.

PM Modi also highlighted India becoming the 5th largest economy in the world and also joining the top 5 countries in renewable energy, increasing agricultural exports, and also running a campaign for blending 20 percent ethanol in petrol.

Adding to his speech, PM Modi recalled making a request to the world community on Environment Day last year where he had asked to share innovative solutions to bring climate-friendly behavioral change in individuals and communities. "This consciousness towards climate change is not limited to India only, the global support for the initiative is increasing all over the world,” the PM said. ओपन / कमेंट

2023-06-05 14:17:35 आद्र भूमि संरक्षण के प्रति भारत की प्रतिबद्धता प्रशंसनीय

आद्र भूमि संरक्षण के प्रति भारत की प्रतिबद्धता भी प्रशंसनीय है। देश में अंतर्राष्ट्रीय महत्व के आद्र भूमि और रामसर स्थलों की संख्या बढ़कर 75 हो गई है। भारत वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम दर्शन में विश्वास करता है। दुनिया को एक परिवार मानता है और सात बिग कैट बाग- शेर, तेंदुआ हिम तेंदुआ, जगुआर और प्यूमा के संरक्षण के लिए अंतर्राष्ट्रीय बिग कैट एलायंस जैसे बंधन का सहयोग भी देता है।

भारत ने दुनिया को दिखाया है कि जब हम प्रकृति प्राथमिकता देते हैं तो प्रगति संभव है। इस प्रकार मिशन लाइफ का जन्म हुआ, जिसका अर्थ है लाइफ स्टाइल फोर एनवायरमेंट। ऐसे में इस बार विश्व पर्यावरण दिवस पर हम सभी भारत की उल्लेखनीय यात्रा से प्रेरणा लें। साथ ही याद रखें कि हर कार्य हमारी पृथ्वी को संरक्षित करने में मायने रखता है। ओपन / कमेंट