Kathmandu: Sarswati Nepali received the prestigious Secretary’s Award for Global Anti-Racism Champions. Sarswati’s tireless advocacy sets a remarkable example for all, and this is a well-deserved recognition of her unwavering commitment to advancing the human rights of the Dalit community and other marginalized racial and ethnic groups.

To create a robust skill-centric and industry ready ecosystem in North-Eastern Region (NER), Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister for Culture, Tourism & Development Of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Shri G. Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics & IT today Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched a special initiative ‘Transforming Lives, Building Futures: Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in North-East in New Delhi today.

As part of the initiative, 2.5 lakhs youth of the NER will be provided with industry relevant skill training programmes through a wide array of schemes and initiatives, including Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSS). The Government has earmarked a substantial fund of Rs360 crore to facilitate inclusive development, nurture entrepreneurial talent, and propel the socio-economic growth of the region. To fuel further growth, the concerted efforts are being made to provide vocational education and skill development programs to cater to the demand for skilled professionals across sectors, including agriculture, tourism, handicrafts, and information technology.

Minister, Public Health Engineering, Skill Development Employment & Entrepreneurship and Tourism; Government of Assam, Shri Jayanta Malla Baruah; MLA, Advisor to Labour, Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Excise Department, Government of Nagaland, Shri Moatoshi Longkumer; Minister, Public health engineering and Water security, Water resources & River Development, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of Sikkim, Shri Bhim Hang Limboo and Secretary, Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari addressed the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that the program will create unprecedented skilling opportunities for the youth in line with their interest areas and lead to unlocking the potential of N-E youth. He also said that the north-eastern region of our country is abundant with natural resources and demographic dividend and with a whole-of-government approach, our government has worked to drive unprecedented development of the region. Today’s program will further give impetus to these efforts and lead to socio-economic transformation of the region, he further added. He also said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has envisioned to make India developed and Aatmanirbhar and a robust skill development mission is essential to make this dream a reality. We are working to make India, the skill-capital of the world, he further added.

Lauding the initiative, Shri G. Kishan Reddy said that this initiative of MSDE will benefit more than 2.5 lakh youth in phase one, which will make them job ready for domestic as well as international markets. This is yet another endeavour of Shri Narendra Modi’s government to make the NER the engine of growth.

Shri Rajeev Chandrashekar said that over the past 9 years, our Prime Minister has worked relentlessly to create a conducive skill ecosystem by laying emphasis on education, skilling and innovation. We are now looking into the future with current trends that can shape our skilling strategies. We are one of the youngest countries in the world with a demography that is of great relevance to global economies, he added. With the tremendous number of new opportunities being created in both entrepreneurship and in jobs, the need for skills have heightened. Transforming Lives and Building Future is not just a slogan, this is a mission for our Young Indians of North-East. We believe that the future of New India is bright and skilling is the passport for prosperity, he further added.

The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in North-East initiative lays emphasis on alignment of courses with National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF), bolstered by a digital infrastructure to develop well-rounded professionals. The event also deliberated on the need of enhancing industry participation in aggregating skill demand, simplifying training modules, curriculum development and augmenting training infrastructure to upgrade their skill sets in ‘earn while learn’ mode.

The special Initiative of “Transforming Lives- Building Futures: Skill and Entrepreneurship Dev in North-East will include:

2 Lakh skill training under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)

30,000 Apprenticeship Engagement under National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)

20,000 to be skilled under Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSS)

Quality enhancement of ITIs under skill strengthening for industrial value enhancement (STRIVE)

Strengthening of Polytechnics

Special projects will be taken up for the special needs of North-East region under SANKALP.

Skill India International Centre to be set up to promote overseas job opportunities.

Over the last nine years, MSDE has increased the network count of ITIs to 106 in north-eastern region. It has trained over 3 lakh beneficiaries and assisted 1000 entrepreneurs through Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE). MSDE has also trained about 12 lakh candidates under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) in textile, handloom, construction, apparel, agriculture, electronics and healthcare.

The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) has facilitated training to 38,240 candidates across 1,693 establishments in the last 7 years in north-east. Moreover, the centre has achieved significant success in training more 98000 beneficiaries with more than 72% women beneficiaries across JSS which stands as a testament to creating a robust skill ecosystem in the northeast region, empowering youth with domain and employability skills.

         The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu graced and addressed the 165^th convocation of University of Madras in Chennai today (August 6, 2023).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that founded in the year 1857, the University of Madras has the distinction of being one of the oldest modern universities in India. This university has played a critical role in dissemination of knowledge. Throughout its journey of over 165 years, University of Madras has adhered to high standards of academics, providing an environment that fosters intellectual curiosity and critical thinking. It has been a cradle of learning, producing countless scholars, leaders, and visionaries. It has also served as a lighthouse, playing a pivotal role in the establishment and growth of many reputed universities in the southern region of India.

Referring to the rich history and glorious legacy of the University of Madras, the President said that the alumni of this institution can play a significant role in its growth as a global centre of excellence. They can mentor the young students. She added that the University should also reach out to the alumni to seek their cooperation for the betterment of the institution. 

The President noted that the University of Madras has promoted a culture of research and academic rigor. She urged the University of Madras to invest more in cutting-edge research, encourage inter-disciplinary studies, and promote international collaborations. The University of Madras should be at the forefront of finding learning-based solutions to the problems being faced by the nation and the world at large.

The President said that in today’s highly competitive environment, the pressure to excel in academics, the fear of not getting into good institutions, the anxiety of not landing a prestigious job, and the weight of expectations from the parents and the society are causing acute mental stress amongst our youth. It is important that we come together as a society to address this issue and create an environment that promotes holistic growth and well-being of our students. She urged students to never let any anxiety over-whelm them. She advised them to have faith in their abilities and keep moving forward.

The President said that educational institutions should create an atmosphere that promotes two-way communication, where students feel comfortable discussing their fears, anxieties, and struggles without being afraid of judgment. We must strive to work collectively to create such an atmosphere where our youth feels loved, valued and empowered to face the challenges with confidence and courage.

Parliament has passed the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023 with Rajya Sabha approving it today. The Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill.

The Bill seeks to further amend the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017. The bill declares Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as institutes of national importance. Under the Act, the Director of an IIM is appointed by the Board of Governors, based on the recommendations of a Search-cum-Selection Committee. The Bill mandates the Board to obtain the prior approval of the Visitor before appointing an Institute Director.

Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, the Bill designates the President as Visitor of every Institute covered by the Act. He said, IIMs have been given autonomy so that they can emerge as centers of academic excellence. He added that the Centre has no intention of interfering with the academic autonomy of IIMs.

Amar Patnaik of BJD, G K Vasan of Tamil Manila Congress (M), Dr M Thambi Durai of AIADMK, and Masthan Rao Beeda of YSRCP among others participated in the discussion.

The President of India, Smt Droupadi attended the civic reception hosted in her honour by the Government of Puducherry. She inaugurated the Linear Accelerator at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) today (August 7, 2023). She also virtually inaugurated a 50-bed Hospital situated at Villianur.

Addressing the gathering, the President said that in Puducherry, we see a blending of diverse cultural streams. She said that the Tamil, Telugu, and Malayali influences are visible along with the impact of the French. She added that the architecture, the festivals and lifestyles reflect the diverse influences blending together in harmony.

The President said that the Union Territory of Puducherry has made a distinct mark at national and global levels. She was happy to note that in a study conducted by a reputed international agency, Puducherry ranks first in the Social Progress Index Score 2022 among all States and Union Territories. She added that it has performed very well on parameters of Personal Freedom and Choice, Shelter, Water and Sanitation. She also noted that Puducherry has one of highest literacy rates in the country and the sex ratio has been favourable to women. She said that these facts demonstrate that the people of Puducherry believe in gender equality. She appreciated the residents of Puducherry for their modern and sensitive approach to development and progress.

The President said that Puducherry is a wonderful destination for spiritual tourism which is fast becoming a global trend and has the potential to provide a strong boost to socio-economic development of this region. She added that with the growth in tourism, activities related to health tourism and eco-tourism would also get a boost.

Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, virtually addressed the Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) Symposium organised by IIT Madras in Chennai. In his address, he emphasized the government’s vision for DIR-V which currently aims to build a robust ecosystem for RISC-V with effective public-private partnerships and collaborations with premiere academic institutions like IIT Madras.

The DI—V program, launched last year, aims to boost India’s semiconductor ecosystem by creating advanced microprocessors. The Minister spoke about how DIR-V will create tech opportunities for every player in the industry and that it will play a vital role in achieving India’s techade goals.

“Today, for India, the Future is Bright, the Future is DIR-V. Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has already declared that this initiative will define India’s techade and present numerous tech opportunities. This will be driven by the creativity and innovation of our engineers and startups in India. Innovation, functionality and performance — these are the mantras for the coming years for the DIR-V program. The Government of India is fully committed to making DIR-V the Indian ISA (Instruction Set Architecture),” Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

The Minister emphasized the importance of such indigenous programs and mentioned that there is a growing demand for silicon chips in the ever-increasing digitalisation and for new applications that are yet to be discovered.

“As the internet becomes more complex with the emergence of 5G and 6G, new applications will be discovered. There will be more opportunities for silicon chips, semiconductors and other systems to find a place. When we talk about performance and applications, I see a future where many digital products that we consume today, whether it’s the cloud, data centers, mobile devices, tablets, servers for cloud services, automotive technologies, sensors, IoT, 5G, or 6G networks, we will see DIR V-based chips, devices, and systems in all of these,” Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar further added.

The minister explained how it is essential to keep DIR-V at the heart of all India’s goals of high-performance computing. “While we may continue activities and programs in the x-86 and ARM space, our main focus is on the DIR-V program. I am willing to commit that our High performance computing goals led by C-DAC and supported by various public-private partnerships, will have DIR-V at the heart of it,” he added.

Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar also highlighted the importance of going beyond basic functionality and putting more effort into developing cutting-edge systems that set new global standards.

“Our ambition in the India techade spans these three areas: the automotive industrial space with IoT, mobility, and computing, including high-performance computing. Our goal is to make sure that DIR-V has a serious presence in all of these three segments. The real message in addition to saying that we will back this program is that the expectation from the DIR-V community and the ecosystem is not just anymore about functionality. Today, we don’t just want functional systems, we want functional systems that are also cutting edge in terms of setting new benchmarks against other comparative systems and ISAs,” the Minister said.

Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar lauded the partnership between IIT Chennai and C-DAC, specifically in context of the DIR-V program, highlighting how such collaborations create a hub for creativity and innovation. “The collaboration between IIT Chennai and C-DAC has shown how IIT-Chennai has become a beacon for all other academic institutions around the world, as well as for those interested in being part of this rapidly galloping ecosystem of semiconductors and electronics innovation. IIT Chennai is fast becoming a hub for innovation and creativity, and a hub for future systems centered around DIR-V,” he said.

The one-day symposium showcased various tech innovations and saw participation from startups, students, and academicians from the industry.

New Delhi: Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was successfully injected into the lunar orbit on Saturday. Indian Space Research Organization in a tweet said, a retro-burning at the Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru. The next operation- reduction of orbit- is scheduled to take place on Sunday around 11 PM Indian Standard Time.

After lunar orbit injection, Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is slated to orbit the Moon multiple times, gradually approaching the Moon. Once it reaches a 100 km orbit above the lunar surface, the lander and rover will be detached and manoeuvred to soft-land on the surface of the moon. The spacecraft is expected to complete a 40-day journey to make a soft landing near the Moon’s south pole around August 23rd. India will be the fourth country to achieve this feat and the first to land softly near the lunar south pole. Chandrayaan 3 was launched on July 14 by GSLV Mark III launcher.

The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the ‘Festival of Libraries’ in New Delhi today (August 5, 2023). This Festival is being organized by the Ministry of Culture with the aim to promote development and digitization of Libraries and cultivate the culture of reading.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the development of libraries is correlated to the development of society and culture. It is also a measure of progress of civilizations. She stated that history is full of such references in which the invaders considered it necessary to destroy the libraries. This shows that libraries have been considered a symbol of the collective consciousness and intellect of a country or society. She pointed out that such incidents do not happen in the modern era but there are incidents of disappearance of rare manuscripts and books. She said that efforts can be made to bring back rare books and manuscripts.

The President said that libraries act as a bridge between civilizations. In ancient and medieval periods, people of many countries carried books from India, translated those and gained knowledge. At the heart of such efforts is the thought that books and libraries are the common heritage of humanity.

The President said that a small book has the potential to change the course of world history. She referred to Gandhiji’s autobiography, where he has mentioned about the great positive impact of John Ruskin’s book ‘Unto This Last’ on his life. She said that books contain in them the fragrance of the land and vastness of the sky.

The President said that efforts for conservation of manuscripts and modernization and digitization of libraries are very important. The nature of libraries is changing with the use of information and communication technology. Accessibility has become easier. She noted that the National Virtual Library of India is being developed to achieve the national goal of ‘One Nation, One Digital Library’. She expressed confidence that with the success of the National Mission on Libraries the culture of connecting with libraries and reading books would be strengthened.

The President said that libraries should become centers of social interaction, study and contemplation. She appreciated the Ministry of Culture for taking forward the national campaign for the development of libraries.

The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar today appealed to citizens to launch a Jan Andolan to ensure that all representatives of the people engage earnestly in the task that the Constitution has obligated them to perform.

Expressing concern that the “Temples of Democracy are being virtually ravaged”, the Vice-President cautioned citizens that unless these spaces are protected as platforms of discussion, dialogue and debate, they are likely to be occupied by forces that are neither representative nor accountable to the people of the nation.

Citing the example of the Constituent Assembly as a model to emulate, the Vice-President emphasized that dissent cannot be converted into protests, with dialogue and discussion being forsaken for disruption and disturbance. “The Constituent Assembly faced divisive and contentious issues, but these were always sorted out in a spirit of coordination, cooperation and collaboration,” he said.

Addressing the centenary celebration of the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University in Nagpur today, the Vice-President stressed that economic nationalism cannot be compromised on fiscal considerations. “Trade, industry and business have to be extremely sensitive to this. This can only be achieved by citizens awakening themselves to the importance of economic nationalism,” he urged.

Stressing that the reckless use of natural resources cannot be permitted, the Vice-President reminded citizens that no one had the right to use energy or water resources by virtue of their financial capacity. “Ensuring optimum utilization of these resources is our bounden duty,” he underlined.

Highlighting the prestige, reputation and standing that India has earned on the world stage, the Vice-President underscored that no individual should be allowed, “untenably and irrationally, to taint, tarnish and demean Constitutional institutions.” He called upon citizens to neutralize such anti-India narratives for these are antithetical to the interests of the nation.

Impressing upon students the importance of keeping an open mind towards diverging viewpoints, the Vice-President urged them to “be slow to judge and quick to understand”. “When you learn to appreciate the stand of others, you will be wiser,” he said. Encouraging ‘Warriors of 2047’ to give space to their talent, he advised them to “think critically, read widely, adapt consistently and widen horizons steadily” in their chosen paths.

The Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Ramesh Bais, Union Minister for Highways and Road Transport, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Vice-Chancellor of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Dr. Subhash Chaudhari and other dignitaries were also present at the event.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah chaired the 38th meeting of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language in New Delhi today. During the meeting, 12th volume of the report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language was also approved which will be presented to the President.

In his address, Union Home Minister said that in the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has kept “Panch Pran” in front of the country, out of which two Pran are- respect of heritage and erasing the signs of slavery. Shri Shah said that for 100% implementation of these two Pran, all the Indian languages and the official language will have to show their strength. He said that respect of heritage is incomplete without respect of language and acceptance of official language will come only when we give respect to local languages. Shri Shah said that Hindi is not in competition with local languages, the nation will be empowered only by promoting all Indian languages. He said that there is a need to develop acceptance for the official language without any kind of opposition, even if its pace is slow.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has taken the initiative to start engineering and medical courses in 10 languages and soon these courses will be available in all Indian languages and that moment will mark the beginning of the rise of local languages and official languages. He said that there can be no other favourable moment for the promotion of Indian languages as Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi proudly presents Hindi and all other Indian languages on global platform. Prime Minister Modi has never given a single speech in the Parliament in English and the Ministers of the government also try to give speeches in Indian languages, this gives a lot of momentum to the movement of connecting different languages.

Shri Amit Shah said that acceptance of official language does not come from law or circular but from goodwill, inspiration and encouragement. He said that Indian languages and their dictionaries remained intact even after the period of slavery, which is a great achievement. Shri Shah said that languages have worked to unite our country.

Union Home Minister said that since independence till 2014, nine volumes of report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language were submitted, and since 2019 three volumes have been approved. He said that these volumes have been prepared subject wise and the theme of 12th volume is ‘Simplification’. Shri Amit Shah thanked all the members of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language and expressed confidence that the committee will continue to work for the promotion and dissemination of the official language in the future as well. Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Union Ministers of State for Home Affairs Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra and Shri Nishith Pramanik and members of the Committee were present in the meeting.