President's Secretariat *The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, graced and addressed the 66 th convocation of the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda today (January 22, 2018). *President said that Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad had envisaged this University to promote quality higher education in the region. *He had supported and encouraged talented people from underprivileged sections of society, including Dr B.R. Ambedkar. *At the time there were very few people with such an expansive vision.
*Later in the day, the President graced the 150 th anniversary of Akshar Deri at Gondal. *Speaking on the occasion, the President noted that the Swaminarayan Sanstha is engaged in providing assistance to spread education among weaker sections. *Similarly, it is providing health services for the welfare of people. *He praised the humanitarian work of the Swaminarayan Sanstha.
Vice President's Secretariat *Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has asked the medical researchers to come up with path breaking advances in the prevention and treatment of cancer. *Vice President said that researchers must explore ancient Indian medical systems like Ayurveda for alternative solutions. *We should see if there are some indigenous cost-effective solutions that may be useful to make cancer treatment more affordable, he added. *Cancer is a major public health concern in India and has become one of the 10 leading causes of deaths
*The Vice President asked doctors and students in the medical profession to create awareness on the need to observe personal hygiene and maintain sanitation. *The Vice President has appealed government, media and doctors to promote measures that prevent cancer. He also said that there is further need to educate people about available treatment options. *The Vice President said that Yoga training should be imparted to students as part of ensuring healthy lifestyles. *Yoga is a holistic approach to healthy living and there is evidence that it enhances the well being and quality of life, he added.
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare *Union Minister of State for Agriculture & FW, Shri Gajendra Singh Sekhawat led an Indian delegation comprising of Dr OP Chaudhury, Joint Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries and HK Suanthang, Director, DACFW, to participate in the Agriculture Ministers Conference held on 20.01.2018 in Berlin, Germany during the 10th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture. *Attended: 69 agricultural ministers and heads of 6 international organisations including FAO, WTO and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). *Theme: Shaping the Future of Livestock Sustainably, Responsibly, Efficiently
*Union Minister of State highlighted India s impressive performance in the dairy, meat and poultry sector and the initiatives taken by India in the field of diseases control and animal welfare. *Shri Sekhawat also stressed the actions taken by India to mitigate the effect of climate change, both in the animal and crop sector and called upon the developed countries to abide by the principles of equity but common and differentiated responsibilities towards tackling climate change. *Shri Sekhawat accompanied by the delegation also utilised their visit to Berlin for meeting Agriculture Ministers from 3 other countries Germany, Argentina and Uzbekistan.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change *Dr. Harsh Vardhan has emphasised the need to break the mindset of working in silos and to work collectively towards developing synergy for technological solutions and for optimal utilization. *He said that all sorts of problems can be solved through science, but the approach towards it needs to be changed in favour of collaborative efforts and developing synergies. *Recollecting the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, talking of Scientific Social Responsibility, Dr. Harsh Vardhan averred that there is an urgent need to put science to use for the benefit of people.
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation *India will be hosting the International Dam Safety Conference - 2018 at Thiruvananthapuram on January 23-24. *Central Water Commission is organizing the event in association with Kerala Water Resources Department (KWRD), Kerala State Electricity Board, National Institute of Technology Calicut and College of Engineering, Trivandrum. *Launched in the year 2012 with a financial outlay of D2100 Crores, this World Bank aided project aims at the rehabilitation of old dams in the country that may be experiencing distress and are in need of attention for ensuring their structural safety and operational efficiency.
*As part of this exercise, Dam Safety Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) as been engaged in bringing greater awareness on dam safety issues and finding novel solutions to address them by pooling the best technologies, knowledge and experience available around the world. *The upcoming conference at Trivandrum will see the participation of 550 delegates from over 20 countries. *A software programme - Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application (DHARMA)- will also be launched during the conference. DHARMA is a web tool to digitize all dam related data effectively.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment *A National Conference of the State channelizing Agencies, Public Sector Banks and Regional Rural Banks of National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) held on 19 th January 2018. *Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot and Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar addressed the participating agencies and advised for better coordination with NHFDC and Channelising agencies for the smooth and better implementation of NHFDC Schemes for the benefit of larger number of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan).
Ministry of Finance *National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has made its First investment today. *NIIF has partnered with DP World to create an investment platform for ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India. *The platform will invest in opportunities in the ports sector, and beyond sea ports into areas such as river ports and transportation, freight corridors, port-led special economic zones, inland container terminals, and logistics infrastructure including cold storage.
*The first close of the NIIF Master Fund took place on October, 16, 2017 with contributions from a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and four Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), viz., HDFC Group, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Life and Axis Bank. *An India-UK Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF) is also being set-up under the fund of funds vertical of NIIF, and shall have anchor commitments of GBP 120 million each from Government of India (through NIIF) and Government of UK. *Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance said, NIIF, set-up to function as a major platform in India for attracting foreign investments, has made good progress. We are pleased to learn of NIIF s first investment to create an investment platform in the ports and logistics sector
Following its First Close in October 2017 on the fund-raising side, and now with its first investment, NIIF is making visible progress. *The NIIF is being operationalized by establishing three Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) under the SEBI Regulations. *The proposed corpus of NIIF is Rs. 40,000 Crores (around USD 6 Billion). GOI s contribution to the AIFs under the NIIF scheme shall be 49% of the total commitment. *NIIF has mandate to solicit equity participation from strategic anchor partners, like overseas sovereign/quasi-sovereign/multilateral/bilateral investors.
Ministry of Defence *INSV Tarini entered Port Stanley (Falkland islands) today during it s maiden voyage to circumnavigate the globe. *This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew. *The vessel is skippered by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, and the crew comprises Lieutenant Commanders Pratibha Jamwal, P Swathi, and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta. *Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon ble Raksha Mantri had flagged-off INSV Tarini from Goa on 10 September 17. The vessel has covered approximately 15000 Nautical miles from Goa, crossing the Equator on 25 September 17, Cape Leeuwin on 09 November 17 and Cape Horn on 18 January 18.
*.
*.
1. Charak was physician of A. Harsha B. Chandragupta Maurya C. Ashoka D. Kanishka 2. Headless statue of Kanishka was fount at A. Allahabad B. Sanchi C. Mathura D. Taxila 3.Kenneth Juster: Ambassador of USA to India
1. Provide the Capital of Argentina and Uzbekistan 2. Name a dam that is in Kerala but is owned by Tamil Nadu. Hint: This dam has been in news for a very long time because of the conflict situation it has created between the above given States of India. 3. Falkland Islands belongs to Argentina. True or False? Justify
Subscribe Download PrashantTMavani