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1. Shri Radha Mohan Singh addresses on the occasion of Aqua Goa Mega Fish Festival 2017 in Panaji

The Union Agriculture Minister said that Hon’ble Prime Minister of India has given a slogan of “Doubling the Farmer’s Income” with a vision to ensure overall development of the country. Blue Revolution is focusing to foster use of new and modern technology, training and capacity building of fishers and fish farmers, adoption of scientific advises & methods, species diversification and proper fish health management etc. The main aim of Government is to double the income of fishers and fish-farmers by 2022 through implementation of Blue Revolution"

Mariculture has been taken up under Blue Revolution to further enhance production from marine sector. Coastal States are provided with financial and technical support including training and capacity building.

On this occasion, the Shri Singh informed that the financial assistance for housing of fishermen has been increased from Rs. 0.75 lakh to Rs.1.20 lakh in General States and Rs.1.30 lakh for the North Eastern and Hilly States under the Welfare Scheme for Fishermen. Fishermen Housing Scheme has been merged with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) Scheme and its financial pattern and guidelines are making uniform.

Government of India has taken an important step on 9th March, 2017 by adding a new component under the Blue Revolution to promote tradition fishers in the Deep Sea Fishing0. Under the said component, the Government of India is providing 50% financial assistance i.e., upto Rs.40 lakh to the traditional fishers, their Self Help Groups, Societies and Organizations in acquisition of deep sea fishing vessels equipped with modern technology, which costs approximately, Rs.80 lakh per vessel.

2. Dr. Mahesh Sharma Inaugurates the ‘Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage’

Dr. Sharma, while inaugurating the three days ‘Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage’ in New Delhi on December 08, 2017 said that the message of Lord Buddha is as relevant in the twenty first century as it was two and a half millennia ago and has been a unifying force among nations. The values of peace, accommodation, inclusiveness, and compassion that are part of our societies can be attributed to the influence of the teachings of Lord Buddha and Buddhism.

The Minister said that ‘Bodhi Parva’ has entwined various threads of the Buddhist heritage into a beautiful melange including an exhibition of international and Indian Buddhist art and architecture, discourses by eminent scholars and practitioners of Buddhism, guided meditation and chanting by Buddhist monks and choir, screening of film on Buddhism, dance and music performances, quiz show and a food trail. These will help in building an awareness of BIMSTEC's rich and common heritage.

He said that as a regional organization comprising seven Member States around the Bay of Bengal that brings together about one – fifth of the world population and a combined GDP of over US $ 2.8 trillion, BIMSTEC has a crucial role in development of the region. BIMSTEC leaders have imparted fresh momentum to the organization at the Leaders' Retreat hosted by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Goa in October 2016. He said that the robust agenda that was agreed at the Retreat to achieve greater connectivity, trade, people-to-people contacts, and sustainable use of resources is being steadily implemented.

3. “Short-Term Courses Providing Employment to Youth of Minority Communities”: Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Shri Naqvi said that a large number of youth from minority communities has been getting employment and employment opportunities through “GST Facilitator” course. He added that they are helping small, medium enterprises and also big business groups. Similarly, “Sanitary Supervisors are getting jobs in different sanitation projects across the country. Lakhs of toilets, cleanliness centres, health centres are being constructed under “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” and these “Sanitary Supervisors” are also strengthening the cleanliness campaign”, Shri Naqvi said.

The Minister said that the effective mission of educational empowerment and skill development of the minority communities is fulfilling the commitment of the Government led by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, to the “Development with Dignity” of minorities.

Shri Naqvi pointed out that the Minority Affairs Ministry is spending more than 65 per cent of its total budget on the schemes aimed at educational empowerment and skill development of the youth belonging to the minority communities. He particularly mentioned various scholarship schemes, schemes for financial assistance for competitive exams, "Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls Scholarship has proved to be an important step towards the educational empowerment of minority communities. More than 1.5 crore students have been given various scholarships by the Ministry of Minority Affairs during the last 3 years. More than 3 lakh applications have been received for "Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls Scholarship", the Minister said.