Pib

Pib

1. Fourteenth Meeting of the Special Committee for Inter-Linking of Rivers held today

The meeting confirmed the minutes of the 13th meeting of the Special Committee for Inter-linking of Rivers held on July 27, 2017 at New Delhi. It also reviewed the follow-up action on the decisions taken during the last meeting. The other issues taken up included the status of clearance of Ken-Betwa Link Project, Damanganga-Pinjal and Par-Tapi-Narmada Link Projects. The meeting was informed that the clearances for Ken-Betwa Link Project have been given and MoU is likely to be signed soon. For the other two projects also all major issues have been resolved. Other topics that were discussed include Surplus Water in River Basin for Interlinking of Rivers, Status of Intra-State link proposals, Restructuring of National Water Development Agency, Constitution of Group of Financial Aspects under TFILR, Consideration of inter-linking of rivers (ILR) projects as National project and Alternative proposal of Diversion of Godavari water upto Cauvery basin (Phase-I).

Shri Gadkari stressed upon the need to design better technical models that aimed at bringing down construction cost while maintaining quality, so that projects do not languish for want of funds. He also called upon state governments to explore new financing models including low-interest loans from foreign agencies.

Shri Gadkari said that inter-linking of rivers will bring a big social economic change in the country, and usher in prosperity in many regions that are poorly developed today. He said if we are able to save the enormous amounts of river water that gets lost to the seas as run-off, and are able to divert this to water deficit regions, we can solve the problem of water scarcity that exists in several states today.

2. Raksha Mantri takes to Skies in an IAF Su-30 MKI

After her recent visit to INS Vikramaditya, the aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy, Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, on her visit to Air Force Station Jodhpur, took to the skies in the formidable Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft of 31 Squadron. In her 45 minutes of sortie, she was demonstrated some of the unique characteristics and strengths of this mighty twin engine Air Superiority Fighter (ASF). She is the first woman Defence Minister of India to fly a sortie in an IAF Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft.

3. Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is leading the Indian delegation to 10th Global Forum for Food & Agriculture, Berlin, Germany from 18th -20th January 2018

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the future of the global agri-food industry. It is held during International Green Week (IGW) and will be taking place in its current shape for the eighth time. The forum gives representatives from the worlds of politics, business, science and civil society an opportunity to share ideas and enhance understanding on a selected topic of current agricultural policy. The GFFA is organised by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMEL) in cooperation with GFFA Berlin e.V., the Senate of Berlin and Messe Berlin GmbH.

Specific aspects of the GFFA’s main theme will be explored in more detail in different event formats. The opening event in 2018 will outline the key issue and explain how it will be addressed by the various GFFA events. The main events are the Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference hosted by the BMEL, and the International Business Panel Discussion hosted by GFFA Berlin e.V.

4. Union Home Minister reviews implementation of Action Plan for development of eight backward districts in Uttar Pradesh

The eight districts in Uttar Pradesh are among those 115 backward districts across the country picked up by the NITI Aayog for rapid transformation by 2022. For each of the Districts, a senior official in the rank of Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary has been nominated as Prabhari Officer. The eight districts are Bahraich, Balrampur, Chandauli, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur, Shravasti, Siddharth Nagar and Sonbhadra. Prabhari Officers, who have undertaken a visit to their respective districts, said the districts fared poorly in Health and Nutrition and Primary Education. Most districts lacked Infrastructure and the acute shortage of doctors and paramedics in Government Hospitals and Clinics. To overcome the shortage of teachers in schools, it was proposed that there should be localized recruitment.

The 115 backward districts have been allotted to various nodal Central Ministries for real-time monitoring and ranking. MHA has been delegated responsibility in respect of 35 Left Wing Extremism affected districts.

5. PM Modi, Israeli PM Netanyahu dedicate iCreate to the nation

Prime Minister Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today dedicated to the nation, the iCREATE facility located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. iCreate is an independent Centre created with the objective of facilitating entrepreneurship through a blend of creativity, innovation, engineering, product design and leveraging emerging technologies to deal with major issues such as food security, water, connectivity, cybersecurity, IT and electronics, energy, bio-medical equipment and devices etc. iCreate aims to develop an ecosystem in India to generate quality entrepreneurs.

The two leaders visited various stalls that highlighted technologies and innovations across diverse fields.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that innovation has a key role to play in bringing the people of India and Israel, closer to each other. He said the entire world has taken note of the technological prowess and creativity of Israel.