Chiranjeevi Inaugrates UNWTO Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development

Union Tourism Minister Shri K. Chiranjeevi inaugurated United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Conference on sustainable tourism development at Hyderabad today. Speaking on the occasion , the Minister said that in the coming years, the Asia and Pacific regions with their vast range of destinations and products can achieve higher growth in tourism by developing synergy to promote tourism products and destinations jointly. He said “ Intra-regional and inter-regional cooperation holds the key to the growth of this sector. Further, the tourism industry with its established contributions towards economic growth, employment generation and social integration, will have to be made sustainable for drawing the benefits over a longer period of time”. He further mentioned that while it is important to create platforms for building informed consensus; it is equally important to communicate the importance of sustainability. The Tourism Minister said “The policy makers should establish effective communication channels for sensitizing the masses and taking the stakeholders along. The local self-governments, the local communities and the youth can be an instrument and the force to take forward the agenda of sustainability. He said India is one of the first countries to have developed guidelines for sustainable tourism and guidelines for hotel classification encouraged the industry to adopt eco-friendly practices. 
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in collaboration with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, is hosting the 25th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commissions for East Asia & Pacific and South Asia and the UNWTO Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development in Hyderabad from the 12th to 14th April 2013. 

MoU for Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education Signed Between India and Germany

Two MoUs were signed between India and Germany yesterday - a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of Higher Education and a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) regarding Promotion of German as a Foreign Language in India. The MoUs were signed by the Human Resource Development Minister, Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju at the 2nd Inter Governmantal Consultations held at Berlin. The HRM is accompanying the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during his visit to Germany. The Chancellor of Germany, Prof. Dr. Ms. Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister for Education and Research of Germany was also present on the occasion. The MoU for cooperation in Higher Education envisages devising mechanisms of co-operation and sets the agenda for improving educational relations between the two countries. The MoU chiefly supports a new jointly funded programme entitled “Indo-German Strategic Partnerships in Higher Education (IGSP)” to intensify institutional linkages and to open up new and innovative areas of cooperation. India and Germany have committed to earmark 3.5 million Euros from each side for an initial period of four years (2013-2016) to support programmes under IGSP. Federal Minister of Germany Dr. Wanka expressed hope that the hoped that the two MoUs signed will further strengthen the collaborative efforts. Both leaders noted that German language is highly sought after in India and therefore the need to provide quality teaching staff in schools as well as Universities to impart language training will be felt more in the coming years. During the Inter Governmental Consultations, Dr. PallamRaju also laid emphasis on the following areas: Max Planck Institute Partnerships for encouraging basic research in Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research(IISERs); Fraunhoffer Model of collaboration between industry and academia(applied research) for IITs and NITs and TU9 universities from the German side; Research in Social sciences and Humanities in which Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) will be a major partner from the Indian side; and use of ICT in intercultural exchanges particularly comparative linguistics of Sanskrit and German languages.

IIIDEM Conducts Training for Election Officials from Across The World

India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) of Election Commission of India has commenced its second training course under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme of Government of India. The two-week training programme (from 10 to 23 April, 2013) is on “Election Management: Emerging Challenges”. 30 senior election officials from 19 countries of different continents are taking part in the programme. 

The special course has been designed for mid-career election officials of India’s ITEC-partner countries. The course has been organized with support from Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. This is the latest in the series of ECI’s initiatives to share experience, skills and expertise with its counterparts in the spirit of South-South Cooperation. 

The participating countries are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cambodia, Gambia, Ghana, Lebanon, Lithuania, Palestine, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago and Uzbekistan. The Course covers various aspects of election management and includes field level exposure to ECI’s election machinery. The course has received tremendous response from Election Management Bodies from across the world. IIIDEM conducts both national and international training courses on all aspects of election management on regular basis. 

Indo-Russian Co-Operation Agreement Signed

The Government of India and Government of Russian Federation have signed on April 10, 2013 in Moscow a Regulation defining the structure, functions and procedure of the Joint Commission which has been established by an Agreement signed on December 21, 2010 in New Delhi in the field of Emergency Management. 

Shri Sushilkumar Shinde, Union Minister of Home Affairs and Mr.Vladimir Puchkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters have singed this agreement. 

The agreement will enable both the countries to help each other in the field of prevention and elimination of the consequences of emergency situations. It will further strengthen the bond of friendship between the two countries and enhance the Indo-Russian Co-operation. 

The Indo-Russian Commission will ensure the implementation of the Agreement which was signed on December 21, 2010 in New Delhi for catalyzing cooperation in the field of Emergency Management and contribute to the well being and safety of the people of both the countries in the event of disasters and also to exchange mutually beneficial scientific and technical information in the area of Emergency Management. The meetings of the Joint Commission will be alternatively held in India and Russia. 

Lalit K Panwar is New Secretary of Minority Affairs

Lalit K Panwar assumed charge of Secretary ,Ministry of Minority Affairs here today. He replaces Shri Sutanu Behuria, IAS (HP:76).  Lalit K Panwar is an IAS officer of 1979 batch and belongs to Rajasthan Cadre. He was holding the charge of Vice Chairman and Managing Director ITDC under the Ministry of Tourism. 

Judges Appointed to the Supreme Court

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President has appointed Shri Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri, Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court and Shri Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, as Judges of the Supreme Court of India, in that order of seniority, with effect from the date they assume charge of their office. 

Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191 Commissioned

Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191, the fifth of the series of twelve Air Cushion Vehicles (ACVs) was commissioned at Mumbai by Director General Indian Coast Guard Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal. 

The 21 metres long Air Cushion Vehicle with 31 tonnes displacement can achieve a maximum speed of 45 knots. The ACV is capable of undertaking multi-farious tasks such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and rendering assistance to small boats/craft in distress at sea. 

The Air Cushion Vehicle H-191 will be based at Okha under the Administrative and Operational Control of the Commander Coast Guard Region (North-West). 

The hovercraft is commanded by Commandant IJ Singh and has a crew of two Officers and eleven Enrolled Personnel. 

The commissioning ceremony was witnessed by Inspector General SPS Basra, Commander Coast Guard Region (West) and other dignitaries from Central and State Government. 

ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance for 2012 Presented

The Chairman of the Awards Jury of Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) along with former Chief Justice of India, Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah on 5 April 2013 presented the ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance -2012 to two Best Governed Companies. These two companies were Indian Oil Corporation Limited and HCL Technologies Limited. These awards were presented during the ongoing 2nd CSIA International Corporate Governance Conference. The Company Secretaries of the awardee companies, Raju Ranganathan- the Company Secretary of Indian Oil Corporation Limited as well as Manish Anand- the Company Secretary of HCL Technologies Limited were honoured for the contribution in adhering to good corporate governance practices. ICSI Life Time Achievement Award for the year 2012 was conferred upon Deepak S. Parekh, Chairman, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd. He was given the award for translating excellence in Corporate Governance into reality. Apart from this, the Certificates of Recognition were presented to the top five companies which were: CMC Limited, Engineers India Limited, ONGC Limited, Persistent Systems Ltd., Power grid Corporation of India Limited.

World renowned film critic Roger Ebert died

American film critic Roger Ebert died after a long battle with cancer in Chicago on 4 April. He was 70. He was found to be suffering from thyroid cancer in 2002, losing his jaw and his ability to speak in a subsequent surgery. But he later resumed writing full-time and also returned to TV, the BBC reported. Ebert, known for his thumbs-up or down reviews on a TV programme with partner and friend Gene Siskel, became a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967 and later became the first person to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. His columns were syndicated in hundreds of newspapers worldwide. On 2 April, Ebert had written on his popular blog that he was facing a fresh bout with cancer and was taking a "leave of presence," writing fewer reviews.

He had suffered a hip fracture in December, which he said "had recently been revealed to be a cancer."He wrote that the disease was being treated with radiation, which had also made it impossible for him to attend as many movies as he used to.

UNWTO Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development Held at Hyderabad

United Nations World Tourism Organisation ( UNWTO) Commission’s Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development and 25th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia, Pacific and South Asia will be held at Hyderabad from 12th to 14th of April 2013.
The Union Tourism Minister informed that till date 21 countries namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, LAO PDR, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam have confirmed their participation. He said the UNWTO will be represented by Mr. Taleb Rifai, Secetary General and his team. This meeting will also be attended by the Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). 

National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched “National Programme for the Health Care of Elderly” (NPHCE) during 11th Plan period to address various health related problems of elderly people, keeping in view the recommendations made in the “National Policy on Older Persons” as well as the State’s obligation under the “Maintenance & Welfare of Parents & Senior Citizens Act 2007”. 

The aim of the NPHCE programme is to provide separate and specialized comprehensive healthcare to the senior citizens at various level of State healthcare delivery system including outreach services. The major components of the NPHCE during 11th Five Year Plan were establishment of 30 bedded Department of Geriatric in 8 identified Regional Medical Institutions (Regional Geriatric Centres) in different parts of the country and to provide dedicated health care facilities in District Hospitals, CHCs, PHCs and Sub Centres in 100 identified districts of 21 States. The programme is being implemented in a phased manner and initially 100 districts have been selected from 21 States in 11th FYP. It is proposed to cover more districts under the programme and develop 12 additional Regional Geriatric Centres in selected Medical Colleges of the country during 12th Five Year Plan . 

As per latest reports, Geriatric OPD has been opened at 5 Institutes viz. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; Grants Medical College & JJ Hospital, Mumbai;Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS); Govt. Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati Medical College, Assam. Among the States, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Orissa, Punjab and Rajasthan have reported opening of Geriatric OPD/Ward at various District Hospitals. Bi-weekly Geriatric Clinic at CHCs started at Bilaspur, Jashpur Nagar and Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Mewat and Yamuna Nagar (Haryana), Leh (J&K) and Shimoga& Kola (Karnataka). Weekly Geriatric Clinics at PHCs have been started at Mewat (Haryana), Leh (J&K) and Shimoga&Kolar (Karnataka). 

Plan for 2013-14: 

? Establishment of National Institute of Aging at AIIMS, New Delhi and Madras Medical College, Chennai. 

? Continuation of programme activities in the existing 100 districts and 8 Regional Geriatric Centres. 

? Add four (4) new Regional Geriatric Centres. 

? Add more districts in a phased manner. 

Approval for continuation of scheme for special Infrastructure in Left Wing Extremism affected states

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for continuation of the Scheme for Special Infrastructure (SIS) in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states during the 12th Plan period (upto 31.03.2017). The proposal includes an added objective of upgradation and critical gap filling of training infrastructure, residential infrastructure, weaponry, vehicles and any other related items pertaining to Special Forces of LWE affected states. The total cost would be Rs. 373 crore comprising Rs. 280 crore as central government share and Rs. 93 crore as state government share on a 75 (central) : 25 (state) funding pattern. 

The scheme will enhance the security in the region which would provide an enabling environment for development. 

The scheme was being implemented from the year 2008-09 with the broad objective to adequately provide for critical infrastructure requirements that are critical to the policing and security needs in the field, but are not adequately or otherwise provided for in any other scheme. During the 11th Plan period 100 percent funding was provided by the Central Government to the 9 LWE affected states for implementing various projects under the scheme. The total funds release under the scheme by the central government to the 9 LWE affected states during the 11th Plan period is Rs. 445.82 crore. 

Gujarat bags PATWA Awards for “Best Destination for Cultural Festivals” and “Best Emerging Tourism Destination”

The International Council of Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA).
PATWA has awarded Gujarat as the “Best Destination for Cultural Festivals” at a recently held annual ITB Convention in Berlin. Gujarat had also pocketed an award at the annual ITB Convention 2012, for the “Best Emerging Tourism Destination”.

5th BRICS Summit held in Durban

South Africa hosted the fifth BRICS Summit from 26 to 28 March 2013 at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC). This will complete the first cycle of BRICS summits.

The central area of discussion was under the overarching theme, BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialisation.

Subsequent to the discussions that took place at the Business Forum Meeting, the industry leaders from the business communities of the five countries namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed on the following points:

• BRICS and Africa will forge a closer partnership for development integration and industrialisation.
• BRICS countries will actively support infrastructure development and industrialisation on the African continent in order to contribute to its development and to expand trade links between Africa and BRICS.
• The global economic situation, though improving, continues to remain uncertain with the Euro-crisis a major concern. The recovery seen in the US and the continued steps taken by the Euro Zone countries to address the sovereign debt crisis are worth noting. The task ahead is to build on these developments and BRICS countries remain committed to the cause of promoting sustainable growth.
• Greater economic cooperation amongst BRICS countries is imperative. This can help in addressing some of the domestic challenges each of us face as well as prove beneficial for global economic growth.
• China and Brazil have agreed to establish a currency swap line worth around 30 billion dollar in their respective currencies, which they say is designed to protect against future global financial crises.

Chitra Ramkrishna to take over as NSE chief

National Stock Exchange is set to have a new chief on April 1, when Chitra Ramkrishna will take over as Managing Director and CEO and join the select league of women leaders at the helm of affairs of leading stock exchanges of the world. The 49-year old Ms Ramkrishna, who was part of the leadership team that helped set up the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early 90s, would be only the third person to head the bourse in its entire history of about two decades.

 As MD and CEO of the NSE, Ms Ramkrishna succeeds Ravi Narain who would assume the role of non-executive Vice Chairman with effect from April 1, 2013, after serving in various leadership roles at the exchange since its inception. Mr Narain had served as Deputy Managing Director of NSE in its first six years and as MD and CEO thereafter. Mr Narain had succeeded R H Patil, who was the first chief of NSE. In November 2012, the board of directors of NSE decided to elevate Mr Ramkrishna, then its Joint MD, as Managing Director and CEO with effect from April 1, 2013.