Project Arth Ganga, Sikkim’s Statehood Day, ‘Mysuru: Craft Caravan of Karnataka’, Tribal Entrepreneurship
1. Project Arth Ganga
- The first meeting of the National Ganga Council in Kanpur on December 14, 2019 has been held.
- The Prime Minister of India had conceptualised ‘Arth Ganga’ to energise the economic activity along the Ganga river bank.
- He urged people for a holistic thinking process where ‘Namami Gange’ evolves to ‘Arth Ganga’.
- ‘Arth Ganga’ implies a sustainable development model with a focus on economic activities related to Ganga.
- The Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) aimed to develop river Ganges as a safe mode of navigation and is being implemented with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank. ‘Project Arth Ganga’ envisages to re-engineer the JMVP by involving the local community with a focus on economic activities in and around the Ganga river.
- Small jetties along the Ganga to boost the economic activities at the community level would be set up as part of the “Project Arth Ganga” to energise economic activity along river banks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. About 40 floating jetties and 10 pairs of Ro-Ro terminals are being planned on River Ganga in the four states in the Gangetic belt, which will bring down the logistics cost for farmers in the movement of local produce.
- Apart from providing benefits in terms of trade and access to markets, local community’s economic enhancement and passenger facilitation, the ‘Arth Ganga’ project will also ensure large scale skills enhancement and public/private sector capability development. “Project Arth Ganga” would catalyse economic develoment in the Ganga basin to generate economic benefit of more than Rs 1000 crores over the next 5 years.
- Arth-Ganga” project, which will result into inclusive growth and play a key role in generation of enormous employment opportunities in the National Waterways stretch.
- “Almost half of the Indian population lives around Ganges River belt in which about 1/5th of all India’s freight originates and 1/3rd terminates in the states around Ganges Belt.”
- Ministry of Shipping has taken several initiatives in last few years which has resulted into substantial growth in terms of increasing Inland Cruises from 3 to 9, Cargo from 30,00,000 MT to 70,00,000 MT, and Vessels in-flow from 300 to 700.
2. Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme
- The Government of India, the Government of West Bengal and the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB)t here today signed a loan agreement for a $145 million project to improve irrigation services and flood management in the Damodar Valley Command Area (DVCA) in West Bengal.
- The West Bengal Major Irrigation and Flood Management Project will benefit about 2.7 million farmers from five districts of West Bengal across 393,964 ha area with better irrigation services and improved protection against annual flooding to mitigate the impact of climate change.
India is adopting a strategic growth path that uses and manages its water resources more efficiently. This project will assist in improving irrigation and agriculture in the Damodar Valley Command Area, by optimizing the use of surface and groundwater and strengthening flood management, which will help boost agricultural productivity and increase incomes in rural areas.
3. Union HRD Minister e-Launches seven titles on "Psycho-Social Impact of Pandemic & Lockdown and How to Cope With"
- Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’today e-Launchedprint as well as e-editions of the set ofseven titles on “Psycho-Social impact of pandemic & lockdown and how to Cope With” under the corona studies series published by NBT India.
“To counter these formidable circumstances that the world is facing these days, NBT has brought out these remarkable and unparalleled set of books, and I hope that these books serve as guides to mental well-being of people at large”, The launching ceremony was followed by an e-interactive session with the researchers/authors of NBT Study Group.
- ‘unprecedented value addition that the area of psychological research and counselling that these books may entail in times to come, since very rarely in India a series of handbooks focused on Preventive Mental Health has ever been brought out’.
‘NBT’s role of a national body for book publishing and promotion in these times has become all the more important since well-organised information in the form of books have long-term impact on the readers and the same is being provided by the Trust through these initiatives.’
- The Corona Studies Series has been especially conceptualized by NBT to document and to provide relevant reading materials for all age-groups for the post-Corona readership needs, under the first-sub series of books focused on ‘Psycho-Social Impact of Pandemic and How to Cope With’ prepared by a Study Group comprising of seven psychologists and counsellors constituted by NBT.
The Study, which was conducted and analyzed between 27th March and 1st May 2020, finds the ‘fear of infection as the greatest source of anxiety followed by financial and domestic issues.’ Study Group has recommended ‘strengthening of Preventive Mental Health component of the National Mental Health Programme’ as a long term strategy to prepare a resilient and well-adapted post-Corona society, along with physical health, and socio-economic adaptability. Enlivened with some beautiful illustrations, made by some of the very accomplished illustrators, the books also provide very valuable and practical tips to cope with the mental stress and anxiety that may have been caused due to the Pandemic and the Lockdown.
4. INAE invites nomination for INAE Young Entrepreneur Award 2020
- Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), Gurgaon, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), has invited nominations for INAE Young Entrepreneur Award 2020.
- The award would carry a citation and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakhs to the selected individual candidate or to be shared by the group of individuals not exceeding three persons.
- The award presented to upto two candidates in a year has been instituted to encourage and recognize innovation and entrepreneurship among young engineers.
- Engineering innovations and concepts that have been actually realized and implemented in the industry either in new processes or products are preferred, and Indian citizens not older than 45 years as on 1st of January 2020 are eligible for consideration.
5. ‘Mysuru : Craft Caravan of Karnataka’ under "Dekho Apna Desh" series
- To showcase India’s rich handicraft heritage and make it accessible for the visitors and tourist to experience, Ministry of Tourism’s Dekho Apna Desh Webinar ‘Mysuru : Craft Caravan of Karnataka’ offered an immersive tour of crafts forms namely ChannapatnaToys , Rosewood inlay craft that have been thriving for centuries around the city of Mysuru.
They highlighted on the richness of India’s looms and craft and the need to build an alternate narrative around craft tourism and help indigenous craft find a spot on the tourist map.
The presentation also unveiled the opportunities for visitors to Mysuru to travel behind-the-scenes, to the towns and villages of craftspeople, who have helped preserve and nurture varied craft forms for Mysuru.
- Crafts are not only integral to India’s rich heritage and culture , they can become a central part of India’s economy.
- The Dekho Apna Desh Webinar series, launched on 14th April 2020, till date has conducted 19 sessions showcasing the varied tourism products and experiences that India offers across the country. This series has attracted a viewership of 86456 persons till date.
The National e-Governance Division (NeGD) created by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has been playing a pivotal role in supporting the Ministry in conducting of the DekhoApna Desh Webinars by providing technical assistance directly with a professional team thereby ensuring effective citizen engagement and communication with all stakeholders using the digital experience platform.
6. 'Goal' Programme will develop Tribal Entrepreneurship and connect Tribal Youth to Domestic and International Markets through Digital Platforms
- Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda launched the “GOAL (Going Online As Leaders)” programme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) in partnership with Facebook.
- The GOAL programme is designed to provide mentorship to tribal youth through digital mode.
- The digitally enabled program envisages to act as a catalyst to explore hidden talents of the tribal youth, which will help in their personal development as well as contribute to all-round upliftment of their society.
- The program intends to upskill and empower 5,000 tribal youths in the current phase to harness the full potential of digital platforms and tools to learn new ways of doing business, explore and connect with domestic and international markets as is the vision of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
The Minister explained that the programme has been designed with a long term vision to develop the potential of tribal youth and women to help them acquire skills and knowledge through mentorship in various sectors including horticulture, food processing, bee keeping, tribal art and culture, medicinal herbs, entrepreneurship among others.Starting with 5000, the programme can be extended to cover any number of tribal persons who show keen interest in being mentored to achieve their goals.
- This will go a long way in creating an environment for empowerment of tribal women by connecting them with digital world and use digital platforms to groom their talents.
In this program, 5000 scheduled tribe youth (to be called as ‘Mentees’) will get an excellent opportunity to get training by experts from different disciplines and fields (to be called as ‘Mentors’). There will be 1 mentor for 2 mentees. The program aims to enable Scheduled Tribe (ST) youth in remote areas to use digital platforms for sharing their aspirations, dreams and talent with their mentors.
- GOAL (Going Online As Leaders), Joint initiative of Facebook India with Ministry of Tribal affairs
- 5,000 young tribal entrepreneurs, professionals, artisans and artists will be trained on digital skills under digital entrepreneurship program
- Aspiring candidates invited to apply at online portal “goal.tribal.gov.in”
- Application will be open from May 4, 2020 till midnight of July 3, 2020.
- Leaders from the industry and academia invited to register as mentors on “goal.tribal.gov.in”
The program will also create awareness amongst tribal beneficiaries about various schemes initiated by Central and State Governments for welfare of STs as well as their fundamental duties.
Efforts will be made to integrate the program with other government schemes such as Mudra Yojana, Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, Skill India, Start Up India, Stand Up India, among others.
This will enable participants to leverage opportunities provided under these government schemes.
7. Sikkim’s Statehood Day celebrated on 16th May the day when Sikkim became the state
- 22nd state of the Indian Union in 1975 is Sikkim.
- The Prime Minister said, “Greetings on Sikkim’s Statehood Day. Home to talented and compassionate people, Sikkim has enriched national progress in many sectors. Sikkim’s progress in areas like organic farming have been admired all over. Praying for Sikkim’s progress in the years to come”.
- In the decades of the 19th century, Sikkim became a British protectorate, formalised by a convention signed with China in 1890.
- Before Indian independence, Jawaharlal Nehru passed a resolution in the Indian Constituent Assembly to the effect that Sikkim and Bhutan, as Himalayan states, were not ‘Indian states’ and they would be looked after separately.
- This sparked a movement in Sikkim, giving rise to the formation of Sikkim State Congress (SSC). It emerged into a civil disobedience movement.
- In 1975, the Prime Minister of Sikkim appealed to the Indian Parliament for Sikkim to become a state of India. The Indian Army in April took over the city of Gangtok and disarmed the Chogyal’s palace guards. 97.5 per cent of voters favoured a union with India and abolishing the monarchy.
- On 16 May 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union, and the monarchy was abolished.
- After a great struggle and seeing through different rules, Sikkim became part of the Indian union. This day is thus very significant to all the residents of the state.
