Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana (RKVY) program empowers local youth by way of providing entry level training in Industry relevant skills through Railway Training Institutes. The RKVY program is under aegis of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikasa Yojana (PMKVY) – a scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to achieve vision of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat. Total 50,000 Youths will be trained over period of three years in 75 Railway Training Institutes, spread all across India. Banaras Locomotive Works has been entrusted as nodal agency for implementation of RKVY program. Course content and Assessment procedure for Training has been developed by Banaras Locomotive Works.
The Sela Tunnel (under construction), located in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, will play a crucial role in bolstering national security and ensuring socio-economic development of the region.
1. The 17th Edition of Indo – US joint training exercise “EX YUDH ABHYAS 21” commenced at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska (USA) on 15 October 2021. The 14 days training schedule includes activities on joint training in a Counter Insurgency / Counter Terrorism environment under United Nations mandate. The joint exercise will facilitate both Armies to know each other better, share their wide experiences and enhance their situational awareness through information exchange. This will help them in undertaking joint operations at Battalion level in mountainous terrain with cold climatic conditions under the ambit of United Nations. Exercise YudhAbhyas is the largest running joint military training and defence cooperation endeavor between India and USA. This will be the 17th Edition of the joint exercise which is hosted alternately between both countries. The previous version of this exercise was held at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Bikaner, Rajasthan in February 2021. This exercise is another step in the growing military cooperation between the two countries. The exercise aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and inter-operability between two Armies. The joint exercise will focus on Combined Arms Manoeuvres in cold climatic conditions and is primarily aimed at sharing tactical level drills and learning best practices from each other.
The Government has decided to convert Ordnance Factory Board from a Government Department into seven 100% Government owned corporate entities, as a measure to improve self-reliance in the defence preparedness of the country. This move will bring about enhanced functional autonomy, efficiency and will unleash new growth potential and innovation.
The government recently launched the Climate Resilience Information System and Planning (CRISP-M) tool for integration of climate information in Geographic Information System (GIS) based watershed planning under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.
Two DNA chips for rice and chickpea, IndRA and IndiCA are the first Pan-Genome genotyping arrays in these two crops and will tap the huge potential of Indian plant biodiversity and genomic diversity towards food and nutritional security of the Nation.
Indian Space Association (ISpA) is the Premier Industry Association of Space and Satellite companies, which aspires to be the collective voice of the Indian Space industry. It will undertake policy advocacy and engage with all stakeholders in the Indian Space domain, including the Government and its agencies. Echoing the Prime Minister’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, ISpA will help in making India self-reliant, technologically advanced and a leading player in the space arena. ISpA is represented by leading home grown and global corporations with advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies. Its founding members include Larson & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, Bharti Airtel, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries and Ananth Technology Limited. Other core members include Godrej, Hughes India, Azista-BST Aerospace Private Limited, BEL, Centum Electronics, Maxar India.
As a part of its mission to improve the livelihoods of the tribals (both forest dwellers and artisans) and work towards tribal empowerment, TRIFED has been carrying out several programmes and initiatives. One such initiative is the Van Dhan Programme, which TRIFED is spearheading in 25 States and 307 Districts with availability of Minor Forest Produces as well as significant forest dwelling tribal population.
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) is aimed at increasing access of medicines at affordable prices to the citizens of the country. Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI) is the implementing agency of PMBJP. All the districts of the country have been covered under PMBJP. Effective IT-enabled logistics and supply-chain systems for ensuring real-time distribution of medicines at all outlets have also been introduced. With a vision to provide quality medicines at an affordable rate to the common man especially the poor, Government has set a target to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) to 10,000 by March 2024. As on 5th October, 2021, the number of stores has increased to 8355. These kendras will ensure easy access of affordable medicine to the people in every nook and corner of the country. At present three warehouses of PMBJP are functional at Gurugram, Chennai & Guwahati and fourth one is under construction at Surat. “Janaushadhi Sugam” a mobile application for Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) facilitates the public by providing a digital platform at the tip of their fingers. Under the Scheme, medicines are procured from World Health Organization – Good Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP) certified suppliers for ensuring the quality of the products. Apart from this, each batch of drug is tested at laboratories accredited by ‘National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories’ (NABL). Only after passing the quality tests, the medicines are dispatched to PMBJP Kendras. Medicines available under PMBJP are priced 50%-90% less than that of branded prices. During the financial year (2020-21), PMBJP has achieved sales of Rs. 665.83 crores (at MRP) during the last financial year. This has led to savings of approximately Rs. 4,000 crores of the common citizens of the country. Product basket of PMBJP presently comprises 1,451 drugs and 240 surgical instruments. Further, new medicines and nutraceutical products like glucometer, protein powder, malt-based food supplements, protein bar, immunity bar, etc. have been launched.
The fifth edition of India – Japan Maritime Bilateral Exercise, JIMEX, between the Indian Navy (IN) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF), is being held in Arabian Sea. JIMEX series of exercises commenced in January 2012 with special focus on maritime security cooperation. The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in September 2020. JIMEX-21 aims to develop common understanding of operational procedures and enhance inter-operability through conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the entire spectrum of maritime operations. Multi-faceted tactical exercises involving weapon firings, cross-deck helicopter operations and complex surface, anti-submarine and air warfare drills will consolidate coordination developed by the two navies. Naval cooperation between India and Japan has increased in scope and complexity over years. JIMEX-21 will further enhance the cooperation and mutual confidence between the two navies and fortify the long-standing bond of friendship between the two countries.
Recently, first consignment of GI tagged sweet dish Mihidana sourced from Bardhaman, West Bengal has been exported to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Recently, to commemorate the historical legacy of a century old sweet delicacy & GI certified - Jaynagarer Moa, prepared from popped-rice ball & fresh date-palm jaggery, in Jaynagar, West Bengal, India Post in collaboration with APEDA released a specially designed envelope. In August, 2021, India Post released a special cover on West Bengal''s sweetmeats Mihidana and Sitabhog. West Bengal’s Bardhaman got the GI tag for the century-old sweetmeats in 2017.
