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International Mother Language Day: History, significance

Photo credit: UNESCO

New Delhi (NVI): International Mother Language Day is being celebrated as Matribhasha Diwas in the country today with the Ministry of HRD leading the celebrations to promote the linguistic diversity of India.

The theme of the Day this year is ‘Celebrating our Multilingual Heritage’, reflecting the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’.

International Mother Language Day is celebrated across the globe on February 21 to celebrate the linguistic diversity that exists in the world.

History

The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh. It was approved at the 1999 UNESCO General Conference and has been observed throughout the world since 2000.

UNESCO has declared International Mother Language Day as a worldwide annual observance to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, and to promote multilingualism.

UNESCO has identified over 7,000 languages that are used (read, written and spoken) in different countries across the world.

VP Naidu bats for Indian languages in governance     

Yesterday, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu spoke in 22 languages at an event to mark Matribhasha Diwas, in New Delhi. He urged all the citizens to take a pledge to promote mother tongue and also learn other languages. On the occasion, the Vice President asserted that the usage of Indian languages can make governance in the country more people-centric.

He called for a national movement to promote Indian Languages in a big way, and said, “When we protect and promote mother tongues, we protect and promote linguistic and cultural diversity too.”

In a tweet today, Naidu said, “Indian languages must be made compulsory for recruitment up to a certain level in government jobs and local languages must be used in administration. I suggest making medium of instruction in local language mandatory up to high school level”.

He added, “the celebration of mother language, or matribhasha, shouldn’t end with the conclusion of the auspicious day, and instead, every day should be celebrated as Matribhasha Diwas or Mother Language Day.”

Union Cabinet Minister for Human Resource Development, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank also wished all Indians on the occasion and tweeted that language gives humans the basis of all creativity in life.

All Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools have been celebrating February 21 as ‘Matribhasha Diwas’ (Mother Language Day) for last three years.

Three-day Organic Food Festival at JLN stadium

New Delhi (NVI): In an effort to promote women entrepreneurship in the production and processing of organic products, a national exhibition – ‘Organic Festival of Women entrepreneurs’ has been organised at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi from February 21 to 23.

Ministry of Women and child development along with the Food Processing Ministry has collaborated for the three-day fest that was inaugurated by Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Harsimrat Kaur Badal, both heading the respective ministries.

The exhibition will bring together 150 women entrepreneurs who are certified under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) and 45 Self Help Groups from different states.

The festival will focus on facilitating business linkages and empowering women entrepreneurs through pre-arranged B2B and B2G meetings. There is no entry fee for the event, the Food Processing Ministry mentioned in a tweet.

Malaysia top plastic consumer in Asia: WWF report

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): A new World Wide Fund (WWF) report on Asia’s worst ocean polluters has found Malaysians to be the biggest individual consumers of plastic packaging. Following the analysis, the NGO has urged the Malaysian government to limit single-use plastics and work with companies to fund a recycling push.

The WWF report has analysed the data of plastic packaging placed on the market in six growing Asian economies — China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The report was commissioned by German consultancy GVM, which specialises in the packaging market.

The increasing use of plastics and limited recycling has led to an exponential rise in the quantum of plastic waste, the report finds.

Globally, over 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the early 1950s and about 60% of that has ended up in landfills or in the natural environment, it says.

When it comes to India, India it generates 9.46 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, of which 40% remains uncollected; 43% is used for packaging, most of it single-use, according to another report by Un-Plastic Collective (UPC), a joint initiative by the United Nations Environment Programme, CII and WWF India.

To put a complete stop to single-use plastic by 2022, the Narendra Modi Government has also recently launched an ambitious plan. 60 more countries have made commitments to address this issue.

Going back to the WWF report, it finds 93% of the waste of low-income countries is dumped in the environment, compared to 4% in high-income countries. Single-use plastics and packaging for consumer goods, particularly, increase plastic pollution. Globally, 36% of plastic usage is for packaging and over a third of it lands up into the environment, according to the report.

Of the six countries analysed in the report, Malaysia’s per capita plastic packaging consumption was found to be the highest, at 16.78 kg. It is followed by Thailand (15.52), China (14.08), Vietnam (12.93), Indonesia (12.5) and the Philippines (12.4).

In the other countries surveyed in the report, household usage of plastic films and bags and PET bottles is the highest. Overall, the total annual household plastic packaging consumption in these countries is at 27 million tonnes.

The report evaluates that China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam contribute 60% of the estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic that enter the world’s oceans each year.

The volume of plastic waste going into the ocean is set to quadruple between 2010 and 2050 globally, the report says, while indicating that the sea could contain more plastic by weight than fish by mid-century!

In northwest Syria, over half million children forced to flee

File/Representational Image

New Delhi (NVI): Over half a million children have fled violence in northwest Syria since December 2019 due to intense violence, with tens of thousands of children and their families now living in tents and in the open air amid very cold weather and rains.

Since the beginning of this year, 77 children were verified killed or injured due to the escalation of violence in the area, according to a UNICEF report.

“The situation in the northwest is untenable, even by Syria’s grim standards,” Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director was quoted as saying in the report.

“Children and families are caught between the violence, the biting cold, the lack of food and the desperate living conditions. Such abject disregard for the safety and wellbeing of children and families is beyond the pale and must not go on,” Henrietta says.

“We walked for three days and now live in tents. All of our belongings were soaked with rain and mud,” says a recently displaced mother originally from Saraqeb in Idlib, now living in the Aleppo area. “I have a very sick child who needs urgent surgery, but I cannot afford it. If my child dies, all I could do is bury him.”

Amid an escalating humanitarian crisis, in the recently received reports, about the last two operational hospitals in the western part of Aleppo governorate were hit, one of them a maternity and children’s hospital.

The carnage in northwest Syria continues to exact a horrific toll on children, according to the UNICEF Executive Director.  “It is time for the guns to go silent and for the violence to stop once and for all. Parties to the conflict must protect children and the infrastructure on which they depend, give families respite and allow humanitarian workers to respond to the massive needs, in accordance with international humanitarian law,” Henrietta added.

PM, Prez greet people on Maha Shivratri

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ramnath Kovind today extended greetings to the people on the occasion of Maha Shivratri, while praying for the blessings of Lord Shiva for everyone in the country.

In a tweet, PM Modi hoped that the blessings of “Baba Bholenath” bring happiness, peace and prosperity in the lives of all countrymen.

President Kovind also wished the people on the occasion with a message on Twitter.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu also extended his greetings. “On the auspicious occasion of #Mahashivaratri I convey my greetings to devotees all over the world. As we light up our homes and temples on this auspicious night, let us pray to Lord Shiva to bestow upon us the wisdom and courage to fight many evils within ourselves and outside,” he said in a tweet.

Delhi wakes up to pleasant weather after rains 

New Delhi (NVI): Delhiites woke up to a pleasant morning today as Delhi-NCR witnessed thunderstorm and rains accompanied by strong winds late yesterday.

The national capital saw a decrease in minimum temperature to 15.8 degrees celsius from 9.2 degrees celsius recorded yesterday due to rain showers across the North India.

The maximum temperature today is expected to be around 23 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Delhi’s Safdarjung observatory recorded 1.8 mm rains, Palam observatory recorded 3.2 mm precipitation.

Pathankot and Amritsar also witnessed scattered rains.

However, the precipitation was short-lived and not fairly widespread. After a brief spell, rains have come to a halt over most regions this morning.

Meanwhile, strong humid westerly winds are blowing over northern plains including Punjab, Haryana and West Uttar Pradesh for the last few days. Due to these winds, night temperatures had peaked over entire region.

Similar pattern continued during the last 24 hours as well. In fact, the minimum temperatures even showed an upward spike by about 4 to 5 degrees over most places.

The phenomenon behind these rains is a Western Disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir and adjoining areas.

This is likely to pass away by the night of February 21. Thereafter, northwesterly winds are likely to take over.

The cold winds will lead to fall in the temperatures. However, winter chill is not expected to make a comeback anymore.

Meanwhile, the overall air quality in the national capital today is in “moderate” category.

According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 166 which falls in the “moderate” category.

“No significant change temperature is expected in rest of the country,” it added.

India snubs China over Arunachal

External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar (File)

New Delhi (NVI): Hours after China objected to Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, India snubbed the neighbouring country, saying the comments do “not stand to reason “.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Ravish Kumar said since Arunachal Pradesh is a part of India, any Indian leader can visit it.

“Our position on Arunachal Pradesh is clear and consistent. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other states of India, ” Kumar said at a media briefing here.

“Objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to a state of India does not stand to reason and understanding of the Indian people,” he added.

Earlier in the day, China, which lays claim over Arunachal Pradesh, said it was “firmly opposed” to Shah’s trip as it “violated” its “territorial sovereignty and sabotaged political mutual trust”.

The objection was articulated by China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang.

Shah was in Arunachal Pradesh today to attend the 34th Statehood Day function and launch a number of projects related to industry and roads.

Second batch of Union ministers expected to visit J&K in April

(File)

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Another batch of Union ministers are set to visit Jammu and Kashmir in April this year as part of Centre’s reach-out programme in the Union Territory.

The first batch of 37 Union Ministers visited UT last month following a directive of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wanted an honest assessment of the various welfare schemes being implemented there, especially after the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year.

According to sources, near about 40 ministers are expected to visit Jammu and Kashmir after the upcoming Parliament session which starts from March 2 and concludes on April 3.

“Though the list has not been finalised but visit of another batch is on cards. Each minister will be visiting a particular district and see the project implementation after the budget,” sources in the government said.

They said this will be a follow up on certain schemes that were inaugurated earlier.

Among the Union minister who had visited Jammu and Kashmir last month were Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, ministers of state for home G Kishan Reddy and Nityanand Rai.

The Union ministers have already submitted their feedback to the PMO on the implementation of various development schemes there.

There were two sets of feedback — one on the initiatives taken by the UT administration and the other on the Centre’s initiatives — another official said.

Most of the central ministers stayed overnight at their respective places of visit such as Baramulla, Ganderbal, Doda, besides others.

Another PDP leader booked under PSA

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir administration today booked a close aide of PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, Peer Mansoor, under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).

Peer Manzoor, a former legislator who hails from south Kashmir is the fourth senior party leader to be booked under the PSA in the last couple of weeks. He served as Mehboob’s political advisor also.

Earlier, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Sartaj Madani and Naeem Akhter from the party were booked under this act.

Peer Mansoor continues to remain lodged at the MLA hostel along with bureaucrat turned politician Shah Faesal and Hilal Lone, son of Baramulla MP Akbar Lone.

The MLA hostel has been converted into a sub-jail, where as many as 34 political leaders of various mainstream parties have been kept since November 17 last year.

Earlier this month, Shah Faesal and Hilal Lone were booked under the public safety act (PSA). Senior NC leader Ali Mohammad Sagar (NC) was also slapped with the PSA.

Two former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, who are under detention at two separate places, were also booked under the PSA on February 6. NC president Farooq Abdullah is detained at his Gupkar house.

The administration had released five mainstream leaders including three former legislators from detention on January 16 and five others on December 30, 2019.

Polluted air, conflict among risks to a child’s health: Report

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): A new report by WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission has highlighted critical, emerging risks to child health and proposed novel solutions while calling for urgent action to achieve measurable results.

The report, ‘A future for the world’s children?’ constitutes the first comprehensive, independent report to reposition every aspect of child health through the lens of rapidly changing climate and other existential threats, according to WHO.

Launched yesterday, the report finds that the health and future of every child and adolescent worldwide is under immediate threat from ecological degradation, climate change and exploitative marketing practices that push heavily processed fast food, sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco at children.

The report says that despite dramatic improvements in survival, nutrition, and education over the past 20 years, “today’s children face an uncertain future”, with every child facing “existential threats”.

“In 2015, the world’s countries agreed on the sustainable development goals (SDGs), yet nearly five years later, few countries have recorded much progress towards achieving them,” says the report by a commission of 40 child and adolescent health experts from around the world.

Stefan Peterson, Unicef’s chief of health, said children living in the poorest countries are facing the brunt of a changing climate, despite having a tiny carbon footprint.

Stefan added, “These children face enormous challenges to their health and wellbeing, and are also now at the greatest disadvantage due to the climate crisis,” he said. “We need sustainable gains in child health and development, which means that big carbon emitters need to reduce their emissions for all children to thrive, poor and rich.”

According to the report, climate change, ecological degradation, migrating populations, conflict, pervasive inequalities, and predatory commercial practices threaten the health and future of children in every country.

“Despite improvements in child and adolescent health over the past 20 years, progress has stalled, and is set to reverse,” says former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Co-Chair of the Commission, Helen Clark.

The report includes an index of 180 countries that compares data on survival, wellbeing, health, education and nutrition; as well as sustainability, with a proxy for greenhouse gas emissions, and equity, or income gaps.

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