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VP urges civil servants to improve delivery of welfare programmes 

iipa
M. Venkaiah Naidu at 65th Annual Meeting of Indian Institute of Public Administration

New Delhi (NVI): Observing that people’s involvement was vital in development activities, Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has urged civil servants to improve the delivery of people-centric programs like Swachh Bharat, Per Drop more Crop and Skill India so that the fruits of development reach the most deserving.

Addressing the 65th Annual Meeting of the General Body of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) here on October 18, said that Swachh Bharat was a classic example of societal transformation in which extraordinary results were made possible through active involvement of people, he said  “This is the kind of approach which seems to hold great promise in most of the societal projects”. 

Stating that the bottom-up approach of grass-root level transformation by active involvement of citizens was the best way to achieve inclusive growth, Naidu said that it was the same approach proposed by Mahatma Gandhi to achieve Poorna Swaraj. 

Observing that Gandhi’s overarching vision of Poorna Swaraj could provide the inspiration for country’s relentless efforts to reform administration and transform governance, he said the primary objective of Gandhi Ji’s constructive programme was to ensure basic freedoms and a peaceful and good quality of life for all citizens.

Pointing out that India was growing at a faster rate than many other major economies of the world, despite the global slowdown,he expressed his happiness that India’s programmes to build infrastructure and connect India were going on at unprecedented pace and citizen services were improving in both reach and quality.

“Government was keen to unleash the forces of growth and was not only making India an attractive investment destination but also making every Indian an agent of change,” he said.

He also complimented the Government for focusing on human and social development and for providing better access to quality healthcare through Ayushman Bharat Programme and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

Speaking on IIPA’s role, the Vice President wanted such institutions to become knowledge hubs and catalyze the transformative process. He expressed happiness that IIPA training, hitherto limited to the Central Government officers, has now expanded to the State Governments and Foreign Governments too.

The Vice President appreciated IIPA’s role in enhancing the development objectives and appreciated its various initiatives with several Ministries. He expressed hope that IIPA’s evaluations being done with scientific rigour will help the government to further improve the effectiveness and efficiency in all the programmes.

On this occasion, the Vice President also gave away prize to awardees in various categories and released various Publications.

 -sb

 

India-Nepal Buddhist Circuit tourist train flagged off

Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train
Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train

New Delhi (NVI): As part of its drive to boost domestic tourism through Indian Railways, the first of its kind Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train between India and Nepal was flagged off here on October 19.

For the current Season the train will run from 19th to 26th October 2019, covering the Major Destinations like Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Sarnath, Varanasi, Lumbini, Kushinagar, Sravasti & Agra.

The significance of these destinations are associated with the life of Gautam Buddha. And it can be seen in the Mahaparinirvana sutra, where in the Lord Buddha tells his followers that they can attain merit and a noble rebirth by going on pilgrimage to the places.

The Buddhist tourist train takes to these places and helps gain first hand experience of the self disciplined and legendary life of Lord Buddha. India, the country where Buddhism originated has rich footprints of the Buddhist legacy. 

It will also help tourist to visit Stupas (stone cased moulds that commemorated relics of Buddha), Chaityas (prayer halls) and Viharas (cells for the monks)  closely for a true religious experience. Come, discover the path to enlightenment, towards Buddha.

IRCTC is offering many attractive packages for the tourist, an AC first class pakage will cost Rs.1,23,900 per couple, while AC second tier will cost Rs. 1,01,430 per couple.

The Packages also include Journey by Exclusive AC Train, Road Transport by AC Deluxe coaches, Visit monuments and locations, Accommodation, Meals. 

-sb

Indian, Mongolian armies train for counter terrorist operations

Indian and Mangolian Armies participating in a joint exercise in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.

New Delhi (NVI): The joint military exercise “Exercise Nomadic Elephant XIV” between Indian Army and Mongolian Army, concluded with primary focus was to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in mountainous terrain under United Nations mandate.

The entire curriculum was planned in a progressive manner wherein the participants initially familiarised with each other’s organizational structure, weapons and combat skills before graduating to joint tactical exercises, an official statement said.

The contingents honed their tactical and technical skills in a wide spectrum of counter insurgency operations including joint training on weapons and equipment, cross training exercises and field training exercises.

Both sides jointly planned and executed a series of well-developed tactical operations based on scenarios that are likely to be encountered in mountainous terrain.

The exercise provided an ideal platform for both contingents to share their operational experience and expertise while also being instrumental in broadening the interoperability and cooperation between the armies of India and Mongolia.

The fourteenth edition of joint military training exercise between the two Armies commenced on October 5 and concluded at Foreign Training Node (FTN), Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh on October 18.

–RB

ANC conducts large scale tri-service exercise DANX-19

ANC
ANC conducted second edition of Defence of Andaman & Nicobar Islands

New Delhi (NVI): Taking the bilateral defence ties to a new level, Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) has conducted the second edition of Defence of Andaman & Nicobar Islands 2019 (DANX-19), a large scale joint services exercise from October 14 to 18. 

Spanning over a period of five days, components of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard carried out mobilisation and field manoeuvres to validate defensive plans of Headquarters ANC towards pursuance of the Command’s responsibility, namely ensuring the territorial integrity of the A&N Islands. 

In addition to internal forces from ANC, accretional forces from Mainland comprising ships and aircraft, Special Forces from the newly formed Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), also participated in this edition.

–PS

IMF to double resource-pool to aid distressed economies

Finance Minister
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman attends the Annual Meetings Plenary session during the International Monetary Fund-World Bank's Annual Meetings 2019 in Washington DC on 18th October 2019.

Washington DC/New Delhi (NVI): Finance Ministers of the world have agreed to double the amount of funds that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can utilise to financially support distressed nations but have yet again postponed giving more votes to major emerging economies.

IMF’s governing body on October 18 agreed to a plan to shore up the crisis lender’s resources, doubling to $500 billion a temporary fund provided by 40 of the fund’s 189 members, an IMF statement said.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said, she welcomes this high-level endorsement, which demonstrates the strong support of our membership for the fund’s mission.

For some time now, there has been a move in the IMF to restructure its voting shares to give more weight to growing economies like China, India and Brazil.  However, some traditional powers have resisted it apparently because it may dilute their influence in the institution. The Washington-based lender, founded in the wake of World War II, has traditionally been controlled by the United States and western European countries.

But major developing economies, which account for a growing share of global GDP, warn that without a shift of the power structure the IMF risks losing legitimacy and the ability to influence economic policies.

India Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman led the Indian delegation to the Annual Meetings Plenary session of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group held in Washington DC on October 18. She also attended the Working Lunch Session of the Development Committee (DC), the ministerial-level committee of the IMF and the World Bank.

In the DC Lunch, the members discussed about the global economic outlook. In her intervention, the Finance Minister mentioned that trade wars and protectionism have generated uncertainties that will ultimately impact flow of capital, goods and services. She called for ‘concerted action’ to mitigate the disruption on account of synchronous slowdown and to invoke the spirit of multilateralism for global growth.

She further said that the increased trade integration, geopolitical uncertainties, and high accumulated debt levels necessitate strong global coordination and that we need not wait for the slowdown to become a crisis.

-nad

India, Philippines sign four pacts to boost maritime, security ties 

Ramnath Kovind
Indian President Ramnath Kovind led delegation level talks with Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte

Manila/Philippines (NVI): In a bid to further boost economic and security relations between India and Philippines, the President of India, Ramnath Kovind and Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed four agreements on October 18 in the fields of maritime domain, defence modernisation, security, tourism, science, technology and culture. 

Speaking on the occasion, President Kovind said, “For India, ASEAN is a region of great importance. India wants to see a strong, unified and prosperous ASEAN playing a central role in the emerging dynamic of the Indo-Pacific. Engagement with ASEAN has been, and will remain, a critical element of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and strategy.” 

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, President Ramnath Kovind is on two nations visit to Philippines and Japan. He was received by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte of Philippines at Malacanan Palace and accorded a ceremonial welcome. 

Ramnath Kovind

During the one-to-one discussions, the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation as well as regional and global issues.

“There is immense potential to further deepen the Philippines-India economic ties and Philippine emerged as an important focus country for India’s corporate sector. Indian companies are interested in partner Filipino companies in digital industries, innovation and start-ups, health and pharma and in the crucial area of agricultural development. India is also keen to participate in infrastructure development as well as in defence modernization of the Philippines,” said Kovind.  

He further said, “As two vibrant democracies that believe in a rules-based international order, respect for international law and sovereign equality of nations, the Philippines and India are natural partners in the pursuit of their respective national development and security objectives.” 

Inviting companies from the Philippines to invest in India’s transformative growth and development, Kovind said, “In both these areas, Indian companies have made their mark and attained global reputation.”

President Kovind commenced his engagements with a visit to the Rizal Park where he paid tributes to Dr Jose Rizal, the national hero of Philippines. He also presented the ‘Key to the City’ by the Mayor of Manila City, Mr Domagoso at the Rizal Park.

Later in the evening, the President attended a banquet hosted in his honour by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte of Philippines. 

Speaking on the occasion, Kovind said, “This year is a landmark in our bilateral journey.”

–PS

Strong message to human smugglers, says US on deportation of Indians from Mexico

Washington/New Delhi (NVI): Reacting to the first of its kind deportation of 311 illegal Indian immigrants from Mexico who were trying to sneak into America, the US has said this unprecedented action was a “strong message to human smugglers”.

Mark Morgan, the acting Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, said in a tweet that through the unprecedented repatriation of 311 Indian nationals to India, Mexico was showing its commitment to secure borders and orderly, legal migration.

In one of the biggest transatlantic deportations, a total of 311 Indians were sent back to India on a chartered flight and were accompanied by 74 Mexican officials, officials said.

This is the first such action taken by Mexico since it enhanced efforts to crack down on people using its territory to sneak into the US. National Institute of Migration of Mexico (INM) said in a tweet that the Indians – 310 men and one woman of different ages – left for New Delhi on a chartered flight from Toluca international airport.

INM said, the Indian nationals do not have documents to stay in Mexico, and their deportation was arranged after their identities were verified by Indian authorities. The Indian nationals were detained by immigration authorities in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Baja California, Veracruz, Chiapas, Sonora, Mexico City, Durango and Tabasco. They were taken to the Acayucan migration station in Veracruz to verify their identities before being put on the chartered flight.

In May, US President Donald Trump had threatened to slap tariffs on all Mexican imports to pressure the country to do more to crack down on illegal migrants trying to cross the border. Trump also said the tariffs will increase until the entry of illegal migrants stopped but the two countries subsequently agreed on a 90-day window for Mexico to crack down on migration.

-nad

Pak escapes FATF blacklisting, given Feb 20 deadline to stop terror funding

Paris/New Delhi (NVI): Pakistan on October 18 narrowly escaped black-listing by the global terror-funding watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which retained Islamabad in “Grey List” and gave it fresh deadline of February 20 to act against terror financing. Pakistan failed to address 22 out of 27 points of the FATF Action Plan on terror funding.

This might be seen as a temporary setback for India, which has been proactively lobbying in FATF to put Pakistan in the global blacklist.

FATF President Xiangmin Liu said there was a consensus on retaining Pakistan in the Grey List of countries whose domestic laws are considered weak to tackle the challenges of money laundering and terrorism financing. Iran and North Korea are the only countries on the blacklist so far.

Despite a high-level commitment by Pakistan to fix these weaknesses, it “has not made enough progress.” said Liu. “Pakistan needs to do more and it needs to do it faster.”

“Strongly urge Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by February 2020, otherwise should significant and sustainable progress not be made across the full range of its action plan by next Plenary, the FATF will take action including urging members to advise their financial institutions to give special attention to business relations/transactions with Pakistan,” the FATF said in a statement at the end of its plenary meeting in Paris.

The meeting was attended by representatives from 205 countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations, the World Bank and other organisations. According to reports, China, Turkey and Malaysia had supported Pakistan at the FAFT meeting.

Pakistan was placed on the “grey list” by the FATF in June last year and was asked to complete a plan of action by October 2019, or face the risk of being placed on the blacklist.

-nad

Army Commanders should be alert on likely use of un-conventional weapons: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressing Army Commanders at the Army Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi on October 18.

New Delhi (NVI): Stating that the face of warfare was changing all over the world, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh sought attention of the Army Commanders on the likely use of the un-conventional weapons in future.

Addressing the Army Commanders and the Army hierarchy on October 18, the Defence Minister also spoke about niche technology, cyber, space, information warfare and perception management domains and conveyed his satisfaction on the efforts being put in by the Army.

He appreciated the mature but firm approach of the Commanders on the nation’s borders and highlighted the need to address the concerns of perimeter security, cantonment discipline and tri-service jointness.

Calling jointness as the operational necessity, he exhorted Army to take lead towards achieving this.

Speaking on the CDS, he reiterated the role of CDS in synergising the efforts of the three services.

Rajnath Singh also appreciated the Army’s role in synergising its effort with all other security agencies in meeting the challenges being faced in J&K and called it exemplary.

Talking of the defence preparedness, he assured that there will be no criticalities, however, he also apprised the field commanders on the constraints of the budget.

The minister sought Army’s contribution towards hand-holding of the Indian defence industry for the indigenous combat systems under ‘Make in India’ effort.

He assured a positive response on the issue of budget constraints being faced by ECHS and sought the attention of the Army leadership on adequate facilities for the growing children to ensure continued education at the choice station of the soldier.

Lt Gen Harinder Singh reviews operational preparedness in Eastern Ladakh

Indian soldiers at Ladakh border with China (File Pic)

Srinagar (NVI): Lt Gen Harinder Singh, General Officer Commanding ‘Fire & Fury Corps’ visited forward locations in Eastern Ladakh on October 18 and reviewed the operational preparedness in the Area of Responsibility.

Interacting with the troops deployed in the sector, Lt Gen Harinder Singh appreciated the tenacity and dedication displayed by all ranks, despite the extreme challenges of terrain and weather.

He complimented them for their high morale and urged them to continue to discharge their duties with the same zeal, in the best traditions of the Indian Army.

Lt Gen Harinder Singh was accompanied by General Officer Commanding, ‘Trishul Division’, who also briefed him about the various infrastructure development activities being carried out in the region.

It may be mentioned that, last month the Indian and the Chinese troops had a face-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. The standoff that lasted a day, however, ended after delegation-level talks were held.

The face-off between the two troops reportedly happened near the northern bank of the Pangong lake in Ladakh.

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