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India moots strong cultural ties among BRICS nations

brics
Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel along with his counterparts from BRICS nations in Curitiba, Brazil.

New Delhi: India has mooted and expressed commitment for strong cultural and people-to-people ties among the BRICS nations saying the BRICS has emerged as a valuable forum for consultation, coordination and cooperation on contemporary global issues of mutual interest .

Participating in the BRICS Culture Ministers’ meeting held in Curitiba, Brazil, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel said, “The member countries have witnessed cultural cooperation scaling to new heights, Under the aegis of collaborations in these fields, our institutions have made commendable efforts to organise a number of events in these fields, well participated by all the member states”.

He said that one such event namely joint exhibition titled Bonding Regions & Imagining Cultural Synergies is being hosted by National Gallery of Modern Arts of India under the auspices of the BRICS Alliance of Museums and Art Galleries during November-December, 2019.

“Given the rich cultural heritage and traditions of all members, we share understanding, respect and interest to contribute towards stronger bonds of friendship and cooperation in the fields of arts, museums & galleries, cultural heritage, archives, literature, theatre for children and young people, films and others,” Patel said.

He also informed in the meeting that documents for collaboration in the fields of art galleries, museums, libraries and theatre have been signed in the second meeting held at China in 2017.

Moreover, he proposed to add another field of cooperation under the aegis of BRICS alliance on literature envisaging BRICS Literary Festival to enhance cooperation and exchanges in the field of literature and promoting translation of literary works of famous writers and poets of BRICS nations.

The Minister put forward his thoughts on the Letter of Intention on creative economy in BRICS countries to set milestone in the organisations cultural cooperation.

He requested his counterparts to come together for making committed efforts by agreeing to develop a thorough knowledge of the creative markets of BRICS member states and also encouraging mobility of professionals of creative economy so as to stimulate opportunities.

India, China to tango for trade, to set up dialogue mechanism

niif

New Delhi (NVI): The ‘Elephant’ and the ‘Dragon’ are all set to tango for trade, leaving their other differences behind. Indication to this effect came from the positive postures during the ‘Chennai Connect’, the recent second Informal Summit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the duo decided to establish a High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue mechanism.

Another major outcome of the Summit has been the China agreeing to address India’s long-pending trade concerns including on pharma and software to reduce the massive trade deficit. Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong tweeted: “Dragon and Elephant have a tango,”.

“In pursuit of their efforts to further deepen economic cooperation and to enhance their closer development partnership, the two Leaders have decided to establish a High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue mechanism with the objective of achieving enhanced trade and commercial relations, as well as to better balance the trade between the two countries,” a statement from Indian Ministry of External Affairs said after the Summit concluded.

Meanwhile, regarding Indian concerns of the trade deficit between New Delhi and Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry said “the establishment of high-level trade dialogue mechanism offers opportunity to strengthen convergence on economic development, and Indian pharma and technology were welcome to invest in China.”

The details of the proposed trade dialogue mechanism between the two countries will be worked out by Indian Finance Minister Ms Nirmala Sitharaman and Chinese Vice President Hu Chunha.

“They have also agreed to encourage mutual investments in identified sectors through the development of a Manufacturing Partnership and tasked their officials to develop this idea at the first meeting of the High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue. They shared the view that an open, inclusive, prosperous and stable environment in the region is important to ensure the prosperity and stability of the region. They also agreed on the importance of concluding negotiations for a mutually-beneficial and balanced Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership,” the statement added.

The statement said the two Leaders shared their mutual vision on goals for development of their respective economies. They agreed that the simultaneous development of India and China presents mutually-beneficial opportunities.

The two sides will continue to adopt a positive, pragmatic and open attitude and to enhance appreciation of each other’s policies and actions in line with the general direction of their friendship and cooperation. In this regard, they also agreed to continue to enhance strategic communication on all matters of mutual interest, and to continue the momentum of high-level exchanges by making full use of dialogue mechanisms.

It may be noted that Indian and Chinese companies had signed 129 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in the run up to the Summit. The MoUs were signed for sectors like – agri-related products, minerals, textiles, food-processing, yarns, minerals etc.

“With a combined market of over 2.7 billion people and GDP of 20 per cent of the world’s total, China and India enjoy huge potential and broad prospects for economic and trade cooperation.” ZHU Xiaohong, Counselor, Embassy of People’s Republic of China had said while Speaking at the India-China Business Meeting and Signing Ceremony, organised by the FICCI, recently.

“From the current $75 billion trade, both the countries are looking at moving towards trade worth $100 billion.”, ZHU Xiaohong added. (NAD)

 

Flowers calm frazzled mind: Study

New Delhi (NVI): Next time you have a frazzled mind, treat yourself with flowers and feel the positive difference. Yes, flowers have instant soothing effect on your charged nerves, a Japanese study has found.

The study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology revealed that office workers who looked at a vase of roses for four minutes showed enhanced parasympathetic nervous activity, which denotes the degree of relaxation, and felt more comfortable than those who were not exposed to the roses.

The study says that “in recent years, the physiological relaxing effect brought by nature is becoming clear; however, many workers find it difficult to be exposed to nature in their working environment. Exposure to fresh flowers represents an opportunity to incorporate nature into their working lives.”

The study examined the effects of exposure to roses on physiological and psychological variables (heart rate variability, pulse rate, and subjective responses) in office workers”

The experimental site was Mizuho Information & Research Institute, Inc., in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Thirty-one male office workers were included in the study. The subjects were exposed to thirty unscented pink roses (Rosa, Dekora) arranged in a cylindrical glass vase for 4 min. In the control condition, the subjects were not exposed to flowers. After the experiments, the subjects completed a questionnaire. The order of exposure was counterbalanced among subjects. Among subjects exposed to roses, the high-frequency component of heart rate variability was significantly higher than in controls. Similarly, ‘comfortable,’ ‘relaxed’ and ‘natural’ feelings were more common in subjects exposed to roses.

Data from this study support the presence of physiological and psychological relaxing effects of being exposed to flowers on office workers.

Flowers not only have the power of cheering us up when we are feeling down, but they also have many other properties such as helping us get a proper night of sleep, boosting our creativity, increasing our productivity, making our tolerance to pain higher, boosting our health, and even improving our attention span.

Park and Mattson conducted a study in 2008 and found that patients in hospital rooms decorated with flowers and potted plants needed less postoperative pain medication, had lower systolic blood pressure and pulse rates, were less anxious and tired, and generally were in a more positive psychological state than patients in rooms without flowers.

Another recent scientific study conducted at Texas A&M University finds that nature can also hold the secret to business success. The research demonstrates that workers’ idea generation, creative performance and problem-solving skills improve substantially in workplace environments that include flowers and plants.  (NAD)

Govt working on transparent system that reduces need to file RTI: Amit Shah

Amit Shah
Home Minister Amit Shah while addressing 14th Annual convention of the Central Information Commission as Chief Guest

New Delhi: The government is creating a system so transparent that the need to file RTI applications itself is reduced, said Home Minister Amit Shah on October 12.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government is committed to creating a system where there is enough suo moto declaration of information that the need to file RTI applications itself is reduced,” said Shah while presiding over the 14th Annual convention of the Central Information Commission as the Chief Guest.

He added, “PM Modi is determined to create a system where information was given freely, so that people would not need to resort to RTI. The government would further ease the process of RTI to take justice and accountability to the last mile.”

Dubbing transparency and accountability as the twin pillars of Good Governance, Shah said, “Awareness regarding transparency should not be limited to quasi-judicial proceedings and disposal of cases but govt servants should instead actively reach out to people to make them aware of the proactive steps taken by government to increase transparency, accountability and efficiency in the government.”

He added, “The success of a transparent government lies not in an increase in the number of RTI applications but in the fact that RTI applications reduce in spite of the RTI process being completely accessible to people.”

“RTI would go a long way in the creation of a welfare state envisaged by the makers of our Constitution, and New India as envisioned by PM Modi,” Shah said and advised the officers to increase the sense of responsibility in people, along with awareness about RTI, stating, “It should not be misused or used for personal enmity or vendetta.”

Noting that there has been very little misuse of RTI, Shah said, “This shows the maturity of our democracy.” He presented the example of Kedarnath all weather road as a successful attempt to harness technology to increase transparency in government projects.

Meanwhile, speaking on the occasion, MoS PMO Jitendra Singh said, “Under PM Modi, the government had further strengthened the cause of transparency and accountability by creating an online portal for RTI, which did not previously exist.”

He added, “Proactive increase in transparency in the last five years has led to a reduction in the need for RTI. In 2019 alone, 12 lakh RTI related grievances had been redressed successfully and the government had taken several steps to increase awareness about RTI but cautioned that the law should not be misused.”

Chief Information Commissioner Sudhir Bhargava remarked the annual convention as an opportunity to reflect and introspect on the implementation of RTI Act and the success achieved in furthering our shared democratic values.

ITBP expedition team hit by avalanche in Uttarakhand, one dead

Nurbu Wangdus

Uttarkashi: One Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) mountaineer was killed and another rescued after the climbing team was hit by a massive avalanche near Gangotri in Uttarakhand on October 12.

According to an ITBP statement, Head Constable Nurbu Wangdus, aged 38, died in the the tragic incident which took place near Gangotri I peak (21,890 Ft).

As many as two mountaineers from the team were trapped in the avalanche, while the ITBP team, braving the furious conditions, could rescue one of the mountaineers, Nurbu Wangdus though rescued was declared dead.

Nurbu Wangdus was a renowned climber of the force, the statement said.

The body of the jawan was taken to lower altitude from where it would be airlifted to Dehradun on Saturday and then be sent to his native place on Sunday.

Hailing from Leh, Laddakh, Nurbu was one among the best climbers of ITBP.

The 25 member ITBP Mount Gangotri Expedition was launched on 21 September, from Dehradun under the leadership of 2nd In Command Ratan Singh Sonal.

The team was preparing the route for summit ahead of advance base camp on 11 October, 2019 early morning at around 20,000 feet when the avalanche struck, the statement said.

“ParyatanParv 2019” proves a big draw 

ParyatanParv 2019
“ParyatanParv 2019” witnessed colourful array of activities in its first week

New Delhi: The flagship programme of the Ministry of Tourism, the nationwide ParyatanParv 2019 is proving to be a big draw as it unfolds a colourful array of activities across the country. 

The event was launched to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi from October 2. The programme which will conclude on October 13 aims at promoting cultural diversity of the country and benefits of the tourism.

“The Delhi edition of the event was concluded from October 2 to 6 at Rajpath lawns. The five-day festival has witnessed a colourful array of Dance, Music and cultural performances from the various parts of the country,” said an official statement. ParyatanParv 2019

It further added, “The programme has been organised with the objective of drawing focus on the benefits of tourism by providing a platform for the artists, master craftsmen, chefs from all over India to showcase their talent, both by displaying and selling. In that sense it is a great economic engine, apart from being a social and cultural promotion vehicle.

ParyatanParv 2019

This event has also highlighted Armed Forces bands and cultural performances including handicrafts, handlooms, food, dance, Yoga demonstrations and performances by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Ministry of AYUSH.

Based on themes– “DekhoApnaDesh”, “Tourism for All” and “Tourism and Governance”, ParyatanParv has encouraged Indians to visit their own country by organising various activities like Interactive Sessions, workshops with stakeholders, Tourism exhibitions, Dance, Theatre, tourism related quiz, debate competition and others.

J&K fast gearing up for BDC polls

Poonch/Kargi: Jammu & Kashmir is fast gearing up for its first date with any democratic process since the abrogation of special status granted to the state under article 370 in August as it goes for Block Development Council polls on October 24.

Elections for chairpersons of BDC would be held for 310 blocks. For the upcoming BDC elections, the Chief Electoral Officer of J&K has appointed 79 observers for Jammu division, 63 for Kashmir and 16 for Ladakh division. The process of the elections for the second tier of the Panchayati Raj system will be completed by November 5.

Meanwhile, Poonch district of Jammu region will see 61 candidates contesting for the BDC polls. District Election Officer (DEO) Rahul Yadav said, “61 candidates will contest the upcoming BDC elections”.

A total of 92 candidates had filed nominations out of which 32 withdrew from the fray. Yadav appealed the candidates to observe and follow the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in letter and spirit.

In the Jammu region, the Jammu district will have 2,703 voters while in Rajouri there will 2,687, in Poonch 2,069,  Samba will have 893, total number of voters in Kathua is 2,186, Udhampur is  2,072 , in Reasi  1,339 voters, 1,150 in Ramban, 1,900 in Doda and 1,016 in Kishtwar.

Besides, in the Kashmir region, 2,783 voters will exercise their franchise in Kupwara, 1,450 in Baramulla, 584 in Bandipora, 374 in Ganderbal, 43 in Srinagar, 650 in Budgam, 132 in Pulwama, 82 in Shopian, 168 in Kulgam and 763 in Anantnag.

India, Japan to hold military exercise

New Delhi: Taking their defence co-operation to a new level,  India and Japan will be holding Joint Military Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN-2019, from 19th October to 2nd November 2019 at counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte in Mizoram.

This Exercise with Japan is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both the nations in the backdrop of global terrorism. The scope of this exercise covers platoon level joint training on counter terrorism operations in jungle and urban scenario.

25 soldiers from each of Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) will participate in the exercise with an aim to share experience gained during various Counter Terrorism Operations in respective Countries.

Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN is an annual training event which is being conducted in India since 2018. Notably, in the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries.

The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence co-operation between the armies which in turn will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations.

Lt Gen Harsha Gupta takes command of White Knight Corps

Jammu: Lt General Harsha Gupta on October 12 took over the command of the elite White Knight Corps from Lt General Paramjit Singh Sangha.

On assuming command, the General Officer exhorted all ranks to continue working with the same zeal and enthusiasm and always be combat ready to thwart the nefarious designs of enemy and inimical forces with excellent synergy between the Army, civil administration and paramilitary forces, a Defence Ministry statement said.

White Night Corps is the 16 Corps of the Army based in Nagrota in Jammu. It looks after security in Jammu region and its border.

Meanwhile, Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha before relinquishing the command laid wreath at Ashwamedh Shaurya Sthal at Nagrota Military Station in the honour of the soldiers who have made supreme sacrifice for the nation.

Addressing the troops, Lt Gen Sangha, conveyed his deep appreciation and compliments to all ranks of the White Knight Corps for their professionalism and steadfast dedication to duty in the service of the nation.

He further called upon all ranks to rededicate themselves to strive for excellence. He thanked the civil administration for the excellent synergy with the armed forces. He showered praises on the AWAAM for displaying absolute faith in the policies of the government and maintaining peace and harmony in the region.

India, China agree to be sensitive to each other’s concerns

New Delhi/Mamallapuram: India and China have decided to manage their differences prudently and be sensitive to each other’s concerns while striving towards world peace and stability as the second informal Indo-China summit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded at Mamallapuram on October 12.

“We have decided that we would prudently manage our differences without letting them turn into disputes, that we would be sensitive to each other’s’ concerns and that our relations strive towards World Peace and stability,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Mamallapuram on October 12. He was making his inaugural statement at beginning of the delegation level talks being chaired by him and Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the second day of the informal Indo-China summit which concluded on October 12.

On the outstanding issues, including on the boundary question, they have welcomed the work of the Special Representatives and urged them to continue their efforts to arrive at a mutually-agreed framework for a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement based on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles that were agreed by the two sides in 2005. They reiterated their understanding that efforts will continue to be made to ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, and that both sides will continue to work on additional Confidence Building Measures in pursuit of this objective.

The two leaders recognized that India and China have a common interest in preserving and advancing a rules-based and inclusive international order, including through reforms that reflect the new realities of the 21st Century. Both agreed that it is important to support and strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system at a time when globally agreed trade practices and norms are being selectively questioned. India and China will continue to work together for open and inclusive trade arrangements that will benefit all countries.

Prime Minister Modi termed that 2nd Informal Summit at Mamallapuram has begun a “New Era of Cooperation” between India and China.

Referring to the first informal summit between the two countries at Wuhan last year, Prime Minister Modi said it has brought in an “increased stability and fresh momentum in our relations.”

He said the “strategic communication has increased between the two countries”.

Referring to the 2nd Informal Summit at Mamallapuram, the Prime Minister said “In the Chennai Summit we have so far had great exchange on bilateral and global issues. The Wuhan Summit has given a new momentum to our bilateral relations. Today with our Chennai Connect a new era of cooperation has begun in the relations of our two countries.”

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