Ministry of Civil Aviation, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce Industry (FICCI), organized an event to acknowledge and felicitate the contribution of women and to celebrate Women’s Achievements in the Indian Aviation sector.

The event was graced byUnion Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia as the Chief Guest. Other dignitaries include Shri Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Smt. Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Smt. AshmitaSethi, Co-Chairman, FICCI Aviation Committee & Managing Director of Pratt & Whitney India and Smt. Radha Bhatia, President, Women in Aviation – India Chapter. The ceremony was also attended by the members of the Women in Aviation International – India chapter, top dignitaries of MoCA, FICCI and representatives of airlines.

The Indian Civil Aviation sector has seen an increase in the participation of women. They are showing their mark in the airline industry and are pursuing careers as aircraft engineers, pilots, firefighters, ground crew, airport security etc registering their presence in the aviation industry.

Dwelling on the achievement of women in the sector, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation said “This is a landmark day to be remembered. The success of women in aviation is not confined to airports or aeroplanes but to a much larger ecosystem. 15% of our pilots in India are women which is 3 times more than the global average. But this 15% is not good enough as women have surpassed various odds and stereotypes and I firmly believe there must come a day in India that this 15% must reach 50% of our pilot strength in our country. For this to achieve, we must start from having easy access to STEM education to our young girls in their early education”.

The Minister further added “In next decade, the backbone of Indian infrastructure is going to be civil aviation which transports roughly 144 million people and has a growth potential double that of Indian Railways. Therefore, there is a need to train more pilots. For this, we have come out with a new FTO policy in which we are looking to set up 9 new FTOs in 5 new cities as this will help in reducing the outflow of foreign exchange in training our pilots abroad and unleashing another avenue for our women to participate much greater in civil aviation.”

The 36th International Geological Congress (IGC), themed “Geosciences: The Basic Science for a Sustainable Future” will be held here during 20-22 March 2022 on a virtual platform.

The 36th IGC is a joint endeavour of the Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the Science Academies of Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Described as the Olympics of Geosciences, the IGCs are held quadrennial, under the aegis of the International Union of Geological Congress (IUGS), the Scientific Sponsor of the IGCs. They draw participants to the tune of around 5000 – 7000 delegates from all over the world.

The event would provide a unique platform for knowledge and experience sharing in the field of geosciences and professional networking. It would give first-hand information on the latest technologies in mining, mineral exploration and management of water, mineral resource and the environment. It would also facilitate increased academic production and create opportunities for capacity building across geoscientific streams.

The Congress is slated to be inaugurated by Union Minister of Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affairs Shri Palhad Joshi and Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitendra Singh in the presence of Minister of State for Coal, Mines & Railways Shri Raosaheb Patil Danve and Minster of State for Communications Shri Devusinh Chauhan.

The entire world, today, is concerned about its sustainability. Since Geoscience can play a crucial role in addressing it, the 36th International Geological Congress has been themed as “Geoscience – the Basic Science for a Sustainable Future”. The scientific programme will reflect on how Geosciences are integrally related to a sustainable future, touching various aspects of life. The talks will also highlight the complex interactions of various phenomena that regulate the Earth processes and their symbiosis with the biosphere, by focusing on emerging paradigms in the realm of geosciences in the context of sustainable development.

India, leading its regional partners had bid in the 34th International Geological Congress at Brisbane in 2012 to host the 36th IGC in India in the year 2020. India won the bid. The present Congress originally scheduled to be held during 2-8 March 2020 was postponed due to Covid Pandemic.

36th IGC will be releasing three commemorative Postage Stamps on the occasion along with the First Day Cover. 58 years ago India had hosted the 22nd session of the International Geological Congress which was the first IGC on Asian soil.

New Integrated Terminal Building with enhanced capacity and world-class facilities is under construction at AAI’s Pune Airport, which will reduce congestion during peak hours at the airport.AAI has undertaken the construction of the Terminal Building at the cost of Rs. 475Cr.More than 55% of the work has been completed and construction of the new building is likely to be completed by August 2023.

The existing terminal building with a built-up area of only 22,300sqm.has the capacity to handle passengers up to Seven Million Passengers per annum (MPPA).AAI has undertaken the work for the construction of the state-of-the-art New Terminal with a massive built-up area of more than 5,00,000 sq. ft. The new terminal integrated with the existing terminal will have a built-up area of 7,50,000 Sq.ft. with a passenger handling capacity of 16 MPPA.

The swanky new integrated terminal building (including the old building) will be centrally air-conditioned with the provision of 10 passenger boarding bridges, 72 Check-in Counters and an In-line Baggage handling system. The building will be an energy-efficient building with a Four-Star GRIHA rating. Provision of 36000 sq. ft. space for F&B and retail outlets have been reserved for refreshment/pleasure of the passengers. A huge canopy on the city side of the existing building & new building together will give a magnificent look to the airport from the city side.

The strongest intention of the project for the new terminal building is the search for unity and continuity between the old and the new. Stretching over 360 meters in length, the Verandah is a unifying façade that not only provides protection from sun and rain but also serves as a grand urban fresco telling the story of the rich social, historical, artistic and immaterial culture of Pune & Maharashtra.

The facia of the public area below the great Verandah is supported with beautiful Maratha arches and decorated columns with a finish of local dark stone which is commonly seen in most of the heritage structures around Maharashtra. The new forecourt garden design is directly inspired by one of the most recognisable landmarks of Pune – The Shaniwar Wada Gardens.

New Delhi (News Hunt)- The Western Fleet’s deployment to Sri Lanka culminated in a maritime partnership exercise between the two navies on 12 March 2022.

On departure from the port of Colombo, IN Ships Chennai and Teg exercised with Sri Lanka Navy ship Sindurala. The smoothly conducted exercise began with a simulated situation of asymmetric threat against ships leaving harbour by fast attack crafts of the Sri Lankan Navy. Thereafter, as part of seamanship exercises, ships of both navies made approaches for towing, maintained station for Replenishment at Sea and undertook close distance manoeuvring.

Chetak helicopter of the Indian Navy also participated in the exercise. The exercise ended with the traditional steam past with the Sri Lankan ship approaching the column of Indian Navy ships from a reciprocal direction and personnel manning their ship-sides and waving goodbye to each other. The professional interaction between the navies was extremely fruitful and enhanced interoperability between them.

Earlier on 11 March 2022, Rear Admiral Sameer Saxena, NM, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) called on Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage, the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka. The Commanding Officers of INS Chennai and INS Teg called on Rear Admiral AUC De Silva, Commander of Western Naval Area of Sri Lanka.

A friendly volleyball match was also played between personnel of the two navies to enhance mutual interaction at the junior levels. The Indian ships were kept open for the general public, school children, serving naval personnel and children with special needs. All COVID-19 regulations were adhered to during the interactions held.

New Delhi (News Hunt)- India is committed to cleaner energy and a low-carbon pathway for achieving accelerated economic growth. Hydrogen is a key element of the energy strategy and would play a key role in the low carbon energy pathways. Green Hydrogen offers huge opportunities to decarbonize a range of sectors including road transportation and is gaining unprecedented momentum globally. Transportation powered by Green hydrogen is going to be a key technology option of the future with significant application, especially across bigger cars, buses, trucks, ships and trains and best suited for medium to long distances.

Aligning with the Prime Minister’s vision of achieving Energy Independence, and as a part of Toyota’s commitment towards promoting sustainability by adopting multiple pathways to enable energy shift from fossil fuel and towards the conservation of our environment, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. along with International Center for Automotive Technology (ICAT) is conducting a Pilot project to study and evaluate the world’s most advanced Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Toyota Mirai which runs on hydrogen, on Indian roads and climatic conditions.

This would be a first of its kind project in the country aimed at spreading awareness about Hydrogen, FCEV technology and disseminating its benefits to support hydrogen-based society for India. Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari would be inaugurating this pilot project and also demonstrating Toyota Mirai FCEV on 16th March’2022 at 2. Motilal Nehru Place, Akbar Road, New Delhi from 14:00 onwards.

New Delhi (News Hunt)- As per the 2011 Census, the total number of Senior Citizens in the country is 10.38 Crore. Data on the total number of senior citizens suffering from age-related disabilities and living below the poverty line are not maintained in this Ministry. However, before distribution of assisted devices assessment is done regarding senior citizens who suffer from age-related disabilities/ infirmities.

The Ministry is implementing a Central Sector Scheme namely Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY) under which free of cost assistive devices are provided to those senior citizens who suffer from age-related disabilities/infirmities belong to the BPL category. Since 2020-21 senior citizens who have a monthly income upto Rs. 15,000/- can also avail of the benefit.

RVY is implemented across the country. There is no regional focus for Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana.

A total of 11 Camps (08 distribution camps and 03 Assessment Camps) have been organised in Bihar since 2019 under the RVY scheme and physical aids and assisted devices have been distributed free of cost to 2638 senior citizens.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Sushri Pratima Bhoumik in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

New Delhi (News Hunt)- Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh announced that soon, people in the country will be able to get their land records in their own language. He said that the Department of Land Resources, MoRD will plan to roll out the multilingual software from April 2022. After that, the land records will be available in 22 languages. The Minister was speaking after releasing an e-book on Land Governance Reforms announced in Budget titled “Empowering Citizens-Powering India.”

Speaking on the NGDRS software developed indigenously, Shri Giriraj Singh said that the NGDRS software costs around 4 crores to the government but the use of this software resulted in increasing land revenue by the State Governments. The Minister said that State NGDRS is being implemented in 13 States which will be benefitted to 22 crore people. Till now, 30.9 lakh documents registered through the system from which revenue of more than 16 thousand crores has been received.

The Minister said that after the rollout of ULPIN (Unique Land Parcel Identification Number) in the country, No one can take away the rights of the poor. Linking ULPIN with PAN, Aadhar, land records, Courts and banking system, will get rid of corruption and fraud in land matters. So far, ULPIN is rolled out in 14 States. The Minister also requested State Governments to spread awareness about the land reforms amongst people.

State Governments got a significant increase in the land revenue through the use of NGDRS software: Shri Giriraj Singh

The contents of the e-book are related to Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN), National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) and Multilingual Land Records – to break the linguistic barrier in land records. There has been tangible transparency in land records information and management after the adoption of digital technology by the Department of Land Resources. A Unique Land Identification Number (ULPIN) to each land parcel is being assigned to land Parcels to prevent fraudulently and Benami property transactions.

Further Digitization of Land Records will empower citizens and India for Atmanirbhar Bharat– the vision of Prime Minister. Moreover, the updated land records will reduce the time for payment of compensation and provide rehabilitation and resettlement benefit for land acquisition considerably. The Multilingual Land Records will facilitate access of information for the prospective individuals in his regional and mother languages.

Union Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil, Secretary, Department of Land Resources Shri Ajay Tirkey and Secretary, Department of Rural Development Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Shri Sonmoni Borah, Joint Secretary, DoLR were also present on the occasion.