Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards for the Performance Year 2013 Presented

Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards for the Performance Year 2013 Presented

The Minister of State for Labour & Employment (Independent Charge) Shri Bandaru Dattatreya gave away Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards for the Performance Year 2013, here today. Speaking on the occasion Shri Dattatreya said that workforce is the biggest asset and the backbone of industrialization and protecting their health and interests and ensuring their safety at all times is of the utmost importance. The VRP and NSA awards work both as an impetus as well as a catalyst to unleash the latent and untapped potentials of the promising workers at the plant level while recognizing the excellent performance of the companies in preventing accidents and promoting safety at work place ..............................................

VRP is awarded in recognition of outstanding suggestions given by a worker or group of workers and implemented by the management in the form of cash prize and a certificate of merit in three categories: Class ‘A’ – Five (5) of Rs. 75,000/- each, Class ‘B’ – Eight (8) of Rs. 50,000/- each and Class ‘C’ - Fifteen (15) of Rs. 25,000/- each. There are 28 award winners out of a total of 193 applications received from different industries for the Performance Year 2013. This year these 28 awards are being shared by 132 individuals. ..................

The NSA is given in recognition of outstanding safety performance of industrial establishments, construction sites, ports and installations under AERB to stimulate and maintain the interests of both the management and the workers in accident prevention programmes. The awards are given under twelve schemes, out of which ten are meant for Factories /Construction sites /Installations under AERB and two are for Ports. Under each award, a Shield and a Certificate of Merit is given to each of the Award Winners and Runners-up. The establishments are classified in different schemes on the basis of working of highest man-hours. ..

Indian Railways Develops Hybrid Vacuum Toilets One Prototype is Fitted in a Coach of Dibrugarh Rajdhani for Trial Minister of Railways had made a statement in the Budget Speech 2015 that Indian Railways shall fit Vacuum toilets on trains. Development Cell of the Railway Board has come up with a design that combines the advantages of Vacuum toilets and those of Biotoilets to create a new design of “Hybrid Vacuum Toilet”. A prototype has been made by modifying the standard flushing protocol of a vacuum toilet so as to create water seal and additional post flush cycles and this concept has been converted into a working prototype by Indian Railways as a first ever system of its kind to have been developed and built by any railway system in the world. This newly developed toilet has been fitted in one coach No. 153002/C FAC that is running in Dibrugarh Rajdhani for trial. The prototype consists of a custom designed Vacuum toilet adapted from a commercially available vacuum toilet that is used in aircrafts which evacuates its discharge into a biodigester tank which is now successfully proven in the biotoilets of Indian Railways. The biodigester tank is fitted underneath the coach and contains anaerobic bacteria that converts human fecal matter into water and small amount of gases before discharging the same on the ground/track. Typically, a conventional toilet or Biotoilet uses 10 – 15 liters of water per flush whereas the vacuum toilet consumes only appx. 500 ml of water for flushing. Water is a very precious natural resource therefore this innovation shall save water to the tune of at least 1/20th of the quantity that is used in the current design of biotoilets/conventional toilets. Further, in foreign countries where the train coaches that are fitted with Vacuum toilets, there is a “retention tank” underneath the coach that holds all the human waste that is flushed out by the toilet. These are very large tanks that need to be evacuated at the terminals stations. Since Indian Railways trains traverse the length and breadth of the country with journey times as long as 72 hours and generally over 50 passengers per coach, it is nearly impossible to hold the human waste in retention tanks on trains that travel such long distances. Also, the stationary facilities for evacuation of these holding tanks need to be maintained very carefully and meticulously or else their malfunction will render the entire train’s toilets unusable. The Municipal Corporations at cities where these ground-handling facilities are to be created have to be taken into confidence to allow one-shot rapid discharge of human waste of an entire train into their sewer systems, which may not be possible at all stations due to constraints in existing sewer system that are already in place. By transferring the discharge of the vacuum toilets into biodigester, the need to create separate ground handling installation and creating additional sewer load on the Municipal Corporation will be done away with.

Indian Railways Develops Hybrid Vacuum Toilets

One Prototype is Fitted in a Coach of Dibrugarh Rajdhani for Trial

Minister of Railways had made a statement in the Budget Speech 2015 that Indian Railways shall fit Vacuum toilets on trains. Development Cell of the Railway Board has come up with a design that combines the advantages of Vacuum toilets and those of Biotoilets to create a new design of “Hybrid Vacuum Toilet”. A prototype has been made by modifying the standard flushing protocol of a vacuum toilet so as to create water seal and additional post flush cycles and this concept has been converted into a working prototype by Indian Railways as a first ever system of its kind to have been developed and built by any railway system in the world. This newly developed toilet has been fitted in one coach No. 153002/C FAC that is running in Dibrugarh Rajdhani for trial...........

The prototype consists of a custom designed Vacuum toilet adapted from a commercially available vacuum toilet that is used in aircrafts which evacuates its discharge into a biodigester tank which is now successfully proven in the biotoilets of Indian Railways. The biodigester tank is fitted underneath the coach and contains anaerobic bacteria that converts human fecal matter into water and small amount of gases before discharging the same on the ground/track....

Typically, a conventional toilet or Biotoilet uses 10 – 15 liters of water per flush whereas the vacuum toilet consumes only appx. 500 ml of water for flushing. Water is a very precious natural resource therefore this innovation shall save water to the tune of at least 1/20th of the quantity that is used in the current design of biotoilets/conventional toilets. Further, in foreign countries where the train coaches that are fitted with Vacuum toilets, there is a “retention tank” underneath the coach that holds all the human waste that is flushed out by the toilet. These are very large tanks that need to be evacuated at the terminals stations. Since Indian Railways trains traverse the length and breadth of the country with journey times as long as 72 hours and generally over 50 passengers per coach, it is nearly impossible to hold the human waste in retention tanks on trains that travel such long distances. Also, the stationary facilities for evacuation of these holding tanks need to be maintained very carefully and meticulously or else their malfunction will render the entire train’s toilets unusable. The Municipal Corporations at cities where these ground-handling facilities are to be created have to be taken into confidence to allow one-shot rapid discharge of human waste of an entire train into their sewer systems, which may not be possible at all stations due to constraints in existing sewer system that are already in place.

By transferring the discharge of the vacuum toilets into biodigester, the need to create separate ground handling installation and creating additional sewer load on the Municipal Corporation will be done away with. ..............................

PM launches financial inclusion initiative in Varanasi

PM launches financial inclusion initiative in Varanasi

• Distributes, e-rickshaws, pedal rickshaws
• Beneficiaries to get Jan Dhan Accounts and RuPay cards
• PM interacts with beneficiaries, shares their dreams with people

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today launched a significant financial inclusion initiative in Varanasi. A total of 101 e-rickshaws, 501 pedal rickshaws, and push-carts are being given as part of this initiative. The beneficiaries will also get bank accounts and RuPay cards under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. The e-rickshaws are equipped with digital gadgets including GPRS and cameras. ..

Facilities for Women Passengers for buying Train Tickets at Reservation Counters

Facilities for Women Passengers for buying Train Tickets at Reservation Counters

Ministry of Railways has been providing special facilities to women passengers for conveniently buying tickets at railway reservation counters. The Ministry has further elaborated facilities as follows: -

(a) At computerized reservation office, a separate reservation counter should be earmarked for ladies if the average demand per shift is not less than 120 tickets....................................

(b) In case, there is no justification for earmarking of exclusive counter for ladies, the requests received from ladies should be dealt with along with the reservation requests of the specific categories viz. senior citizen, physically handicapped, ex. MPs, MLAs, accredited journalists, freedom fighters etc.

(c) At those reservation offices where separate reservation counters have not been earmarked for ladies and also those locations which have not been computerized, ladies/female passengers should not be compelled to join the general queues and be attended to separately at the same counter as for general passengers. A suitable notice board about the availability of this facility should also be displayed near the reservation counter. This facility will however be available only from 11:30 hours to avoid misuse of this facility by unscrupulous elements to block accommodation during opening hours of general and Tatkal reservation..............................................................................................................

(d) Ladies may be allowed to purchase tickets from these reservation counters irrespective of persons for whom the reservation is being sought. However, no other persons will be allowed to purchase ticket for them from these counters...........................................................................................

(e) As far as earmarking of separate unreserved ticket counters for ladies, zonal Railways have been asked to assess the demand and do the needful based on the same. ..........................................

General Election to Legislative Assembly of Bihar, 2015 - Allotment of Broadcast / Telecast time to Political Parties – regarding

General Election to Legislative Assembly of Bihar, 2015 - Allotment of Broadcast / Telecast time to Political Parties – regarding

A copy of the Order No.437/TA-LA2015/Communication, dated 18^th  September, 2015 issued by the Commission regarding allotment of Broadcast/Telecast time to political parties in the General Election to Legislative Assemblies of Bihar, 2015 is enclosed for the information of the general public..............

ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi-110001

No. 437/TA-LA2015/Communication                                                Dated:  18^thSeptember, 2015

ORDER

            At the time of General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 1998, a new initiative for State funding of recognized political parties through free use of the State owned Television and Radio was introduced under directions of the Commission vide its Order, dated 16^th January, 1998. The said scheme was subsequently extended in all the General Elections to the State Assemblies held after 1998 and General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 1999, 2004, 2009 & 2014.       

With the amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 vide"Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003" and the rules notified there under, equitable time sharing for campaigning by recognized political parties on electronic media now has statutory basis. In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of the Explanation below section 39A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Central Govt. has notified all such broadcasting media which are owned or controlled or financed wholly or substantially by funds provided to them by the Central Government as the electronic media for the purposes of that section. Therefore, the Commission has decided to extend the said scheme of equitable time sharing on electronic media through Prasar Bharati Corporation to the ensuing General Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Bihar..............................................

The facilities of use of broadcast time and telecast time will be available only to ‘National Parties’ and ‘Recognized State Party’ in respect of Bihar...............

THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME ARE AS FOLLOWS:-

1.                    The facilities will be available from the Regional Kendra of the All India Radio and Doordarshan and in the headquarters of Bihar and relayed by other stations within Bihar......................................

Time allotted for Telecast/Broadcast:.------------

2.                    A base time of 45 minutes will be given to each National Party and Recognized State Party (recognized in respect of Bihar) uniformly on the Regional Kendras of Doordarshan network and All India Radio network in the State of Bihar..........................

3.                    The additional time to be allotted to the parties has been decided on the basis of the poll performance of the parties in the last assembly election from the State of Bihar.

4.                    In a single session of broadcast, no party will be allocated more than 15 minutes.

Date of Telecasts/Broadcasts:-

5.                    The period of broadcast and telecast will be between the last date of filing the nominations and two days before the date of poll (in each phase) in the State of Bihar.

6.                    The Prasar Bharati Corporation in consultation with the Commission will decide the actual date and time for broadcast and telecast. This will be subject to the broad technical constraints governing the actual time of transmission available with the Doordarshan and All India Radio.................

Submission of Transcripts in advance:-

7.                    The guidelines prescribed by the Commission for telecast and broadcast will be strictly followed. The parties will be required to submit transcripts and recording in advance. The parties can get this recorded at their own cost in studios, which meet the technical standards prescribed by the Prasar Bharati Corporation or at the Doordarshan/All India Radio Kendra. They can, in the alternative, have these recorded in the studios of Doordarshan and All India Radio by advance requests. In such cases, the recordings may be done at the State Capital and at timings indicated by Doordarshan /All India Radio in advance.

Panel Discussions and Debate:---

8.                    In addition to the broadcast by parties, the Prasar Bharati Corporation will organise a maximum of two panel discussions and/or debates on the Kendra/Station of Doordarshan/All India Radio. Each eligible party can nominate one representative to such a programme......................

9.                    The Election Commission of India will approve the names of coordinators for such panel discussions and debates in consultation with the Prasar Bharati Corporation...................................................................

Union Agriculture Minister will Inaugurate Rabi Conference 2015 on 22nd September

Union Agriculture Minister will Inaugurate Rabi Conference 2015 on 22nd September

Six Emerging Topics Identified for Detailed Group Discussions

The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare organizes Rabi and Kharif Conferences every year with a view to review performance of the preceding season and to prepare strategies for the coming season. In order to review the production performance of Kharif-2015 season, formulate strategies for crop production for ensuing Rabi 2015-16 season, take stock of inputs to ensure timely supply and to create awareness of new technologies & innovations in crop production and allied sectors, a National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign 2015-16 is being organized on 22nd and 23rd September, 2015 at the National Agriculture Science Center, ICAR Pusa Complex, New Delhi.

The Agriculture Production Commissioner / Principal Secretary / Secretary of Agriculture & Horticulture / Commissioner / Director of Agriculture / Horticulture from all the States / Union Territories; Scientists from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); officers from the Department of Fertilizer (Government of India); Refinance institutions like National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD); officers of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare will participate in the conference. During the conference key presentations on performance of crop production during Kharif 2015 and strategies / prospects for Rabi 2015-16; and on focused topics highlighting innovative schemes related to agriculture & horticulture as also new research technologies would be made for providing exposure to the States................

The Conference would be inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh; Hon’ble Ministers of State, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and Shri M.K. Kundariya will grace the occasion. They will all be addressing the administrators, technocrats, agricultural scientists, representatives of various central departments / autonomous bodies and media persons invited to this important event. Shri Siraj Hussain, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare under whose leadership and guidance the Rabi Conference is being organized will be present through the two day sessions and will address at the inauguration...............

Swadesh Darshan and Prasad Schemes

Swadesh Darshan and Prasad Schemes

The Union Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments/Union Territory Administrations, including the places of religious importance, for various tourism projects in consultation with them subject to availability of funds, inter-se priority, liquidation of pending utilization certificates and adherence to the scheme guidelines. ..................................

For development of tourism infrastructure in the country, the Ministry of Tourism has introduced two new schemes in 2014-15 i.e. PRASAD- Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive and Swadesh Darshan - Integrated Development of Theme-Based Tourist Circuits. Under PRASAD twelve cities have been identified for development initially, namely: Amritsar, Ajmer, Dwaraka, Mathura, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Amaravati, Kanchipuram, Vellankanni, Kedarnath and Guwahati. Under Swadesh Darshan scheme, Spiritual Circuit has been identified as theme circuit for development. ....................

During the year 2015-16 under Budget Estimates Rs.100.00 crore and Rs.600.00 crore have been allocated for PRASAD and Swadesh Darshan schemes respectively to develop tourist destinations of global standards. The details of projects sanctioned during the year 2014-15 and 2015-16 under both the schemes are annexed. ........................................................................................................................................

This information was given by the Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), Culture (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation Dr Mahesh Sharma in reply to an unstarred question today(22-07-2015) in Rajya Sabha............................................................

Manufacturing Cities Envisaged in DMIC Project

Manufacturing Cities Envisaged in DMIC Project 

As per the Perspective Plan prepared for the DMIC Project, 24 Investment Regions/Industrial Areas have been identified................................................

List of proposed 24 Manufacturing Cities in Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project
S.No.	Manufacturing Cities	State
1	Ahmedabad-Dholera Special	Gujarat
2	Igatpuri-Nashik-Sinnar	Maharashtra
3	Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana	Rajasthan
4	Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad	Uttar Pradesh
5	Manesar-Bawal	Haryana
6	Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow	Madhya Pradesh
7	Kundli- Sonepat	Haryana
8	Ajmer-Kishangarh	Rajasthan
9	Ratlam-Nagda	Madhya Pradesh
10	Bharuch-Dahej	Gujarat
11	Dhule-Nardhana	Maharashtra
12	Meerut-Muzaffarpur	Uttar Pradesh
13	Faridabad-Palwal	Haryana
14	Jaipur-Dausa	Rajasthan
15	Vadodara-Ankleshwar	Gujarat
16	Alewadi-Dighi	Maharashtra
17	Neemuch-Nayagaon	Madhya Pradesh
18	Rewari-Hisar	Haryana
19	Rajsamand-Bhilwara	Rajasthan
20	Pali-Marwar	Rajasthan
21	Surat-Navsari	Gujarat
22	Valsad-Umbergaon	Gujarat
23	Pune-Khed	Maharashtra
24	Shajapur-Dewas	Madhya Pradesh

 However, in the Phase-I of DMIC Project, following eight nodes have been taken up for development:------------------------------------------