National
SHE STEM 2022
⇒ As part of the Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week, SHE STEM, the annual event to celebrate women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and sustainability, was successfully held for the third year in a row.
Host School:
Darbari Lal DAV Model School, New Delhi hosted SHE STEM 2022 on 05 December 2022.
Organized by:
The annual event is organized by the Embassy of Sweden in India in partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Government of India and the German Centre of Innovation and Research (DWIH New Delhi).
Key Points:
- SHE STEM 2022 began with a musical performance by the students, followed by talks, and a panel discussion by with women in the fields of STEM and business, including Dr Sridevi Annapurna Singh, Director of CSIR-CFTRI, Ministry of Science and Technology.
- Dr Sridevi spoke to the audience about the need for women in fields of STEM to bring in their unique perspectives to problem-solving for a sustainable future.
- Following the success of the Insta-reels Video Challenge in 2021, SHE STEM hosted the #SHESTEM2022 Video Challenge across Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Google Drive for students of ages 13 to 17, asking them to imagine themselves in the year 2047, and speak about an innovation of theirs that has helped in tackling climate change.
17th International Conference on Cement, Concrete and Building Materials
⇒ The 17th International Conference on Cement, Concrete and Building Materials, a biennial event, was organized on 6-9 December, 2022 at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi.
Organized by:
National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB) organized the 17th International Conference on Cement, Concrete and Building Materials.
- National Council for Cement and Building Materials is a premier R&D institute under Administrative Control Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
Theme:
The theme for the 17th International Conference on Cement, Concrete and Building Materials was “Moving towards Net Zero Carbon Emission”.
Discussions:
» This biennial event is one of its kind in this part of the globe where Captains of Cement and Concrete sector, Policy makers, Academicians, Professionals, Engineers and Scientists come under one roof. They discuss future action plans aimed towards clean and green production and responsible consumption of the resources utilized in cement sector to ensure long term sustainability.
- Besides panel discussions and keynote addresses from eminent speakers from industry and academia, about 150 technical papers were presented close to 20 technical sessions.
- More than 80 leading equipment manufacturers and service providers of India and the world, also showcased their technological prowess, new products and services in a Technical Exhibition, in sync with conference.
About NCB:
- National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB), then Cement Research Institute of India (CRI) was founded on 24th December 1962 with the objective to promote research and scientific work connected with cement and building materials trade and industry.
- NCB’s areas of work span over the entire spectrum of cement manufacturing and usage – starting with geological exploration of raw materials through the processes, the machinery, the manufacturing aspects, energy and environmental considerations to the final utilization of materials in actual construction, third party quality assurance services of construction projects, condition monitoring & rehabilitation of buildings and structures.
- It serves as the nodal agency for providing the Government the necessary support for formulation of its policy and planning activities related to growth and development of cement and construction industry.
- It is devoted to protect the interests of consumers of cement and concrete in the country. NCB’s stakeholders are Government, Industry and Society, who perceive NCB’s role as discharging national responsibility, providing adequate technology support and improving the quality of life respectively.
International
5th European Union-India Competition Week 2022
⇒ The 5th edition of the European Union-India Competition Week was inaugurated at the Competition Commission of India HQ by Dr Sangeeta Verma, acting Chairperson, CCI, and Mr Seppo Nurmi, Deputy Head of Delegation of the EU to India & Bhutan on 5 December.
- The 5th European Union-India Competition Week 2022 was held during 5-7 December 2022 in New Delhi.
Participation:
The Competition Week gathered officials from the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition (DG Competition) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to strengthen their dialogue on competition policy. Officials from the Belgian and French national competition authorities also joined the meeting.
Discussion:
- The three days of discussions covered a wide range of topics, including antitrust cases in the digital economy, design, and implementation of ex-ante digital regulations, investigation of hub-and-spoke agreements and other atypical cartels, as well as competition enforcement, including how to assess arguments about sustainability goals in this context.
- The importance of strengthening cooperation and partnership between the EU and India was highlighted in the Joint Communication: Elements for an EU strategy on India adopted on 20 November 2018.
- The EU-India Competition Week 2022 was based on the MoU on cooperation in the field of competition law signed between DG Competition and the Competition Commission of India on 21 November 2013 and on all previous Competition Weeks organised since 2018.
Next EU-India Competition Weeks:
EU-India Competition Weeks take place annually. The 6th EU-India Competition Week is scheduled for December 2023.
Background:
» The Competition Cooperation Project is designed to serve as a platform for dialogue and the exchange of good practices between competition authority officials and experts from the EU and Asia.
Participating countries from Asia include China, India, Japan, South Korea and the ASEAN Member States: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
The Project is comprised of three types of activities:
- Competition Weeks
- Competition Summer Schools
- EU Visitors Programme
Competition Weeks: The Competition Weeks are a series of seminars and discussions held over the course of up to one week in participating countries in Asia. The Competition Weeks are a platform for dialogue between the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition and the host country’s competition authorities.
Important Day
Navy Day 2022
⇒ India celebrates December 04 as Navy Day, every year, to acknowledge the role of the Indian Navy and commemorate its achievements in ‘Operation Trident’ during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.
- Navy Day 2022 celebrations were conducted outside the National Capital, for the first time.
- The Navy Day celebrations are aimed at fostering greater outreach, renewing maritime consciousness amongst our citizens and highlights the Navy’s contributions towards national security.
The President of India and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Smt. Droupadi Murmu witnessed the Operational Demonstration.
- The President of India also virtually inaugurated and laid foundation stone of various projects of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Several dignitaries from the Central and State Governments also attended the event, which was hosted by Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff.
‘Operational Demonstration’ on Navy Day:
- The year 2022, as India ushers in the ‘Amrit Kaal’ with the commencement of the celebrations of 75 years of her independence, the Indian Navy demonstrated India’s combat prowess and capability through an ‘Operational Demonstration’ on Navy Day.
- The Operational Demonstration showcased the capabilities of Indian Naval ships, submarines, aircraft, helicopters and Special Forces from the Eastern, Western and Southern Naval Command.
- The event concluded with Beating Retreat, a sunset ceremony and illumination by ships at anchorage.
- During the event, a book on Naval history titled ‘A Decade of Transformation – Signalling Power and Partnerships’ was released and unveiled.
- In addition, commemorating the event a Navy Telefilm, movie on Navy Wellness and Welfare Association and a new naval song titled ‘Call of the Blue Waters’ written by Mr Prasoon Joshi and sung by Shankar Mahadevan were also released.
» The Navy Day 2022 also marked a special day for the Indian Navy as the new President’s Standard, a new Indian Navy Crest and the CNS Standard were unveiled on the occasion.