National
Indian Railway Innovation Policy - “StartUps for Railways”
⇒ Indian Railways, the National transporter has taken an important initiative in field of innovation through participation of start-ups and other entities.
The Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw has launched Indian Railway Innovation Policy – “StartUps for Railways” on 13 June 2022 in Rail Bhavan, New Delhi.
- This policy will bring scale and efficiency in the field of operation, maintenance and infrastructure creation through participation of very large and untapped startup ecosystem.
Aim:
This Policy aims to leverage innovative technologies developed by Indian Startups/MSMEs/Innovators /Entrepreneurs to improve operational efficiency and Safety of Indian Railways.
Salient details of Indian Railway Innovation Policy are as under:
- Grant up to Rs.1.5 Crore to innovator on equal sharing basis with provision of milestone-wise payment.
- Complete process from floating of problem statement to development of prototype is online with defined time line to make it transparent and objective.
- Trials of prototypes will be done in Railways. Enhanced funding will be provided to scale up deployment on successful performance of prototypes.
- Selection of Innovator/s will be done by a transparent and fair system which will be dealt through online portal inaugurated today by Minister of Railways.
- Developed Intellectual property rights (IPR) will remain with innovator only.
- Assured developmental order to innovator.
- De-centralization of complete product development process at divisional level to avoid delays.
DD News Conclave on 8 Years of Government
⇒ With the Union Government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi completing eight years, DD News organized a News Conclave from 3rd to 11th June, 2022 titled “आठ साल मोदी सरकार: सपने कितने हुए साकार”.
- The DD News Conclave was formally inaugurated by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur.
Key Points:
- During the conclave, discussions were held on the flagship initiatives of the Union Government, progress achieved in the last eight years as well as the way forward.
- The week-long Conclave included one-to-one interactions with Union Cabinet Ministers as well as panel discussions with domain experts in the presence of a live studio audience.
- The themes included Social Empowerment, Health for All, Infrastructure Development, Defence Indigenization Internal Security, India as Vishwaguru and others.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visits Maharashtra
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Maharashtra on 14th June 2022.
PM in Pune:
» Prime Minister inaugurated Jagatguru Shrisant Tukaram Maharaj Temple in Dehu, Pune.
- Sant Tukaram was a Warkari saint and poet, famously known for Abhanga devotional poetry and community-oriented worship through spiritual songs known as Kirtans. He lived in Dehu. A Shila Mandir was built after his demise, but it was not formally structured as a Temple. It has been rebuilt in stone masonry with 36 peaks, and also carries an idol of Sant Tukaram.
PM in Mumbai:
» Prime Minister inaugurated the Jal Bhushan Building and Gallery of Revolutionaries at Raj Bhawan in Mumbai.
- Jal Bhushan has been the official residence of the Governor of Maharashtra since 1885.
- Upon completing its lifespan, it was demolished and a new building was sanctioned in its place. Foundation stone for the new building was laid by the Hon’ble President of India in August, 2019.
» Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in Dwishatabdi Mahotsav of Mumbai Samachar in Mumbai on 14 June 2022.
- He also released a postal stamp to commemorate the occasion.
Background:
- The printing of Mumbai Samachar as a weekly was started on 1st July 1822 by Shri Fardunjee Marzbanji.
- It, later on, became a daily in 1832. The newspaper has been published continuously for 200 years.
Acquisition of entire shareholding in Air Asia India by Air India
⇒ The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved acquisition of entire shareholding in Air Asia India by Air India.
The proposed combination envisages the acquisition of the entire equity share capital of AirAsia (India) Private Limited (Air Asia India) by Air India Ltd (AIL), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of TSPL.
- At present, TSPL holds 83.67% of the equity share capital of Air Asia India.
National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment 2021
⇒ Union Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Minister of State of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, Dr Jitendra Singh released the 2nd edition of the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment 2021 on 13th June 2022.
The NeSDA 2021 report has been prepared covering the assessment of States, UTs, and focus Central Ministries on their effectiveness in delivering online services to citizens.
Read More About National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment 2021 Report
International
Approval of the Agreement between the Government of India and the United Nations on a ‘Way Finding Application’
⇒ The Union Cabinet chaired by the PM, Shri Narendra Modi approved the agreement between the Government of India and the United Nations on a ‘Way Finding Application’ to be used in the Palais des Nations, United Nations Office at Geneva.
- The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. India is a founding member of the United Nations.
Background:
- The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), consisting of five buildings and 21 floors, is housed at the historic Palais des Nations. Large number of delegates, members of civil society and general public visit UNOG to participate in various meetings and conventions.
- Keeping in view the complexity of buildings and huge participation, there was a requirement of a navigational application which can help the visitors and other delegates in finding their way inside the premises while adhering to all security perspectives.
- While the Global Positioning System (GPS) based Apps function in open space, a more precise in-building navigational App will assist the visitors in locating the room and offices.
- The project consists of development deployment and maintenance of a software-based ‘Way Finding Application’ to facilitate navigation in the Palais des Nations premises of UNLG.
- The application will enable users to find their way from point to point within the 21 floors spread across five buildings of UNOG.
Development of the App:
The development of the App has been entrusted to Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), an autonomous telecom Research & Development centre of Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India.