National
2-day 'National Convention on People Centric Urban Governance in India'
⇒ Union Minister of State (I/C) Science & Technology; Minister of State (I/C) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh delivered the valedictory address on the two-day “National Convention on People Centric Urban Governance in India” at IIPA, New Delhi on 07 December 2022.
Organised by:
The National Convention on People Centric Urban Governance in India was organised by the Centre for Urban Studies under the aegis of MoHUA, Government of India, at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) in New Delhi on December 6-7, 2022.
Deliberations:
» The convention deliberated on 79 papers presented by senior professionals, practitioners and young researchers.
These were divided into plenary session and ten parallel/breakaway sessions on specific themes namely:
Urban Governance, E-Governance for People Centricity, Urban Services & Climate Change, Urban Poverty Alleviation & Street Vender, Smart City, Urban Infrastructure and mobility, Waste Management, Urban Planning and Land Management, Urban Housing and Slums, Urban Finance and Economy.
» The aim of the two-day convention was to prepare a roadmap for the sector based on consultation with stakeholders from academia, urban local bodies, para-statals, para-municipals, MoHUA, concerned union ministries, states, multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies, NGOs, CBOs and professionals in the sector.
» Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said that technology driven governance can address rising public aspiration rising aspiration, for which citizen participation is as important as keeping pace with fast evolving technology tools.
- Dr Jitendra Singh said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a sustainable model of governance based on a new approach and a new work culture.
- Dr Jitendra Singh concluded by saying that the national convention prepared a roadmap of future actions keeping in mind our national vision of making India a developed nation during the next 25 years of “Amrit Kaal”.
Conference titled, “Women Leading Change in Health and Science in India”
⇒ Union Minister of State (I/C) Science & Technology; Minister of State (I/C) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated a conference titled, “Women Leading Change in Health and Science in India” in New Delhi on 06 December 2022.
- Dr Jitendra Singh lauded the noble intentions of Gates Foundations for committing around 40 million USD till July, 2022 through its collaboration with Department of Biotechnology under Grand Challenges India and the Foundation has an additional commitment of 25 million USD for the next five years.
» The conference was inaugurated in the august presence of Ms. Melinda French Gates, Co-chair and Trustee Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
» Dr. Bharti Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ms. Melinda French Gates, Co-chair and Trustee Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Ms. Amie Batson, Executive Director, WomenLift Health also addressed the conference.
» Dr Alka Sharma, Senior Adviser, DBT & Managing Director, BIRAC, said, “Women’s leadership is now recognized at the highest level and is steadily on the rise. Through various schemes and programs of BIRAC, the researchers and entrepreneurs are being promoted and supported across the country”. She further added that “this conference is certainly going to help in building a national focus on women’s leadership”.
Organized by:
The conference was organized by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a PSU of DBT, in collaboration with WomenLift Health and Grand Challenges India.
Key Points:
- The conference highlighted and promoted the importance of women’s leadership in health and science and identified attainable pathways and goals to strengthen the representation of women in leadership positions in India and Global health ecosystem.
- This conference honored and celebrated Indian women’s accomplishments in overcoming unprecedented challenges over the past few years and advancing STEM innovation and healthcare with their indefatigable resilience and unwavering perseverance.
About DBT:
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, boosts and augments the development of biotechnology ecosystem in India, through its expansion and application in agriculture, healthcare, animal sciences, environment, and industry.
About BIRAC:
Set up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), is a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise; which acts as an Interface Agency to improve and encourage the evolving biotechnology industry to execute strategic research and development activities in context to Nation’s product development needs.
About WomenLift Health:
The WomenLift Health conference is an initiative of Stanford University and is organized since 2017 to provide a forum for established and emerging leaders across the global health community to meet and work together to advance gender equity in health leadership, contribute to the growing momentum to advance diversity and women’s leadership in global health, and expand understanding of the opportunities and challenges across countries, sectors, and disciplines for women’s leadership.
Grand Challenges India:
On June 2012, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) signed an umbrella Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on mission-directed research and build Grand Challenges India to support health research and innovation.
- The MOU aims to support initiatives that could dramatically change the health and development landscape in India and other countries facing similar challenges.
- Grand Challenges India is implemented by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
Agriculture Investment Portal
⇒ The Co-Chairperson of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ms. Melinda French Gates held a meeting with the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, in New Delhi on 05 December 2022.
During the meeting, Shri Tomar inaugurated the creation of an integrated “Agriculture Investment Portal” by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- In the meeting, Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the government has full focus on promoting women farmers in the country. He said that a large number of women are also working in the agriculture sector in India.
- Shri Tomar said that the “Krishi Nivesh Portal” (Agriculture Investment Portal) will prove to be a milestone in terms of investment in the agriculture sector.
- Agriculture Investment Portal is a centralized one stop portal for agri-investors to avail benefits of various government schemes implemented by various departments related to agriculture and allied sectors.
- He said that this portal would prove to be handy for the investors, they would get a lot of help from it.
International
2-day international meet on "Preparedness for Future Epidemics: Is India ready to meet the CEPI 100 days vaccine challenge?"
⇒ A two-day international meet on “Preparedness for Future Epidemics: Is India ready to meet the CEPI 100 days vaccine challenge?” was organized at Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad on 5th and 6th December, 2022.
Organized by:
The Conference was organized by Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Faridabad in its campus at NCR Biotech Science Cluster.
» Union Minister of State (I/C) Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh said, India will make significant investment in R&D to develop a roadmap for design and delivery of vaccine development for future pandemic.
- Dr Jitendra Singh said, while efforts are still on to uncover findings about the COVID-19 and the epidemiological models, India is ready to invest in future challenges.
- This meeting brought together leaders and experts from academia, industry and regulators to discuss important aspects of vaccine development for emerging infectious diseases.
- India as a country will take lead in providing a policy framework for pandemic preparedness especially for global south, aligning respective national regulatory processes with international processes, and enhancing and pooling manufacturing capacity for large scale production quickly.
- This will also help the country to garner the strength of our biotech industry to improve human health and also contribute to our economy beyond its current share of $80 billion.
Oscars Awards 2023 (95th Academy Awards)
⇒ The Oscars Awards 2023 (95th Academy Awards) ceremony was held on 12 March 2023 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, to honor films released in 2022.
Presented by:
The Academy Awards is popularly known as Oscar award. It was presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).