National
PM inaugurates and lays foundation stone for development projects in Bulandshahr
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth over Rs 19,100 crores in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh on 25 January 2024.
- The projects are related to several important sectors like rail, road, oil and gas and urban development & Housing.
Details of the Projects:
» The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation the 173 Km long double line electrified section between New Khurja – New Rewari on Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) by flagging off goods trains from the two stations through video conferencing.
- This new DFC section is important as it establishes crucial connectivity between the Western and Eastern DFCs. Further, this section is also known for its remarkable feat of engineering.
- It has a ‘one-kilometre-long double line rail tunnel with high rise electrification’, which is the first of its kind in the world.
- This tunnel is designed to seamlessly operate double-stack container trains.
» The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the fourth line connecting Mathura – Palwal section & Chipiyana Buzurg – Dadri section.
- These new lines will improve the rail connectivity of the national capital to Southern Western & Eastern India.
» The Prime Minister dedicated multiple road development projects to the nation.
- The projects include Aligarh to Bhadwas four-laning work Package-1 (part of Aligarh-Kanpur Section of NH-34); widening of Meerut to Karnal border via Shamli (NH-709A); and four laning of Shamli-Muzaffarnagar section of NH-709 AD Package-II.
- The road projects. These road projects, developed at a cumulative cost of more than Rs 5000 crore will improve connectivity and help in the economic development in the region.
» During the programme, the Prime Minister also inaugurated Indian Oil’s Tundla-Gawaria Pipeline.
- Built at a cost of about Rs 700 crore, this 255 km long pipeline project has been completed well ahead of the scheduled time.
- The project will help in the transportation of petroleum products from Tundla to Gawaria T-Point of Barauni-Kanpur Pipeline with pumping facilities at Mathura and Tundla and delivery facilities at Tundla, Lucknow and Kanpur.
» The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation ‘Integrated Industrial Township at Greater Noida’ (IITGN).
- It has been developed in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects under PM-GatiShakti.
- Built at a cost of Rs. 1,714 crore, the project is spread over 747 acres and is located near the intersection of Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway to the south and the Delhi-Howrah broad gauge railway line to the east.
- IITGN’s strategic location ensures unparalleled connectivity as other infrastructures for multi-modal connectivity are present in the vicinity of this project viz. Noida-Greater Noida Expressway (5 km), Yamuna Expressway (10 km), Delhi Airport (60 km), Jewar Airport (40 km), Ajaibpur Railway Station (0.5 km) and New Dadri DFCC Station (10 km).
- The project marks a significant step towards fostering industrial growth, economic prosperity, and sustainable development in the region.
» During the programme, the Prime Minister inaugurated the renovated Mathura sewerage scheme including the construction of a sewage treatment plant (STP) at a cost of about Rs 460 crore.
- This work includes construction of 30 MLD STP at Masani, rehabilitation of existing 30 MLD at Trans Yamuna and 6.8 MLD STP at Masani & construction of 20 MLD TTRO plant (Tertiary Treatment and Reverse Osmosis Plant).
- He also inaugurated Moradabad (Ramganga) sewerage system & STP works (Phase I). The project built at a cost of about Rs 330 crore consists of 58 MLD STP, about 264 km sewerage network and nine sewage pumping stations for pollution abatement of Ramganga River at Moradabad.
Investment Forum for Advancing Climate Resilient Agrifood Systems in India
⇒ NITI Aayog, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India, and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations jointly launched the ‘Investment Forum for Advancing Climate Resilient Agrifood Systems in India’ in New Delhi.
- It was launched during a two-day Multi-stakeholder Meeting held on January 18-19, 2024, at the India International Centre, New Delhi.
Aim:
This initiative aims to develop an investment and partnership strategy to advance climate resilient agrifood systems among the government, private sectors, and farmers’ organizations and financial institutions in India.
Discussions:
» The two-day meet paved the way for discussions and deliberations among key stakeholders, and their perspectives on national priorities, investment opportunities, partnership, technical support and cooperation.
The Forum facilitated discussions and deliberations on six key areas namely-
- Climate resilient agriculture (experiences and pathways)
- Digital infrastructure and solutions
- Financing climate resilient agrifood systems (domestic and global)
- Climate resilient value chains
- Production practices and inputs for climate resilience, and
- Gender mainstreaming and social inclusion for climate resilience
The meet witnessed almost 200 attendees with senior representatives from the government, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), National Institute of Agriculture Extension Management (MANAGE), World Bank, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), delegation of the European Union, International Finance Cooperation, and UN agencies.
Important Day
14th National Voters’ Day (NVD) 2024
⇒ Election Commission of India celebrated 14th National Voters’ Day (NVD) on 25th January 2024.
Theme:
Dedicated to the voters, National Voters’ Day (NVD) 2024 theme – ‘Nothing Like Voting, I Vote For sure’ is a continuation from last year’s theme.
- It resonates with the aspirations and feelings of voters towards participation in the electoral process armed with the power of their vote.
» Hon’ble President of India Smt Droupadi Murmu was the Chief Guest at the national function organized in New Delhi by the Election Commission of India.
- The event was also attended by Heads and representatives of Election Management bodies viz. Maldives, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan.
Best Electoral Practices Awards 2023:
» During the event, President of India presented the Best Electoral Practices Awards for the year 2023.
- These Awards are presented to State and District level officers for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections during 2023 in different spheres such as IT initiatives, Security Management, Election Management, Accessible Election, Electoral Roll and contribution in the field of voter awareness and outreach by media.
- Awards are also given to important stakeholders including government departments, and media organizations for their valuable contribution towards voters’ awareness.
» A total of 16 awardees were felicitated for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections during 2023.
Best Performing State award:
The Best Performing State award was given to Chief Electoral Office (CEO) Chhattisgarh for the smooth conduct of elections in 2023 under challenging circumstances.
List of Best Electoral Practices Awards 2023 winners
Other Activities:
» A commemorative postage stamp themed “Inclusive Elections” was released to celebrate the Election Commission of India’s 75th year of service to the Nation in light of the 2024 Parliamentary Elections.
- The stamp denotes the efforts of ECI, towards the conduct of inclusive and accessible elections.
» The first copy of the ECI Publication ‘Initiatives of ECI for Parliamentary Elections 2024’ was presented to the Hon’ble President by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar.
- The book provides a comprehensive overview of the initiatives undertaken by each division of the ECI to ensure free, fair, inclusive, accessible, and participatory conduct of elections.
History of National Voters’ Day:
- Since 2011, National Voters’ Day has been celebrated on January 25 every year, across the country to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India, i.e. 25th January 1950.
- The main purpose of the NVD celebration is to create electoral awareness amongst citizens and encourage them to participate in the electoral process.
- Dedicated to the voters of the country, the National Voters’ Day is also used to facilitate enrolment of voters, especially the newly eligible young voters.
- New voters are felicitated and handed over their Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) in the NVD functions held across the country.
- NVD is celebrated at the national, state, district, constituency and polling booth levels, which makes it one of the largest celebrations in the country.