National
Union Power & NRE Minister lays foundation stone for augmentation of POWERGRID’s Ara sub-station
⇒ Shri R K Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy, laid the foundation stone for augmentation of 220/132 kV POWERGRID Ara Substation on 09 May 2023.
Key Points:
- The augmentation of POWERGRID Ara sub-station will increase the total transformation capacity of the sub-station to 560 MVA.
- Various works of rural development such as bathing ghat, PCC road, community hall, culvert, boundary wall, retaining wall etc have been undertaken by POWERGRID under Corporate Social Responsibility in Bhojpur.
SAKSHAM Learning Management Information System
⇒ Shri Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary launched the SAKSHAM (Stimulating Advanced Knowledge for Sustainable Health Management), a Learning Management Information System (LMIS) of MoHFW in May 2023.
Developed by:
This digital learning platform has been developed by the National Institute of Health & Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi.
About SAKSHAM:
- SAKSHAM is a dedicated and unified platform for providing online training and medical education to all health professionals in the country.
- This digital learning platform will ensure inclusive capacity building of health professionals from primary health centres located in rural and remote areas all the way up to tertiary care and corporate hospitals in metropolitan cities.
‘Harit Sagar’ the Green Port Guidelines 2023
⇒ To meet the larger vision of achieving Zero Carbon Emission Goal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways has launched ‘Harit Sagar’ the Green Port Guidelines.
The guidelines were launched by Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH in New Delhi on 10 May 2023.
Objective:
- The objective of guidelines is to minimize waste through Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle to attain zero waste discharge from port operations and promote monitoring, based on Environmental Performance Indicators.
- This also covers aspects of National Green Hydrogen Mission pertaining to ports, development of green hydrogen facility, LNG bunkering, Offshore Wind Energy etc and provides provision for adopting global Green Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard.
- The launch of the Harit Sagar Green Port Guidelines is a significant step towards achieving our sustainability goals.
Key Points:
- Harit Sagar Guidelines – 2023 envisages ecosystem dynamics in port development, operation and maintenance while aligning with ’Working with Nature’ concept and minimizing impact on biotic components of harbor ecosystem.
- It lays emphasis on use of Clean / Green energy in Port operation, developing Port capabilities for storage, handling and bunkering Greener Fuels viz Green Hydrogen, Green Ammonia, Green Methanol / Ethanol etc.
- These Guidelines provides a framework for the Major Ports for drawing out a comprehensive action plan for achieving targeted outcomes in terms of quantified reduction in carbon emission over defined timelines, through focused implementation and close monitoring of Green Initiatives and to achieve Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG).
‘Sagar Shreshtha Samman’ Awards 2023:
» During the launch event of Harit Sagar Guidelines 2023, the major ports were conferred awards for their all time best performance on select operational and financial parameters during FY – 2022-23.
- Ports having registered highest incremental improvements were also honored and they were ranked on the basis of their overall performance during 2022-23.
- The idea is to generate fair and healthy competition amongst the Major ports & motivate them to perform better & better in the coming year.
Winners of ‘Sagar Shreshtha Samman’ Awards 2023:
- The award for the best Absolute Performance for the year 2022-23 conferred to the Deendayal Port, Kandla for handling highest cargo of 137.56 MMT.
- The Jawaharlal Nehru Port received award for achieving major milestone in Turn Around Time while Paradip Port got performance shield on Ship Berth Day Output.
- The Kamarajar Port got recognized in pre-berthing detention time while Cochin Port received performance shield in turn-around-time (non-container port).
- The award for best incremental performance was bagged by Paradip Port for attaining the highest cargo growth rate of 16.56% last year. In the incremental category another award was conferred to Mormugao Port for best Ship Berth Day Output while award was conferred to Kamarajar Port for best Pre-Berthing Detention time.
- The award for the best port was conferred to Paradip Port on overall annual performance based upon cargo handling, average turnaround time, ship birthday output, and idle time at berth, operating ratio, pre berthing detention.
International
Meeting of Heads of Railways Administration of SCO Member States
⇒ A Meeting of Heads of Railways Administration of SCO Member States was held from 8-10 May 2023 under the Chairmanship of India.
Participation:
The Meeting was attended by the Heads and Representatives of the Railways Administration of the SCO Member States (Republic of India, Republic of Kazakhstan, People’s Republic of China, Kyrgyz Republic, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Uzbekistan).
Chaired by:
The meeting was chaired by Ms Jaya Varma Sinha, Member (Operations & Business Development), Railway Board, Ministry of Railways.
- India assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO at the 2022 SCO Summit held in Samarkand (Uzbekistan).
Key Points:
- The SCO Member States adopted the Work Plan for 2023-2025, approved the draft Action Plan for implementation of Concept of Interaction between Railway Administration of the SCO Member States.
- The deliberation focused on improving regional rail connectivity, Infrastructure development, Multimodal transportation, Use of latest technology including digitization for facilitating trade and economic activities among the SCO Member States.
Current Chair:
Kazakhstan assumed the rotational chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from July 2023 to July 2024 during the Heads of State Council virtual meeting on July 4, 2023.
35th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT)
⇒ The 35th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) between the Indian Navy (IN) and the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) was conducted from 03 – 10 May 2023.
Participation:
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari, an indigenously built LST (L) and His Thai Majesty’s Ship (HTMS) Saiburi, a Chao Phraya Class Frigate, along with Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies participated in the CORPAT along the IMBL in the Andaman Sea.
Key Points:
- Towards reinforcing maritime linkages between the two countries and with an aim of keeping this vital part of the Indian Ocean safe and secure for international trade, the IN and the RTN have been undertaking CORPAT bi-annually since 2005 along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
- CORPAT builds up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitates instituting measures to prevent and suppress unlawful activities like Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, piracy and armed robbery. It further helps enhance the operational synergy by exchanging information for the prevention of smuggling, and illegal immigration and for the conduct of Search and Rescue (SAR) operations at sea.
- As part of the Government of India’s vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with the countries in the Indian Ocean Region towards enhancing regional maritime security.
» The 35th Indo-Thai CORPAT is another step towards enhancing Indian Navy’s efforts to consolidate inter-operability and forge strong bonds of friendship between India and Thailand.