Consulate General of India, Vancouver www.cgivancouver.org
Vol. 02, Issue No. 12 March 23, 2018.
India in Vancouver Weekly Newsletter
India Perspectives India Perspectives is the flagship publication of the Ministry of External Affairs. Richly illustrated, this magazine provides our readers with an insight into India’s culture and tradition along with elements of contemporary India. Click here to read more‌. Ministry of External Affairs, India
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Vol. 02, Issue. 12, March 23, 2018.
Consulate News First Organizing Committee Meeting of Namaste Canada – 2018, (22 March 2018 at Consulate Premises)
Important Trade Fairs in India – To know more, click on Recommendations/nominations for Presidential Award of Certificate of Honour to Sanskrit, Oriya, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam scholars The Scheme for the Award of the Certificates of Honours was introduced in the year 1958 to honour the scholars of Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian languages and extended to cover Classical Oriya, Classical Kannada, Classical Telugu and Classical Malayalam from the year 2016. Under this Scheme, a Certificate of Honour along with a onetime monetary grant of Rs.5,00,000/- (Approx. 7700 USD) each is awarded to Scholars of eminence over 60 years of age with outstanding contribution in the field of each of these languages. 2. The scheme also provides for one International Award of Certificate of Honour to a Non-resident Indian or person of nonIndian origin with outstanding contributions in the field of Sanskrit and Two International Awards (one each for person of Indian and Non-Indian Origin) in each of the languages of Classical Oriya, Classical Kannada, Classical Telugu and Classical Malayalam. These prestigious Awards are presented by the Hon’ble President of India. 3. Nominations/Recommendations [in the prescribed proforma] with the cover entitled Recommendation/Nomination for Presidential Award of Certificate of Honour to Sanskrit/Oriya/Kannada/Telugu/Malayalam Scholar should reach Consulate General of India; Commerce, Education, Culture & Information Section; #201-325 Howe Street; Vancouver; BC - V6C 1Z7 latest by Monday, 02 April 2018, for in order to complete timely internal processing and onward transmission to Government of India. Proforma - Presidential Award 1|P a g e
Vol. 02, Issue. 12, March 23, 2018.
Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is organizing the 10th edition of India Chem 2018 from 04 to 06 October, 2018 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, NSE Complex, Goregaon, Mumbai, India. India Chem is one of the largest composite events of Chemicals and Petrochemicals industry of the Asia Pacific region. 2. The event comprises of an international exhibition and a conference of representatives of participating global giants from various associated fields. The last edition of “India Chem” was held from September 1-3, 2016 at Mumbai. It witnessed 282 Exhibitors from Manufacturing, end users and intermediates segments., 146 international participants from 23 countries, 136 national participants and 16,162 business visitors from various countries. Iran was the partner country of India Chem 2016. 3. Indian Chemical Industry is estimated to be valued at $ 155 billion in 2017 and contribute 3.4% of the global chemical industry. It ranks 14th in exports and 8th in imports of chemical (excluding pharmaceutical products) globally. Indian Chemical Industry contributes approximately 10% of the gross value added in the manufacturing sector and is growing at an annual rate of 8 to 10% per annum. It is expected that with growth in per capita income, chemical industry will grow at even a faster rate and is likely to double by 2025. 4. In order to promote the chemical sector in India, 100% Foreign Direct Investment in this sector is permitted. Government of India is also supporting manufacturing in the country through its programmes such as ‘Make in India’ and by consistently improving ‘Ease of Doing Business’. Government of India is also promoting large clusters of petrochemical / chemical units in designated Petroleum, Chemical & Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs). 5. India Chem 2018 will showcase Government policy for sustained growth in the sector that will provide platform for investors, both domestic and international, and other stakeholders to interact and forge alliances. At the same time, the International Exhibition will enable manufactures to show-case their products and technologies and contract business. 6. Click here to download The India Chem 2018 brochure. Registration links are as below: • Exhibitor Registration: http://indiachem.in/exhibitor-registration.php • Visitor Registration: http://indiachem.in/visitor-registration.php • Conference Registration: http://indiachem.in/conference-registration.php More information about the event is available at http://www.indiachem.in/
Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance’s Global Tenders for Procurement of Instruments and Upgradation of Infrastructure Department of Revenue has floated a Global Tender for supply, installation and commissioning of (i) Differential Scanning Calorimeter [No.07(AS)2018]; (ii) Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer [No.08(AS)/2018]; (iii) Automatic Bomb Calorimeter [No.09(AS)/2018]; and (iv) Adsorbable Organic Halogen Analyzer [No.10/(AS)/2018] for laboratories of Customs & Central Excise. It may be noted that the tenders have been uploaded on the Central Public Procurement Portal website on 27.02.2018 and are available on e-Portal till 13.04.2018 for submission of bids online upto 1300 hours. The tenders will be opened online at http://eprocure.gov.in at 1500 hours on 17.04.2018. Interested Tenders/bidders may download the Tender Enquiry Documents (TED) and submit their tenders online at Central Public Procurement Portal website: https://eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app. Click here to read more about above mentioned tenders.
Admission notice for foreign nationals/OCI/PIO/NRIs (“Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management” at Indian Institute of Forestry Management, Bhopal for the academic year 2018-19) M/o Environment, Forest & Climate Change intimated that w.e.f. the academic year 2018-19, Indian Institute of Forestry Management, Bhopal - an autonomous Institution of the M/oEF is offering admission to foreign nationals/OCI/PIO/NRIs to its flagship programme “Post Graduation Diploma in Forestry Management" which is approved by AICTE and is equivalent to Masters Degree on the Self Finance basis. 2. A total number of 24 seats are available for foreign nationals/OCI/PIO/NRIs and for Children of Indian Workers in Gulf countries as per details enclosed. The candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA awarded by any recognised University. 3. The last date of receipt of applications at IIFM, Bhopal is 30/5/2018. Please click here for details of admission criteria, fees etc... For more details please visit: www.iifm.ac.in/admission 2|P a g e
Vol. 02, Issue. 12, March 23, 2018.
Cultural – Heritage Tourism in India Prehistoric Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are located about 45 km south east of Bhopal on the road to Hoshangabad. The site spread over 10 km in length and about 3 km in width has more than 700 rock shelters, of which over 400 have paintings. The earliest human activities are known from the numerous stone tools including handaxes, cleavers and also the pebble tools. The latter pertinently was found in primary contexts. The continuity of human evolution from the Lower Palaeolithic Period is noticed by the smaller size of stone tools in the following Middle Palaeolithic Period besides new tools like scrapers. During the Upper Palaeolithic Period newer tool types like: blades, borers and burins had also emerged. However, it is in the Mesolithiic Period that there is a clear change in the materials and tool typology. Earlier, the tools were largely made of quartzite and sandstone, whereas the tools being made in the Mesolithic Period were most often of chalcedony. The stone tools of this period include blades, triangles, trapezes, crescents besides quern and muller. The Mesolithic culture at Bhimbetka continued much longer as understood by the presence of Chalcolithic potteries in otherwise Mesolithic contexts. By the Early Historic times it appears that interaction with the surrounding cultures became more pronounced. This is evidenced by the presence of rock-cut beds in a rock shelter on the top portion of an inselberg like outcrop not far from the later built temple at this site. In all respect it resembles the Sallekhana spots observed in South India. The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka entered the UNESCO world heritage list in 2003.
(General view of the rock outcrops, Bhimbetka)
(Depiction of animals and humans, Zoo Rock, Bhimbetka)
News from India 1. PM Modi leads the world into International Solar Alliance, gives 10 action points to promote solar energy India hosted inaugural session of the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance, a global alliance of solar-rich countries. PM Modi called upon the world to push for developing low cost solar energy and promoting solar energy-based innovations. Listen to the full speech here PM held bilateral meetings with multiple world leaders on the sidelines of the conference. Click here to know more 2. India to meet solar capacity addition target of 10,000 Mw India is set to meet its target of adding 10,000 MW of solar capacity in 2017-18, almost twice that of the increase in 2016-17. The country had added 5,526 MW of solar capacity in the last fiscal, which was itself a record at the time. “Our cumulative capacity was 19,584 MW in end-February, and we will be crossing 22,000 MW by March 31,” said Anand Kumar, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE). The total capacity at the end of 2016-17 was 12,288.8 MW, which means that 7,295 MW had been added till end-February and another 2,700 MW is expected to be commissioned in March. The capacity addition is expected to accelerate further in 2018-19. Read more… (By Kaavya Chandrasekaran, ET Bureau, Mar 18, 2018, 11.14 PM IST)
3. Indian district becomes first Union Territory to run entirely on solar power In a milestone for the India’s progress on adopting renewables, the union territory of Diu has announced that it is running entirely on solar energy. Energy World reports: In a span of three years, Diu has made rapid progress in solar power generation. Limited to a geographical area of just 42 sq km, Diu has become the first Union territory where more than 100% of the electricity need is being met by solar power. In spite of scarcity of land, solar power plants have been installed in over 50 acres of land. Read more… (By: Steve Williams, care2.com, March 16, 2018)
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Vol. 02, Issue. 12, March 23, 2018. 4. Telecom companies net subscriber addition in February highest in over a year According to the latest data from industry body, COAI, telecom companies on a net basis added 10.84 million subscribers, compared with them losing 1.2 million during January 2018. While Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular added 4.17 million, 3.25 million and 4.42 million subscribers, respectively, Telenor lost a million subscribers during February. Another interesting development during the month was that Idea not only became the third operator to cross the 200 million subscriber mark, but its additions in February were the highest by an operator for the month. Read more… (By: FE Bureau, New Delhi, March 20, 2018, 5:48 AM)
5. India attracts $209 bn FDI during Apr 2014 to Dec 2017 Foreign direct investment has increased "steadily" in the country with total capital inflows reaching USD 208.99 billion during April 2014 to December 2017 period, a Union minister said on Monday. The main sectors that received maximum foreign inflows include services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, construction, trading and automobile. Read more… (PTI, Economic Times, Mar 12, 2018, 09.42 PM IST)
6. Indian Railways goes green with 12,000 HP ‘Make in India’ electric locomotive Indian Railways has got its first 12,000 HP electric locomotive from Alstom as part of a 3.5 billion euros ‘Make in India’ deal! This new electric locomotive has been manufactured and assembled at Alstom’s factory in Bihar’s Madhepura. The electric locomotive marks a significant milestone in Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways bid to go green and reduce its carbon footprint. The WAG12-class ‘Make in India’ locomotives will be used to power trains on the Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) of Indian Railways. The project is a joint venture between Alstom and Indian Railways and involves not only manufacturing 800 fully electric “super-powered” double-section locomotives, but also maintaining them over a period of 11 years. Read more… (By: Smriti Jain, Financial Express, March 10, 2018 7:15 PM)
7. BrahMos achieves big ‘Make in India’ feat! Missile test-fired with indigenous seeker; it’s a big breakthrough BrahMos, said to be the world’s fastest and most formidable anti-ship cruise missile, was today successfully test fired with an indigenous seeker at a Pokhran test range in Rajasthan. This marks a big achievement and breakthrough for the supersonic missile. Giving a big boost to PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, for the first time the country developed a seeker for a missile of this calibre and class. The BrahMos weapon system has been jointly developed by India and Russia and is said to be one of the most formidable and precision-strike weapons in the world. The BrahMos missile that was test fired today “flew in its designated trajectory and hit the target with pin-point accuracy”, say government sources. Read more… (Smriti Jain, Financial Express, Thu, 22 Mar, 12:46pm)
8. Govt plans to turn 500 villages across India into 'Sampurna Yoga Grams' The Ministry of AYUSH has launched an initiative to turn 500 villages in the country into 'Sampurna Yoga Grams' with at least a member of each household practicing yoga regularly, ahead of International Yoga Day (IYD) on June 21, a senior official said. The concept comes from a village named Kunnamthanam in Kerala, where the village panchayat has started this initiative. The aim is to replicate the Kunnamthanam model across India, the senior AYUSH ministry official said. Read more… (PTI, Business Standard, Tue, 20 Mar, 08:02am)
9. Now, healthy and storable ‘solar dried food’ For those who love their food to be local, healthy and inexpensive, there is a new concept of solar dried food. The All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) was on a mission to promote the usage of these solar dried products in homes at an event at Hotel Baseraa in Secunderabad recently. AIWC joined hands with Ohris Group of Restaurants to prepare different dishes using their Solar Dried food products, such as Solar Dried pasta, Solar Dried Tomatoes, onions, bhindi, methi leaves, Palak etc. Read more… (Express News Service, New Indian Express, Thu, 22 Mar, 12:42pm)
10. This Company’s Efforts is Giving Thousands of Women Economic Independence! Fans, home appliances and sewing machines are everyday objects that we do not necessarily notice but make our lives exceedingly convenient. In India, Usha International leads the pack in manufacturing these products. Aside from resounding success in this segment, it has also been running a community-based initiative empowering rural women residing across many villages to become entrepreneurs since 2011. Through their Usha Silai Schools, this initiative has taught embroidery, tailoring, sewing and stitching on black handle sewing machines (and learning to repair them) manufactured by the company to thousands of rural women, and set them on the path of financial independence and entrepreneurship. In partnership with 53 non-profits, the company has helped start over 15,000 Usha Silai Schools across the country. Read more… (The Better India, Fri, 16 Mar, 12:12pm)
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Vol. 02, Issue. 12, March 23, 2018.
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