External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today said technology has always been a double-edged sword. Addressing the opening of the Global Technology Summit 2021 via video conference, Dr Jaishankar said technology has opened up new vistas of progress just as it has helped create greater vulnerabilities and threats.

He added that technology has also been a great differentiator and has determined the fate of countries. The Minister said, mastery of key domains has become an expression of power and influence. He stressed that technology is today a metric to measure national standing like never before.

Delivering the inaugural address at the  Summit, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said India and UK will help shape a new technology age based on principles of freedom and openness and peace. He said Britain and India are working together on 5G,  telecom and green technology. 

National Energy Conservation Day is observed on December 14, every year. The day focuses on making people aware of global warming and climate change and promotes efforts towards saving energy resources. Energy conservation is the decision and practice of using less energy.

Energy conservation means reducing the consumption of energy by producing or using less of it.  

Energy conservation is an effort made to reduce the consumption of fuel and use the least energy resources to save for the future.

The Government of India has set up Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) on 1st March 2002 under the provision of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

The BEE is a constitutional body that works under the Indian Government and helps in the development of policies and strategies to reduce the use of energy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the valedictory session of the National Summit on Agro and Food Processing on Thursday.

This summit is being organised as a part of the Pre-event Vibrant Gujarat Summit to be held in Anand, Gujarat from today.

This conference will be attended by five thousand farmers who will be present in the Summit. Apart from this 80 Central institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Krishi Vigyan Kendras will also be connecting farmers to witness the event live to know and learn about the practice and benefits of Natural Farming. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, the Maa Umiya Dham Development Project in Gujarat is a perfect example of the notion of ‘Sabka Prayas’ as this auspicious project will be fulfilled with the efforts of all. He was speaking at the foundation stone laying of Maa Umiya Dham Development Project involving Umiya Mata Dham temple and temple premises in Gujarat via video conferencing yesterday.

He emphasized that the devotees should participate in the enterprise with a sense of spiritual purpose as well as a purpose of social service as serving the people is the biggest worship.

The Prime Minister asked the gathering to include element of skill development in all the aspects of the organization. He recalled his visit to Unjha during the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign.

During that visit, he had stressed that steep fall in the female birth rate is a stigma. He thanked the people for accepting the challenge and said gradually the number of girls has almost become equivalent to the boys.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday paid homage to the brave security personnel who laid down their lives on this day in 2001, defending the Parliament of the world’s largest democracy against a dastardly terrorist attack. In a tweet, Mr. Kovind said, the nation shall forever remain grateful to them for their supreme sacrifice.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tributes to all those security personnel who were martyred in the line of duty during the Parliament attack in 2001. In a tweet, Mr. Naidu said, the nation is eternally indebted to them for their supreme sacrifice. He said, terrorism is a threat to humanity and world peace. The Vice President said, all countries must always remain united to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Modi said, their service to the nation and supreme sacrifice continues to inspire every citizen.

India's Harnaaz Sandhu has been crowned Miss Universe 2021, two decades after Lara Dutta won the title in 2000. 21-year-old Harnaaz has won the Miss Universe crown at the contest held in Eilat, Israel on Monday morning. Harnaaz edged out contestants from Paraguay and South Africa to bag the crown. The moment her name was declared as the winner, Harnaaz broke down with tears of joy. She could also be seen joining her hands in gratitude. Mexico's Andrea Meza, the reigning queen, passed on her crown to the new successor. India had earlier won the coveted crown twice with Sushmita Sen bagging the title in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000. The 21-year-old Harnaaz, hailing from Chandigarh, has now joined the league of these incredible women. 

A National Helpline against Atrocities on Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes to be launched on Monday. Social Justice and Empowerment will launch the helpline with an aim to ensure proper implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which was enacted with a view to preventing atrocities on members of SCs and STs. The Helpline will be available round the clock on toll-free number - 14566. The Service will be available in Hindi, English and Regional Language of the States and Union Territories. The objective of the helpline is to build informed awareness about the provisions of the Law that are aimed at ending discrimination and provide protection to all. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from today where he will inaugurate the rejuvenated and transformed Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. Mr. Modi will visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple at around 1 PM and offer prayers, after which he will inaugurate phase 1 of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The entire event will be streamed live across the country. Over 3000 saints and dignitaries will participate in the event. In a tweet, Prime Minister has called this day a landmark day and urged everyone to join the programme.

Mr. Modi will also visit Kaal Bhairav Temple at around 12 noon today and witness Ganga Aarti while on board a Ro-Ro Vessel at around 6 PM. The phase 1 of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham has been constructed at a cost of around 339 crore rupees. The project is spread over a massive area of 5 lakh square feet whereas the earlier premises was limited to just around 3000 square feet. 
The Kashi Vishwanath Dham has been developed under the supervision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in March 2019. The project is designed to provide direct connect of Ganga Ghats to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The project is spread over an area of about 5 lakh square feet. A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in the phase 1 of the project. A variety of facilities including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court etc will be available for the pilgrims visiting Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The project is designed to provide easy access for the disabled and old age people with provision of ramps, escalators and other facilities.

Power Ministry is celebrating Energy Conservation Week under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav from 8th to 14th of this month. Various activities are being undertaken by Power CPSUs as part of the celebrations.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has been organizing National Level Painting Competitions on Energy Conservation for school children. This year, the theme for the competition is ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav: Energy Efficient India” and ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav: Cleaner Planet’.

The State level painting competition is being organized from 1st to 10th December in all 36 States and Union Territories of the country, and it will culminate to a National Level Painting on 12th December at New Delhi. The winners of the National level competition will be awarded on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day on 14th December. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh tomorrow and inaugurate the Saryu Nahar National Project at around 1 PM. The work on the project started in 1978 but due to lack of continuity of budgetary support, interdepartmental coordination, and adequate monitoring, it got delayed and was not completed even after nearly four decades. Prime Minister’s vision for farmer welfare and empowerment, and his commitment to prioritize long pending projects of national importance, brought much-needed focus on the project. Consequently, in 2016, the project was brought under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana with the target to complete it in a time-bound manner. The renewed focus on the project has resulted in the project being completed in only about four years.

The Saryu Nahar Project has been built with a total cost of more than nine thousand 800 crore rupees, out of which more than four thousand 600 crore rupees were provisioned in the last four years. The project also involves the interlinking of five rivers - Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga, and Rohini to ensure optimum usage of water resources of the region. The project will provide assured water for irrigation of over 14 lakh hectares of land and benefit about 29 lakh farmers of over six thousand 200 villages. It will benefit nine districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh namely - Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur, and Maharajganj. The farmers of the region will now immensely benefit from the upgraded irrigation potential. They will now be able to grow crops on a larger scale and maximize the agri-potential of the region.