Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, today said that the government has made various policy changes and taken up initiatives to encourage and support sportspersons and the sporting community even after they retire.  

Addressing the 10th Global Sports Summit, TURF 2020, organized by FICCI, Mr.Rijiju said, that we are also starting 1000 Khelo India small centres across the country that will help retired sports persons get employment or some role in shaping the sports culture of the country.

The Minister noted that India has huge potential where sports is concerned but potential alone has no meaning unless utilized and channelized in the right way.

Rijiju urged the industry, business, and corporate houses to come together with the government in helping create a sporting obsessive society.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed on the need to work together to ensure timely roll-out of next generation 5G technology to leapfrog into the future and empower millions of people in the country. Mr Modi was delivering the inaugural address at the virtual India Mobile Congress (IMC) yesterday. Addressing the event, the Prime Minister gave a call to work together to make India a global hub for telecom equipment, design, development and manufacturing.

Mr Modi cautioned that due to technological upgradation, there is a culture of replacing handsets and gadgets frequently. He called for setting up a task-force to think of a better way of handling the electronic waste and create a circular economy.

The Prime Minister said that the digital potential of the country is immense. He said, with the help of mobile technology, poor and vulnerable sections of the society have been provided help during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister said, India will launch the world's biggest Covid-19 vaccination drive with the help of mobile technology.

Appreciating the country's growth in the mobile and internet connectivity sector, Mr. Modi said, India has a billion plus mobile phone users and 750 million internet users. He said, half of total internet users have been added in the last four years.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has launched the second edition of Fit India Cyclothon via social media. The mega cycling event which started yesterday will run for 25 days till 31st December.

The event will be held across the country in each district and citizens can participate by registering on Fit India website, cycle daily a distance of their choice, and share their images and videos on social media. They may tag @FitIndiaOff and use the hashtag -  FitIndiaCyclothon and #NewIndiaFitIndia.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has declared ‘Invest India’ as winner of the 2020 United Nations Investment Promotion Award. The award ceremony took place at UNCTAD Headquarters in Geneva yesterday. The Award recognizes and celebrates the outstanding achievements of the World’s best-practice investment promotion agencies. The evaluation was based on UNCTAD’s assessment of work undertaken by 180 national Investment Promotion Agencies across the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic had generated important challenges for investment promotion agencies. In March 2020, UNCTAD constituted a team to monitor IPAs response to the pandemic. UNCTAD reported best practices from investment promotion agencies in the IPA Observer publications in April and July. IPAs response to the pandemic became the basis for the evaluation of the 2020 United Nations Investment Promotion Award.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give the inaugural address at the virtual India Mobile Congress 2020 today. IMC 2020 is being organised by the Department of Telecommunications, and the Cellular Operators Association of India. It will be held from today to 10th December.

The theme for IMC 2020 is "Inclusive Innovation - Smart, Secure, Sustainable”. It aims to align to the Prime Minister’s vision to promote ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘Digital Inclusivity’, and ‘Sustainable development, entrepreneurship and innovation’. It also aims to drive foreign and local investments, encourage Research and Development in the telecom and emerging technology sectors.

It will see the participation from various Ministries, the telecom CEOs, global CEOs, and domain experts in 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Data Analytics, Cloud and Edge computing, Blockchain, Cyber-security, Smart Cities and Automation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the construction of the Agra Metro Rail Project (AMRP) today through video conference. The ceremony will begin at 11.30 am and will be held at 15 Battalion PAC parade ground in Agra.

According to reports, the inauguration ceremony will also be attended by Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath and other dignitaries.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said that the Agra Metro project will boost 'ease of living' for the people of Agra as well as tourists.

"At 12 noon tomorrow, 7th December, construction work of the Agra Metro Project will commence. This project is spread across two corridors and will boost 'Ease of Living' for the people of Agra as well as benefit tourists who visit this vibrant city," Modi tweeted on Sunday.

It should be noted that PM Modi had inaugurated the Agra Metro project on March 8 last year, along with the commencement of commercial operations of Lucknow Metro on the entire 23 km long North-South corridor from CCS Airport to Munshipulia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India's Covid vaccine is highly effective. Speaking at an all-party meeting with leaders of various political outfits and top union ministers to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country, the PM said that homemade vaccines have shown promising results.

"Indian scientists are very sure of success in developing COVID-19 vaccine, their confidence very high," he said. "Experts believe wait for COVID-19 vaccine will not be long, it may be ready in a few weeks," the PM added.

"India will start COVID-19 vaccination programme after experts give nod," PM Modi said. He said that public health will be top priority as far as COVID-19 vaccine pricing is concerned. "States will be fully involved."

The fourth round of talks which lasted seven hours between the farmers and the Central government failed to end the impasse over the farm laws as the protesting farmers remained firm on their demand for the repeal of new farm laws. 

The next meeting will be held on December 5. Meanwhile, the farmers' agitation will continue as planned.

During the meeting with the farm leaders, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar assured that the MSP will not be touched and no changes will be made to it. "The government will consider giving more legal rights to farmers. MSP will continue, we have assured farmers of MSP," Union minister Narendra Tomar said after the meeting. "It would be good if the farmers can call off the protest," he added.

India and the US have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to co-operate on intellectual property examination and protection for the next 10 years and to strengthen the IP systems in both countries.

The MoU was signed between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), represented by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Andrei Iancu, and Secretary from India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Guruprasad Mohapatra, during a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

The memorandum will strengthen the intellectual property (IP) systems of both countries, enabling further innovation and growth, said Iancu.

An earlier MoU between India and the US expired nine years ago.

“It (the latest agreement) will help tie our nations even closer, and it will fortify our commitment to the IP rights of all of our citizens, and the many hundreds of companies that operate in both our markets,” he said.

The present agreement covers for the next 10 years, describing a range of cooperative activities pertaining to securing, using, and enforcing IP rights in the areas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, and industrial designs.

The Union Health Ministry has issued a revised standard operating procedure (SOP) on preventive measures to be followed while conducting examinations to contain the spread of COVID-19, here on Thursday, removing the clause to facilitate symptomatic candidates who insist on taking the exam to do so in isolation.

The revised SOP notes that in the regular course, an asymptomatic candidate should be referred to the nearest health center and given an opportunity to undertake the examination through other means, or the university/ educational institution shall arrange for the exam at a later date when the student is declared fit.

However, if a student is found to be symptomatic, the permission or denial thereof in such cases shall be granted as per the policy already enunciated on the issue by the authorities conducting the examination.