The trans-Himalayan Indian Army Skiing Expedition (ARMEX-21) mission across rugged passes over 18,000 feet in the Great Himalayan Range has significantly augmented the military’s operational capability, Army Chief General Manoj Naravane said on Tuesday after presenting the MacGregor memorial medal to Major Ajay Kumar Singh from the Para Special Forces and three other personnel for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.

“Similarly the para jump from 24,000 feet above mean sea level has validated the operational capability of this parachute system, a feat that has never been attempted before,” said Gen. Naravane, also the officiating Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee, presenting the medal to Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Anshu Kumar Tiwari from the Indian Air Force.

Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bhupendra Yadav has said that a total of 25 crore workers of the unorganised sectors have registered on the e-Shram portal.

Addressing the function in New Delhi after distributing Shram Awards to workers or a group of workers in an organization, Mr Yadav said that out of the total workers who have registered on the portal, 53 per cent of them are female workers.

He said, the government has made the provisions and ensured there will be no discrimination in terms of wages with regard to female workers.

Tourism has immense potential in generating employment and business opportunities: Shri G Kishan Reddy 

Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and DONER, Shri G. Kishan Reddy launched the E-marketplace platform in an event organised at the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management(IITTM), Gwalior. Ministry of Tourism launched the digital platform (E-Marketplace) as part of a digital tourism solution for IITFs / IITGs, to provide Web and Mobile App based interaction mechanism, which is to be used by the tourists and certified tourist facilitators/Tourist Guides.

With Bhutan continuing to sit out the Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) of the sub-regional Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) grouping, a meeting of the other three countries was held to discuss the next steps in operationalising the agreement for the free flow of good and people between them.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to Colombo at the end of March to attend the summit of another sub-regional grouping, BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), which includes Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan as well.

Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension Secretary V Srinivas has said, the use of digital technology in governance has simplified the service delivery to the public and also made the decision-making process very effective.

He inaugurated a three-day conference of 160 young civil service officers, entrepreneurs and academicians from across the country in Madras IIT on Tuesday, to prepare a concept paper on the topic, "Imagining India-2047."

In his address, he said, technology would play a critical role in any futuristic governance. Referring to e-Governance, he said it has helped in making many offices paperless, and has improved the systemic efficiency. He also said the bridge between the public and Governments is being reduced more and more through e-Governance initiatives.

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog on Tuesday announced their partnership with Snap Inc. to drive Augmented Reality (AR) skilling among the Indian youth.

Snap Inc. is a global camera company and Snap’s camera plays a transformative role in how people experience the world around them, combining what they see in the real world, with all that is available to them in the digital world.

NITI Aayog in a statement said that over a two-year timeframe, Snap Inc is expected to train over 12,000 teachers affiliated with the Atal Tinkering Labs on Augmented Reality, enabling the reach of the program to millions of students affiliated with ATL’s network of schools.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Government eMarketplace -GeM has launched Stitching and Tailoring Services on the GeM portal in partnership with USHA International Ltd through its Silai School Programme.

The service will open new opportunities for Usha Silai Women and self-help groups to enhance their livelihood incomes through sewing orders placed by various Government departments and agencies. It will also fulfil  three percent procurement target set aside for women MSE entrepreneurs.

Speaking on the occasion, PK Singh, CEO GeM said that the social inclusion of women entrepreneurs in public procurement is a core value at GeM and this service will ensure forward market linkages for women entrepreneurs”. Under this initiative, GeM will collaborate with USHA Silai School in developing stitching and tailoring service for Government buyers and facilitate the process for enlisting women associated with this programme.

President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2020 and 2021 at a special ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on occasion of International Women’s Day today. The award was conferred on 29 outstanding and exceptional women achievers in recognition of their exceptional work towards empowerment of women, especially the vulnerable and marginalised.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development confers Nari Shakti Puraskar on women and institutions in recognition of their relentless service towards the cause of women empowerment and social welfare, and to celebrate women as game changers and catalysts of positive change in the society. The award ceremony for the year 2020 could not be held in 2021 due to the prevalent situation created by COVID-19 pandemic.

Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday said, the government is working to increase the income of women associated with Self Help Groups. He said, our target is that the income of women should reach one lakh rupees annually.

On the occasion of International Women's Day, the Minister inaugurated the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Iconic Week Celebrations at Vigyan Bhawan today.  While addressing, the Minister said, bank linkage of Self Help Groups has increased manifold in the last seven years. Appreciating the efforts of banks which played important role in bank linkage, Mr. Singh said, all the banks of the country have been a major contributor in this drive. He said, discrimination against women will end only when women become financially independent. He said, there are 150 lakh women enterprises in the country which is 20 per cent of the total enterprise of the country. He added that it will reach 300 lakhs by 2030. 

Union Minister for Power R.K. Singh on Tuesday launched the Virtual Smart Grid Knowledge Center (SGKC) and Innovation Park virtually as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Programme.

Minister of State for Power Krishan Pal Gurjar was also present on the occasion. The SGKC has been established by POWERGRID for demonstration and advancement of frontier smart grid technologies.SGKC aims to be one of the leading Centers of Excellence globally to foster innovation, entrepreneurship and research in smart grid technologies and create capacities in the power distribution sector.

The Virtual SGKC that was launched today enables a digital footprint of the physical setup of SGKC, the need for which was felt during COVID-19 pandemic.