Union Minister of  Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav today, April 20, released the white tiger cubs in the arena of white tiger enclosure in National Zoological Park in New Delhi by flagging off. The Minister has named the female cub as “Avani” meaning earth, and the male cub as “Vyom" which means universe. The parentage consists of father Vijay and mother Tigress Sita. These cubs were born in August last year, and are now about 8 months old.

On the occasion, Mr. Yadav interacted with school children to promote Mission LIFE and shared the importance of a sustainable way of living and natural resource conservation. A group of about one hundred students and staff from various schools of New Delhi attended the programme and showed enthusiasm to promote wildlife conservation. After the release of the white tiger cubs, a zoo walk was conducted for the school students.

The Culture Working Group (CWG) under India’s G20 Presidency organised a Global Thematic Webinar on the “Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy”. This webinar was the third in a series of four that focus on the priority areas as articulated by the CWG. The aim of the webinar was to foster an inclusive dialogue and facilitate an in-depth discussion from an expert-driven perspective.

In his opening remarks, Secretary in Culture Ministry and Chairperson of CWG Govind Mohan emphasised for fostering a vibrant and inclusive cultural ecosystem that values and supports creativity can have positive impacts on individuals, communities, and society. He said, the cultural and creative sector is also a catalyst for change, empowering individuals, and communities, promoting freedom of expression and cross-cultural dialogue. It is, therefore, essential to support this sector and establish an environment where creativity and innovation can thrive.

The third convocation of Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Sriperumbudur was held today, April 20. During his Chief Guest address, Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur appreciated the bold initiative taken by the institute to introduce new and innovative job-oriented academic programs for the youths of India. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Civil Servants in New Delhi on the 21st of April to mark Civil Services Day. Mr. Modi has constantly appreciated the contribution of Civil Servants towards nation-building and enthused them to work even harder. The programme will serve as an apt platform for the Prime Minister to motivate and inspire Civil Servants across the country so that they may keep serving the nation with the same zeal, especially during this crucial phase of Amrit Kaal.

During the event, he will confer the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration as well. The Awards have been instituted with a view to recognize the extraordinary and innovative work done by districts and organizations of the Central and State Governments for the welfare of common citizens.

In a landmark decision, Department of Personnel and Training has approved the conduct of the Staff Selection Commission Multitasking (non-technical) Staff (SSC MTS) examination, 2022 and CHSLE Examination, 2022 in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English. Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said this historic decision has been taken at the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give impetus to participation of local youth and encourage regional languages. He said this action is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to ensure that everyone gets an equal opportunity to apply for job and that no one is disenfranchised or placed at a disadvantage because of the language barrier.

India Steel 2023, a conference and exhibition on the steel industry will begin in Mumbai today. Union Minister of State for Steel, Mr. Faggan Singh Kulaste will inaugurate the conference, being jointly organised by the Steel Ministry, the Commerce Ministry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Over the course of the three days, attendees, including industry leaders, policymakers and experts will have the opportunity to discuss topics like logistics infrastructure, demand dynamics and green steel production.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will address the ongoing first edition of the biannual Army Commanders Conference today.

The Minister will also review an equipment display focusing on niche technology, innovation, solutions for surveillance, artificial intelligence, training, robotics, virtual reality, advancement on Agnipath scheme, and operational logistics.

The Research and Innovation Initiative gathering conference of G-20 will begin at Dharamshala in  Himachal Pradesh today. Delegates from G-20 member States, international organizations and experts from the scientific community will attend the two-day conference.

It will discuss building a sustainable eco-innovative energy conversion system. Secretary, Department of Science and Technology,  Dr. Srivari Chandrashekhar will chair the conference. The main theme of the conference is Research and Innovation for an egalitarian society.

Acknowledging the efforts of women, President Droupadi Murmu has said, the holistic development of society is possible only with the growing participation of women. The President today conferred upon National Panchayat Awards and inaugurated the National Conference on Incentivisation of Panchayats in New Delhi.  Addressing the gathering, Ms Murmu said, women should have the right to make decisions for themselves, for their families, and for the welfare of society. She urged women to actively participate in the work of the Gram Panchayats. 
 

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today said that India Russia partnership is a subject of attention and comment today because it has not changed. Addressing the India-Russia Business Dialogue 2023 in New Delhi this afternoon, Dr Jaishankar underlined that it has been among the steadiest of the major relationships of the world in the contemporary era. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov was also present on the occasion. The External Affairs Minister stressed the need to address the trade imbalance. He said that India and Russia have crossed the bilateral trade target of 30 billion dollars before the target year of 2025. He pointed out that these new volumes have created a trade imbalance.