Tag Archives: Records of Bharat

NATIONAL: TRANSPORT / RAILWAYS: The 150-year-old Chennai Central becomes India’s First ‘Silent’ Railway Station

Taking a cue from airports, the station is trading the omnipresent ‘voice’ for more inquiry booths and visual display boards.  

The 150-year-old Dr MGR Ramachandran Central railway station in Chennai went silent on Sunday, making it the first in India to do so, as it bid adieu to the public announcement system that has guided passengers to their trains for decades. Taking a cue from airports, the station is trading the omnipresent ‘voice’ for more inquiry booths and visual display boards.  

In the order announcing the change, issued on Saturday by Southern railway general manager R N Singh, officials were told to ensure all visual display boards are in working condition and to deploy sufficient staff at inquiry booths for a smooth passenger experience.

Large digital screens displaying the arrival and departure of trains in Tamil, Hindi and English have been installed at all three entry points to the station, namely, EVR Periyar Salai (MTC bus stop), suburban terminus, and Wall Tax Road (gate no 5). Concourse areas have also been covered with 40-60 inch digital boards.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL: 600 Delegates from 62 Nations at ‘Y20 India Summit -Gujarat’ as part of India’s G20 Presidency

The subject of the Y20 India Summit, being organised by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is ‘Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability a Way of Life’.

More than 600 representatives from 62 nations will attend the two-day Y20 India Summit at the Maharaja Sayajirao University Vadodara in Gujarat as part of India’s G20 presidency. The conference will be inaugurated on Saturday by Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel.

The subject of the Y20 India Summit, being organised by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is ‘Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability a Way of Life’.

“In this conference, the 167 delegates from G20 nations, 8 international scholars, 12 national scholars, 25 international delegates, 25 national delegates, 25 representatives of Youth Ministry, 50 start-ups working on environment and 250 students studying different subjects will participate,” a press release said.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

WORLD: LEADER IN BANKING & ECONOMY: President Biden Announces U.S. Nomination of Ajay Banga to Lead World Bank

Today, President Biden announced that the United States is nominating Ajay Banga, a business leader with extensive experience leading successful organizations in developing countries and forging public-private partnerships to address financial inclusion and climate change, to be President of the World Bank.
 
Statement from President Biden: “Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history. He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change. He has a proven track record managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results.
 
He also has critical experience mobilizing public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change. Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity.”
 
Ajay Banga, Nominee for President, The World Bank
 
Ajay Banga currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, leading the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation.
 
Over the course of his career, Ajay has become a global leader in technology, data, financial services and innovating for inclusion. He is Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. He is also Chairman of Exor and Independent Director at Temasek. He became an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021. He previously served on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc. Ajay has worked closely with Vice President Harris as the Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission, a founding trustee of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, a former member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and Chairman Emeritus of the American India Foundation.
 
He is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute, Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York and served as a member of President Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He is a past member of the U.S. President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
 
Ajay was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 2016, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Business Council for International Understanding’s Global Leadership Award in 2019, and the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021.

source/content: whitehouse.gov / feb 23, 2023 (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: BUSINESS & ECONOMY: The Inaugural ‘I2U2 Business Forum’ was held in Abu Dhabi-UAE to address Energy Crisis, Food Insecurity

India’s Envoy reiterated the nation’s commitment to the I2U2 partnership and made a strong pitch for all stakeholders to work towards achieving tangible progress in all I2U2 initiatives.

The inaugural Business Forum of I2U2 nations – India, Israel, the UAE and the USA – was held in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, making it the first event of this kind since the launch of the I2U2 group since its leaders’ summit in July 2022.

The Forum brought together senior private and public sector representatives from the member nations with discussions held on investment opportunities to address issues related to the management of the energy crisis and food insecurity.

The I2U2 partnership is a grouping focused on driving tangible economic cooperation between its members across a range of sectors, including food security, water, energy, space, transportation, health, and technology.

It aims to mobilize private sector capital and expertise to, among other objectives, help modernize infrastructure, decarbonize industries, improve public health, and promote the development of green technologies.

Hosted by UAE Minister of State Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, the forum was attended by Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ronen Levi and, India’s Economic Relations Secretary Dammu Ravi, while the US delegation was led by the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W Fernandez.

“The officials reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing economic cooperation under the I2U2 framework, noting the significance of direct engagement between decision makers from I2U2 countries and private sector stakeholders interested in forming a future partnership,” said the MEA.

Ravi reiterated India’s commitment to the I2U2 partnership and made a strong pitch for all stakeholders to work towards achieving tangible progress in all I2U2 initiatives, including setting up an I2U2 Innovation Centre in Gurugram. In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call for LiFE-Lifestyle for Environment, he urged I2U2 partners to work towards a sustainable and environment-friendly lifestyle for all.

The I2U2 Business Forum aims to become a regular platform for private and public entities from India, Israel, the UAE, and the US to convene and establish tangible joint business ventures in I2U2’s core economic and technological fields.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / SOUTH ASIA: BUSINESS & ECONOMY / FINTECH: India and Singapore Launch UPI-PayNow Linkage making it the First Country with cross-border Person to Person (P2P) Payment Facilities.

The move will aid the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially students and migrant workers, by allowing instantaneous and low-cost money transfers between the two countries.

India’s Unified Payments Interface — better known as UPI — and Singapore’s PayNow were officially connected on Tuesday, allow for a “real-time payment linkage”. The virtual launch was led by a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong. 

“Today is a special day for India-Singapore friendship and for our efforts to deepen collaboration in FinTech and innovaton. The participation of my friend PM Lee Sien Loong made this morning’s programme even more special,” Mr. Modi said. The linkage is set to ease financial transactions for the Indian diaspora.

Singapore has now became the first country with which cross-border Person to Person (P2P) payment facilities have been launched. “This will help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers/students and bring the benefits of digitalisation and FINTECH to the common man through instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa,” said the Ministry of External Affairs. UPI payments through QR codes are already taking place in Singapore, though at a limited number of outlets. 

“Delighted to launch the linkage between PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with PM Narendra Modi today. Congratulations to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Reserve Bank of India and all the stakeholders in Singapore and India who have helped make the linkage a reality,” Lee Hsien Loong said at the event.

Demonstrating the link, the Reserve Bank of India’s Governor Shaktikanta Das and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Managing Director Ravi Menon made live “cross-border transactions” to each other using their mobile handsets. 

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD: Indian-origin California-based Engineer Karthik Subramaniam Wins the Top ‘National Geographic Picture of the Year Photography Award’ for his Photograph of the Bald Eagles catching Salmon in Alaska titled ‘Dance of the Eagles’

The prize-winning picture was captured on the final day of his week-long photography trip to Alaska, in Eagle Preserve, where he watched bald eagles catch salmon from the water.

Karthik Subramaniam, an Indian-origin software engineer in the U.S. and a hobbyist photographer, has won the prestigious National Geographic’s ‘Pictures of The Year’ award with his photograph titled “Dance of the Eagles”.

Selected from nearly 5,000 entries, Subramaniam’s picture won the grand prize on Friday, earning him a feature in the magazine’s May issue alongside Nat Geo’s leading photographers.

The award-winning photograph captured a bald eagle intimidating its peers to claim a prime log while salmon hunting in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska.

“Every year in November, hundreds of bald eagles gather at Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska, to feast on salmon. I visited there last two November to photograph them,” Subramaniam was quoted as saying in the statement.

Salmon and chaos

Camped in the preserve, waiting for the perfect click, Subramaniam’s motto was, “Wherever there’s salmon there’s going to be chaos.”

The California-based software engineer started experimenting with wildlife photography only after being grounded by the pandemic in 2020, before which he used to capture landscapes and his travels.

The prize-winning picture was captured on the final day of his week-long photography trip to Alaska, in Eagle Preserve, where he watched bald eagles catch salmon from the water.

“They (the eagles) also seemed to have some favourite spots to hang out, and usually, commotion ensues when an eagle wants an already occupied spot. This photo was taken during one such commotion,” Subramaniam was quoted as saying in the statement.

“Hours of observing their patterns and behaviour helped me capture moments like these,” he added.

Homage to George R.R. Martin

According to the statement, he titled the photograph “Dance of the Eagles” as a homage to a fictional dragon war in George R.R. Martin’s novel A Dance with Dragons.

In recognition of his work, Subramaniam also received a six-month digital subscription to the magazine.

Tied to the annual ‘Pictures of the Year’ list featuring National Geographic’s top images of the year — 118 out of more than 2 million total — the photo contest invited aspiring photographers from across the country to submit the favourite image they captured in 2022, broken into four categories: Nature, People, Places and Animals, the statement said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: TRANSPORT: RAILWAYS: India Railway’s, Railway Protection Force (RPF) to Host the Paris based – ‘International Union of Railways’ ’18th World Security Congress (WSC) 2023’ in Jaipur, Feb 21-23rd

The WSC will start on February 21 to continue till February 23 with experts and officials participating from across the world.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is all set to host the International Union of Railways’ 18th World Security Congress (WSC) to deliberate upon the various aspects of security.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is the law-enforcing agency of Indian Railways (IR) which is hosting the 18th World Security Congress (WSC) at Jaipur.

The WSC will start on February 21 to continue till February 23 with experts and officials participating from across the world.

The Ministry of Railways on Monday said that the theme of this year’s WSC has been set as ‘Railway Security Strategy: Responses and Vision for Future’.

The International Union of Railways is headquartered in Paris and represents the railway sector promoting rail transport worldwide. Railway said that the WSC will be attended by the heads of security of railway organisations from across the world, apart from the concerned officials of UIC and partner agency RPF of Indian Railway.

“It will be an event befitting with the occasion of India taking on the leadership of hosting railway security delegates from around the world,” said DG PR Railway Yogesh Baweja on Monday in a statement. He added that DG RPF has been made chair of the WSC platform, starting in pink city Jaipur from Tuesday over railway security vision and aspects.

“Sanjay Chander- DG RPF has taken up measures to enhance the involvement of member- organisations operating in Asia, Africa and several other developing countries with similar demographic patterns so that their voice could be heard and concerns addressed at multilateral platforms provided by the UIC,” he said.

The RPF will be the host for engaging with delegates (security representatives) of the member organisations of the International Union of Railways which is called UIC.

The DG PR Railway said that the entire congress has been divided into 4 sessions with underlying sub-themes Protecting Critical Assets and Freights, Human security Approach, the best railway security tools and practices across the world and Visison-2030. Earlier, the same congress was organised in 2006 and 2015 by the RPF hosting the International Union of Railways in New Delhi.

RPF DG Sanjay Chander has also taken over the chairmanship of the International UIC Security Platforms from July 2022 to July 2024. The UIC promotes strategic and tactical cooperation amongst world railway sectors as it negotiates its evolving relationship with global governments and security across the continents.

“In a global scenario where criminal elements exploit the advantages of networking to devise newer ways and means of attack, it is highly imperative that positive forces also come together to face such challenges,” the DG PR Railway said. 

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

WORLD RECORD: SPACE / SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: Wings of fire: Chennai-based Space Kidz India Launches AzaadiSAT, which Involves 750 Schoolgirls.  AzaadiSAT – the ‘First STEM Project in the World Comprising All-Girls’

Schoolgirls had to remotely build payloads (transport of data across a network) and write codes for the satellite to be launched into space.

It seemed like a flight of fancy a year ago for Tanvi Patel. The tenth grader and a science enthusiast from Shri BS Patel Kanya Vidyalaya in Mahesana, Gujarat, was chosen to be part of an ambitious space plan. Called AzaadiSAT, the project involved 750 girls like her from government schools across India.

They had to remotely build payloads (transport of data across a network) and write codes for the satellite to be launched into space. On February 10, as part of the ISRO’s SSLV-D2 launch, the small, eight-kg CubeSat blasted off into space from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. How does Patel wish to celebrate? 

“I want to hug Srimathy ma’am for making me a Space Star,” she says. Dr Srimathy Kesan is the brain behind the communication satellite. The 49-year-old founder and CEO of Space Kidz India (SKI), a Chennai-based science and space technology incubator, made AzaadiSAT the first STEM project in the world comprising all girls.

Founded in 2011 with the mission to help young minds ‘savour space sciences’, SKI runs three-month modules—from the solar system and galaxy to robotics and drones—for various age groups. So far SKI has trained 3,500 kids in space exploration of whom about 100 are already working with companies that are into robotics and drone startups across India.

Incidentally, Kesan herself is neither a space scientist nor an aeronautical engineer. “In school, 
I was an NCC cadet and was chosen as a paratrooper. Paratrooping put me in the sky and the space bug bit me,” she recalls.

The tipping point came in 2009 when her friend mentioned a global conference being held in Miami. “I had to be there,” she says. It was in Florida that she got an opportunity to interact with NASA representatives who had set up a kiosk to talk about their programmes. NASA had several initiatives for young school students and that same year, she managed to fly a batch of 108 students to the US to give them a taste of space.

Since then, Kesan has taken around 3,500 youngsters to various space workshops. In 2013, SKI started the Young Scientist India programme to identify high school students who could be mentored to become space scientists. Kesan herself was part of the one-day astronaut programme in Florida in December 2022 where she was handpicked to join celebrity NASA astronaut Charlie Duke, becoming the first Indian woman to experience zero gravity.

How did a commerce student become a space ninja? “Reading NASA news, attending workshops/seminars at the US space agency, taking copious notes and googling like crazy about anything related to satellites,” she says with a twinkle in her eyes. 

In 2022, Kesan pitched the idea to include 750 girls from government schools to build an indigenous satellite to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a Zoom call where some space startups were meeting. “The PM instructed the government officials to offer me all help needed,” she says.

ISRO gave them technical support and other incidental expenses for the programmes were sanctioned by Hexaware Technologies, a Mumbai-based IT services company. Anna University, Chennai, gave them the space to build the satellite. The students were picked based on their enthusiasm to learn fast. The space lover, wants to take kids to the moon in the next five years. Audacity is, indeed, Kesan’s first name.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: ARTS & CULTURE: India to Organise World Hindi Conference in Fiji, Feb 15-17

India is set to organise World Hindi Conference between February 15-17 in Fiji.

A 270-member delegation from India will visit Fiji for the event.

Representatives from 50 countries will participate in the event and representatives from South and Northeast India will be presenting papers at the conference.

“Hindi has made limited progress in the United Nations. U.N. press releases are now available in Hindi. We are trying to get Hindi its rightful place at the U.N.” said Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East), MEA.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL RECORDS: ARTS & CULTURE / MUSIC: Music Composer Ricky Kej Wins 3rd Grammy Award for ‘Divine Tides’, Dedicates Honour to India

Music composer Ricky Kej, based out of Bengaluru, has won his third Grammy Award for the album ‘Divine Tides’ and dedicated the honour to his home country, India.

The US-born musician shared the award with Stewart Copeland, the drummer of the iconic British rock band The Police, who collaborated with Kej on the album.

At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, the duo earned the gramophone trophy in the best immersive audio album winner category. They had won a Grammy in the best new age album category for the same album last year.

“Congrats Best Immersive Audio Album winner – ‘Divine Tides’ Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineer; @copelandmusic, @rickykej & Herbert Waltl, immersive producers (Stewart Copeland & Ricky Kej) #GRAMMYs,” announced the Recording Academy, the organisation behind Grammy Awards, on its official Twitter page on Sunday night.

Kej said he was “grateful” for the recognition.

“Just won my 3rd Grammy Award. Extremely grateful, am speechless! I dedicate this Award to India. @copelandmusic. Herbert Waltl Eric Schilling Vanil Veigas Lonnie Park,” the composer captioned a series of pictures on his Twitter page.

Other nominees in the category were: Christina Aguilera (‘Aguilera’), The Chainsmokers (‘Memories… Do Not Open’), Jane Ira Bloom (‘Picturing The Invisible- Focus 1’), and Nidarosdomens Jentekor & Trondeheimsolistene (‘Tuvahyun – Beatitudes for a Wounded World’).

‘Divine Tides’ is a nine-song album that aims to deliver the message that “each individual life plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance that serves all equally”.

Kej took home his first Grammy in the best new age album category for ‘Winds of Samsara’ back in 2015.

As part of his work with The Police, Copeland has won five Grammys. With Kej as collaborator, this is his second award.

source/content: english.varthabharati.in (headline edited)