Key Highlight:

• Union Ministers Smt. NirmalaSitharaman, Shri G Kishan Reddy and Shri NisithPramanik also attended the event and felicitated P V Sindhu
• P V Sindhu said that  I would like to thank my parents for their constant support and scarifies and my coach for working with me and making this dream come true

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports ShriAnurag Singh Thakur today felicitated ace badminton player P.V. Sindhu upon her return home after becoming the first Indian woman to win two Olympic Games medals, after she claimed bronze with a straight games victory over He Bing Jiao in Tokyo2020.

​​​​​In felicitating Sindhu and her coach Park Tae Sang at a warm ceremony, Shri Thakur was joined by Union Finance Minister Smt. NirmalaSitharaman; Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North-Eastern Region Shri G Kishan Reddy and Minister of State of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri NisithPramanik, Secretary Sports, Shri Ravi Mittal and senior officers of the Sports Ministry. Sindhu’s parents P Vijaya and PV Ramana travelled from Hyderabad to be part of the programme. Members of Parliament Shri ShyamBapu Rao, Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar, ShriArvindDharmapuri and Shri TG Venkatesh also graced the event.

Speaking at the event, Shri Thakur said, “PV Sindhu is amongst India’s greatest Olympians. She is India’s icon, inspiration and has caught the imagination of every Indian who dreams of playing for the country. Her incredible achievement – that of winning two Olympic medals in two consecutive Olympic Games will inspire a generation of budding athletes. Her success shows how the Target Olympic Podium scheme of the government has nurtured our Olympic hopefuls towards a podium finish. Just before setting off for Tokyo Olympics, she had an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and right after her victory he was the first person to call her and congratulate her. The nation of 130 crore Indians is thrilled by her smashing performance!”

A visibly elated Sindhu said, “ I would like to thank each one of my fans because of the support and though we played without fans in the stadium, but I am sure billions have supported me from India and this success is the result of their wishes. I would like to thank my parents for their constant support and scarifies and my coach for working with me and making this dream come true.”she said.

Addressing on the occasion, SmtNirmalaSitharaman said that Sindhu is a great sportsperson and she has repeatedly proved herself so. What has contributed to her success are meticulous preparation, world class training facilities at Gadchibowli, a great coach, family support and Sindhu’s own perseverance, grit and excellence in the field of play.” It’s a day when all Indians can derive absolute inspiration and motivation, ” she said. She further added “What an inspiration, what a motivation she will be for generations to come. “

Speaking at the occasion Shri Reddy said, “P.V Sindhu’s podium finish at the Tokyo Olympic Games is a story of many firsts – She is the first Indian woman to win 2 Olympic medals and the only Indian to win medals in 2 consecutive Olympic Games. Behind these statistics is a lifetime of passion, grit and sacrifices. Early morning practices and late-night workouts were her “new normal” for many years. As a Telugu, seeing a Telugu bidda and a Hyderabadi achieve this fills my heart with pride. Further, Sindhu’s success will inspire not just 65 lakh Hyderabadis or 6.5 crore Telugus or 65 crore Indian women and girls but the whole of India. I congratulate her once again on this spectacular achievement.”

Speaking at the event Shri. Pramanik said, “Kudos to PV Sindhu for creating history by becoming the 1st Indian Woman to clinch her 2nd consecutive Olympic Medal. Her dedication, sincerity, humility and sporting spirit will continue to be an inspiration for all. India is proud of you”.

The Government funded Sindhu to the tune of nearly Rs 4 crore in the last Olympic cycle, including travel to 52 international tournaments besides training camps in Hyderabad. Besides, in collaboration with Telangana Government, it facilitated her training in the Gachibowli Stadium ahead of the Olympic Games.

Sindhu is the second Indian athlete to return home with a medal from Tokyo2020 after weightlifter MirabaiChanu who won the 49kg class silver on July 24. Boxer LovlinaBorgohain, who is assured of a 69kg class medal, will compete in the semifinal against BusenazSurmeneli (Turkey) on Wednesday.

On the first anniversary of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, mapping a vital shift in India’s education system, a webinar on the theme ‘Skills, Entrepreneurship Development and Employability: Challenges & Opportunities’ was organized today by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). Minister of State, MSDE Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar delivered his keynote address on the occasion as a chief guest. The occasion was also graced by the presence of notable speakers including Mr. Raj Nehru, Vice Chancellor, Vishwakarma Skill Development University, Government of Haryana; Dr. Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi, Chairperson, NCVET; Shri Manoj Ahuja, Chairman, CBSE; Ms. Jahnabi Phookan, involved in Entrepreneurship Advocacy in Northeast and Ms. Anuradha Vemuri, Joint Secretary, MSDE

Addressing the participants Shri Chandrashekhar said that as we celebrate the one year of NEP 2020, five years of Skill Development and 75 years of Independence, the Government is committed to ensure the academic welfare and bright future of the students. The Minister said that in line with the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, National Education Policy is transformational and with the curricular integration of vocational training, it will create attractive career platforms for students. He informed that Skill ministry is closely working with Ministry of Education to make PM’s vision of skilling, reskilling and upskilling for our youth a success.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Ravi Mital, Secretary, MSDE, said that the implementation of National Education Policy 2020 is crucial in integrating vocational and formal education. The policy provides us a roadmap to introduce steady reforms, he added. Shri Mittal hoped that with this vision document, the more fundamental reforms will take place in our education system.

The discussion focused on the alignment of NEP 2020 with the skill and entrepreneurship initiatives of MSDE with an aim to make vocational education aspirational. MSDE seeks to provide skill training to facilitate employability of youth and equip them to take up market driven employment options. Towards this, the ministry is implementing various schemes and programmes for creating a necessary ecosystem for skill development and entrepreneurship promotion through short-term and long-term skill trainings.

Skill development and entrepreneurial policies have been developed within the context of India’s unique demographic profile and nature of workforce. India is home to the second largest population in the world, with over 50% of India’s population below the age of 25. As per available data, by 2030, the country will have the world’s youngest and largest workforce, exceeding one billion. With almost 80% of the workforce informally employed, it is important to improve employment opportunities through targeted skilling and employment generation initiatives.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today called for Global Scientific Collaboration for bringing “Ease of Living” for common man. A Swedish Delegation led by Ambassador KlasMolin called on the Union Minister to discuss and review bilateral cooperation in Science and Technology and Innovation.

The Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Professor K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, DST, Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary DBT, Smt. RenuSwarup, DG, CSIR and Secretary, DSIR, Shri Shekhar Mande and other senior officers of the Ministry took part in the meeting.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership Science and Technology got special impetus in the last 6-7 years and the scientific pursuits and endeavours are being assigned special importance. He said, the ultimate goal of all Scientific Innovations should be that it reaches every household like happened in case of Space Technology. He said, India and Sweden are best positioned to take the S&T partnership forward and particularly emphasised the early operationalisation of Smart Grid Project in the wake of challenges of Climate Change.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, both the Governments proposed to launch a new joint call on Circular economy including the themes such as Health Science and Waste to Wealth by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology and Swedish VINNOVA soon. The Minister recalled that Joint Declaration on India-Sweden Innovation Partnership and the Joint Action Plan adopted during the visit of the Prime Minister of India in April 2018 identified the Energy Sector as an important area for taking forward concrete cooperation between the two countries. He said, the 6th Joint Committee held on 2nd May 2019 between two countries identified several important themes for S&T cooperation such as Smart Cities, Clean Technologies, Circular economy etc.

In his address, Ambassador KlasMolin said that the cooperation is happening in an organic fashion and it has the blessings of top leadership from both the countries. He also called for a Joint Action Plan for a sustainable future and creation of more employment opportunities in both the countries. He said, the number of Indian Skilled Workers are continuously growing in Sweden as roughly 50,000 are currently gainfully employed.

Prime Ministers of India and Sweden recently had a meeting on 5th March 2021 in which Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation welcomed the launch of a second joint industrial R&D call on Smart and Sustainable Cities, Transport Systems, Clean Technologies and Digitalization and Internet of Things under India-Sweden Collaborative Industrial Research & Development Programme, and welcomed cooperation in Smart Energy Grids amongst many other things.

On the day of virtual summit, 5th March 2021, both the Governments, through DST and VINNOVA (Swedish Research & Development Agency) launched joint call on Smart Cities, Clean Technologies, Digitalization including Internet of Things, Machine Learning etc. Under this call, 22 applications have been received jointly from various sector like IOT, AI, Healthcare, Solar, Smart Grid, Smart transport and Cleantech. The evaluation of these project proposals is in process.

The program aims to foster and support the development of collaborative R&D projects that bring together companies, research organizations, academics and other collaborators from both countries for the joint development of innovative products or processes in the following technology sectors:

1. Smart and sustainable cities and transport systems
2. Clean technologies, IoT and digitalization

This may include, but is not limited to:

• Transport & Mobility; Electrical vehicles, Autonomous vehicles, Traffic safety, Mobility as a service, Reduction in traffic congestion, Digital solutions, etc.
• Environmental technologies (Eco–system services, clean water and air, Waste management, Renewable energy, etc.)
• Circular and bio-based economy (Bio-based materials, Bio-fuels, Resource efficiency in consumption and production, Waste-to-wealth, etc.)
• Energy (Reduced energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, Alternative fuels and mobile energy sources, Renewable energy, Energy storage, Resource-efficient infrastructure planning, etc.)
• City planning (ICT for urban technical supply, Geodata, tools for dialogue with citizens, etc.)

Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, AVSM, NM has assumed charge as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff from Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC at a formal ceremony held this morning at South Block, New Delhi. Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar is retiring today after glorious service of 39 years.

Vice Admiral SN Ghormade is an alumni of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, Naval Staff College at the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, and the Naval War College, Mumbai. The Flag Officer was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 01 Jan 1984 and is a Navigation and Direction specialist. The Flag Officer has had extensive operational tenures onboard frontline warships of the Indian Navy. During his career spanning over 37 years, he has been through a myriad of operational and staff appointments. His important operational appointments include Commands of Guided Missile Frigate INS Brahmaputra, Submarine Rescue Vessel INS Nireekshak, and Minesweeper INS Alleppey, and Second-in-Command of Guided Missile Frigate INS Ganga. INS Nireekshak was awarded the Unit Citation for the first time during his command.

His important staff appointments ashore include Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resources Development), Principal Director of Personnel, Director Naval Plans and Joint Director Naval Plans at Naval Headquarters as separate assignments, Director (Military Affairs) at the Ministry of External Affairs (Disarmament & International Security Affairs), Local Workup Team (West), and Instructor at the Navigation Direction School and the National Defence Academy. The officer also held the coveted appointments of Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area and Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area.

In the rank of Vice Admiral he has held the challenging and coveted appointments of Director General Naval Operations, Chief of Staff Eastern Naval Command and Controller Personnel Services. The Flag Officer was holding the tri-service appointment of Deputy Chief (Operations & Training) at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff prior taking over the present appointment as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff at IHQ MoD(N).

The Flag officer was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 Jan 17 and Nausena Medal in 2007 by the President of India, and Commendation by the Chief of the Naval Staff in 2000.

He has succeeded Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar who retires after more than 39 years of illustrious service on 31 Jul 21. During his tenure as VCNS, the Navy saw an increase in budget allocation with 100% utilisation of allocated budget with impetus on capital acquisition. He proactively pushed for adopting ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat’ Mission with Navy allocating more than 2/3rd of capital procurement from indigenous sources, 39 out of 41 ships and submarines for Indian Navy are being constructed in Indian Shipyards. The first ever procurement case under the Strategic Partnership Model for Project 75(I) was successfully progressed for issuance of RFP during his tenure. Many other instances of technological advancements, capability enhancements and research and development projects with DRDO and DPSU were progressed during his illustrious tenure.