National Tourism Policy

A National Tourism Policy (NTP) was formulated in 2002. However, taking into account the widespread, interrelated global developments and advancements, which have had a strong bearing on the Tourism sector, a new draft National Tourism Policy has been formulated and the same is yet to be approved. 

Some of the salient features of the new draft National Tourism Policy include: 

• Focus of the Policy on employment generation and community participation in tourism development. 

• Stress on development of tourism in a sustainable and responsible manner. 

• An all-encompassing Policy involving linkages with various Ministries, Departments, States/Union Territories and Stakeholders. 

• The Policy enshrines the vision of developing and positioning India as a “MUST EXPERIENCE” and “MUST RE-VISIT” Destination for global travellers, whilst encouraging Indians to explore their own country. 

• Development and promotion of varied tourism products including the rich Culture and Heritage of the country, as well as niche products such as Medical &Wellness, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE), Adventure, Wildlife, etc. • Development of core infrastructure (airways, railways, roadways, waterways, etc.) as well as Tourism Infrastructure. 

• Developing quality human resources in the tourism and hospitality sectors across the spectrum of vocational to professional skills development and opportunity creation. • Creating an enabling environment for investment in tourism and tourism-related infrastructure. 

• Emphasis on technology enabled development in tourism. 

• Focus on domestic tourism as a major driver of tourism growth. 

• Focus on promotions in established source markets and potential markets, which are contributing significantly to global tourist traffic, with targeted and country specific campaigns. 

• Emphasis on Tourism as the fulcrum of multi-sectoral activities and dovetailing of activities of the Ministry with important/flagship schemes of the Government of India. 

ISRO achievements

During the last three years (June 2014 to June 2017), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully accomplished 41 missions, which includes 19 launch vehicle missions, 19 satellite missions and 3 technology demonstrator missions. Some of the notable achievements include:-

(i) Operationalisation of GSLV-MkII with home-grown Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) with indigenous capability for launching 2-tonne class satellites.

(ii) Successful launch of first developmental flight of GSLV-MkIII, which validated new version of Indigenous Cryogenic Engine. With this capability, it will be possible to launch upto 4-tonne class of communication satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits (GTO).

(iii) Launch of 14 flights of PSLV, which includes launch of 104 Satellites in a single PSLV (PSLV-C37) mission – Maximum satellites launched in a single launch mission till date. (iv) Realisation of South Asia Satellite to enable South Asian countries to establish SATCOM based services such as Television/DTH, VSAT, e-governance, banking, tele-medicine & tele-education etc., with coverage over South Asia.

(v) Realisation of 7-satellite NavIC (Navigation – Indian Constellation) to provide Position, Navigation and Timing Services, with five satellites launched during the last three years.

(vi) Augmentation of Satellite Communication capability with 7 more satellites viz. GSAT-6, GSAT-9, GSAT-15, GSAT-16, GSAT-17, GSAT-18 & GSAT-19.

(vii) Successful Technology Demonstration missions viz. Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE), Re-usable Launch Vehicle (RLV-TD) and Scramjet Air-breathing Engine.

(viii) INSAT-3D & 3DR together are providing meteorological data every 15 minutes for enabling weather forecasting. Ocean surface wind vector data from SCATSAT-1 are being used operationally by global user community.

(ix) Augmentation of earth observation capability with 4 satellites viz., 3 High Resolution Cartographic and 1 Resource monitoring satellites.

(x) Placing a unique multi-wavelength observatory ‘Astrosat’ in orbit, carrying instruments realised through Indian academic institutes to enhance understanding of universe and astronomical phenomena.

(xi) Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) completed 1000 days in the orbit. Earlier, Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was successfully placed in Martian orbit on September 24, 2014 making India the first country to do so in its first attempt.

(xii) Enabling host of applications using synergy of earth observation, communication and navigation satellites in governance and development.

India has created a niche in the field of space science & technology viz. launch services, earth observation, communication & navigation and application of space technology for national development. Today, India stands one among the top six space faring nations in the world.

The areas which are benefitted/ likely to be benefitted with the utilization of space technology and its applications include – resource monitoring, weather forecasting, telecommunication, broadcasting, rural connectivity, health & education, governance, disaster management support, location based services, space commerce including host of societal applications. The space science and planetary missions, viz. Mars Orbiter Mission and ASTROSAT renew the interest of young minds towards space science.

14th President of India

The President-elect Ram Nath Kovind is sworn in as the 14th President of India.

Polling over 65 per cent votes in the electoral college, Mr. Kovind defeated his rival Meira Kumar 

Mr. Kovind is the second Dalit President of India after late President K.R. Narayanan but, more significantly, the first from politically significant Uttar Pradesh and the first person from the Bharatiya Janata Party to hold the office of President since Independence.

As it happened

1:30 p.m. Newly-elected President said the key to India’s success is its diversity and asked people to build a country that is “an economic leader as well as a moral exemplar“. In his first address as President after taking oath at the Central Hall of Parliament, Kovind said there is a need to sculpt an educated, ethical and shared community, and an egalitarian society.

12:30 p.m. The President will now accompany former President to the latter's new residence, 10, Rajaji Marg.

12:28 pm National Anthem is played, marking the end of the swearing-in ceremony.

12:26 p.m. Vice-President Hamid Ansari reads the English translation of Mr. Kovind's speech.

12:25 p.m. At a time when the nation will celebrate its 70th Independence Day, we should ensure that the daughters of the poorest of the poor family should be getting all benefits of development, he says.

He ends the speech saying we have to build an 21st-Century India, providing equal opportunities for all.

12:20 p.m. This land of the Buddha will continue to be peaceful, says the President.

12:17 p.m. Every soldier who guards our borders, every farmer, every scientist, every doctor, every entrepreneur who is building a start-up are national builder. Every citizen is a national builder.

12:15 p.m. I come from a mud hut in a remote village, says Mr. Kovind.  I will be carrying out my responsibilities with all humility, says the President.

I will follow the footsteps of Rajendra Prasad, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, APJ Abdul Kalam and my predecessor Pranabda, he says.

12:13 p.m. Ram Nath Kovind makes his maiden address as the President of India. He begins his address by thanking the people of India for having elected him as the President.

"I have earlier been in this Central Hall as a member of Parliament," recalls the President.

12:10 p.m. President Ram Nath Kovind is congratulated by former President Pranab Mukherjee. The leaders swap seats.  The President's Bodyguard cavalcade presents a guard of honour with gun salute.

12:08 p.m. Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar administers the Oath of Office to President-elect Ram Nath Kovind in Hindi.

12:07 p.m. National Anthem plays.  Swearing-in ceremony begins

12:06 p.m. Seated in the first row are former President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh, Deve Gowda, senior ministers Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Opposition leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and others.

12:03 p.m. Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Chief Justice J.S. Khehar welcome the President and President-elect.  They guide the duo to the Central Hall of Parliament.

12:00 noon And the President's Limousine has arrived at the Parliament premises.  First to alight is President-elect Ram Nath Kovind. Next is President Pranab Mukherjee. They are given the Presidential salute. This is the first Presidential salute for Mr. Kovind and the last one for Mr. Mukherjee.

11:55 a.m. At the Central Hall of Parliament, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, his cabinet colleagues, and parliamentarians have already arrived.  The President will be sworn in by the Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar.

11:50 a.m. The President and President-elect descend from the steps on Presidential Palace. They leave for the Central Hall of Parliament, where the swearing-in will take place. They board the Limousine together and the President's cavalcade guides them to the Parliament.

11:40 a.m. President-elect Ramnath Kovind arrives at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He is accompanied by his wife. He is welcomed by the President. Mr. Kovind takes a tour around the Presidential Palace along with Mr. Mukherjee.

11:30 a.m. The "buggy" arrives at Akbar Road, where Mr. Kovind is residing. He is being taken to Raisina Hill. The President's cavalcade accompanies him. 

11:15 a.m. While the actual swearing-in ceremony will take place in an hour, here is a glimpse of the protocol that is being followed.

The presidential horse-driven coach or “buggy” will arrive at the residence of the President-elect and convey him to Parliament House, where the oath of office will be administered by the Chief Justice of India.

President Mukherjee will then exchange seats with his successor, and after the ceremony leave for his newly allotted bungalow, 10 Rajaji Marg, and the new President will leave for Rashtrapati Bhavan.

World Population Day July 11, 2017

There are some 7.5 billion people in the world. By 2050, the world population is likely to become nine billion. India, the second most populous country, has some 1.3 billion people and is expected to take the top position by overtaking China by 2050. Amidst increasing numbers, concerns over feeding the population and sustaining the resources are on top of the mind of governments, experts and planners.

It is to address these issues and others related to population that the World Population Day is celebrated on July 11. The Day was first celebrated in 1989 when the world population reached five billion. Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme recommended that 11 July be observed by the international community as World Population Day, to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. Since then, population trends and matters such as reproductive health, contraception and challenges posed by the increasing population are deliberated upon on this day.

The theme for 2017 World Population Day is “Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations.” This year's celebrations also coincide with the Family Planning Summit, the second meeting of the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) initiative, which aims to expand access to voluntary family planning to 120 million additional women by 2020.

The theme this year has special significance since data indicates that some 214 million women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and effective family planning methods. Most of these women with an unmet demand for contraceptives live in 69 of the poorest countries. Lack of adequate family planning services jeopardizes women’s health. Women are not able to use these services due to lack of access to information, or services, or support from their partners, or communities.

Considering its importance in stabilizing population, access to safe, voluntary family planning methods is considered a human right and central to gender equality and women’s empowerment. It is also seen as a key factor in reducing poverty. Investments in making family planning available yield economic gains which further propel development.

India with its large population also has huge unmet need for family planning which government is trying to overcome. Statistics (DLHS III) indicate young population has an unmet need of 20.5 per cent at the national level - 13.3 per cent need for limiting methods and 7.2 per cent for spacing methods. Women between 15 and 19 years have an unmet need of 28.3 per cent and those between 20 and 24 years, have an unmet need of 28.5 per cent.

Between 2001 and 2011 India added 181 million people to the world, slightly less than the entire population of Brazil. Much of India’s population increase has occurred among the poorest socio-economic percentile. India’s huge population and the fact that it is expected to increase further - according to government projections, the population is expected to reach 1.55 billion by 2035 – pose both a challenge and an opportunity. Since more than 60 per cent of this population will be in the younger age bracket, below the age of 40 years, there will be economic gains if this human resource is provided with education and training in skill development. However, providing healthcare services to this pool of youth so that it is healthy and able to contribute to country’s economy may turn out to be a challenge.  In addition, taking care of the geriatric population, which goes up to about 223 million by 2035, will also be a challenge and require preventive, curative and geriatric care.

While providing food to the ever increasing world population is a challenge, the UN has set ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture as the second of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030. Achieving these objectives will require addressing issues like gender parity, ageing populations, skills development and global warming. According to experts, agriculture sector will have to become more productive by adopting efficient business models and forging public-private partnerships. It will also need to become sustainable by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste.

For India, it is imperative that it adopts effective measures to control its population. According to a paper by Ranjit Goswami, IMT, Nagpur in East Asia Forum, the global demand for water in 2050 is projected to be more than 50 per cent of what it was in 2000, and demand for food will double. On average, a thousand tons of water is required to produce one ton of food grains. It is for this reason that international disputes about water have increasingly been replicated among states in India, where the Supreme Court is frequently asked to intervene.

Keeping aside the projections, government data indicates that India's total fertility rate has declined from 2.6 in 2008 to current 2.3. India is now just 0.2 points away from reaching the replacement level of 2.1.  In fact, 24 states have already achieved replacement level fertility and about 60 per cent of the population resides in states where replacement fertility has been reached or will soon be met including the southern states, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab.

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The government is now accelerating family planning measures. It has identified 146 districts with total fertility rate, the number of children born per woman, of more than three to focus on. These districts are in the seven states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam and make 28 per cent of the country’s population.  The health ministry is starting a programme called "Mission Parivar Vikas" in these districts to improve access to family planning services, create awareness and make family planning choices available.

Besides, government is already running a strategy to push up the age of marriage of girls and delay in first child and spacing in second child. The couples who adopt this strategy are awarded suitably. Under another programme called Santushti Strategy, Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh, has invited private sector gynaecologists and vasectomy surgeons to conduct sterilization operations in public private partnership mode. The private hospitals/nursing homes which achieve target are suitably awarded as per strategy

SHe-Box Sub: Ethics Paper in Civil Services Mains Exam

The Minister of Women & Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched an online complaint management system titled Sexual Harassment electronic–Box (SHe-Box) for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace in New Delhi today. The complaint management system has been developed to ensure the effective implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (the SH Act), 2013.

This portal is an initiative to provide a platform to women working or visiting any office of Central Government (Central Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, Autonomous Bodies and Institutions etc.) to file complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace under the SH Act. Those who had already filed a written complaint with the concerned Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) constituted under the SH Act are also eligible to file their complaint through this portal. The SHe-Box portal can be accessed at the link given below:

http://www.wcd-sh.nic.in/

Speaking at the launch, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said that though currently this facility has been extended to employees of Central Government, the scope of the portal will soon be extended to women employees of private sector also.

The WCD Minister said that there are some surveys, which give the extent of sexual harassment of women at workplace. However, the WCD Ministry will carry out a national level survey to asses and understand the magnitude of the problem.

This portal (SHe-Box) is an effort to provide speedier remedy to women facing sexual harassment at workplace as envisaged under the SH Act. Once a complaint is submitted to the portal, it will be directly sent to the ICC of the concerned Ministry/Department/PSU/Autonomous Body etc. having jurisdiction to inquire into the complaint. Through this portal, WCD as well as complainant can monitor the progress of inquiry conducted by the ICC.

Government of India is the largest employer in the country employing 30.87 lakh people to carry out its various functions. As per the Census of Central Government employees, 2011, women constitute 10.93% (3.37 lakhs) of the total regular Central Government employees.

The WCD Ministry has taken several measures to ensure implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act. The Ministry has published a Handbook on the SH Act with the objective to provide information about the provisions of the Act in an easy to use practical manner. Further, the Ministry in collaboration with Institute of Statistical Training and Management (ISTM), New Delhi has prepared a training module to build the capacity of government officials above the provisions of the SH Act and develop in them professional competence to implement the same. Recently, on 5^th May, 2017, the Ministry in collaboration withISTM organised a day long workshop for chairpersons of Internal Complaint Committee constituted in various Ministries/Departments of Central Government.

Besides, in order to create wide spread awareness about the Act across the country both in organized and unorganized sector, MWCD has identified a pool of 29 resource institutions willing to provide capacity building programs i.e. training, workshops etc on the SH Act. The list of these institutions is available at the link given below:

Link:http://wcd.nic.in/act/recommended-panel-institutes-or-organizations-under-sexual-harassment-women-workplace

Link to Training Module for Two Day Workshop on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013: http://wcd.nic.in/act/training-module-two-day-workshop-sexual-harassment-women-workplace-prevention-prohibition-and

The SHe-Box will provide a platform to these empanelled institutes/organisations to share their capacity building activities with the Ministry which in turn will be able to monitor the activities of these institutes/organizations so empanelled from across the country. As of now, as per the reports received, in the past 5 months, the empanelled institutes/organisations/companies have organised 35 capacity building exercises which were attended by approximately 1700 people.

Ensuring the dignity and safety of women must be first priority for any digital society. Towards realisation of the vision of the Digital India programme, the Ministry is promoting utilisation of information and communication technology to achieve the goal of gender equality and women empowerment. It is an effort to utilise the digital space to enable speedier response to the complaints of women against sexual harassment at workplace.        

The Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Smt Krishna Raj; Secretary WCD, Shri Rakesh Srivastava and senior officers of the Ministry as well as  its associated organizations were present at today’s launch event.