ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Press Information Bureau and ICMR organize knowledge sharing press tour of National media Health Journalists to NIV Pune
More than 20 national media Journalists from print, electronic and digital media participated
Knowledge sharing workshop conducted by ICMR-NIN
Media plays the key role in achieving any policy objective Of the Government – Director National Institute of Nutrition 
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Press Information Bureau and ICMR organized the knowledge sharing press tour for Health Journalists. The purpose of the press tour is to understand the achievements of our scientific communities, scientific process of developing a new vaccine especially our indigenous Covaxin, challenges and opportunities.
The knowledge sharing workshop was conducted for the visiting media personnel from the national capital at the National Institute of Nutrition in the city today. Aimed at knowledge sharing and capacity building, this tour, the first of its kind, showcased the cutting-edge research of ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition contributing towards the development of the nation.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Hemalatha, Director NIN said that nutrition studies conducted by the institute have helped the government in various policy initiatives like introduction of double fortified salt with iron and iodine to reduce their deficiencies. She further shared that evaluation of various nutritional programmes like ICDS, MDM, SAM of states as well as centre are the significant tasks that NIN is mandated to carry out. As an advisor, to FSSAI, NIN provides the RDAs  of different vitamins minerals and macro-nutrients data.
She called upon the media personnel to work towards building scientific temperament and take the science into the people in the language they can easily comprehend.
Stating that the media has a very important role to play in achieving the Zero Hunger target of Sustainable Development goals. The director also appreciated the responsible role that the media played during the Covid-19 pandemic. "During COVID-19 pandemic, the NIN scientists in association with the state government conducted sero-surveys which helped to make accurate policy decisions which were brought out appropriately by the media", she added.
The health journalists were taken to various labs in the campus like the food chemistry, Biochemistry toxicology and sports nutrition labs.
While addressing the conference, Shri Ankur Lahoty, IIS Dy. Director, PIB, Ministry of Health and Family welfare gave a brief outline of the tour schedule and thanked the Director NIN for implementing the knowledge sharing visit. Deputy Director PIB Hyderabad, Dr. Manas Krishnakanth also participated in the workshop. All the Heads of Departments were present in the conference and each of them explained the cutting edge research in their field. Dr.Lakshmaiah moderated the conference and Dr.Subba Rao presented formal vote of thanks.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Nano-structured self-cleaning aluminium surface that reduces bacterial growth can be useful for biomedical & aerospace applications
A group of researchers have recently developed a nano-structured self-cleaning sustainable aluminium surface by utilizing a simple and environment-friendly fabrication route. It could have multiple applications ranging from biomedical to aerospace and automobiles to household appliances, and the process is easily scalable to industrial-level production.
Aluminium is a light metal, which has many industrial applications as it can be easily cast, machined and shaped. However, atmospheric degradation due to the accumulation of contaminants and humidity significantly limits its performance and sustainability. Besides, the leaching of aluminium also causes environmental and health-related issues.
To overcome these problems, Dr Harpreet Singh Grewal, Dr Harpreet Singh Arora and Mr Gopinath Perumal, researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Dr Sajal Kumar Ghosh and Ms Priya Mandal from Department of Physics of Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR have jointly developed the nano-structured aluminium surfaces that show immense mechanical, chemical, and thermal durability restricting the corrosion and leaching effects. A Raman spectrometer obtained through the ‘Fund for Improvement of Science & Technology infrastructure’  project of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, has been used to carry out this work. This result is reported in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
The researchers have developed a flake-like nano-structure on aluminium surface. This is achieved by heating the aluminium sample in water with a temperature maintained at 80oC for an hour, without using any chemical reagents and toxic solvents. The surface obtained by this facile and environment-friendly approach showed a complete wetting nature . A coating of low surface energy hydrocarbon material on it converts it into a surface where a water droplet immediately rolls off the surface. This makes it useful for self-cleaning applications.
“This self-cleaning surface is stable over a wide range of temperature, from -80 to 350oC, improving its corrosion resistance property. In fact, it shows 40 times reduction in the corrosion rate when compared to the existing surfaces developed by other processing routes,” said Dr Grewal.
Dr Ghosh explains that because of their nanostructured morphology coated with hydrocarbons, these surfaces are capable of reducing bacterial adhesion and growth to a great extent and hence can be used in healthcare and medical devices, including dental implants and heart assistive devices.
Fig: Diagrammatic representation of the mechanism of the developed surface
Fig: Raman spectrometer obtained through  project
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SNC/TM/RR
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Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister’s meeting with Mr. Neil de Grasse Tyson, astrophysicist, author and science communicator
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met Mr. Neil de Grasse Tyson, leading American astrophysicist, author and science communicator, today, in New York, USA.
Prime Minister and Mr. Tyson exchanged views on inculcating scientific temperament among youth. They discussed at length India’s rapid progress in space sector including various space exploration missions being undertaken by India.
Prime Minister and Mr. Tyson also discussed opportunities for private sector and academic collaboration under India’s newly launched National Space Policy.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Prashasan Gaon ki Ore 2022 achieves significant progress in Redressal of Public Grievances and Disposal of Service Delivery Applications, District level workshops held in States/ UT’s on Vision India@2047
53.80 lac PG Cases Redressed; 310 lac Service Delivery Applications Disposed
949 Innovations in Governance at District Level, 563 success stories in Redressal of Public Grievances Reported
Vision India@2047 District level documents prepared in 257 Districts
The Government has celebrated the week December 19-25, 2022 as the Second Sushasan Saptah  in Amrit Kaal Period. The Hon’ble Prime Minister has extended his greetings and best wishes to everyone associated with this initiative. The Hon’ble Prime Minister said that “It is heartening to note that this year too, the Prashasan Gaon ki Ore campaign continues to be a part of the Good Governance Week.”
On December 19, 2022, Dr. Jitendra Singh ji had launched the second Nation-wide campaign “Prashasan Gaon ki Ore”, in an event attended 2700 officials including District Collectors, Chief Secretaries/ Additional Chief Secretaries and AR Secretaries of 36 States/ UT’s and Senior Officials from Central Ministries/ Departments
The Sushasan Sapth 2022 witnessed the Second Nation-wide campaign for Redressal of Public Grievances and Improving Service Delivery. Prashasan Gaon ki Ore 2022 has witnessed significant progress – 53.80 lac public grievances were redressed, 310 lac service delivery applications were disposed, 949 innovations in governance were documented and 257 Vision India@2047 District level documents uploaded on the GGW22 portal.
On December 23rd, 2022, District Level Workshops were held in all 768 Districts of India to deliberate on innovations and vision India@2047. The District level workshops were chaired by a senior retired IAS officer who had served as District Collector in that District. Chief Ministers of States/ LG’s of UT’s have supported the Prashasan Gaon ki Ore Campaign with regular messages and tweets. The Parliamentary Standing Committee of Ministry of Personnel, PG and Pensions in its 121st Report had commended the phenomenal success of Prashasan Gaon ki Ore Campaign and recommended that such campaigns should be held more frequently.
The Prashasan Gaon ki Ore Campaign and Good Governance Week 2022 events have been symbolic of the strength of the whole of government approach in which Central Government Officials worked with State Government officials and District Officials upto Tehsil level and succeeded in taking forward the Nation’s Governance Model of “Maximum Governance – Minimum Government”.
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SNC/RR
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Ministry of Power
POWERGRID commits Rs.200 Crore to PM CARES Fund
While the whole nation is locked down, POWERGRID, the ‘Maharatna’ CPSE under Ministry of Power, GoI and Central Transmission Utility  of India, has been ensuring uninterrupted 24x7 power supply. As a Responsible Corporate Citizen, POWERGRID has decided to contribute Rs.130 Crore to Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations  Fund to support India’s fight against Coronavirus.
To help fight the pandemic, it has committed another contribution of Rs.70 Crore in next FY. This makes POWERGRID's total contribution commitment as Rs.200 Crore which would be part of Rs. 925 Cr., the total contribution committed by all CPSEs under ministry of Power and Ministry of New &Renewable Energy.POWERGRID employees are also contributing a part of their salary towards the cause. POWERGRID has also distributed food packets in slum areas to help the needy in such difficult times. The laborers and contractual workers at transmission/construction sites are also being provided with masks, soaps, sanitizers, packed food items, grocery items and medical support in all POWERGRID Sub-stations in the country.
As part of preparedness due to outbreak of COVID-19, a backup plan has been prepared for manning all the Sub-stations in the country to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
RCJ/M
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Ministry of Education
Steps taken by govt to promote vocational educational in backward regions
Government has recognized the requirement for spreading vocational education throughout the country including backward regions. Presently, there are 188 Community Colleges, 289 Institutes and 68 DDU Kaushal Kendras functioning under University Grants Commission  and operating vocational education in various sectors. State Governments can offer vocational education through their institutional network as per UGC guidelines.
There are various steps already been taken by Government to promote vocational education throughout country, including backward regions. They are as follows:
 Developing internship/apprenticeship based degree courses in sectors like Retail, Logistics, Media and Entertainment, etc.
 Increasing number of institutions offering B.VoC courses in the country.
 Aligning the content of existing skill courses with National Skill Qualification Framework .
This information was given by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Centre deploys High Level teams to Ranchi , Ahmedabad  and Malappuram  to assess and manage increase in number of Measles cases among children
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to depute three high-level multi-disciplinary 3-member teams to Ranchi , Ahmedabad  and Malappuram  to take stock of the upsurge in cases of Measles. The teams will assist the State Health Authorities in instituting public health measures and facilitate operationalization of requisite control and containment measures.
The Central team to Ranchi comprises of experts drawn from the National Centre for Disease Control , New Delhi, and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital , New Delhi. Experts from PHO, Mumbai, Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital , New Delhi and Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare , Ahmedabad will comprise the Central team to Ahmedabad and the team to Malappuram will consist of experts from RoHFW, Thiruvananthapuram, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research , Pondicherry and Lady Hardinge Medical College , New Delhi.
Senior Regional Director, RoHFW, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Kerala will coordinate with the respective teams regarding their visits.
The teams will also undertake field visits to investigate the outbreak and assist the State Health Departments in terms of public health measures, management guidelines and protocols to manage the increasing cases of Measles being reported in the three cities. The teams will also coordinate with the States for ensuring active case search in the area and with VRDLs for testing of the identified cases.
Ministry of Railways
"Cancellation of Weekly Special" Jabalpur-Coimbatore and Coimbture-Jabalpur Train
The Railway Board and West Central Railway has decided to cancel the services of Train No. 02198 Jabalpur Jn. - Coimbatore Jn. Weekly Special on 21st & 28th March 2020  andTrain No. 02197 Coimbatore Jn. - Jabalpur Jn. Weekly Special on 23rd & 30th March 2020  due to the outbreak of Pandemic of COVID-19.
B.Gokhale/P.Kor
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Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Films on Indian Scientists being streamed on National Science Day
Mumbai, 28 February 2021
On the occasion of National Science Day, Film Division is screening a package of eight documentaries highlighting the contribution of Indian scientists and the glorious history of Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. The films are being streamed today  on Films Division website and YouTube Channel.
The films being showcased are Homi Bhabha – A Scientist in Action  - a film on one of the greatest nuclear scientists of India, Homi Bhabha, who was an institution in himself, Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose  - bringing to the screen the life of Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose from childhood to his pioneering efforts in the field of Botany to prove the existence of life in plants, C.V. Raman  - a biopic on the Nobel laureate Physicist, Dr. Visvesvaraya  –a film which tells the humble origins of Dr. M. Vishveshwaraya, his brilliant academic career and his many memorable engineering feats, Vikram Sarabhai  -a biographical film on the life and work of Dr.Vikram Sarabhai, the well known physicist and astronomer who is hailed as Father of Indian Space programme, People’s President  - a biopic on former Indian President and Aerospace Scientist, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, G.D.Naidu – the Edison of India  - a biopic on great inventor and engineer, G.D.Naidu and 100 years of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore  - a film highlighting the chequered history of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
In its efforts to take the National Science Day celebration to the nook and corner of the country, Films Division is collaborating with institutions like the Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, Science Media Centre, IISER Pune, Children’s Film Society of India , Federation of Film Societies of India, Vigyan Prasar and many others for on line screening the FD package of documentaries on today.
The documentaries will be streamed on www.filmsdivision.org/DocumentaryoftheWeek and https://www.youtube.com/user/FilmsDivision on 28th February, 2021 for 24 hours.RT/SC/DR
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Ministry of Rural Development
Union Minister for Rural Development Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates SARAS IITF2019; Says Women from Self Help Groups play a very crucial role in fulfilment of two goals set by Honorable Prime Minister of Poverty Reduction & Women Empowerment
The Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Agriculture Shri Narendra Singh Tomar today inaugurated the SARAS IITF Mela 2019 at PragatiMaidan, New Delhi. Addressing the gathering, Shri Tomar congratulated everyone who is participating in the mela and wished them all the best. The Union Minister said that the didis  from the Self Help Groups  possess a lot of positive energy and will power and the same should be utilized for progress of the nation. Shri Tomar added that the didis are not only improving and progressing their own households and families but also contributing towards progress and development of the nation.
Shri Tomar said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has stressed on two very important things which are empowerment of women especially through SHGs and removal of poverty from the nation and the didis from SHGs play a very important and crucial role in fulfilment of these two goals. The Union Rural Development Minister further added that the targetfor a $ 5 trillion economy set by the Honorable Prime Minister will be achieved by growth from all sectors but SHGs will definitely play a significant and remarkable role in this regards. Shri Tomar also said that it is important for men and women to work hand in hand for the growth and development of the nation and the Government is working dedicatedly for improving lives of its citizens especially women and making them financially independent.
The Minister of State for Rural DevelopmentSadhvi Niranjan Jyoti also participated as Special Guest at the event and addressed the gathering. She said that SARAS has been instrumental in increasing the motivation of didis. She said that women from SHGs called didis run their households with the money earned also also manage to save for the future which is in itself a remarkable feat. Quoting verses from the ‘Ramcharitmanas’ Shri Jyoti said these didis give inspiration to other women across the nation to become more independent and progressive.
Secretary, Department of Rural Development Shri Amarjeet Sinha said that SARAS has been able to build a good name for itself in the IITF Mela and people who come to visit the mela also visit the SARAS stalls. He said that lots of didis come to this mela to sell their produce and change their financial status. Shri Sinha said that this positive change in their financial status will help change the face of Rural India and make it more progressive. The Secretary asked the didis from SHGs in the crowd to raise their hands if they are coming to Delhi for the first time and many women did which shown the effectiveness of this event which not only provides an active forum for women from SHGs to earn money but also gain independence and experience which will further help them in marketing their produce and evolve a brand name for themselves eventually.
Click here for a background Note on SARAS IITF 2019
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
160.43 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
India's Active caseload currently stands at 20,18,825
Active cases stand at 5.23%
Recovery Rate currently at 93.50%
2,51,777 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 3,60,58,806
3,47,254 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours
9,692 Total Omicron cases detected so far; an increase of 4.36% since yesterday
Daily positivity rate 
Weekly Positivity Rate 
71.15 cr Total Tests conducted so far; 19,35,912 tests conducted in the last 24 hours
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
IFFI Closes, But Never Ends: Bringing you the Last Issue of IFFILOID for IFFI 52
Panaji, November 28, 2021
The 52nd edition of IFFI has come to grand close today. But you know what, IFFI closes, but never ends.
Read on if you agree. And read on even more if you don't! Presenting you the tenth issue of IFFILOID – your never-ending reel, brought specially for you, by PIB. The last issue of our festival newsletter for you, for this edition
Read here.
In case you missed it, here are the previous issues:
- Issue 1
- Issue 2
- Issue 3
- Issue 4
- Issue 5
- Issue 6
- Issue 7
- Issue 8
- Issue 9
Why IFFILOID
Every edition of IFFI presents us with a skillfully curated collection of the best of Indian and world cinema. To better bring out the breadth and depth of this beauty, to better showcase the stories of the films and the people who create them, PIB has launched a daily IFFI newsletter IFFILOID, your never-ending reel of cinematic inspiration. The newsletter is being issued during the period of the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India, i.e.,, during November 20 – 28, 2021.
The newsletter complements the Government of India’s other official communications on the festival.
Ministry of Finance
Drug Destruction day was observed at Fulbari of Jalpaiguri in West Bengal
Kolkata, 8th June, 2022
As part of the Iconic week of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations of the Ministry of Finance, CBIC conducted a drug destruction day virtually. A total of around 44,000 kg narcotics were destroyed at 14 locations across the country in a safe and non-hazardous manner through the incineration approved by the State Pollution Control Boards. In Fulbari of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal 80 kgs Ganja was destroyed. Chief Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs Sri Anil Kumar Gupta was present in this program.
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman interacted with the officers of Customs, and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence  present on the destruction sites who narrated the details of seizures and the process of doing destruction. Smt. Sitharaman appreciated the efforts made by the officers of Customs and DRI and congratulated them.
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs virtually witnessed the destruction of drugs held at 6 sites — Kutch in Gujarat, Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra, Virudhunagar in Tamilnadu, Patna in Bihar and Fulbari  in West Bengal.
CG/CB/
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Prime Minister's Office
PM expresses happiness over the people's love towards Khadi
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed happiness over the people's love towards Khadi on birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Quoting a tweet from Khadi India, the Prime Minister said;
"बापू की जयंती पर खादी के प्रति लोगों का यह असीम प्रेम उत्साहित करने वाला है।
#खादी4नेशन"
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Notification issued pertaining to amendment to the rules related to Accredited Driver Training Centres 
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways  vide GSR 714 dated 20 September 2022 has notified amendment to the rules related to Accredited Driver Training Centres  notified vide G.S.R. 394 dated 07 June 2021.
Over the course of the implementation of referred rules, certain issues were identified by this Ministry as well as other stakeholders.
New rules will further streamline the functioning of ADTCs with the following key features -
1. Renewal of accreditation of an ADTC shall be valid for a period of five  years.
2. Syllabus for imparting training for two-wheelers has been specifically detailed to comprehensively cover practical as well as theoretical knowledge.
3. The trainee will be required to pass the “test of competence to drive” in order to receive the proficiency test certificate for issue of driving license.
4. Other provisions linked to ADTC viz. fees, issue of driving license etc. have been clarified.
Click here for the gazette notification