Consulate General of India, Vancouver www.cgivancouver.org
Vol. 02, Issue No. 09 March o1, 2018.
India in Vancouver Weekly Newsletter
Consulate General of India, Vancouver wishes Happy Holi.
India Perspectives India Perspectives is the flagship publication of the Ministry of External Affairs. Richly illustrated, this magazine provides our readers with an insight into India’s culture and tradition along with elements of contemporary India. Click here to read more‌.
Ministry of External Affairs, India
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Vol. 02, Issue. 09, March 01, 2018.
Consulate News Consul General’s courtesy calls on Dignitaries in BC Govt on 27 February 2018 Consul General Mrs. Abhilasha Joshi paid a courtesy call on Hon’ble Judith Guichon, Lt Governor of British Columbia in Victoria on 27 February 2018. They discussed issues of mutual interest for further growth of India-BC ties. Hon’ble Lt Governor was greatly interested in several cooperation opportunities between the Province of BC and India. Mrs Joshi also paid a courtesy call on Hon’ble John Horgan, Premier of BC in Victoria. Premier Horgan reiterated the Province’s strong trade and cultural ties with India and both sides look forward to further strengthening collaboration across varied sectors between BC and India. During the course of the day, Consul General called on Hon’ble Darryl Plecas, Speaker of Legislative Assembly of BC and on Hon’ble Dy Speaker Raj Chouhan and other colleagues at the BC Legislative Assembly. Consul General also paid courtesy calls on Hon’ble Bruce Ralston, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology and on Hon’ble Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture and had useful discussions across several sectors including India’s trade and cultural ties with BC, film and TV production, clean tech to name a few. Mrs Joshi also had the pleasure to meet Ms Lucy Lobmeier, Chief of Protocol, and Mr Manjit Khaira, Intergovernmental Relations during the visit. She was accompanied by Mr Dinesh Mehta, Vice Consul on her visit.
Consul General Mrs. Abhilasha Joshi’s courtesy call on Mayor of Surrey Consul General Mrs. Abhilasha Joshi made courtesy call on Her Worship Linda Hepner, Mayor of Surrey in Surrey on March 01, 2018 and discussed further cooperation with one of the fastest growing cities in Canada especially with reference to their Smart City and Waste to Fuel initiative. City of Surrey has two Friendship Cities in India- Ludhiana & Jalandhar.
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Vol. 02, Issue. 09, March 01, 2018. nd
2 Conference of National Indian Students Society of Canada in Victoria - 24-25 April 2018 Consul (Commerce), Smt. Abha Gosain and VC (PS), Shri Sudhir Kumar Sharma represented the Consulate General of India, Vancouver. Consul (Commerce) gave introductory remarks. Hon’ble Mayor of Saanich, Mr. Richard Atwell; Mr. Moussa Magassa from U/o Victoria; Ms. Bindi Bains; Ms. Navpreet Banga were among the several panelists.
www.cbseneet.nic.in
As per the Indian Medical Council Act-1956 as amended in 2018 and the Dentists Act-1948 as amended in 2018, online applications are invited for NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CUM ENTRANCE TEST (UG) – 2018 (NEET-UG-2018) to be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), for admission to MBBS/BDS Courses in India in Medical/Dental Colleges run with the approval of Medical Council of India/Dental Council of India under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, except for the institutions established through an Act of Parliament i.e. AIIMS and JIPMER Puducherry. Admissions to all seats of MBBS/BDS courses will be done through NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CUM ENTRANCE TEST (UG), 2018. The seats are classified in the following categories: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
All India Quota Seats State Government Quota Seats Central Institutions/Universities/Deemed Universities State/Management/NRI Quota Seats in Private Medical / Dental Colleges or any Private University Central Pool Quota Seats
Click here to read full details.
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Vol. 02, Issue. 09, March 01, 2018.
BHEL E-tender for Supply of 33 kV Equipment for 10MW Solar power plant for WBSEDCL Santaldih (Ref.-RFQ No. TGPBOS0006 Dt. 28.02.2018 Due Dt. 12.03.2018) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Electronics Division, Bengaluru has the requirement above mentioned item. In this regard, BHEL has floated an open tender on 28.02.2018. The complete tender document (comprising of technical specification, forms to be filled up, terms / conditions, instructions for tender submission etc.) has been uploaded to following websites 1.
BHEL EPS website - https://bheleps.buyjunction.in/ , click on advanced search, type the RFQ no. in keyword, click search, list will appear and click on the RFQ no. for tender details.
2.
http://www.bhel.com/tender/view_tender.php?tenderid=37322
3.
www.tenders.gov.in
Tender Name: Supply of 33 kV Equipment for 10MW Solar power plant for WBSEDCL Santaldih Please click here to download tender document. Kindly note that the tender is due on 12.03.2018, 13:00:00 Hrs. (IST) Please submit your offer on e-tender portal https://bheleps.buyjunction.in/
Cultural – Heritage Tourism in India Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram (1984), Tamil Nadu Mamallapuram, the city of Mamalla, is after the title of great Pallava ruler Narasimhavarman-I (AD 630-68). It was a sea-port during the time of Periplus (1st century AD) and Ptolemy (AD 140) and many Indian colonists sailed to South-East Asia through this port town. While there is some evidence of architectural activity going back to the period of Mahendravarman-I (AD 60030), the father of Mamalla, most of the monuments like rock-cut rathas, sculptured scenes on open rocks like Arjuna's penance, the caves of Govardhanadhari and Mahishasuramardini, the Jala-Sayana Perumal temple (the sleeping Mahavishnu or Chakrin at the rear part of the Shore temple complex) are attributed to the period of Narasimhavarman-I Mamalla. Of the nine monolithic temples found in Mahabalipuram, the most important are Five Rathas known after the famous five Pandava brothers of the Mahabharata fame. These monuments are carved out a single rock with choice of all known forms of plan and elevations. While the Dharmaraja, Arjuna and Draupadi rathas are square on plan, the Bhima and Ganesa rathas are rectangular and Sahadeva ratha apsidal. The Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram entered the UNESCO world heritage list in 1984.
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Vol. 02, Issue. 09, March 01, 2018.
News from India 1. Holi gives the message of spreading peace, brotherhood & unity among all: PM on Mann Ki Baat February 2018
2. Q3 growth marks India's return as fastest growing economy: Finmin The Indian economy is in a high growth mode and 7.2 per cent expansion in the December quarter marks its return as the fastest growing major economy in the world, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said today. He said strong fixed capital growth also indicates that investment is picking up very well and agriculture and services have performed quite well. "Very encouraging and solid 3rd quarter growth numbers from CSO. 7.2 per cent growth marks return of India as the highest growing major economy in the world," Garg said in a tweet. Read more… 3. Domestic air passenger traffic crosses 100-mn mark in 2017 India’s domestic air passenger traffic crossed the 100-million mark for the first time in 2017, led by New Delhi and Mumbai airports, which together accounted for a 69% share, according to Directorate General of Civil Aviation data. New Delhi & Mumbai airports will be supplemented with new airports to cater to future demand. While work on Navi Mumbai International Airport has begun, Jewar airport construction is likely to start by December. Read more… 4. Government invites tenders for 3,000-MW solar projects In what turns out to be a surge in solar tenders, the central government has invited bids for 3,000 MW of solar power projects connected to the inter-state transmission system. With this, the capacity of solar tenders invited by the central government in the first two months of 2018 stands at more than 5,000 MW (275 MW in Uttar Pradesh, 200 MW in Karnataka and 2,000 MW inter-state in January). The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) would sign 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the winning bidders and sell the power to electricity distribution utilities (discoms). The ceiling tariff for the latest tender has been set at Rs 2.93 (approx. USD 0.045) per unit. The reverse auctions would be conducted for 12 projects of 250 MW each. The capacity additions would help the country achieve the target of 100 gigawatt (GW) of installed solar energy capacity by 2022. Power and renewable energy minister RK Singh had in November announced the break-up of his action plan for completing 80 GW of solar auctions by FY20, leaving a margin of two years to complete the projects by 2022. Read more… 5. India adopting to mobile wallets faster than US, UK; beats China too Mobile wallet transactions in India grew manifold in last five years, rising from INR 24bn in 2013 to INR 955bn in 2017 and are slated to go past the INR 1 trillion -mark in early 2018, the latest report from GlobalData reveals. The report states that Indian customers are increasingly turning away from cash and card and are adapting to mobile wallets faster than developed markets as such as the US and the UK. The 2017 Consumer Payments Insight Survey by GlobalData reveals that India is one of the top markets globally in terms of mobile wallet adoption with 55.4% survey respondents indicating that they have a mobile wallet and use it. Read more… 6. Bihar is national topper in FY17 growth, with 10.3 pc Bihar clocked a growth rate of 10.3 per cent in 2016-2017 as against 7.5 per cent in the corresponding fiscal a year ago, riding largely on the back of the services sector, according to the latest Economic Survey tabled in the state Assembly today. Bihar's growth rate is higher than that of the national average of 7.0 per cent, the 12th Economic Survey of Bihar said. The state has consistently been revenue surplus, which increased from Rs 5,101 crore (approx USD 782.9M) in 2012-13 to Rs 10,819 crore (approx. USD 1.7B) in 2016-17, Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi told reporters after tabling the survey on the first day of the Budget Session. The surplus, projected to be Rs 14,556 crore (approx. USD 2.23B) during 2017-18, is considered to be the result of better financial management, Sushil Modi, who also holds the finance portfolio, said. Read more… 4|P a g e
Vol. 02, Issue. 09, March 01, 2018. 7. UP attracts investments worth Rs 4.28 lakh crore (approx. USD 65.7B): Yogi Adityanath Uttar Pradesh has signed 1,045 pacts worth Rs 4.28 lakh crore (approx. USD 65.7B) on the first day of the UP investors' summit, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said today. "It is a matter of pride for the state that fortune-500 companies are participating in this summit. I want to tell you all that till now we have signed 1,045 MoUs worth Rs 4.28 lakh crore (approx. USD 65.7B). I have recently presented budget of Rs 4.28 lakh crore (approx. USD 65.7B) and the figure of MOUs signed is the same... We are heading towards new UP," Adityanath said while addressing the summit here. He said he would himself oversee that the MoUs signed are executed, and those who are coming to invest in the state get all the facilities. "I welcome all the guests including industrialists. With PM's guidance and blessings, UP is heading towards development and shedding its Bimaru tag. We are trying to become developed. PM's guidance helps us in good governance and taking the state on path of development," he said. Read more… 8. Adityanath govt to encourage start-ups, SMEs to access capital market Even as the Yogi Adityanath government has received big ticket investment proposals of about Rs 4.3 trillion at the recent UP Investors Summit 2018, the state is working on its agenda to encourage start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) access capital market for growth. The state government has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for enhancing financing opportunities for SMEs by listing on NSE’s SME platform, NSE Emerge. The government wants the SME sector to rise to the challenges of rising competition and technology upgrade for boosting economic activity and industrialization. Traditionally UP SMEs have preferred to be privately owned entities rather than raising funds from the capital market by going public. However, in recent times there has been interest among these concerns to list on the stock exchange and brace up for future challenges brought about by globalization and opening of the domestic markets. Read more… 9. Uttar Pradesh becomes 1st Indian state to clear projects digitally UP has become the first state in the country where projects can now be cleared digitally, without any human interface. The digital platform, a single-window system called Nivesh Mitra, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration session of the UP Investors' Summit on Wednesday. "Nivesh Mitra will now allow investors to apply for project clearances online. This will be a single-window system with absolutely no human interface. We have brought 20 departments under its ambit and application for 70 clearances can be made through this portal. These will be done in a time-bound manner and will be monitored at the highest levels, including the CM's office," said infrastructure and industrial development commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey. Read more… 10. Kerala plans to double foreign tourist arrivals Kerala has drawn up ambitious plans to scale up foreign tourist arrivals by 100 per cent and domestic tourist arrivals by 50 per cent in the next five years, according to K Raj Kumar, Deputy Director of the Kerala Tourism department. He was addressing the media here on Thursday after a tourism roadshow. “At present, the State annually draws over a million foreign tourists and over a crore domestic tourists. In 2017, a total of 10,91,000 international tourists visited the State as against 10,31,000 in 2016. In 2017, 1.46 crore domestic tourists visited the State as against 1.31 crores in 2016.” Raj Kumar said the State was focusing on adventure tourism and it had taken up a number of innovative initiatives in recent times to promote tourism. Read more… 11. Jaipur: Gandhi Nagar railway station becomes the 1st non-suburban station to be completely operated by women Gandhi Nagar Railway Station in Jaipur, Rajasthan becomes the first non-suburban railway station in the country to be completely operated by women. On February 19, in a formal ceremony, North Western Railway (NWR) General Manager, TP Singh commemorated the occasion. All the operations including selling of tickets, checking of tickets and security, would be controlled and operated by the 40 women. (The Logical Indian, Fri, 23 Feb, 05:36pm)
12. Indian scientists develop next generation technology loop to generate clean energy Indian scientists have developed a super critical carbon di oxide Brayton test loop facility that would help generate clean energy from future power plants including solar thermal. This next generation technology loop was developed indigenously by Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. This is India’s first test-bed for next generation, efficient, compact, waterless super critical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle test loop for power generation. The technology is perhaps the first test loop coupled with solar heat source in the world. (India Education Diary, Fri, 23 Feb, 05:49pm)
13. IIT-Gandhinagar makes nano god of small things A team of the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, (IIT-Gn) has achieved a scientific triumph by creating the world’s first nanosheets made of boron. The IIT-Gn researchers say that the nanosheets — only three atoms thick — are among the thinnest materials crafted by humankind. To understand the scale in everyday context, the nanosheets are one lakh times thinner than a strand of human hair or a paper sheet. But the size belies the sturdiness of the nanosheets, which show promise to become central to the development of the next-generation mobile and laptop batteries, green energy, and lighter but hardier armours for the Indian armed forces. (Ashish Chauhan, Times of India, Wed, 28 Feb, 04:41pm)
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Vol. 02, Issue. 09, March 01, 2018. 14. IIT Bombay fabricates wearable sensor for monitoring movement A team led by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has developed an inexpensive, flexible pressure sensor that can be used for a variety of health-care applications. The piezoresistive pressure sensor could efficiently monitor even small-scale movements caused by low-pressure variations. (R. Prasad, The Hindu, Sun, 25 Feb, 03:50pm)
15. IIT Delhi researchers develop scar-tissue model for screening drugs Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have for the first time developed a 3D scar-tissue model through tissue engineering. The two-member team led by Prof. Sourabh Ghosh from the Department of Textile Technology at IIT Delhi was successful in replicating the early inflammatory microenvironment that initiates a cascade of events that lead to scar development. Drugs currently available to reduce scarring in the case of deep wounds that affect all the layers of the skin have limitations owing to poor understanding of scar tissue formation and the signalling pathways responsible for its development. (R. Prasad, The Hindu, Sun, 25 Feb, 03:56pm)
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