Engineering education in local languages will empower youth-says Pradhan

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that engineering education in local languages and mother tongue will be an instrument of empowerment of youth. Addressing the Valedictory Session of the 36th India Engineering Congress in New Delhi on Monday, Pradhan said, India has been a land of people with scientific temper and robust engineering capabilities. He said, our civilisational history has scientific evidences of structural engineering, water management and maritime engineering. The Minister stressed that engineering education should not be restricted to awarding of degrees, but we must collectively work towards removing language barriers in the learning process and building capacity of our engineering community.

-Ministry of Home Affairs has said that it did not freeze bank accounts of Missionaries of Charity. It said, State Bank of India informed that Missionaries of Charity itself sent a request to SBI to freeze its accounts. The renewal application under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act for the renewal of registration of Missionaries of Charity was refused on 25th of December this year for not meeting the eligibility conditions under the act and Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules. The Ministry said, no request or revision application has been received from Missionaries of Charity for review of this refusal of renewal.However, while considering the renewal application of Missionaries of Charity, some adverse inputs were noticed. In consideration of these inputs on record, the renewal application was not approved.

-The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal met the top officials of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Cochin Shipyard Limited and IIT, Madras to review the progress on the Pandu Ship repair facility in Guwahati. The Minister said that the technical work is being completed as the construction of the facility is slated to commence from May next year. Later, Sonowal said that economic prosperity of Assam can be reinvigorated by developing the rivers as waterways for smooth and swift movement of cargo and passengers. He expressed hope that this will not only boost the export sector, but also become a major multiplier in the employment generation in the North East region. The Minister said that all the State Governments of Northeast have extended their support in developing these waterways.

-The first Kashi Indian International Film Festival began in Varanasi on Monday. State Tourism, Culture and Charitable Affairs Minister Neelkanth Tiwari inaugurated the festival. The three-day festival will showcase glimpses of Indian classical music and dance and events on famous philosophers, poets, writers and musicians. Kashi is going to witness extravaganza of theatre, music, culture, arts and Bollywood in the festival which is expected to attract the filmmakers and film lovers of the word to this ancient city. The festival is being organised by Information and Broadcasting Ministry in collaboration with Film Bandhu and the Uttar Pradesh Government. Actor Manoj Joshi, singer Kailash Kher, and comedian Raju Srivastava performed on the first day of the event. Hema Malini, Anupam Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Satish Kaushik are among other Bollywood personalities who are participating in the event. A panel discussion on Varanasi, local music, the importance of Uttar Pradesh as a centre for film production and the potential for regional cinema will be held on the second day of the event. 

-Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has said that his administration will break all walls that create hurdles in the development of J&K. Addressing the first-ever J&K Real Estate Summit in Jammu on Monday, LG Sinha said that J&K has suffered at the hands of those who mislead people that development is not possible in J&K. He said a new era of growth and development has begun in Jammu and Kashmir at par with the rest of the country. The LG said that J&K has received investments of Rs 14,000 crore under the new Industrial Policy and the investments in industry will touch Rs 35,000 crore by the year-end. He further said that Srinagar will host the Real Estate Summit in May 2022 that will pave the way for Kashmir’s development on the real estate front. The LG also announced that J&K too will have a Central Secretariat soon as the land for the same has been identified. He further said that a huge number of tourists are visiting J&K and almost all hotels are booked.