36th International Geological Congress
36th International Geological Congress
On the Visit of the IUGS Delegation
New Delhi-24.11.2017
New Delhi-24.11.2017
A high level delegation of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) comprising its President, Prof. Qiuming Cheng; Prof. S C Finney, Secretary General; and Prof. H Kitazato, Treasurer visited India during 20-24 November 2017 to discuss the preparatory aspects of the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC) to be held in Delhi, India in the year 2020.
Described as the Olympics of Geosciences, the IGCs are held quadrennially under the aegis of the IUGS through a process of global bidding. India won the bid in 2012 at Brisbane, Australia to host the Congress in 2020. The win is a remarkable achievement as the event makes a come back to the Indian soil after nearly 6 decades much to the excitement of the entire geoscientific community.
The event is being jointly funded by the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Earth Sciences with the active support of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), and the Science Academies of the other neighbouring co-host countries, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The delegation, during its visit, inspected the India Expo Mart Limited, the venue for the event and expressed its satisfaction over the facilities available and its convenient location. The team described the state-of-the-art Centre as impressive, and equipped in all respects to host the mega Congress which has conventionally an attendance to the tune of 6000 delegates.
The IUGS dignitaries interacted with Shri Arun Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines; Dr. M Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, senior officers of the two Ministries, and key functionaries of the Organizing Committee. The Organizing Committee is headed by Dr. V P Dimri as its President, Dr. P R Golani as its Secretary General, Prof. Talat Ahmad, VC, Jamia Millia Islamia as the Chair, Scientific Program Committee, Prof. Somnath Dasgupta, former VC, Assam University as Chair, Field Trip Committee and other eminent geoscientists as Chairs of various other subcommittees. The IUGS was given detailed accounts of the progress made on technical, administrative and other fronts by the Organizing Committee. The Scientific Program, Field Excursions and the Legacy & Publication Programs and an overview of the preparations were presented to the visitors.
The IUGS team expressed its satisfaction over the entire spectrum of preparatory activities and described the quantum of work done as focussed and effective. It was of the view that the necessary pro-rata ground work has been done as part of the homework. They stated that going by the momentum of the preparatory activities, India is firmly getting ready for a very successful IGC.
The key functionaries, during their visit, also delivered lectures to a select audience comprising eminent geoscientists, academia, students and researchers.
Today’s News at Glance
Sagar. Media Inc- Rohingya scared to return Myanmar .Argentina missing submarine signal explosion 8day ago. Papua New Guinea Migrant to Australia in detention refugee to safety. EU Libya deal Migrant still smuggle 2 Italy. Zimbawa get new President.UK May Meet EU leader in Brussels.
IFFI nominates Nine movies for this year’s
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has nominated nine movies for this year’s International Council for Film, Television and Audio-visual Communication (ICFT) UNESCO Gandhi Medal. Out of nine films, five are from India.
The Indian films competing for the prestigious ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal are Kshitij – A Horizon, Manusangada, Poorna, Railway Children and Take-Off. The foreign films in the fray are Amok from Poland, Khibula – a co-production of Germany, France and Georgia, The Last Painting from Taiwan and Women of The Weeping River – a joint production of the US and UK.
All 9 films are being screened at the ongoing IFFI in Panaji, Goa. The ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award will be given to a film that best reflects Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of peace, tolerance and non-violence. The Award will be announced at the closing ceremony of IFFI on Tuesday.
Implement Clinical Establishment Act
Centre has asked the States to implement Clinical Establishment Act to take effective action against hospitals indulging in fraudulent and unethical practices. Citing the recent incident of overcharging from a patient by Fortis hospital in Gurugram, Health Ministry asked the States to issue warnings and take action against hospitals including private ones which indulge in malpractices.
In a letter to State Chief Secretaries, Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan drew their attention towards the widespread adverse coverage of alleged malpractices including exorbitant charges and deficiency in services by various clinical establishments in the recent past.
She said, such incidents have an extremely deleterious impact on the faith of the general public in the healthcare system and there is a need to ensure that such things do not occur and quality healthcare be provided at a fair and affordable price.
The Health Secretary has suggested calling for a meeting of all important hospitals including private ones, and conveying them that strict action will be taken against any of them found indulging in such malpractices.
Schedule of Winter session of Parliament
Winter session of Parliament will be held From 15th of next month to 5th January. Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar announced this after the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi today.
Mr Kumar said parliament session and assembly elections date should not overlap. He said, earlier also many times Parliament session has been scheduled, considering assembly elections in the state.
The Minister said, Government requests and seeks cooperation from all parties, including the opposition, for the smooth functioning of both Houses to make the session fruitful. Mr Kumar said, this session will have 14 working days and 25th and 26th December will be Christmas holidays.
National Law Day Celebrations
INVITATION
Dear Sir/Madam,
| Event | NITI Aayog CEO, Shri Amitabh Kant and Chairman Law Commission, Justice B. S. Chauhan to hold a Press Conference one the National Law Day Celebrations at Vigyan Bhawan on 25-26 November 2017. |
| Date | 24th November, 2017 |
| Time | 03:00 p.m. |
| Venue | Rom No.-122 NITI Aayog |
6 Days Lokgatha Utsav
You are cordially invited to cover the following event:
| EVENT | : | Shri Manoj Tiwari, Member of Parliament and Eminent Folk Singer to announce 6 Days Lokgatha Utsav- A festival of cultural heritage of India on the birth centenary of Rashtrarishi Nana Ji Deshmukh. Shri Sachidanad Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA will also remain present. |
| DATE | : | 24th November, 2017 |
| TIME | : | 01:00 PM |
| VENUE | : | Matighar Lawns, IGNCA, C.V. Mess, Janpath, New Delhi |
Corporate results galvanize with GST and Monsoons care
The companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, and Hindustan Unilever reported upbeat earnings growth for the July-September period,consumption boomed due to pan out supply after the roll out of a nation-wide Goods and Services Tax.The outlook seems positive for companies that cater to rural demand, say analysts this attributes to a healthy monsoon, incomes in rural, agricultural areas are expected to rise.
Gross non-performing assets of 36 banks have increased from Rs 2.94 lakh crore in March 2015 to Rs 8.38 lakh crore by September 2017, says a Care Ratings report.
FDP for renewed talks
Germany’s pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) on Wednesday said they would not rule out renewed talks on a three-way coalition government. Now both FDP and SPD are bidding for Merkel hand.
Spiegel reports,German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier now faces the task of facilitating the formation of a government, preferably without having to resort to new elections. The Christian Democrats will have to decide whether Merkel will continue to lead them while the SPD has to reflect on whether they are willing to enter another alliance with the CDU and CSU and, if so, at what price. Would Merkel or Martin Schulz have to give way to make another such alliance happen?
They set a condition for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Greens to offer a “completely new package” of proposals, Reuters said. “If it really was possible to build a modern republic in the coming years, then we are the last ones who would refuse to talk,” FDP Secretary General Nicola Beer told ntv television. She added, however, that she “can’t imagine that this will work.”
Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) faced pressure on Wednesday to consider offering coalition talks to Merkel’s conservatives. SPD leader Martin Schulz, whose party had governed in coalition under Merkel since 2013, earlier said the party would go into opposition.
Hariri postpones resignation
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Wednesday that he is putting his resignation on hold after President Michel Aoun asked him to reconsider it pending consultations.
Hariri said he discussed his resignation with the president, who asked him “to wait before submitting it and allow for more consultations.”
Hariri said so to reporters after a closed-door meeting at the Presidential Palace with Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He also extended his appreciation for the president’s affection.
“I thank Aoun for the affection he had shown towards me, and also I express appreciation to all the Lebanese throughout the past period,” he added.
US Navy aircraft eleven on board crashes
Eight warships today joined a US aircraft carrier and scores of helicopters and planes to search for three American sailors who went missing after their plane crashed in the Philippine Sea.
US 7th Fleet commander says a search operation is underway involving the USS Ronald Reagan.
Eight of the missing have been found, they have been transferred to the USS Ronald Reagan and are said to be in good condition. A search is continuing for the three missing people.Latest reports said,
The C-2A “Greyhound” aircraft with 11 people on board went down on Wednesday afternoon around 930 kilometres southeast of Okinawa.
The US Navy said in a statement that eight sailors were rescued shortly after the accident and taken for medical evaluation to USS Reagan, an aircraft carrier that was in the Philippine Sea for an exercise with Japanese forces.
The plane was on a routine transport flight, carrying passengers and cargo from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in southern Japan to the USS Ronald Reagan.
The Reagan is leading the joint effort by the US and Japanese navies to find the missing sailors.
Putin offers assistance in tracking missing Argentinian submarine
President Vladimir Putin has offered assistance in tracking the missing ARA San Juan submarine in a phone call with his Argentinian counterpart Mauricio Macri, the Kremlin has said. “It’s was agreed that the ministries of the two countries will maintain contacts on the issue,” it said. Putin expressed words of encouragement to Macri over the Argentinian submarine, which has been missing since November 15 with 44 sailors on board.
Bruce Riedel,irk over the release of Hafiz Saeed
Top American counter-terrorism and South Asian experts have expressed outrage over the release of 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
Expressing his outrage over the release, Bruce Riedel, a top US expert on security, South Asia, and counter-terrorism told PTI that It is time to rescind Pakistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally.
Alyssa Ayres, a former State Department official and currently with the Council on Foreign Relations told PTI after Lahore High Court ordered Saeed be set free that in a word, the release is an outrage.
She said Saeed is a UN-sanctioned individual terrorist who leads a UN-sanctioned terrorist organisation and alleged that Pakistan does not see fit to follow through on its obligations to uphold UN Security Council terrorist designations.
Ayres said Pakistan cannot credibly claim to be fighting terrorism while failing its most basic security obligation to UNSC designations.
AVIAREPS EXPANDS CHINA OFFICE NETWORK WITH OPENING IN WUHAN
AVIAREPS Greater China office network expanded to 8
Total international office network expanded to 65 offices across 47 countries
Mumbai, India (23 November 2017) – AVIAREPS,the global leader and expert in developing and shaping outbound tourism, aviation and hospitality demand and spend, has expanded its China market presence by opening an office in Wuhan, Central China. With this office opening AVIAREPS’presence in Greater China is now extended to 8 offices, and provides AVIAREPS’ clientele with a permanent base in Central China from which to implement specialised destination and hospitality marketing, public relations and sales (GSA) representation, to target the region’s massive population of 220 million consumers. With the addition of Wuhan, the total AVIAREPS international office network now numbers 65, across 47 countries and 6 continents.
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei Province, and its largest city with a population of 11 million (China’s 9th largest city). The city, through its Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH), is also a major aviation hub for Air China, China Eastern and China Southern, in addition to another 30 airlines operating domestic and international flights out of the airport. Connected to 45 international destinations, WUH was the 4th airport to be selected by the Chinese Central Government to become an international gateway after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Today, with a GDP of US$161 billion, Hubei Province is the 8th richest in China, with the economy growing by 9.7%, much higher than the average growth rate of 6.9% for China as a whole. In addition to Wuhan, 14 other nearby cities with populations ranging from one to seven million, will also be the target of the AVIAREPS Wuhan team’s sales, PR and marketing activities. These include the cities of: Huanggang, 7 million; Jingzhou, 6 million; Xiangyang, 6 million; Xiaogan, 5.5 million; Yichang, 4.5 million; Enshi Tujia, 3.5 million; Shiyan, 3.5 million; Jingmen, 3 million; Xianning, 3 million; Huangshi, 3 million; Suizhou, 2.5 million; Tianmen, 2 million; Xiantao, 1.5 million; and Qianjing, 1 million.
Over the past 5 years the population of Wuhan has grown 23%, driven by a shift away from heavy industries, such as steel production, and towards innovation-driven industries such as hi-tech. Wuhan also claims one of the world’s largest student populations at over 1 million, resulting in an increasingly highly educated consumer base that is driving massive demand for modern services, including long-haul outbound travel.
Says Edgar Lacker, Chief Executive Officer, AVIAREPS: “Now with a total of 8 offices in greater China, AVIAREPS firmly cements its market position in the Far-East as the leading international organisation to provide destination, aviation, retail and hospitality brands with the expertise, passion and know-how to grow their business. The massive size, spend and demand of consumers within China necessitates that any brand wanting to enter the Chinese market and truly engage at the grassroots level, requires a support team of specialists with local expertise and networks. With AVIAREPS now firmly established in Wuhan, we open a world of new business opportunities in Central China to our clients.”
The AVIAREPS Wuhan office opens already representing such brands as Visit California and Sands Group Macao.
For further information on how AVIAREPS can assist your organisation to expand its commercial footprint in Wuhan China, contact AVIAREPS at:www.aviareps.com
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About
Founded in Germany in 1994 with an extensive office network that spans all six inhabited continents with 65 self-owned offices across 47 countries, the AVIAREPS Group is the world’s leading airline and tourism representation company with over 100 airlines and more than 150 tourism, hospitality, retail and trade promotion clients in its portfolio. In addition to providing well established passenger General Sales Agent (GSA) services and tourism marketing representation, clients are also offered expertise and services in digital marketing, public relations, advertising, IT solutions, consulting, financial services, airport marketing, and trade & retail promotion.
