Exhibition Train - Showcasing Information Technology Story of India Train to be Flagged off tommorrow

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From: Press Information Bureau Ministry of I&B <pib.kolkata@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 1:09 PM
Subject: Releases........pt1

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Communications & Information Technology

Exhibition Train - Showcasing Information Technology Story of India Train to be Flagged off tommorrow

New Delhi: June 23, 2010

 

 

An Exhibition Train, on the themes of Sports and Information Technology (IT), named " Commonwealth Express"  will start its 101 day-long journey from Safdarjung Railway Station, New Delhi on 24th June, 2010 and after travelling through 49 cities and towns across the country covering 23 States and Union Territories of Puduchery and Chandigarh, it will come back to the same station on 2nd October, 2010. During this journey, IT Part of the Exhibition in 6 Coaches will showcase the relevance and usefulness of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in day today life of the common man.

The "IT Story of India" will be told through the 6 coaches by way of backlit translites, front-lit digitally printed posters, short informational films, etc. To reach out to the common man in as effective manner as possible, the content of the back-lit translites will be made available in regional languages in addition to English, and the language changeover will happen in 10 languages (as and when the train enters such a State). LCD panels will be used to display dynamic content in the form of slideshows across most of the coaches, and in the 6th coach, a special arrangement has been made to showcase brief informational films on IT and e-Governance in an auditorium-type environment and also for interactions with general visitors and visitors from media.

 A brief outline of the 6 coaches is that follows will give glimpses  that exhibition train offers.

 Coach 1 welcomes the visitors and tells the general story of Information Technology, and Information and Communications Technologies. How IT touches us everyday, in almost all apsects of our lives without us even realising this.

Coach 2 walks the audience through the importance of IT for ushering in an era of better governance, of e-Governance, of good governance, with special focus on e-Governance initiatives across the Nation and on the National e-Governance Plan of the Government of India that aims to bring public services closer home in a friendly assisted format. This coach also introduces the Department of Information Technology, and its various arms, manifestations, agencies, and achievements.

Coach 3 focuses on the application of IT in social sectors, especially Health and Education, and on how IT has helped close the gap between such services and citizens in so many ways, such as through telemedicine, videoconferencing, e-learning, etc. It also talks about globalization of the individual through online social networks, and of IT's role in, and facilitation of, citizen empowerment, gender-equity, better avenues of livelihood and better remuneration.

Coach 4 is about IT as an industry and IT in industry, with special focus how IT brings in increased productivity in a cost-effective manner; how IT is helping the World become a global village, bringing everything within easy and instant access, be it the latest news, TV channels from around the World, or the convenience of online shopping and how IT is helping digitise and archive valuable heritage material, and so on.

Coach 5 showcases what can be called the "face of the National e-Governance Plan" -- the Common Services Centers (CSCs). Rural citizens, generally do not have easy access to public services and critical information. Living in remote and distant locations, they are constantly overwhelmed by geographical, cultural, and linguistic barriers. Under the National e-Governance Plan, there is an accentuated emphasis on ICT as a major tool to stimulate social development in the rural areas—by improving access to information, expanding the market base and widening employment opportunities. A network of 1 Lakh Common Services Centers (CSCs) are rapidly coming up across the country that will cover 6 Lakh villages, and provide a range of G2C and B2C services to villagers on "home ground", reducing the need to travel long distances for government/ public services, and saving them many hassles. Another 1.5 Lakh CSCs have been planned to cover panchayats across the Nation under the Bharat Nirman programme.

 Coach 6 has an auditorium where relevant films will be screened, a feedback counter, and a business-centre like enclosure, where visitors can share their thoughts.

The train is being run jointly by the Ministry of Railways (through its Railway Sports Promotion Board, which will manage the Sports part of the exhibition in 5 railway coaches) and Ministry of C&IT (through DIT, which will manage the IT part of the exhibition in 6 railway coaches).

Don't miss the train as it is full of information and technology. The train will visit the following stations as per schedule given against them.

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K
1	ITINERARY FOR THE SPORTS/IT SPECIAL EXHIBITION TRAIN - Revison dated 18-June-2010
2		Station	State	Rly.	Arrival   Date	Arrival   Time	Exhibition  dates	Departure  date	Departure   time	No. of Exhibition days	Remarks
3	1	Delhi Safdarjung	Delhi	NR				24.06.2010	2200		Inauguration on 24.06.10
4	2	Amritsar	Punjab	NR	25.06.2010	0630	25.06.2010 to 26.06.2010	26.06.2010	2200	2 Days
5	3	Jalandhar City	Punjab	NR	27.06.2010	0400	27.06.2010	27.06.2010	2000	1 Day
6	4	Udhampur	J&K	NR	28.06.2010	0600	28.06.2010	28.06.2010	2200	1 Day	Departure via Jallandhar
7	5	Patiala	Punjab	NR	29.06.2010	1400	30.06.2010	30.06.2010	2200	1 Day	In place of Ludhiana 29.06.2010 in journey time
8	6	Ambala cantt.	Haryana	NR	01.07.2010	0600	01.07.2010	02.07.2010	0200	1Day
9	7	Chandigarh	Chandigarh	NR	02.07.2010	0400	02.07.2010 to 03.07.2010	03.07.2010	2200	2 Days
10	8	Una	Himachal Pradesh	NR	04.07.2010	0700	04.07.2010	04.07.2010	1700	1 Day
11	9	Haridwar	Uttarakhand	NR	05.07.2010	0700	05.07.2010 to 07.07.2010	07.07.2010	2300	3 Days
12	10	Lucknow	U.P.	NR	08.07.2010	1300	09.07.2010 to 10.07.2010	10.07.2010	2000	2 Days	08.07.2010 journey time
13	11	Suberdarganj	U.P	NCR	11.07.2010	0400	11.07.2010	11.07.2010	2200	1Day	In place of Allahabad
14	12	Varanasi	U.P	NR	12.07.2010	0600	12.07.2010 to 13.07.2010	13.07.2010	2200	2Days
15	13	Patna	Bihar	ECR	14.07.2010	0600	14.07.2010 To 15.07.2010	16.07.2010	0100	2 Days
16	14	Gaya	Bihar	ECR	16.07.2010	0630	16.07.2010	16.07.2010	2200	1 Day	Departure via Asansol Malda Town
17	15	Kamakhya	Assam	NFR	18.07.2010	1000	19.07.2010 to 20.07.2010	20.07.2010	2300	2 Days	18.07.2010 in journey in place of
18	16	Mariani	Assam	NFR	21.07.2010	1800	22.07.2010	22.07.2010	2200	1 Day	21.07.2010 IN JOURNEY IN PLACE OF Tinsukia
19	17	New Jalpaiguri	West Bengal	NFR	24.07.2010	0100	24.07.2010	24.07.2010	2200	1 Day
20	18	Asansol	West Bengal	ER	25.07.2010	1300	26.07.2010	26.07.2010	2200	1 Day	25.07.2010 journey time
21	19	Kharagpur	West Bengal	SER	27.07.2010	0700	27.07.2010 to 28.07.2010	28.07.2010	2200	2 Days
22	20	Kolkata	West Bengal	ER	29.07.2010	0500	29.07.2010 to 30.07.2010	31.07.2010	0100	2 Days
23	21	Durgapur	West Bengal	ER	31.07.2010	0600	31.07.2010 to 01.08.2010	02.08.2010	0100	2 Days	In place of Barddhaman
24	22	Dhanbad	Jharkhand	ECR	02.08.2010	0600	02.08.2010 to 04.08.2010	04.08.2010	2300	3 Days
25	23	Hatia	Jharkhand	SER	05.08.2010	0530	05.08.2010 to 06.08.2010	06.08.2010	1800	2 Days	Departure via Kharagpur in place of Ranchi
26	24	Mancheshwar	Orissa	ECOR	07.08.2010	0700	07.08.2010 to 08.08.2010	08.08.2010	2300	2 Days	Departure on 8425 route
27	25	Raipur	Chhatisgarh	SECR	09.08.2010	1700	10.08.2010 to 11.08.2010	11.08.2010	2300	2Days	09.08.2010 in journey time
28	26	Durg	Chhatisgarh	SCER	12.08.2010	0400	12.08.2010	12.08.2010	2000	1 Day	Departure via BPQ on 0682 Special Train Route
29	27	Secunderabad	Andhra Pradesh	SCR	13.08.2010	1500	14.08.2010 to 16.08.2010	16.08.2010	2200	3 Days	13.08.2010 in Journey Time
30	28	Chennai Central	Tamil Nadu	SR	17.08.2010	1500	18.08.2010 to 20.08.2010	20.08.2010	2000	3 Days	17.08.2010 in Journey Time
31	29	Puducherry	Pudducherry	SR	21.08.2010	0500	21.08.2010	21.08.2010	2200	1 Day
32	30	Madurai	Tamil Nadu	SR	22.08.2010	0700	22.08.2010 to 23.08.2010	23.08.2010	2000	2 Days	Departure On train 6127 Route
33	31	Kollam	Kerala	SR	24.08.2010	0830	24.08.2010 to 25.08.2010	25.08.2010	2200	1 Day	Departure on Train 6127 Route in Place of Cochin
34	32	Thiruvanthapuram	Kerala	SR	26.08.2010	0600	26.08.2010	26.08.2010	2000	1 Day	Departure via Bangalore
35	33	Mysore	Karnataka	SWR	27.08.2010	2200	28.08.2010 to 30.08.2010	31.08.2010	0100	3 Days	27.08.2010 Journey Time
36	34	Bangalore Cantt	Karnataka	SWR	01.09.2010	0500	01.09.2010 to 03.09.2010	03.09.2010	2300	3 Days
37	35	Hubli	Karnataka	SWR	04.09.2010	1600	05.09.2010	06.09.2010	0100	1 Day	04.09.2010 in Journey Time, Departure on Train 1019  Route
38	36	Vasco-de-Gama	GOA	SWR	06.09.2010	0800	06.09.2010 to 07.09.2010	07.09.2010	2000	1 Day
39	37	Khadaki	Maharashtra	CR	08.09.2010	1600	09.09.2010 to 10.09.2010	10.09.2010	2300	2 Days	08.09.2010 in Journey Time In place of Pune
40	38	Mumbai Central	Maharashtra	CR	11.09.2010	0500	11.09.2010 to 12.09.2010	13.09.2010	0200	2 Days
41	39	Gandhinagar	Gujrat	WR	13.09.2010	1600	14.09.2010 to 15.09.2010	15.09.2010	2300	2 Days	13.09.2010 in Journey time Departure on Train 1463  Route in Place of Ahamdabad
42	40	Habibganj	M.P.	WCR	16.09.2010	1600	17.09.2010 too 18.09.2010	18.09.2010	2200	2 Days	16.09.2010 in Journey Time in place of Bhopal
43	41	Jhansi	M.P.	NCR	19.09.2010	0700	19.09.2010 to 21.09.2010	21.09.2010	2300	3 Days
44	42	Agra City	U.P	NCR	22.09.2010	0600	22.09.2010 to 23.09.2010	23.09.2010	2200	1 Day	Departure on Train 2965 Route
45	43	Durgapura	Rajasthan	NWR	24.09.2010	0700	24.09.2010	25.09.2010	0100	1 Day	In Place of Jaipur
46	44	Ajmer	Rajasthan	NWR	25.09.2010	0600	25.09.2010 to 26.09.2010	26.09.2010	1900	2 Days
47	45	Kota	Rajasthan	WCR	27.09.2010	0700	27.09.2010	27.09.2010	2200	1 Day
48	46	Okhala	Delhi Area	NR	28.09.2010	0600	28.09.2010	29.09.2010	0200	1 Day
49	47	Sahibabad	Delhi Area	NR	29.09.2010	0300	29.09.2010	30.09.2010	0200	1 Day
50	48	Patel Nagar	Delhi Area	NR	30.09.2010	0300	30.09.2010	01.10.2010	0200	1 Day
51	49	Delhi Safdarjung	Delhi Area	NR	01.10.2010	0300	02.10.2010			2 Days	Further Programme will follow

 

at/dk/kol/13:05 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Prime Minister's Office                 

PM's Homage to Air India 182 Victims

New Delhi: June 23, 2010

 

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has paid homage to Air India Flight No.182 crash victims who lost their lives in the air tragedy 25 years ago on the same day. Following is the text of the Prime Minister's message:

 "This year marks the 25th anniversary of the crash of Air India Flight 182 that led to the loss of 329 innocent lives. This was a horrific incident which shook the world's conscience. It is with a sense of deep pain and sorrow that I join the families and friends in paying my homage to all those who fell victim to this most barbarious act of terrorism.

No religion, faith or cause can justify such violence or inhumanity. On this solemn occasion, we must rededicate ourselves to fighting and eliminating terrorism with determination and joint action."

 

akt/hs/lv/dk/kol/13:05 hrs.

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Home Affairs                             

Foundation Stone of Jogbani ICP to be laid tomorrow

New Delhi: June 23, 2010

 

The Minister of State for Home, Shri Mullapally Ramachandran, will unveil the foundation stone for the construction of an Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Jogbani in Bihar on the Indo-Nepal border tomorrow in the presence of the Health Minister of Bihar, Shri.  Nand Kishore Yadav and other dignitaries. The setting up of ICPs along India's international border is a major initative which the Government of India has taken as part of a Plan scheme with an initial outlay of Rs.635 crore during the 11th Five Year Plan.  The Jogbani ICP is the second  ICP in Bihar, and the third in the country after the Attari (Punjab) and Raxaul (Bihar) ICPs where construction is being undertaken.  The estimated cost of the Jogbani Project is Rs. 82.49 crore. The ICP at Jogbani, spread over nearly 190 acres of land, is expected to be completed by August, 2011.

 

The salient features of the ICP are a modular design, dedicated lanes for each process, separate gates for traffic across the border, least traffic conflicts, self-evident routes, guide signage and administrative and facility area.  Facilities which will be available include:-

 

·               Passenger terminal building

·               Currency exchange

·               Internet facility

·               Cargo process building

·               Cargo inspection sheds

·               Warehouse/Cold storage

·               Quarantine laboratory

·               Clearing agents

·               Banks

·               Scanners

·               CCTV/PA System

·               Isolation Bay

·               Parking

·               Cafeteria

·               Other public utilities.

 

Two more ICPs will be set up along the Indo-Nepal border at Rupaidiha and Sunauli in Uttar Pradesh.

 

ok/pkm/dk/kol/13:06 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Science & Technology                            

10th Batch of 20 Young Indian Researchers to Participate in 60th Annual Meeting of Nobel Laureates

New Delhi: June 23, 2010

 

20 Indian students nominated by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India will meet and interact with around 60 Nobel Laureates at the 60th Annual Meeting of Nobel Laureates and students in Lindau, Germany. Since 2001, group of young Indian researchers has been attending the Annual Nobel Laureate Meetings. The Indian participation at this annual meeting has jointly been sponsored and supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Lindau Council and the German Research Foundation (DFG). This year, the interdisciplinary meeting in the fields of Physiology or Medicine, Physics and Chemistry, will give the group the unique opportunity to interact with the Nobel Laureates at scientific sessions and discussions as well as at social events.

 

The Lindau meeting (27th June to 2nd July 2010) will be followed by a week long visit (from 5th to 9th July) to German universities and research institutions in Leipzig, Dresden, Jena and Bonn, which is organized and supported by DFG. The institutional visits which are organized by the DFG India Office provide a unique opportunity for the young researchers and students to have first hand information and exposure to the state of the art facilities at the German research laboratories through discussions with faculty members as well as students.

 

The Indian team of students shall have briefing and de-briefing sessions in Delhi with eminent scientists and dignitaries before and after participation in the Nobel Laureates meeting. Further details of Lindau Program can be viewed at http://www.lindau-nobel.de/.

 

sbs/rs/dk/kol/13:06 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Commerce & Industry                           

Anand Sharma Attends Second Meeting of US-India CEO ForumOpportunities to Promote Investment and Job Growth

New Delhi: June 23, 2010

 

Shri Anand Sharma, Minister for Commerce and Industry led an official delegation for the second meeting of the reconstituted US-India CEO Forum at Washington DC yesterday. The meeting was co-chaired by Shri Ratan Tata, Chairman, TATA Group from the Indian side and Mr. Dave Cote, CEO, Honeywell Inc., from the US side. The CEOs from the two countries discussed opportunities for new partnerships between businesses in the United States and India, and ways to promote investment and job growth in both countries. The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee and Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission. The US official delegation included Secretary of State Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, US Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk and Director of National Economic Council Mr. Larry Summers.

 

The US-India CEO Forum presented its recommendations to the representatives of both the Governments. These recommendations broadly covered areas like infrastructure; clean energy; education and skill development; bio-technology and breakthrough long-term ideas like a diabetes breakthrough project and strategic space co-operation.

 

During the interactions, Shri Sharma explained that "we are in the process of conceptualizing National Manufacturing Investment Zones as integrated industrial townships with state-of-art infrastructure and complete eco-system for manufacturing industry. This mechanism is being developed in response to the concerns on availability of developed land, infrastructure and other services for industry. A discussion paper has been placed on the website of the Department for wide-ranging consultations on this initiative. He invited the CEOs to give their comments and suggestions so that Government could take an informed decision in the matter".

 

In response to a suggestion for reduction in Indian import duties on security technologies and products, he explained that 100% FDI is permitted under automatic route for manufacture of such equipment in India for non-defence application. There is a large and growing market and it would be a win-win situation for both sides if concerned businesses could establish in India. On India's Foreign Direct Investment regime, CIM said that India has a liberal and transparent FDI regime in place except for a few sectors like banking and insurance, defence and retail trade in which we favour calibrated liberalization on account of domestic sensitivities. He said that initiatives like e-biz; incorporation of the Invest India Company, simplification and consolidation of the FDI policy pronouncements would go a long way in improving business environment.

 

Welcoming the CEO Forum initiative on the launching of a $ 1 billion venture capital /private equity fund for Clean Energy technology development projects, Shri Sharma said that the West, including US, will continue to lead technology development. But when it comes to adaptation, a number of emerging economies have the capability to adapt the technology to their situation. The issue is one of access to the latest technology. Hence he urged the CEO Forum to suggest specific mechanisms to make clean technologies accessible to the resource poor countries, given that these are protected by IPRs and often out of their reach. Shri Sharma also welcomed the CEO Forum initiative to participate and support the joint research centre proposed as part of Indo-US Clean Energy Research and Deployment Initiative.

 

Shri Sharma welcomed the initiative of the CEO Forum to establish a joint Indo-US Drug Discovery Fund and said that collaboration between research institutions and private sector cooperative research between India and the US would greatly enhance the R&D efforts in the area of biotech and health care in the two countries. Emphasizing that India is committed to a strong and equitable IPR regime and has put in place legislation and enforcement mechanisms to this effect, Shri Sharma said "Be it technology or life saving drugs, there has to be balance and sharing so that the resource poor countries are not denied access to these".

 

During the bilateral meeting, Shri Sharma and United States Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk reviewed the implementation of the India- US Trade Policy Forum Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment singed in March 2010 and agreed to further the engagement to build on the success of the Trade Policy Forum by facilitating trade and investment flows between the two countries. They agreed to hold the next meeting of the Trade Policy Forum at an early date and also work towards identifying deliverables for the forthcoming visit of US President. CIM discussed a wide-range of issues including the Totalization Agreement, H-1B visas for Indian skilled labour, Generalized System of Preferences, labour related non-tariff barriers, other market access issues and removal of India from the Special 301 watch list. Tomorrow, CIM is scheduled to have a meeting with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

 

rj/mrs/dk/kol/13:06 hrs.

 

--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/