The Prime Minister’s Award for Outstanding Contribution towards the Development and Promotion of Yoga, one of the most coveted honours in the field of Yoga, has been announced for the year 2021. Two individuals, namely Shri Bhikkhu Sanghasena Leh, Ladakh and Shri Marcus Vinicius Rojo Rodrigues, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and two organisations, namely, The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand and the British Wheel of Yoga, United Kingdom are the recipients of the same.
The awards for the Outstanding Contribution towards the Development and Promotion of Yogawas announced by the Prime Minister of India on the occasion of the 2nd International Day of Yoga celebrations at Chandigarh on 21st June, 2016. The Ministry of Ayush, Government of India developed the guidelines for the said awards. A two-stage selection process through a Screening Committee (for preliminary evaluation) and Evaluation Committee (Jury for final evaluation), is followed in a transparent manner for finalizing the awards. Nominations for the awards for 2021 were invited through an open advertisement on MyGov platform. Start date for the same was 29th March, 2021 and end date was 11th May, 2021.
The Screening Committee chaired by Secretary (Ayush) drew up a shortlist from the 120 applications received as well as the Committee’s own inputs. The Jury chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, examined the recommendations of the Screening Committee, and also made its own analysis of the contributions made by the institutions and individuals shortlisted. The selection was done after considering nominations received under four different categories, namely International Individual, International Organisation, National Individual and National Organisation.
Following are the awardees of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Outstanding Contribution towards the Development and Promotion of Yoga for the Year 2021:
Shri Marcus Vinicius Rojo Rodrigues, Sao Paulo, Brazil-International Individual
British Wheel of Yoga, United Kingdom- International Organisation
Shri Bhikkhu Sanghasena, Leh, Ladakh- National Individual
The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, Uttarkhand- National Organisation
The winners will be felicitated with of a Trophy, Certificate and a Cash Award each. The value of each Cash Award would be Rs. 25.00 lakh.
Vice President of India and Chairman of Rajya Sabha Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Prime Ministers Museum (Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya) instills pride in every citizen for the nation by offering an immersive experience of the country’s successful democratic journey and its socio-economic transformation since independence.
Shri Venkaiah Naidu, along with his spouse Smt. Usha Naidu, today visited the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya located in the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) accompanied by his wife Smt. Usha Naidu and spent 90 minutes keenly watching various components of the audio-visual presentations on India’s journey to the present.
The Vice President along with his spouse visiting Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya today.
Writing his comments in the Visitors’ Book, Shri Naidu said; “The museum showcases and honours the diversity in our national leadership and thereby sends the message of inclusiveness, which is vital for a vibrant democracy like ours. This exhibition is bound to inspire every citizen through the immersive experience it offers of the transformation of our nation from fighting poverty and illiteracy to scaling new heights in space exploration.”
Shri Nriprendra Mishra, Chairman of the Executive Council, NMML and Dr. A. Surya Prakash, Vice Chairman of the Executive Council, NMML explained various components of the Prime Ministers Museum and answered a few queries of Shri Venkaiah Naidu.
Shri Naidu further noted that the elevating experience the modern, technology based museum offers to the visitors is “Certain to enhance his or her pride for the nation and prepares them for the giant steps the nation will take in the coming years to reach the top among the comity of nations.”
Shri Naidu recounted his experience at the Sangrahalya in a facebook post and urged every citizen to visit it for inspiration and to be filled with pride.
Click here Facebook link :- https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=340884731548091&id=100068797016931
The Vice President was particularly thrilled by the simulated helicopter ride into the future of India encasing extension of various mega infrastructure projects like National Highways, long bridges and tunnels, Smart Cities and other new projects in progress in various parts of the country.
The Prime Ministers Museum offers accounts of major pre-independence events, prosperity of the country in the mid 18th century and the subsequent British legacy, making of the Constitution, the challenges faced and achievements made during the tenures of 14 Prime Ministers from Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru till Dr. Manmohan Singh.
The museum was opened for the public on April 14 this year. Shri Nripendra Misra, Chairperson of the Executive Council of the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, Shri A. Surya Prakash, Vice-Chairman, Executive Council, NMML, Shri IV Subbarao, Secretary to the Vice President, Shri Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Director, NMML, Ms Gauri Krishnan, Chief Curator, Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya and others were present during the visit.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met former Japanese Prime Ministers Yoshiro Mori and Shinzo Abe on 24 May 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. Yoshiro Mori is the current Chairperson of the Japan-India Association (JIA) while Shinzo Abe will be taking over this role shortly. The JIA, established in 1903, is one of the oldest friendship associations in Japan.
Prime Minister appreciated the significant contributions made by JIA under the leadership of Yoshiro Mori in promoting exchanges between India and Japan in political, economic and cultural fields. Prime Minister conveyed his best wishes to Shinzo Abe on his new responsibilities and looked forward to the JIA continuing its important role.
The leaders also discussed the broad canvas of India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership as well as the shared vision of India and Japan for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Discussions were held on ways to further promote cultural and people-to-people ties.
I will be visiting Tokyo, Japan from 23-24 May 2022 at the invitation of His Excellency Mr. Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan.
In March 2022, I had the pleasure of hosting Prime Minister Kishida for the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit. During my visit to Tokyo, I look forward to continuing our conversation further, with an aim to strengthen the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
In Japan, I will also participate in the second in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit, which will provide an opportunity for the leaders of the four Quad countries to review the progress of Quad initiatives. We will also exchange views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest.
I will hold a bilateral meeting with President Joseph Biden, where we will discuss further consolidation of our multi-faceted bilateral relations with U.S.A. We will also continue our dialogue on regional developments and contemporary global issues.
The newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be joining the Quad Leaders’ Summit for the first time. I look forward to a bilateral meeting with him during which the multifaceted cooperation between India and Australia under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and regional and global issues of mutual interest will be discussed.
Economic cooperation between India and Japan is an important aspect of our Special Strategic and Global Partnership. During the March Summit, PM Kishida and I had announced our intention to realize JPY 5 trillion in public and private investment and financing over the next five years from Japan to India. During the forthcoming visit, I will meet with Japanese business leaders with the goal of further strengthening economic linkages between our countries, in pursuit of this objective.
Japan is home to nearly 40,000 members of the Indian diaspora, who are an important anchor in our relations with Japan. I look forward to interacting with them.
Today, Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture met to discuss key areas of interest for Canada’s agriculture sector.
May 2, 2022 – Ottawa, Ontario – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Today, Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture met to discuss key areas of interest for Canada’s agriculture sector. The meeting was an important precursor in the lead up to the Annual Conference in July, and helped to progress Ministers’ ongoing work together to advance sustainable growth and competitiveness of Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector.
Areas discussed included progress on the Next Agricultural Policy Framework (NPF), the successor to the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which expires on March 31, 2023. Ongoing exchanges will set the stage for the upcoming Multilateral Framework Agreement (MFA) signing, which will see the realization of the Guelph Statement.
This shared vision of FPT Ministers of Agriculture will position our agri-food producers, processors and others in the sector for continued success as world leaders in sustainable agriculture, and enable a globally competitive sector. The vision promotes sustainable growth in agriculture, both economically and environmentally, by creating the conditions for Canadian businesses to meet evolving challenges of the interconnected domestic and global marketplace. To further promote sustainability in agriculture, Ministers discussed the need for action on climate change, and opportunities for the sector to lower emissions while maintaining and enhancing sector competitiveness.
Ministers, who stand united with Ukraine, also spoke about their ongoing concerns around global food supplies, food security and the supply of essential inputs, including fertilizers. Ministers discussed how to help maximize Canada’s contribution to global food supply. They also recognized the multiple strains this is causing on the agricultural and agri-food system from producers to consumers, and agreed to work together to stabilize the supply chain wherever possible.
Ministers discussed industry progress on a code of conduct for the food retailers and suppliers. The purpose of the code of conduct is to ensure that conditions are in place in Canada for all supply chain partners to prosper. The Ministers thanked the industry committee for their recent report, recognized the significant work underway, and will invite representatives of the industry to present a concrete action plan to Ministers at the next Ministers’ meeting in July.
Given the unprecedented year for highly pathogenic Avian Influenza globally, Ministers remain aligned that there is an ongoing need to continue to work together to prevent further spread of the disease and minimize the impact on industry and trade.
The prevention of and preparedness for the threat posed by African swine fever (ASF) was also discussed. Governments agreed to continue to cooperate and collaborate in order to prevent the spread of ASF from entering Canada and agreed to advance readiness to respond and support the sector’s recovery in case of an ASF outbreak.
Ministers will next meet in July, at their 2022 Annual Conference in Saskatoon Saskatchewan.
