Year End Review: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Dec 30, 2021 | Business


The Vision of this Ministry is to provide the citizens of India a clean, green and healthy environment with peoples’ participation and to support higher and inclusive economic growth through sustainable utilization of available natural resources.  This Ministry has achieved different milestones to plan, promote, co-ordinate and oversee the implementation of India’s environmental and forestry policies and programmes related to conservation of the country’s natural resources including its lakes and rivers, its biodiversity, forests and wildlife, ensuring the welfare of animals, and the prevention and abatement of pollution.  The major achievements during year 2021 are as follows: –


Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav:


Green Good Deed of the Week campaign: In order to commemorate the 75thyear of independence, the country is celebrating a 75 week-long “Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav”. An outreach programme for promoting sustainable lifestyle –“Green Good Deed of the Week” campaign is being organized as a part of this Mahotsav through Eco-clubs since 12th March 2021. State Nodal Agencies and Eco-clubs organized various activities to promote sustainable lifestyle like cleanliness/ plantation drives, painting/ slogan/ essay competitions, awareness on single-use plastics, awareness on environment-friendly ways of celebrating festivals, etc.


Iconic week celebration: The Iconic Week of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) as a part of the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav was celebrated from 4th to 10thOctober, 2021. The major themes identified for activities of the week were lake/ wetland conservation, curbing of use of single-use plastics, wildlife conservation, forest conservation and coastal conservation. Activities like Green Pledge, webinars, promotion of Green Good Deeds and screening of videos on the identified themes were organized in schools/ colleges across the country in co-ordination with Department of School Education & Literacy and SNAs.


Swachhta Campaign from October 2 –November 1, 2021


  • The Swachhta Campaign was observed for one month starting from 2nd October – 1st November, 2021. During the campaign, a big number of files have been reviewed by the various divisions in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change which comes to a huge total of 45,154 files. Out of which around 41,758 files have been weeded out which has resulted in generation of paper waste of approximately 9 tonnes. A heavy duty shredder machine was specially brought to do the huge task. A revenue generation of Rs. 18 thousand has been generated out of the process of disposal of the waste generated by weeding of the files. A sufficient clear and open area in the Indira Prayavaran Bhawan appx 3000 sq.ft. has been reclaimed.

  • The Ministry has organised an auction of the e-Waste to dispose of all obsolete items including computers, printers, photocopiers and other electronic equipment. The e-waste bid has already been finalised at a price of Rs. 5.21 lakh to M/s. Clean Waste Management, Burari, Delhi. The shifting of e-waste material has been completed.

  • The Ministry has also organised an auction to dispose of all obsolete furniture items including tables, chairs, almirahs, side racks, sofa sets and other waste furniture items. The furniture waste bid has already been finalised at a price of Rs. 6.80 lakh to M/s Patel scrap.


Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)


The UN General Assembly in its 70th Session considered and adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated 169 targets for the next 15 years. The 17 SDGs came into force with effect from 1st January, 2016. Though not legally binding, the SDGs have become de facto international obligations and have potential to reorient domestic spending priorities of the countries during the decade ending 2030. The SDG 13, 15 and 12 have been mapped majorly to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Significant strides have been made in achieving SDG 13 (Urgent action to protect against Climate Change and its impact) as 24% reduction in emission intensity of GDP against 2005 levels has been achieved in 2016 itself. India has emphasized that Climate Finance from developed countries as promised in the Paris agreement is integral to achieve this goal. Similarly, country’s pledge on land degradation neutrality and intense afforestation are helping the country move towards SDG 15(Sustainable use of terrestrial Ecosystems and prevention of Biodiversity Loss). The commitment of the country in implementing the Extended Producer responsibility in plastics and ratification of Basel Convention to monitor hazardous substances is a remarkable step in moving towards SDG12 for ensuring sustainable production and consumption patterns. The 2030 Agenda also underscored that quality, reliable and disaggregated data will be needed for measurement of progress and to ensure that “No One is Left Behind”. MoEF&CC is strengthening its data systems for realistic monitoring of progress on the sustainable development goals.


Climate Change


As a responsible member of the International community of nations, the Government will continue to engage in a meaningful way with deliberations in the International fora/ UN climate summit duly keeping in mind the national developmental goals and priorities through the various international meets and at present India is a president of UNCCD.


  • Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change took part in the 26th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP-26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Glasgow, United Kingdom for green net zero program The National Statement in the World Leaders Summit was delivered by the Hon’ble Prime Minister at COP-26, which the following mainly discussed and highlighted during the summit

    • India’s non-fossil energy capacity to reach 500 GW by 2030

    • India will meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements with renewable energy by 2030.

    • India will reduce its total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now to 2030.

    • India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45 per cent by 2030, over 2005 levels.

    • By 2070, India will achieve the target of net zero emissions.


  • The transfer of climate finance and low-cost climate technologies have become more important for implementation of climate actions by the developing countries. The ambitions on climate finance by developed countries cannot remain the same as they were at the time of Paris Agreement in 2015 and the Indian Delegation led by Hon’ble Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change attending the COP Summit through multilateral negotiations with major countries for adoption of greener norms in the global scenario.

  • The Glasgow Climate Conference adopted decisions, which inter-alia, include adoption of an overarching decision titled “Glasgow Climate Pact” that stresses the urgency of enhancing ambition and action in relation to mitigation, adaptation and finance in this critical decade to address the gaps in the implementation of the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Glasgow Climate Pact also noted with deep regret that the goal of developed country Parties to mobilize jointly USD 100 billion per year by 2020 has not yet been met. The COP 26 outcome also include completion of work related to rules, procedures, and guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement including that for cooperative approaches, mechanisms and non-market approaches referred to in Article 6, enhanced transparency framework, and common timeframes for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and it was discussed with Ministers and Representatives from United Kingdom, Scotland, South Korea, Australia, BASIC countries, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, France, Canada, Brazil, USA, UAE, Germany, Norway, Singapore, Jamaica, Sweden, and Japan. Hon’ble Minister also held meetings with the Ministers of Like Minded Developing Countries and also with representatives from United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and Green Climate Fund.

  • For strengthening impact, the Indian Delegation also participated in side events on the side-lines of COP 26 which include South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme, International Solar Alliance, CDRI, Leadership Group for Industry Transition and Namami Gange.


PARIVESH


In order to streamline the procedure for early grant of Clearances under this Ministry PARIVESH portal has been simplified for grant of Environmental Clearances which is now been reduced to 70 working days..


In pursuant to the spirit of ‘Digital India’ and capturing the essence of Minimum Government and Maximum Governance, a Single-Window Integrated Environmental Management System named PARIVESH (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive, Virtuous and Environmental Single Window Hub) has been developed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for complete online, expeditious and transparent system for environment, forest, wildlife and CRZ clearances in the country. The facility is operational for processing of applications for Environmental Clearances (ECs), Forest Clearances(FCs), Coastal Regulatory Zone Clearances (CRZ). Over the years, the existing system of ‘PARIVESH’ has undergone numerous modifications and customization in alignment with statutory provisions and requirements.


Ministry in recent times has automated various processes through PARIVESH such as development of online module in PARIVESH for dispensation for requirement of EC for expansion / modernization with no increase in pollution load, aligning the EIA Notification with MMDR Amendment Act 2021, Online generation of EC with unique identification number etc.


Due to the above initiatives along with other Policy reforms, the average time taken for grant of EC in all the sectors has reduced significantly from more than 150 days in 2019 to less than 90 days. In some of the sectors, the ECs are being granted even within 60 days also accordingly, ECs for 7787 projects was granted under EIA Notification in 2021.


Ministry has decided to upgrade the existing PARIVESH to provide a “single window” solution for administration of environmental regulations. Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) has been proposed to be set up in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. Upgraded PARIVESH will not only strengthen the clearance processes but also encourages ease of doing business in the country. Know Your Approval module with inbuilt decision rules in the envisaged system will guide the Users about the applicability of clearances to the proposed project activity. In addition, it will minimize repetitive efforts of the Users and the same time will ensure single version of the truth across all applicable clearances. Further, in the envisaged system redundancies in the process flow will be minimized to maximum extant.


DPR of the project proposal has been approved. Total time line for overall development of modules is 64 weeks, however modules for critical major clearance processes would be made live in 42 weeks from the date of on boarding of NIC’s system integrator.


Nagar Van Yojana:


Ministery is implementing Nagar Van Yojana and revised its guidelines in October 2021 with an aim at developing 400 Nagar Vans and 200 Nagar Vatikas with the objective to significantly enhance the tree outside forests and green cover in cities leading to better environment, enhancement of biodiversity and ecological benefits to the urban and peri-urban areas apart from improving quality of life of city dwellers. The scheme will be funded from the National Fund under CAMPA at a total cost of Rs. 895.00 crore during the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.


School Nursery Yojana: Ministry is implementing School Nursery Yojana with an aim to associate students in the process of raising plantations as part of their learning and by providing an environment for the students to understand and appreciate the significance of plants in maintaining and sustaining the natural ecosystem. The scheme ‘School Nursery Yojana’ is proposed to be implemented for the period of five years..


Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)


The “National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority” (National Authority) came into existence in place of the Ad-hoc CAMPA with effect from 30.09.2018; the day the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016 and CAF Rules, 2018 came into force. Hon’ble Minister, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India is the chairperson of the Governing Body of the National Authority. The National Authority manages and utilises the “National Compensatory Afforestation Fund” (National Fund), which has been created under the public account of India. The other fund at the State/UT level is known as “State Compensatory Afforestation Fund” under the public accounts of respective States/UTs. CAF collected against approvals under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 is distributed in the ratio of 90:10 between the concerned State Fund and National Fund and are made available to the National Authority and respective State Authorities through budgetary process. Until 07.10.2021 funds amounting to Rs 6,63,63.12 crore was transferred from state specific bank accounts maintained at New Delhi to the public Account of India and Rs. 48,606.39 crore was disbursed from the National Fund to 32 States, who have created their public accounts and completed reconciliation.  Until now, twenty-eight schemes amounting to Rs 1329.78 crore has been approved from the National Fund. Similarly, Annual Plans of Operation (APOs) of 31 States/UTs worth Rs 9,926.48 crore have been approved from the respective State Fund during current financial year. The activities included in the APOs are mostly related to forestry and wildlife management.  At national level, achievement of compensatory afforestation (CA) in 9,06,583 Ha against the target of 10,63,031 ha is major achievements of CAMPA. The average survival percentage of CA has been reported to be 73 percent.


Wildlife


The project Dolphin and the project lion have been initiated and the associated environmental impact of this are also strengthen at the major sanctuary and forest areas for cleaner Environmental Protection of endangered species.


  • The Protected Area coverage in the country has been steadily increasing. The coverage of Protected Areas which was 4.90% of country’s geographical area in 2014 has now increased to 5.03%. This includes an increase in Protected Areas in the country from 740 with area of 1,61,081.62 sq.kms. in 2014 to present 981 with an area of 1,71,921 sq.kms.

  • Population of several species like Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Greater one Horned Rhinoceros, Asian elephants, etc. increased. Wildlife health is being addressed to aggressively monitor zoonotic diseases.

  • India has taken a leadership role in conservation of migratory birds along the Central Asian Flyway and had organized a two day workshop  in October 2021, with  Central Asian Flyway (CAF) Range countries on conservation of migratory birds along the Central Asian Flyway.

  • The Ministry has released ‘Guidelines for sustainable ecotourism in forest and wildlife areas-2021 in October 2021. These guidelines emphasise on participation of local community in ecotourism activities.


Biodiversity Conservation


India enacted the Biological Diversity (BD) Act in 2002, and notified the Rules in 2004, through an extensive consultative process initiated in 1994. India was one of the first few countries to have enacted such a comprehensive legislation on biodiversity.


The Act is implemented through a three-tier institutional mechanism, at national, state and local levels: The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the national level set up by the Government of India, State Biodiversity Boards set up by the State Governments at the State level, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) constituted by the elected bodies at the local level.


The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will hold its second part of the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in Kunming, China in 2022 in which delegates will come together to adopt a “Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework”. The vision for proposed framework is that “By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people. 2021 is viewed as a decisive year on biodiversity action. India joined High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People which calls for protecting at least 30 percent of world’s land and ocean by 2030 where India has already reported about 27% of area as conserved under Aichi Target 11 to CBD.


The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 is being introduced to simplify, streamline and reduce compliance burden in order to encourage conducive environment for collaborative research and investments, simplify patent application process, widen the scope of levying access and benefit sharing with local communities and for further conservation of biological resources, without compromising the objectives of United Nation Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol and also national interests.’


National Biodiversity Authority


National Biodiversity Authority, a statutory body of the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change established to implement the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 has ensured that 28 State Biodiversity Boards, 8 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils and 2,76,156 Biodiversity Management Committees have been constituted in all local bodies to implement the provisions of the Act. NBA has accorded approvals for over 3000 applications to access biological resources and traditional knowledge for undertaking research, commercial utilization and patents. The BD Act envisages its implementation through consultation with local communities living in forest and rural areas. India is a leading country in issuing Internationally Recognized Certificate of Compliance (IRCC) which recognizes stakeholders for legally accessing biological resources. Till date, out of the 3297 IRCCs issued globally, 2339 IRCCs have been issued by India. Besides, 22 Biodiversity Heritage Sites have been notified by 12 State Governments and 159 plants and 175 animals have been notified as threatened species in 18 states and 2 Union Territories. Seventeen institutions of national importance have been recognized as national Repositories for preserving voucher specimens of biodiversity


Wetland


  • The number of Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International Importance) in India have increased to 47 covering an area of 10,90,230 hectares which include 21 new sites designated during 2019-2021. India has the largest number of Ramsar sites in South Asia.  A dedicated web portal for wetlands has been developed and was launched on 2nd October, 2021 (Gandhi Jayanti). The portal indianwetlands.in is a publicly available information and knowledge platform to facilitate knowledge sharing, information dissemination, host capacity building material, and provide a single-point access data repository.

  • Health cards prepared for 500 wetlands under the four pronged approach for conservation of wetlands.


Vienna Convention, Montreal Protocol to Protection of Ozone


The Ozone Cell of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the national ozone unit for implementation of the Montreal Protocol in India and phase out of substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol.


After successfully phasing out chlorofluorocarbons, carbon tetrachloride, halons, methyl bromide and methyl chloroform for controlled uses, India is now phasing out hydrochlorofluorocarbons as per the accelerated phase out schedule of the Montreal Protocol


The Government of India ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down Hydrofluorocarbons on 27 September 2021 after approval by the Union Cabinet. Hydrofluorocarbons are used in air conditioners, refrigerators, aerosols, foams and other products, which even though do not deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, they have high global warming potential ranging from 12 to 14,000. As per the Kigali Amendment, to the Montreal Protocol, India will complete its phase down of Hydrofluorocarbons in 4 steps from 2032 onwards with cumulative reduction of 85% of production and consumption of HFCs by 2047. In line with the Cabinet decision, National Strategy in consultation with all the stakeholders will be developed by 2023 and funding for preparing the strategy has been secured from the Multilateral Fund


The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has developed and launched the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) during March 2019, to provide an integrated vision towards cooling across sectors encompassing inter alia reducing cooling demand, refrigerant transition, enhancing energy efficiency and better technology options with a 20-year time horizon. Space cooling in buildings being the most important and can significantly contribute to achieving the goals in the ICAP, has been prioritized for implementation of the recommendations given in the ICAP. Action points for implementation of the recommendations for Space Cooling in Buildings was finalized and launched on the World Ozone Day held on 16th September 2021 and widely disseminated


Following studies were completed as part of non-investment component of HCFC phase out Management Plan Stage-II (HPMP Stage-II)


a) Application of non-ODS and low GWP alternatives in Cold Chain Sector in India


b) Public Procurement Policies for Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Equipment Using Non-ODS based refrigerants


c) Good servicing practices and Energy efficiency in RAC sector


The above studies were published and launched on 16 September 2021 on the World Ozone Day and were widely disseminated


Preparation of Stage-III of HPMP has been initiated, to the implemented from 2023-2030, after securing funding from the Multilateral Fund for preparation of project proposal.


National Clean Air Program


Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is implementing National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for reducing levels of air pollution in non-attainment cities (NACs) of the country since January 2019. NCAP is implemented in targeted 132 cities.


A Commission on Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) has been constituted by enactment of an Act by Parliament for better coordination, research, identification and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality index and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.


Avoiding Use of Single Use Plastics and Efficient and Effective Management of Plastic Waste.


  • To enhance the efficacy implementation of PWMR, the Ministry has notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 on 12th August 2021 which also prohibits identified single use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential, by 2022.

  • As per the notification, the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of 12 identified single-use plastic items including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities shall be prohibited with effect from the 1st of July, 2022.

  • The thickness of plastic carry bags has been increased from fifty microns to seventy-five microns with effect from 30th September, 2021, and to one hundred and twenty microns with effect from the 31st December, 2022.

  • The Ministry has organized “Awareness Campaign on Single Use Plastic – 2021”.

  • The States/UTs have been requested to constitute a Special Task Force under Chairpersonship of Chief Secretary/Administrator for elimination of single use plastics and effective implementation of Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. 31 Task Forces have been formed.

  • The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the draft Regulations on the Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic packaging under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, as amended from time to time on 6th October 2021 for public consultation.


Combating the Land Degradation, Desertification and Drought:


  • India committed to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality and restoration of 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, which includes 21 million hectares of Bonn Challenge and additional commitment of 5 million hectares as voluntary commitment. India presently holds the Presidency of UNCCD COP for 2 years till April 2022.

  • Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi graced the High level Dialogue on desertification, land degradation and drought of United Nations General Assembly, held on 14th June 2021 highlighting the initiatives taken by India on combating Land Degradation.


Integrated Coastal Zone Management


Blue Economy is one of the thrust area of the Government for sustainable development of coastal resources. The development will in due consideration of Conservation & protection of coastal and marine resources, Pollution abatement measures, Management of coastal and Marine ecosystem, Livelihood enhancement with security of coastal community, Capacity building and will also comprehend Sustainable development goals.


10 beaches in 7 States and One Union Territory, have been developed at par with international Standards and has been conferred with prestigious Blue Flag certification for its environmentally sound management and ecological sustainable infrastructures with adequate safety measures. This has resulted in better waste management, maintaining bathing water quality, self-sustaining solar energy-based infrastructure, containing marine littering, enhancing local level livelihood options and increased tourist based economy.


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Hong Kong – Process Review Panel for the Insurance Authority publishes 2021 Annual Report

Oct 22, 2021 | International

Process Review Panel for the Insurance Authority publishes 2021 Annual Report

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     The Process Review Panel for the Insurance Authority (PRP) published its 2021 Annual Report today (October 22), covering the work of the PRP in its inaugural term.

     The PRP Chairman, Mr Eugene Fung, SC, said, “The PRP selected and reviewed 30 cases, which straddled various regulatory functions of the Insurance Authority (IA), including complaint handling, authorisation of insurers, licensing of intermediaries and exercise of statutory power. The PRP made a number of observations and recommendations to the IA for its consideration, which would be conducive to the IA’s enhancement of procedures and guidelines.”

     He added, “I am pleased to learn that the IA has made a positive response to the PRP’s recommendations. I believe this report marks a good starting point for the PRP in its journey to assist the IA in exercising its regulatory power in a fair and consistent manner.”

     The 2021 Annual Report has been uploaded to the website of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau at www.fstb.gov.hk/fsb/en/business/prp/doc/ia_prp_report21_e.pdf.

     The PRP welcomes views of the public and market participants on the PRP’s work. The comments can be referred to the PRP via email at prpia@fstb.gov.hk.

Hong Kong – Review on kindergarten education scheme completed

Aug 26, 2021 | International

Review on kindergarten education scheme completed

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     The Education Bureau (EDB) announced today (August 25) that the review on the kindergarten education scheme (Scheme) had been completed.
      
     The EDB commenced a review on the implementation of the Scheme in mid-2019, including the funding modes under the Scheme, teacher professionalism (including manpower, salary and professional development), monitoring and quality assurance, school premises and facilities, curriculum development and students’ learning, parent education, etc in the three years from the implementation of the Scheme in the 2017/18 school year up to 2019/20 school year.
      
     In this connection, the EDB conducted more than 60 consultation sessions with the representatives of different stakeholders, including school sponsoring bodies, kindergarten (KG) principals, KG associations, teacher organisations, relevant non-governmental organisations, as well as parents and KG teachers.
      
     A spokesman for the EDB stressed, “The KG sector is characterised by flexibility and diversity and it can promptly respond to social changes and parents’ needs. The policy objectives of the Scheme are to provide good quality and highly affordable KG education, and enhance the accessibility of students to different modes of services that suit their specific needs. Since implementation of the Scheme in the 2017/18 school year, 97 per cent of the eligible KGs have joined the Scheme. Among these Scheme-KGs, around 90 per cent of the half-day programmes are free of charge; as for whole-day (WD) programmes, with additional subsidy from the Government, the school fees for WD programmes are maintained at a low level. Initiatives under the Scheme for enhancing the quality of the KG education have been rolled out progressively and the operation of KGs is smooth in general. The Scheme is well supported by the sector and parents. On the whole, the above-mentioned policy objectives have been achieved.”
      
     The spokesman said, “There were only two years or so from the implementation of the Scheme to the commencement of the consultation in mid-2019. The review does not aim at making fundamental changes or changes in principle. The objective of the review is to understand the implementation of the Scheme so as to explore refinements on the implementation details as necessary.”
      
     In fact, since the implementation of the Scheme, the EDB has continuously kept in view KGs’ needs to enhance the existing grants or provide additional grants to timely respond to the concerns of the KG sector, such as several rounds of additional grants to support KGs in view of the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. We have also implemented the Gift Book Scheme and Do It Yourself Handicraft and Home Learning Package Scheme to support students learning at home. Besides, during the review, the EDB proactively engaged with the sector and promptly provided enhanced support measures when immediate improvement was found necessary, for example Relocation Grant, Renovation Grant and Website Enhancement Grant, etc were provided in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 school years.
      
     The spokesman said, “During the process of the review, the KG sector generally considered that the specific features of flexibility and diversity should be maintained, and flexibility in KGs’ operation should be maintained so as to promptly respond to social changes and parents’ needs. Regarding teachers’ salary arrangements, different options had been discussed with stakeholders in details. The arrangement of a mandatory salary scale for KG teachers pegged with Government subsidies would mean similar practices as for aided primary and secondary schools. However, this arrangement is tied with several inter-connected components, including the EDB’s annual approval for the number of operating classes and the staff establishment. Currently, KGs are making use of the flexibility under the Scheme to deploy resources to employ additional teachers and around 1 000 additional teachers are employed. Should a mandatory teacher salary scale be introduced and the number of operating classes and staff establishment be approved by the EDB, these teachers will become redundant teachers. With decline in enrollment, the problem of teacher redundancy will become more serious. Moreover, to ensure the optimal use of public resources, when admitting students in the middle of a school term, KGs will be required to fill the vacant school places. This would affect KGs’ flexibility in admission and choices for parents will also be reduced. In conclusion, as KGs’ mode of operation is greatly different from that of primary and secondary schools, adopting mandatory salary scale for KG teachers in isolation is not feasible.”

     The spokesman said, “Under the premise of maintaining KGs’ flexibility and diversity, as well as promptly responding to social changes and parents’ needs, the EDB will maintain the existing arrangement of providing salary ranges for teachers so that KGs can flexibly determine the teacher salaries according to their working experience, performance, additional duties, qualifications, training, special skills possessed, etc to cater for their school situation. 

     The EDB will support the sustainable development of KGs in various aspects and major new measures ahead are as follows:

(a)     Enhancing teachers’ professional development, which includes:

(i) providing structured learning programmes of a longer duration (e.g. lasting for several weeks) for experienced teachers, senior teachers or those with an aspiration for senior posts from the 2021/22 school year onwards, for in-depth study on various education issues; and providing subsidies for supply teachers in this regard;

(ii) providing a one-off grant for Scheme-KGs in the 2021/22 school year to implement school-based projects to facilitate the professional development of teachers or sustainable development of the school. Successful applicants will receive a subsidy from $100,000 to $200,000;

(b)     Streamlining administrative work, which includes:

(i) exploring the feasibility of expanding the coverage of the simplified procedures under fee revision to KGs proposing fee increase not exceeding a specified percentage;

(ii) streamlining the procedures in school allocation exercises, with KGs’ overall operating standard and needs of KGs as the key considerations so as to encourage more KGs to apply for relocation;

(c)     Assisting KGs in improving the school environment, which includes:

(i) extending the Relocation Grant ($1.5M for each KG) to the 2022/23 school year, encouraging KGs in districts with aged population, with old school premises or in premises at high rental cost to relocate;

(ii) providing additional 200 quotas under the Renovation Grant ($0.5 million for each KG) in the 2021/22 school year;

(iii) extending the grace period for transition from rent reimbursement scheme to “dual” caps under the new Scheme for two more years, i.e. 2021/22 and 2022/23 school years. During these two years, the amount of subsidy will be decreased by 15 per cent year on year to facilitate schools’ gradual transition;

(d)     Providing an additional one-off subsidy of $50,000 to $60,000 to KGs to kick start structured parent education programmes in the 2021/22 school year;

(e)     Seeking funding approval to uplift the fee remission ceiling under the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme from the 75th percentile to the 100th percentile of the school fees charged by existing Scheme-KGs, so that all parents receiving full fee remission do not need to pay the difference.
 
     The review report on kindergarten education scheme will be uploaded onto the EDB website in due course and it will be reported to the Panel on Education of the Legislative Council on September 3.

ECI holds a review meeting with CEOs of five states

Jul 29, 2021 | Business

The Election Commission of India held a review meeting on advance planning for forthcoming elections with the Chief Electoral Officers of the five states namely Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, today at Nirvachan Sadan.

The preliminary meetingheld was focussed on various thematic issues including Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) at the polling stations, ease of registration arrangements for voter facilitation, electoral roll, timely resolution of grievances, arrangements of EVMs/VVPATs, postal ballot facility for senior citizens (80+) and PwDs,COVID Mitigation plan, training of polling staff and extensive voter outreach amongst others.

Chief Election Commissioner Shri Sushil Chandra in his address said that transparency and impartiality are the hallmark of the election process. He added that issues & challenges may be different in each state, but election planning needs to have a voter-centric approach and participative decision making involving all stakeholders.

During his address, CEC Shri Sushil Chandra stressedon the significance of the purity of the electoral roll and asked the CEOs forexpeditious redressal of all pending applications with regard to voter registration.He also emphasized on the need for rationalization of polling stations keeping in view the COVID 19 pandemic and reiterated the need to have basic facilities& infrastructure in all polling stations. Adding further, Shri Chandra mentioned that all logistical challenges in implementation of postal ballot facility to senior citizens (80+) and persons with disabilities need to be identified & resolved for its smooth & transparent implementation during the elections.

CEC Shri Sushil Chandra while interacting with the CEOs said that states should learn and adopt innovations and best practices in election management from the poll gone states or other States/UTs.

Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey while interacting with the CEOs emphasized that periodic & comprehensive monitoring on each aspect of election should be done by all the poll going CEOs. He highlighted the need to activate the ground level election machinery in the five states to start the preparations for the forthcoming elections. He mentioned that CEOs should focus on filling up infrastructure gaps & logistics requirement, updation & purification of electoral rolls and an extensive voter education &empowerment outreach program.

Secretary General Shri Umesh Sinha in his welcome address said that election planning iscritical for election management and every election needs comprehensive and timely preparation.He added that this pre-planning meeting was organized for the states to seek the guidance of the commission in ensuring proper arrangements and further preparations for the upcoming elections in the five states.

The Chief Electoral Officers from the five states gave a detailed presentation on various aspect of conduct of election including health of electoral roll, availability of budget, manpower resources, SVEEP, planning, polling station arrangements and IT applications, etc. The meeting was also attended by all Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, Deputy Election Commissioner’s & other senior officials from the Election Commission of India.

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Review of the 7th edition of Women In Motion at the 74th Festival de Cannes

Jul 21, 2021 | Business

Yamina Benguigui, Lou Doillon, Jodie Turner-Smith, Tilda Swinton and Regina King shared their experiences and views of women’s representation in the film industry during a fascinating set of conversations. A new series of podcasts recorded in the Women In Motion studio with leading women in cinema will be available soon. The Women In Motion award was presented to the campaigning actress, producer and director Salma Hayek, while the Young Talent Award was given to Australian director Shannon Murphy

THE TALKS

Nearly 200 people from the film and media world attended the new season, which began with a Talk with Yamina Benguigui, who spoke about sisterhood in particular. “What I also mean by this word is solidarity, whatever continent you live on. We know instinctively that women’s rights are never really achieved, ever. As soon as the extremes start to rise, in the West, in Africa, women are always the first to suffer. That’s why this is so important. It’s female solidarity.” 

She also discussed the role that cinema played in her own emancipation. “Films taught me that I could be an individual in my own right, that my life wouldn’t be one of submission, that at any given time, I wouldn’t belong to my father, then to a husband, and then to the cemetery. It was an escape. Cinema is everything to me.” The director has also made film a driver of change. “A man in my situation would have made 10 films already. How can we make things change? That’s my battle. And I’m fighting it with movies, they’re better than words. It’s our duty to continue these battles through films.”

The following day, multidisciplinary artist Lou Doillon discussed the various female role models she used for her own creative instincts. “In literature, I started with Dorothy Parker, in art, it was Louise Bourgeois, Sophie Calle, and in music it was Nina Simone, PJ Harvey, Garbage… I have a pantheon of these women. More recently, in the last three or four years, I’ve mainly been reading books by women writers, but it hasn’t been a conscious decision. I just feel a need for them. There are questions being asked: the question of our choices, the complicated question of physiological motherhood and artistic motherhood. There are so many women who have talked about this really well.”

She also talked about the changes underway: “There’s something very exciting happening today with this young generation of women, they are able to move forward together, with all their differences. Between our great-grandmothers, our mothers, and our daughters, isn’t it amazing. My son has the kind of attitude that my father never had.”

Another topic was the amount of freedom that women allow themselves. “It makes me laugh when I hear people say ‘If you have equality, there will be a lot of women who aren’t perfect.’ But can’t we say the same thing about men…? I’ve tried to show just how much my strength comes from my imperfections. It’s great to ask yourself questions, but you have to allow yourself not to have the answers. You have to give yourself the right to be imperfect – which those on the other side have always allowed themselves – the right to change, and to get things completely wrong.”

British actress Jodie Turner-Smith focused on the many steps that still need to be taken to achieve true diversity in the world of film. “Studios, the business, the industry, everybody has to understand that being an ally is going to cost money. You have to put your money behind it. The words will not suffice. When you make casting choices, when you hire actors of color, you have to hire people who know how to do their make-up, who know how to do their hair, who know how to light them properly… It’s going to take time for people to see the world in a different way.”

She then broadened her point to include the need for gender equality and the representation of minorities in film directing. “I want to make my life about not only just working with incredible directors, but working with women, working with women of color, using the opportunities that I have to give opportunities to people that are being kept out or who are not being given the level of respect that they deserve, when they are extremely talented… and are then not supported by the studio. I have already directed something: a short film, last year, called Jackie. You can watch it on YouTube. I wrote it, I directed it, I costume-designed it, I directed it… it made me feel like ‘OK, here is another path I really want to explore.’”

She concluded by talking about freedom and the need for people to feel good about themselves. “I want my daughter to feel that she can speak her voice, and that she can be fully present in that space and not apologize for her existence. My hope … is that this is something that I live by example, that she grows up seeing and is modeled to her. If I could talk to a six-year-old version of myself, I would say to her: ‘Don’t be afraid to take up space.’ And I would say to her: ‘Your complexion is beautiful. You might not know it now, but you will.’” 
Iconic actress Tilda Swinton discussed her work and women’s representation in the film industry. “There have always been women filmmakers and there always will be. In fact, from all the way back from the  beginning of cinema, there have always been women screenwriters, there have always been women directors, across the globe, and very empowered. When people are encouraging themselves to feel anxious about a lack of women in filmmaking, they are maybe only looking at the names on a roster of directors at a film festival. They are maybe forgetting that all these films… are suffused with the sensibility of women filmmakers. We just need to have confidence and keep amplifying, but with the authority of knowing that women do make films.”

She also raised the issue of equal pay in the industry. “When working in what used to be called independent film, but actually was underground film, I don’t remember being paid for the first nine years of my life… we were working as artists. I’ve read the stories of women who have become aware that they have ‘carried the can’ equally or maybe even more, with a heavier can, and yet their male counterparts have been paid more. And it’s laughable that in this day and age that should still be happening.” 
The seventh edition of Women In Motion Talks ended with a conversation with American actress, director and producer Regina King, who looked back at her career and how she came to directing. “I think that I was probably preparing myself all the while, as an actor, because I would really be paying attention to things that do not pertain to the actor. I would find myself asking myself questions that had nothing to do with the character… it just kind of felt like there was a moment when I decided to start saying out loud that I wanted to be director. I think I was scared to say it before, but I kind of felt it. And that maybe happened sometime around 2000. John Wells was super-supportive. My advice would definitely start with “Don’t let your fear silence you.” And I would say, “Ask questions and listen to the answers.” My acting experience helps me in so many ways, because I feel like understand how vulnerable you feel as an actor.”

Another key topic was women’s representation in the film industry. “Sure, things have changed. But we still have a long way to go, especially when you look at, just recently, with Emmy nominations and the percentage of women being recognized dropped from last year. The conversations have to continue, we have to keep shining a light on the fact that things aren’t reflective of what the rest of the world looks like, especially in America where that is ‘our export’ to the world. So, we have to continue to want to see stories told from different perspectives. I still think that parity does not exist, even as an actor. And with a lot of women that are doing the same amount of work, we are also mothers, so we’re kind of doing more work when we get home. I try to, as often as possible, focus on what is right and one of those things is the strength I see young girls having now. I didn’t have the moxie that I see when I am talking to nine-year-olds, and I feel very proud to be part of a generation that I think kind of helped shift things. It’s really a joy to watch.”

THE PODCASTS

The seventh edition of Women In Motion also saw Kering add to its collection of podcasts produced by journalist, Géraldine Sarratia. Recorded at the Women In Motion studio during the Festival, the new series gave key women in the film industry a chance to talk about their work, which in many cases is not widely known. The podcasts featured Caroline Bonmarchand, a César-winning producer (at Cannes for Petite nature), Caroline Champetier, a director of photography (at Cannes for Annette), Uèle Lamore, an orchestra leader and composer (at Cannes for Marcher sur l’eau by Aïssa Maïga), Katia Wyszkop, a chief set designer (at Cannes for Benedetta) and Léa Mysius, a director and screenwriter (at Cannes for Olympiades).

THE AWARDS CEREMONY

In the presence of the festival jury, François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kering, Pierre Lescure, President of the Festival de Cannes and Thierry Frémaux, Director of the Festival de Cannes, gave the 2021 Young Talent Award to Australian director Shannon Murphy, following her acclaimed first film, Milla. In keeping with the tradition of the award, she had been chosen by her predecessor, Maura Delpero, whose presence enabled Kering and the Festival organizers to officially present her with the Young Talent Award for 2020.

They then presented the 2021 Women In Motion Award, kept secret until the last moment, to the campaigning actress, producer and director, Salma Hayek.

Among the actresses and actors attending were Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tahar Rahim, Jodie Turner-Smith, Benoît Magimel, Noomi Rapace, Nicolas Maury, Mélanie Thierry, Song Kang-ho, Li Meng, Déborah François, Melissa George, Clotilde Courau, Anaïs Demoustier, Elsa Zylberstein and Anne Parillaud, along with the cast of Supremes, Théo Christine, Sandor Funtek and César Chouraqui.

Kering and the Festival de Cannes also had the pleasure of welcoming female and male film directors Spike Lee, Catherine Corsini, Shlomi Elkabetz, Eva Husson, Andrea Arnold, Kleber Mendoça Filho, Yamina Benguigui, Jessica Hausner, Audrey Estrougo, Danielle Arbid, Mounia Meddour, Daniel Burman, Julia Ducournau and Michael Angelo Covino. Women and men from other areas of the film industry were also present, including Tonya Lewis Lee, Anne-Dominique Toussaint, Elisha and Nathanaël Karmitz, Melita Toscan Du Plantier, Sidonie Dumas, Véronique Cayla and Nicolas Seydoux.

Artists JR and Prune Nourry, along with multidisciplinary artist Lou Doillon, France’s former Minister of Culture, Fleur Pellerin, journalists Mademoiselle Agnès and Augustin Trapenard, and model Nour Arida also attended the event.

About Women In Motion

Kering’s commitment to women is at the heart of the Group’s priorities, and through Women In Motion extends to the field of art and culture, where gender inequalities are still flagrant even though creation is one of the most powerful vectors for change. 
In 2015, Kering launched Women In Motion at the Festival de Cannes with the aim of shining a light on women in cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. Since then, the program has been expanded to include the fields of photography, art, literature, and music. Through its awards, the program recognizes both inspirational figures and talented young women, while its Talks provide an opportunity for leading personalities to share their views on the representation of women in their profession. 
For the past seven years, Women In Motion has been a platform of choice for helping to change mindsets and reflect on women’s place and recognition across artistic fields.

About Kering

A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods, Jewelry and Watches: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux, as well as Kering Eyewear. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Houses to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow’s Luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. We capture these beliefs in our signature: “Empowering Imagination”.

Pictures: Vittorio Zunino Celotto & Anthony Ghnassia

For more informations

Please visit the Women In Motion press section on kering.com