National Integration Day is celebrated on 19th November to mark the birth anniversary of late Mrs Indira Gandhi, the 1st woman Prime Minister of India. On this occasion Union Ministry of Water Resources has decided to celebrate “Water Conservation Day" on 19th November 2012 to create awareness regarding concern about depleting water resources & its vision for the water underlining the Ministry’s commitment to be an active contributor to the sustainability of this very important natural resource. Field offices of various organizations under the administrative control of the Ministry have been advised to hold discussions, seminars related to water conservation to spread the message. Ministry of Water Resources as well as its organisations will organise a variety of mass awareness programmes for different stake holder. At national level, a function is being organized by Ministry of Water Resources at CSMRS auditorium, New Delhi at 1 P.M. on 19th November 2012. Union Minister of Water Resources Shri Harish Rawat would chair the inaugural function and Shri Rajendra Singh, the Raman Magasaysay Winner 2001 also known as the Waterman would be the guest of honour. Secretary (Water Resources), Chairman (CWC) and other dignitaries would address the gathering. In the function an event representing amalgamation & integration of the water of rivers across India would also be held. Inauguration function would be followed by technical presentations on Water Conservation by Central Water Commission, Central ground Water Board and Delhi Jal Board officers on water conservation. Also, there would be a play by children on Water Conservation and the representatives of various stake holders, NGOs, RWAs etc., would present their views on how they are or can contribute in water conservation. It is expected that various stakeholders in water sector, NGOs, VOs, students group’s, RWA and community leaders would participate in the function apart from various scientific and technical officers and staff of various organizations of MoWR.
Minister for Information & Broadcasting Shri Manish Tewari has said that the changing paradigm in the media space has taken place due to the technological innovations in the media domain. Both the regulatory framework and human ingenuity have not kept pace with the technological innovations. I the current scenario, self regulation was the best way forward with the participation and partnership of key stakeholders. The Minister stated this while delivering his address at the commemoration of the National Press Day organized by Press Council of India. Elaborating further, the Minister said, that in view of the challenges that had emerged, there was need for constant introspection so that the self regulation process could be taken forward. The Constitution of India under Article 19 provides for the freedom of speech and expression, from where the media drew its strength. The Press Council of India has instituted National Awards to honour journalists excelling in print journalism in various fields were given during the occasion. These awards were given today to encourage the media to pursue its duties following the dictum of ‘freedom with responsibility’. There is one main Award in honour of one of the greatest reformer journalists of the country, ‘Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Award for Excellence in Journalism’ and carries a cash award of Rupees One Lakh, a plaque and a citation. Other awards are in the fields of Rural Journalism, Developmental Reporting, Women Empowerment, Indian Language Reporting, Photo-Journalism etc., carry Rupees fifty thousand each, a plaque and a citation. This year’s awardees include Damayanti Datta, Priyanka Dubey, R. Samban, Rajesh Parshuram Joshte, Razia Begum, Biplab Banerjee, Lattur Rathinam Shankar, Partha Paul, Kamal Kishore, Sanjoy Ghosh, Zishaan Akbar Latif and Hasan Kamaal.
Shri Manish Tewari took charge of his new assignment as Minister of Information & Broadcasting here today. Speaking to media persons, after assuming charge, Shri Tewari said that he would take forward the comprehensive policies of the UPA Government taken recently in the Films, Information and Broadcasting Sectors. The Minister reiterated that all efforts would be taken to highlight the policies and programmes of the Central Government. Regarding the key priority areas, the Minister said that he would like to express his views only after he had a comprehensive briefing. Regarding the Digitization process, the Minister said that the Ministry had put in place a roadmap for achieving the target of switching over from analogue to digital. The Ministry had taken painstaking efforts to involve the key stakeholders associated with the digitization initiative. The Minister further mentioned that he was confident that the targets would be met by the deadline stipulated. Later, the Minister was briefed on the key initiatives, mandate and policy framework of the Ministry by Secretary (I&B) and other Senior Officials.
