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PM Modi to begin Central Asia tour today, meeting with Nawaz Sharif on cards in Russia

July 6, 2015

New Delhi, Jul 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for an eight-day official visit to five Central Asian countries and Russia, starting from Uzbekistan on Monday.

PM ModiThe tour will further take PM Modi to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and to Ufa in Russia where he will attend the BRICS and SCO back-to-back summits.

Furthermore, according to news channels, on the sidelines of SCO summit in Russia this week, PM Modi will meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is soon expected to make an official announcement about the same. This would be the first formal meeting between the leaders of both the South-Asian countries after May, 2014, when PM Modi had invited leaders of all SAARC nations to attend his swearing-in ceremony.

Last week, Pakistan had also indicated about a possible meeting between PM Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the annual SCO summit in Russia, saying such meetings in a multilateral setting are a "normal feature".

The development comes days after PM Modi had called Sharif at the start of the holy month of Ramzan, saying that he wanted good relations with Pakistan.

In November 2014, PM Modi and Nawaz Sharif last met at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu, though they did not hold any formal talks.

Meanwhile, with focus on enhancing strategic, economic and energy ties, on July 7 and 8, PM Modi will be in Kazakhstan, India`s largest trading partner in Central Asia. He will meet President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Miniter Karim Massimov.

Notably, Narendra Modi will he the first Indian Prime Minister in recent times to visit all five Central Asian countries at one go.

India will seek to boost energy cooperation and trade with the five nations, which were part of the erstwhile Soviet Union.

In Ufa, the summit of the five BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- comes as the board of governors of the BRICS bank, called the New Development Bank, holds its first meet in on Tuesday. The bank`s president is India`s MV Kamath.

Writing about the visit on his Facebook page, PM Modi said his first stop will be Uzbekistan, where he will hold talks with President Islam Karimov and both sides would ink key agreements to strengthen cooperation.

PM further said he would be interacting with Indologists, students learning Hindi and members of the Indian community.

"It was in Tashkent that we lost one of our most popular and respected leaders, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri ji, who ignited our nation with the clarion call of `Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan`. I will be paying my tributes to this proud son of India during the visit," Modi said.

In Kazakhstan, Modi said he will hold talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Prime Minister Karim Massimov.

"There will be delegation level talks with President Nazarbayev followed by the signing of documents and a joint press statement," he said.

PM Modi said he looks forward to interacting with the youth of Kazakhstan at the Nazarbayev University.

He will also inaugurate the India-Kazakhstan Centre for Excellence in Information and Communication Technology at the LN Gumilev Eurasian National University and also join a wreath-laying ceremony and planting of sapling at the Monument of Defenders of Motherland.

PM Narendra Modi will then visit Ufa for the 7th BRICS Summit and SCO Summit.

PM Modi added that he will be meeting the leaders - Brazil`s President Dilma Rousseff, China`s Xi Jinping, Russia`s Vladimir Putin and South Africa`s Jacob Zuma - individually too at the Ufa and also meet business leaders.

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, India is an observer but is hoping to be included as a permanent member.

He flies to Turkmenistan on July 11 -- in the first visit by an Indian prime minister after PV Narasimha Rao in 1995.

Modi also said he will hold talks with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, which would be followed by signing of agreements and a meeting with the press.

He will also inaugurate a statue of Mahatma Gandhi and a Traditional Medicine and Yoga Centre and also lay wreath at the mausoleum of the first president.

His next visit on July 12 would be to Kyrgyzstan, in the first prime ministerial visit in the last 20 years.

PM Modi would also hold talks with President Almazbek Atambaye and meet Prime Minister Semir Tariyev and Speaker of the Parliament Asylbek Jeenbekov.

India is gifting medical equipment to Kyrgyz Field Hospital.

Modi will also inaugurate tele-medicine links, which shall promote medical tourism from Kyrgyzstan to India. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi will also be unveiled.

On Tajikistan, his last stop, Modi said the last prime ministerial visit from India was by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in November 2003.

He said India and Tajikistan have a strategic partnership and very strong defence cooperation, but economic cooperation has been limited and the scope of growth was immense. Bilateral trade has huge potential.

A statue of Rabindranath Tagore will also be unveiled in Dushanbe.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: About 56 per cent of children were found to have no access to smartphones which have emerged as essential tools for online learning during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, according to a new study that surveyed 42,831 students at various school levels.

The study ''Scenario amidst COVID 19 - Onground Situations and Possible Solutions'' was conducted by child rights NGO Smile Foundation with an aim of analysing the access to technology.

The findings of the study showed that 43.99 per cent of surveyed children have access to smartphones and another 43.99 per cent of students have access to basic phones while 12.02 per cent do not have access to either smartphones or basic phones.

A total of 56.01 per cent children were found to have no access to smartphones, the study said.

"Concerning television, it was noted that while 68.99 per cent have access to TV, a major chunk of 31.01 per cent does not. Hence suggesting that using smartphone interventions for enhancing learning outcomes is not the only solution," it said.

At the primary level of education (class 1 to 5) 19,576 children were surveyed while at upper primary level (class 6 to 8) 12,277 children were surveyed. At secondary level of education (class 9 to 10) 5,537 children were surveyed and at higher secondary level (class 11 to 12) 3,216 children were surveyed.

The survey based on which the study was conducted used two approaches - over the telephone wherein the NGO reached out to the children whose database it already had -- students enrolled in various education centres of the NGO -- and second was through community mobilization wherein community workers went door to door to get answers.

The survey was conducted in 23 states, including Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, over a period of 12 days from April 16 to April 28.

The lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in March prompted schools and colleges to move to the virtual world for teaching and learning activities. However, many experts say the digital divide in the country may turn online classes into an operational nightmare.

As per official statistics, there are over 35 crore students in the country. However, it is not clear as to how many of them have access to digital devices and Internet.

Santanu Mishra, co-founder and executive trustee, Smile Foundation, said the findings clearly show that the digital divide is a real challenge, and multiple approaches need to be implemented to cater to all across the nation.

"As an exercise before we start any programme, we do a baseline study to understand the on-ground challenges so that our programmes can bring in real work and real change. With the onset of the pandemic, following indefinite school closures, it is more important than ever to understand the situation and how can we ensure that children are given quality education. Through this, we understand that customized modules need to be built in accordance with the channel of communication," he said.  

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: With an increase of 3,967 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India's tally of coronavirus cases reached 81,970 cases, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday.

According to the latest figures, 51,401 patients are active coronavirus cases while 27,919 patients have been cured/discharged and one patient has been migrated.

With a rise in 100 deaths due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the number of deaths now stands at 2,649.

According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with regard to the number of COVID-19 cases with 27,524 cases of which, 6,059 patients have been cured/discharged and 1,019 succumbing to the virus.

Tamil Nadu has a tally of 9,674 cases inclusive of 2,240 patients cured/discharged and 66 fatalities.

Gujarat has a total of 9,591 cases which include 3,753 patients cured/discharged while 586 have lost their lives due to coronavirus.

Delhi has a tally of 8,470 cases of which 3,045 patients cured/discharged and 115 fatalities.

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News Network
February 14,2020

Feb 14: R K Pachauri, a former chief of The Energy and Resources Institute, passed away on Thursday after a prolonged cardiac ailment, TERI Director General Ajay Mathur said.

He was 79.

"It is with immense sadness that we announce the passing away of R K Pachauri, the founder Director of TERI. The entire TERI family stands with the family of Dr Pachauri in this hour of grief," Mathur said in a statement issued by the TERI.

"TERI is what it is because of Dr Pachauri's untiring perseverance. He played a pivotal role in growing this institution, and making it a premier global organisation in the sustainability space," said Mathur, who succeeded Pachauri at TERI in 2015. Pachauri was admitted to Escorts Heart Institute in the national capital where he underwent open heart surgery and was put on life support on Tuesday, sources said.

In the statement issued by TERI, its Chairman Nitin Desai hailed Pachauri's contribution to global sustainable development as "unparalleled".

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