118 new community radio stations to be set up:
Prakash Javad ..
The approved list of appli-
cants having been granted Let-
ter of Intent for setting up CRS
includes 16 from Left Wing Ex-
tremism (LWE) affected dis-
tricts, 6 from most LWE affect-
ed districts, 25 from coastal
districts, 17 from Aspirational
Districts, 3 from North-East and
2 from Jammu and Kashmir.
India seeks Switzerland’s sup-
porty to enhance global efforts
President Kovind addresses the Federal Council of Switzerland.
The President of India, Shri
Ram Nath Kovind, along with
Mr Ueli Maurer, the President
of the Swiss Confederation, ad-
dressed the Federal Council of
Switzerland in Berne today (Sep-
tember 13, 2019). The Federal
Council is the highest executive
authority in Switzerland. It com-
prises seven members, who are
elected by the Federal Assembly.
In his address, President Kov-
ind said that India - Switzerland
partnership has made signifi-
cant progress. Our complemen-
tary strengths make us natural
partners. India is the world’s
fastest growing major economy.
Applications from NGOs, Ed-
ucational Institutions - both
private and public, and Kri-
shi Vigyan Kendras have
been granted approvals.
It is expected that these
Community Radio Sta-
tions will become operation-
al within the next six months
The President was happy to note
that India-Switzerland will have
the first automatic exchange of
information on tax matters in
the coming weeks. He said that
it is a very positive development.
The President highlighted the
linkages between tax evasion and
money laundering with terror-
ism. He said that the scourge of
terrorism is among the gravest
challenges that the world faces
today. India has been a victim of
state sponsored terrorism for de-
cades and it seeks Switzerland’s
support to enhance global efforts
to defeat and destroy all mani-
festations of terrorism, he said.
Community Radio Stations act
as essential communication
channels for enhancing last mile
of outreach of government. Plans
are underway to ensure expansion
of the community radio network
to each district of the country.
Community Radios are small
FM radio stations with a cov-
erage area of around 10-15
Km radius, depending on
the geography of the area.
COP14 : Drought is brought cen-
tre stage in New Delhi Declara-
tion
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive
UN Convention to
The 12-day long 14th Confer-
ence of Parties (COP14) to Unit-
ed Nations Convention to Com-
bat Desertification (UNCCD)
has come to a close today, with
thought-provoking discussions
on land management, resto-
ration of degraded land, drought,
climate change, renewable en-
ergy, women empowerment,
gender equality, water scarcity
and various other issues. India
was the proud host of UNCCD
COP14,which witnessed wide-
spread participation from over
9000 participants from all across
the globe at India Expo Cen-
tre & Mart, Greater Noida from
2nd to 13th September 2019.
Speaking at the Press Confer-
ence today on the outcomes
of COP14, Union Minister for
Environment, Forest and Cli-
mate Change (MoEF&CC), Shri
Prakash Javadekarexuded con-
fidence that all three Rio con-
ventions will work in synergy.
Secretary of the
Combat Desertification
Countries will address insecu-
rity of land tenure, including
gender inequality in land ten-
ure, promote land restoration
to reduce land-related carbon
emissions and mobilize inno-
vative sources of finance from
public and private sources to
support the implementation of
these decisions at country-level.
The framework used for report-
ing action will be improved to
ensure it captures key issues,
such as gender equality, drought
response and the influence of
consumption. Through the Delhi
Declaration, ministers expressed
support for new initiatives or co-
alitions aiming to improve hu-
man health and well-being, the
health of ecosystems, and to ad-
vance peace and security. The En-
vironment Minister stated “Del-
hi Declaration is an ambitious
statement of global action by
each country on how to achieve
Land Degradation Neutrality”.