On the occasion of world food day (October 16), three districts in India will initiate India's ambitious 'Zero Hunger' programme through interventions in farm sector.
The three districts are Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Koraput in Odisha and Thane in Maharashtra.
It is a dedicated farm-based programme in sync with India's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end hunger by 2030.
It will be initiated by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in association with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
These three districts would act as a model of an integrated approach adopting suitable agricultural/horticultural practices.
The programme consists of organisations of farming system for nutrition, setting up genetic gardens and initiation of ‘Zero Hunger’ training.
A genetic garden for biofortified plants/crops contains the germplasm of naturally biofortified crops or such crops through plant breeding.
It has plants and crops that help supplement micro-nutrient deficiencies, including iron, iodine, vitamin A and zinc among others.
SATH
Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital (SATH) is a joint initiative of Government of Assam and NITI Aayog.
It aims to provide support to Assam in identifying key health priorities and implement the solutions towards transforming the health.
The workshop brings experts from development organizations such as World Bank, World Health Organization, UNDP, UNICEF.
Mahamana Express
The Mahamana Express, superfast series trains between Varanasi and Vadodara was recently inaugurated.
The name of the train was chosen after the name of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya who was popularly known as Mahamana and also the co-founder of the Benaras Hindu University.
The first Mahamana express was flagged off in 2016 between Varanasi and New Delhi route. It is also in service between Bhopal – Khajuraho route.
Char Dham Highway Project
National Green Tribunal (NGT) has cleared the proposal for Char Dham Highway project.
The Char Dham highway development project is an initiative to improve connectivity to the Char Dham pilgrimage centres in the Himalayas i.e Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.
Notably, these four ancient pilgrimages sites in Uttarakhand are known as Chota Char Dham to differentiate them from the bigger circuit of modern day Char Dham sites namely Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram.
The project objective is to provide roads with paved shoulders, make provisions for landslide mitigation and other road safety measures, which will provide all weather road connectivity for pilgrims and for movement of defence forces.
VASTRA 2017
VASTRA 2017 is an international textiles and apparel fair organized by the Union Minister of Textiles in Jaipur.
The international fair was started in 2012 and it is considered as the place for disseminating technology in textile sector.
Deendayal Hastkala Sankul
It is a trade facilitation centre for handicrafts located in Varanasi.
The centre would help the artisans and weavers showcase their skills to the world, and facilitate a brighter future for them.
It will facilitate the weavers/artisans/exporters in promotion of handlooms/handicrafts in both domestic and international markets.
It will preserve the traditional handloom and handicrafts products of Varanasi which will boosts the tourist potential of Varanasi.
