Film festival to showcase Indian pre-independence scientific community

by Argus News

New Delhi, Aug 4: 'Swatantrata Ka Amrit Mahotsav Ka Vigyaan Filmostav', a science film festival to highlight the role of Indian scientists, science communicators and teachers in the Indian Independence movement will be held between August 13 and 15 to mark India's 75th year of Independence.

This film festival will be organised by Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation of the Ministry of Science and Technology (S&T) that is dedicated to science communication popularisation for over three decades. Vigyan Prasar is jointly organising this film festival with Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), an NGO, CSIR-NISCPR and Films Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, government of India.

Documentaries, docu-drama, animation, short videos (up to 60 minutes) made in the last five years will be showcased in the 'Swatantrata Ka Amrit Mahotsav Ka Vigyaan Filmotsav'. The themes chosen are - role of scientists in India's freedom movement, and Science and Technology in India during 1947 or pre-independence.

The film festival is part of the year-long festivities that would be dedicated to those scientists, science communicators and teachers who struggled and sacrificed their personal gains and careers against the tyranny of the British during the Indian Independence movement.

"The film festival is a part of the year-long celebration, where Vigyan Prasar will showcase the involvement of Indian scientists in the country's freedom movement. From the digital standpoint this festival will bring to the Indian populace a web portal - www.swavigyan75.in - which has been designed to act as a single access point to all the information on the Mahotsav," said Nimish Kapoor, senior scientist with Vigyan Prasar and coordinator for the film festival.

Keeping in mind the pandemic situation, the film festival would be held virtually and would be available for viewers on Vigyan Prasar's social media platforms such as Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vigyanprasar), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/VigyanPrasar1/) and even Vigyan Prasar's website (https://vigyanprasar.gov.in/), apart from the special portal created for the year-long festivities (https://swavigyan75.in) and that of Films Division (https://filmsdivision.org/), Kapoor said.

The films will also receive awards. The first prize will fetch the winner Rs 1,50,000 with a trophy and certificate; the second prize winner will get Rs 1,00,000 with trophy and certificate while the third prize winner will get Rs 75,000 with trophy and certificate.

"Indian scientists' love for their motherland was manifest in their work. The British brought science to strengthen their rule in India and they allowed a very limited access to Indians. But they continued to suppress those people and discriminated against them. This, however, helped in strengthening the Swadeshi sentiment," said former scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai and VIBHA's national organising secretary Jayant Sahasrabudhe, in his write up for a special issue by Vigyan Prasar on the occasion.

Dates for the 11th National Science Film Festival of India will be announced during the festival in which special competitive categories would be introduced on scientific and technological developments in India during the last 75 years.

(IANS)

Women workers of BJP to make arrangements for PM Modi's meeting in Jaipur

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Jaipur, Sep 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the closing ceremony of four ‘Parivartan Yatras’ in Jaipur on September 25 and arrangements for the meeting will be managed by women workers of the BJP.

With this endeavour, women in Jaipur will express their gratitude to PM Modi for the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill.

BJP’s state general secretary Bhajanlal Sharma said that for the first time in the country, all the responsibility for a Prime Minister's meeting will be handled by women. This has not been done before for any political rally, he added.

The responsibility for all the arrangements for the pandal for PM Modi's meeting has been given to the women, which includes work related to the pandal seating arrangement (officials, workers and the public), stage operation, electricity and water arrangements, parking and security.

However, men will be helping the women in making the arrangements.

PM Narendra Modi's meeting is going to be held in Jaipur after about four and a half years.

On September 25, Modi will officially conclude the BJP's Parivartan Yatra in Jaipur. The meeting will be held in Surajpura (Vatika) of Dadiya Panchayat in Jaipur district.

Earlier, during the Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi's meeting was held at Mansarovar in Jaipur on May 1, 2019.

(IANS)

Now Indian States Can Do Direct Power Trade With Nepal

by Hemanta Pande

Kathmandu, Sep 21: In a bid that will bolster bilateral energy cooperation, now Indian states can directly buy electricity from Nepal.

This agreement was reached during the 14th meeting of the Joint Technical Team ( JTT) on Wednesday in New Delhi, according to the Nepali side.

Both sides also reached an understanding on increasing the quantum of power to be traded through the Dhalkehar -Muzaffarpur cross - border transmission line and accelerating the - construction of cross-border lines to boos the power trade.

Any Indian undertaking that is in the power trading business can sell and buy electricity through a 132 kv transmission line, said Prabal Adhikari, head of the energy trade department of Nepal Electricity Authority, the power trade between Nepal and any Indian states will be signed at Energy Secretary level.

The agreement comes in operation and execution only after signing the deal whose meeting is expected to convene soon.

Those states who want to procure electricity from Nepal should propose first to India’s state power agency for approval.

In order to implement the agreement, two dedicated 132 kv transmission lines between Nepal and India will be used for power export from Nepal to Indian states like Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh among others. Nepal and India are going to complete the construction of 132 kv new Nautanwa - Mainaiya line and Kohalpur - Nanpara line which will be used for the import and export of power besides the 400 kv Dhalkehar - Muzaffarpur cross - border transmission line.

India's Sutluj Jal Vidyut Nigam which is currently developing a 900 MW Arun - III hydropower project is building a 400 kv Dhalkebar - Sitamarhi line that is expected to evacuate up to 2,000 MW.

Now India is going to give access to Nepal to use this line for power export and import from the country. Earlier, this line was exclusively built to power export being produced in Arun III and two other projects.

As of now, Nepal and India are trading business only through the 400 kv Dhalkehar - Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line. The meeting also decided to upgrade the capacity of the Dhalkewar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line which has a capacity for importing and exporting 600-MW of electricity.

After strengthening of this transmission line, Nepal can sell 800 MW of electricity to India.

In the last joint steering committee meeting held in February, both sides agreed to increase the volume of power to be traded via the 400kv Dhalkehar - Muzaffarpur cross - border line from 600 MW to 800 MW.

As energy trade becomes a key foundation between Nepal and India, both countries are planning to constitute several cross-border transmission lines.

Besides, the 400KV Dhalkehar-Muzaffarpur cross-border line, both nations are also constructing Hetuda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa line. Another 400 kV transmission line that is under construction between the two countries is Dodhara-Bareilly which is expected to complete by 2028-29. (IANS)

Read: International News

'BJD Lacks Internal Democracy': LoP Jayanarayan Remarks On Soumya's Ouster From Ruling Party

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Bhubaneswar, Sep 21: There is no democracy within the BJD. Whatever Soumya Ranjan Patnaik has said is only meant to keep the party on alert. Making aware is no indiscipline. Still, Soumya Babu was expelled. This indicates the status of internal democracy in the BJD.

Leader of Opposition in State Assembly Jayanarayan Mishra made this allegation today. He poohpoohed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's reported claim that he doesn't know anything.

"The Chief Minister says he doesn't know anything. But everything happens in his knowledge. It is clear that the expenditure borne on the Secretary's district tours is more than the cost incurred on Chandrayaan-3. Government expenditure is not revealed to the public. Illegal activities like the distribution of money among people are not mentioned in the expenditure statement. Huge public money is being spent on helicopter rent and other purposes," Mishra said.

He further ridiculed that BJD people were organizing meetings for a Secretary. He said it was a very strange incident happening in a democratic system.

Commenting on the EoW raid on a media house, the BJP leader said the voice of mass media is being suppressed.

Stating that whichever party has done this in the past has got a befitting reply from people at an appropriate time, Mishra said the BJD will also get the right reply at the right time.

"This (Expulsion of Soumya Babu) is a reflection of resentmenty within the BJD," he alleged, adding, "It will be known in coming days as to how many people the party (BJD) will drive out,"

Remarking that truth always hurts wrongdoers, the LoP said the very question as to who between a Secretary and a Minister is of higher status has hurt the ruling party. "When corruption in the BJD came to the fore, the ruling party couldn't accept the same easily," said he.

Download Argus News App

Film festival to showcase Indian pre-independence scientific community

Download Mobile App