Category: Universities

MIL-OSI Global: Quincy Jones mastered the art of arrangement, transforming simple tunes into epic soundscapes

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jose Valentino Ruiz, Associate Professsor of Music Business and Entrepreneurship, University of Florida

Quincy Jones left his indelible touch on some of the 20th century’s most iconic albums. Arnold Turner/Getty Images for Netflix

On the sleeve notes of some of the most memorable and best-selling albums of all time, you’ll find the words “Produced and arranged by Quincy Jones.”

It was a hallmark of quality.

Jones, who died on Nov. 3, 2024, at the age of 91, transformed our understanding of musical arrangement. His work spanned decades and genres, from jazz and pop to hip-hop and film scoring. He worked with pop icons like Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, and also collaborated with lesser-known artists such as Lesley Gore and Tevin Campbell.

Each of his projects, collaborations and forays into new genres redefined what it meant to arrange music.

As a music business and entrepreneurship professor, I’ve studied and taught Jones’ techniques, which I hope can inspire the next generation of musicians.

A master musical architect

Musical arrangement might seem like an abstract concept.

Simply put, it’s the art of deciding how a song unfolds. While a composer writes the melody and harmony, an arranger shapes the experience, choosing which instruments play when, how textures build and where dynamics shift.

Arrangement transforms a song from notes on paper into a fully realized piece of art that resonates with listeners. In essence, an arranger acts as a musical architect, designing the structure of a song to tell a compelling story.

Jones brought a visionary approach to arranging. He wasn’t merely filling in the gaps around a melody with a drum beat here and a horn section there; he was crafting a musical narrative that gave each instrument a purpose, guiding listeners through an emotional journey.

From his early work in the 1950s and 1960s with jazz greats like Count Basie and R&B star Ray Charles, to his blockbuster productions with Michael Jackson, Jones saw arrangement as a tool to guide listeners from one musical moment to the next.

Elevating voices

His work on “Sinatra at the Sands” is but one example.

Jones created lush, energetic big-band arrangements that perfectly complemented Sinatra’s smooth, warm voice. The choice of brass swells and the dynamic shifts amplified Sinatra’s charisma, turning the album into a lively, almost-cinematic experience. Unlike many arrangements, which often stay in the background, Jones’ took center stage, blending harmoniously with Sinatra’s vocals while adding depth and excitement to the entire performance.

In Ray Charles’ “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” Jones used orchestral swells and background vocals to bring out the soul in Charles’ voice, creating a richly emotional experience for listeners. By intelligently pairing Charles’ gospel-tinged vocals with a polished, orchestral arrangement, Jones captured the tension between sorrow and resilience – a demonstration of his ability to communicate complex emotions through arrangement.

Ray Charles, left, shares a laugh with Quincy Jones in 2004.
George Pimentel/WireImage for NARAS via Getty Images

Turning songs into stories

Jones’ skill at using arrangement as a storytelling device was exemplified by his collaboration with Jackson.

Albums like “Thriller” and “Off the Wall” showcased Jones’ knack for inventively layering sounds. On “Thriller,” Jones combined electronic and acoustic elements to create a multidimensional soundscape that set a new standard for production.

His ability to incorporate textures, background vocals and unique instrument choices – such as horror actor Vincent Price’s iconic narration on the song “Thriller” – transformed pop music, setting the stage for future producers to experiment with storytelling in their own arrangements.

In Jackson’s “Bad,” Jones pushed the boundaries of genre by blending funk rhythms with pop structures, giving Jackson’s music a timeless appeal.

The title track’s arrangement has layers of rhythm and harmony that build a feeling of tension and power, enhancing Jackson’s message of confidence and defiance. Each instrument and background vocal in “Bad” serves a purpose, creating a sound that is bold, exciting and engaging.

Lessons for educators

For educators teaching music production and commercial music, Jones’ approach provides a gold mine of practical lessons.

First, his commitment to genre fusion teaches students the importance of versatility. Jones’ career demonstrates that blending jazz, pop, funk and even classical elements can create something innovative and accessible. Students can learn to break free from the constraints of single-genre production, seeing instead how various musical styles can work together to create fresh, engaging sounds.

Quincy Jones, pictured here with Michael Jackson, won 28 Grammys during his career.
Chris Walter/WireImage via Getty Images

Second, Jones’ emphasis on storytelling through arrangement offers students a framework for making music that resonates.

In my classes, I encourage students to ask themselves: How does each musical element support the emotional arc of the song? By studying Jones’ arrangements, students learn to think of themselves as storytellers, not just sound engineers. They can begin to see arrangement as an art form in itself – one that has the power to captivate audiences by drawing them into a musical journey.

Finally, Jones’ work shows the power of collaboration. His willingness to work across genres and with a variety of artists – each bringing unique perspectives – demonstrates the value of open-mindedness and adaptability.

His life’s work serves as a reminder that music is more than just sound; it’s an experience shaped by careful, intentional decisions, with every sound and silence in a piece of music serving a purpose.

Jose Valentino Ruiz is the CEO of JV Music Enterprises.

– ref. Quincy Jones mastered the art of arrangement, transforming simple tunes into epic soundscapes – https://theconversation.com/quincy-jones-mastered-the-art-of-arrangement-transforming-simple-tunes-into-epic-soundscapes-242877

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Canada and churches have moral obligations for the reparations of missing and disappeared Indigenous children: Final Report
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Frank Deer, Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba

Independent Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray has released her final report after two years of examining the issue of missing and disappeared Indigenous children and unmarked burials sites at residential schools in Canada.

During the ceremony last week in Gatineau, Que., Murray said governments do not often implement recommendations given on such reports. So she opted to identify 42 “legal, moral and ethical obligations” for governments, churches and other institutions. These are proposals on how to make holistic reparations to Indigenous Peoples.

Murray emphasized that the children were “victims of enforced disappearance.”

Since the 1870s and continuing for more than 150 years, over 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were taken from their families and forced to attend church-run, government-funded residential schools. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has documented more than 4,100 deaths of children at the schools.

After potential unmarked graves were identified at former residential school sites, the Canadian government appointed Murray to make recommendations on unmarked graves and burial sites.

The report, “Sites of Truth, Sites of Conscience” focuses on aspects of the Indian Residential School experience: unaccounted missing children, unmarked grave sites, the roles of government and churches in the Indian Residential School genocide and failure to maintain records of the deaths and burials of deceased children.

The report centres Indigenous strategies for research and advances a framework of reparations to “support the search for and recovery of the missing and disappeared children and unmarked burials.” It is an extension of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) whose final report devoted an entire volume toward missing children and unmarked burials. The newest report is even more bold than the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

The TRC report observed that “the most basic of questions about missing children — Who died? Why did they die? Where are they buried? — have never been addressed or comprehensively documented by the Canadian Government.”

Since the TRC report was released in 2015, efforts to investigate this issue of missing children and unmarked graves has increased significantly.

CBC News report: Special interlocutor on Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites issues final report.

Reconciliation and reparations

Murray explores the issue of genocide in the Indian Residential School system in ways that indict the Canadian government and other institutions of crimes.

The report says Canada must refer to “the enforced disappearance of children,” as a “crime against humanity” and the issue needs to be taken to the International Criminal Court. It further states that the “federal government and other institutions have worked harder to protect perpetrators than they ever did to protect Indigenous children, families, and communities,” and that Canada has embraced a culture of “settler amnesia and willful forgetting.”

In support of this indictment, Murray shows how the government and church were not only responsible for acts of omission in that somehow failed to protect Indigenous children in their care. Instead, they were acts of commission: deliberately created situations in which Indigenous children in their care were severely harmed.

Murray refers to this as forced disappearances — when the liberty of Indigenous children is taken away and their fate was concealed.

In addition, the Independent Special Interlocutor also focuses on, among other things, our moral and ethical obligations as foundational frames for reparations.

A moral framework

Murray put forth 42 obligations that reflect the morally and ethically centred responsibilities of governments, churches and other institutions.

These moral and ethical responsibilities inform the reparations that Murray articulates in her report.

These responsibilities and obligations include:
- Calls for long-term financial support of investigations into missing and disappeared Indigenous children and Indian Residential School burial sites
- Support for survivors
- The recording of their stories
Core values

Underlining the report is a moral principal that efforts to find missing children and unmarked graves must be Indigenous-led.

These moral principles, this foundation for action, articulated by Murray, can provide a compelling rationale that may help change attitudes and action.

The recent report puts forth several moral and ethical principles which we need to consider.

One of the report’s powerful statements is:

“Children must be cared for in life and after death.”

This might seem to some a simple point that is obvious and even unnecessary. However, the distance between such important declarations and the policies of Canadian governments and institutions has been vast.

That this particular principle refers to the importance of care “after death” ought to be familiar to any of us who’ve lost loved ones. However, stating it clearly here strengthens the point that government and other institutions have obligations to children who died in their care.

Another important principle from the report is that “search and recovery work is sacred.”

The need to discover who died, the reasons why they died, and the location of their remains is one so connected to the emotional well-being of living descendants and fellow community members that it is a spiritual journey.

This is why the search and recovery processes must be Indigenous-led.

This report, like the TRC’s and the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, contains demands for action that should be accepted and acted upon by governments and institutions.

The moral and ethical principles that inform those demands can be as important for informing change. It is in these principles that we may find moral guidance and direction toward righteousness.

We may also find, if we’re paying attention, our humanity.

Frank Deer receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. Canada and churches have moral obligations for the reparations of missing and disappeared Indigenous children: Final Report – https://theconversation.com/canada-and-churches-have-moral-obligations-for-the-reparations-of-missing-and-disappeared-indigenous-children-final-report-242560
MIL OSI – Global Reports –
January 26, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: ‘I can make a band play like a singer sings’: Quincy Jones shaped our listening for seven decades

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leigh Carriage, Senior Lecturer in Music, Southern Cross University

The legendary composer, musical arranger and producer Quincy Jones has died at 91.

Over his long career, Jones arranged and produced for a broad range of genres. His work blended the traditions of jazz, popular, world music and Western classical music.

This was perhaps most present in his 1989 album Back on the Block. It features jazz improvisation, Zulu language, gospel and rapping. The album won seven Grammy Awards, including album of the year.

But even more than his own albums, Jones will be familiar to listeners across decades of popular music, for his work as a producer and arranger with legendary artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Barry White, Chaka Khan, Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson.

Finding his feet in jazz

Jones was born in Chicago in 1933, right in the middle of the depression. Around 11 years old, Jones found music.

In high school, Jones sang in a capella groups and played in school bands on the trumpet.

By 13, he was beginning to demonstrate a strong musical ability and musicianship skills, writing arrangements for his bands.

When Jones was a teenager, his family moved from Chicago to Seattle. In these early years, Jones had two pivotal mentors. One was the jazz trumpeter Clark Terry; the other was his contemporary and friend Ray Charles.

By the late 1940s, Jones was working as a trumpeter and as composer and arranger for bandleaders such as Dizzy Gillespie and Lionel Hampton.

A jazz big band bandleader in the 1950s, Jones quickly became a sought-after arranger.

Over his career, he worked on numerous jazz recordings with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan (including a great swingin’ arrangement of the song
Witchcraft), Frank Sinatra (with popular favourites Fly Me To The Moon and Mack the Knife) and the Dinah Washington recording They Didn’t Believe Me with the Quincy Jones Orchestra.

The move into pop

By the 1960s Jones began transitioning into popular music.

In 1961 Jones became the first African American in the position of vice president at a major label, Mercury Records. In 1963 Jones selected and produced Lesley Gore’s hit song It’s My Party from more than 200 demos.

Elements of the previous decades expertise in jazz arranging are apparent with touches of brass and reharmonising (or modifying the harmonic structure – the chords) of a song. Jones’ production approach here was to double-track the melody (duplicating, and placing the second track with a slight delay), enhancing the richness of Gore’s voice.

In 1968, Jones received his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Score for the soundtrack to In Cold Blood. The following year his composing and arranging versatility was demonstrated when he wrote the music for The Italian Job.

In 1979 Jones began working with Michael Jackson on the album Off The Wall.

By the 1980s, Jones was receiving high acclaim and success immersed in many diverse projects including Jackson’s Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987), in which Jones masterfully fuses pop with rhythm and blues, rock and funk.

His innovation in producing was in his broad understanding of multiple genres of music, adoption of technology and his constant musical invention.

‘A great gift’

In 1985 Jones and Michael Omartian were asked to produce the song We Are The World, written by Lionel Richie and Jackson. It was released to worldwide acclaim.

Jones conducted the recording and left a sign on the studio door: “Check your egos at the door”.

Also in 1985, Jones wrote the original score and produced the music for Steven Spielberg’s The Colour Purple, including the song Miss Celie’s Blues, written collaboratively with Jones, Rod Temperton and Richie. The score and Miss Celie’s Blues each received another Oscar nomination for Jones.

Jones was requested on many large projects as a conductor. A great example is Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration (1992) conducted by Jones. This album featured some of the music industry’s best arrangers Mervyn Warren and Shelton Kilby as well as a stellar list of vocalists such as Gladys Knight, Take 6, Sounds of Blackness, Pattie Austin, Johnny Mathis, Chaka Khan and Al Jarreau.

In an interview with culture journalist David Marchese in 2018, Jones was asked what he was proudest of in his musical career. He told Marchese:

That anything I can feel, I can notate musically. Not many people can do that. I can make a band play like a singer sings. That’s what arranging is, and it’s a great gift.

Beyond his own work as an artist, Jones undertook humanitarian work, mentored new generations of musicians, and was often a commentator on jazz history or the significance of African Americans in the entertainment and recording industry.

Jones’ artistic innovation and highly effective collaborations, spanning a 70-year career, has made an indelible contribution to music and culture globally.

Leigh Carriage does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. ‘I can make a band play like a singer sings’: Quincy Jones shaped our listening for seven decades – https://theconversation.com/i-can-make-a-band-play-like-a-singer-sings-quincy-jones-shaped-our-listening-for-seven-decades-242813

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 26, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: What Kamala Harris’ Converse All-Stars tell us about how shoes shape our identity

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Sherlock, Lecturer, School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University

Like most public figures, Kamala Harris adapts her footwear to different occasions. While her wardrobe includes traditional choices such as formal black heels, it was her appearance in Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars on the February 2021 cover of Vogue that drew particular notice.

As Democratic nominee for president, these sneakers once again became a focal point of her campaign.

Through her choice of sneakers, Harris signals a new era in female political leadership – and demonstrates how footwear choices can shape a leader’s identity and ability to connect with voters.

Embracing all-American values

We may know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but all politicians – especially women – know that we inevitably do. The appearance of others is how we categorise people to make sense of the world and our place in it.

Clothing is a key medium through which we identify ourselves and others. Shoes are particularly layered with meaning: when we observe someone’s footwear we are using them to know whether or not we identify with that person.

This is something that politicians and their teams know and manipulate to win votes.

One famous scene that illustrates this beautifully is Brooklyn Democratic congressman David Norris’s concession speech in the movie The Adjustment Bureau (2011).

Played by Matt Damon, the character reveals the significant work that goes into curating the perfect outfit:

Shiny shoes, we associate with high-priced lawyers and bankers. If you want to get a working man’s vote, you need to scuff up your shoes a little bit, but you can’t scuff them up so much that you alienate the lawyers and the bankers […] So what is the proper scuffing amount? Do you know, we actually paid a consultant $7,300 to tell us that THIS is the perfect amount of scuffing?

While Harris’ Chuck Taylors generally look pristine, she is transparent about her awareness of the style’s significance to potential voters, explaining in a 2020 interview:

Whatever your background or whatever language your grandmother spoke, we all at some point or another had our Chucks, right?

An all-American shoe worn by people of all ages, races, genders and sexualities, the relatively inexpensive and utilitarian Converse All-Star is a social leveller – a smart choice for a politician wishing to identify with a broad electorate.

As others have identified, Harris’ choice of sneakers signals her American values and no-nonsense attitude.

In these shoes, she’s ready for anything.

Shoes change us

Interviewed in 2018, Harris’ relationship with the sneakers goes back several years and certainly appears authentic.

Whether the initial choice to wear them was hers – or, like Norris, that of a team of consultants – is now irrelevant. Through the process of wear, shoes change us.

Not only do they affect how we move through the world physically, but they also shape how we relate to others socially.

Anyone who has selected a particular pair of shoes for an interview or special occasion will be familiar with their transformative effect, one that helps you to feel the part.

Identity can be understood as something that is performed. When a performance is received as convincing, we become the part we are playing and the identity is incorporated into our sense of self.

Harris’ shoes are relatable. In them, she is perceived as – and may therefore feel – approachable and down-to-earth.

On the campaign trail, the social interactions they afford increase her ability to relate to and connect with other people. Through this process, her performance and her identity become one.

One might say she has become her shoes; in doing so, she has come to embody the all-American values they represent. And at only 5 feet 4 ¼ inches, the choice not to compensate for her height with heels exudes a self-assurance more women are discovering.

This woman knows who she is and is reassuringly at ease with herself.

Finding authenticity

Aside from ongoing speculation about Trump’s height and whether he wears elevating insoles, his choice of footwear has attracted comparatively less attention, as is often the case for male politicians.

According to Footwear News, he rarely diverts from black leather dress shoes, signifying his corporate associations. This didn’t stop Trump launching a line of gold sneakers, named “Never Surrender High-Tops” and priced at US$399 in February. A new design, with the words “Fight, fight, fight”, was released after the July assassination attempt.

This represents quite a different use of shoes to connect with voters.

In an era when authenticity in politics is increasingly valued, Harris’ footwear choice represents more than a campaign strategy. It reflects changing expectations around power and leadership.

Her Converse sneakers challenge the notion that women must literally elevate themselves to command authority.

Instead, they suggest a new kind of political performance where power comes not from height or traditional status symbols, but from the ability to connect genuinely with voters.

Alexandra Sherlock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What Kamala Harris’ Converse All-Stars tell us about how shoes shape our identity – https://theconversation.com/what-kamala-harris-converse-all-stars-tell-us-about-how-shoes-shape-our-identity-242777

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Sols 4352-4354: Halloween Fright Night on Mars

Source: NASA

3 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, Nov. 1, 2024

Yesterday evening (Thursday) was Halloween for many of us here on Earth. My neighborhood in eastern Canada was full of small (and not so small!) children, running around in the dark collecting sweets and candy but also getting scared by the ghostly decorations hung at each house. Little did we suspect that our poor rover on Mars was also getting spooked. Curiosity completed about a meter (about 3 feet) of the planned drive before becoming unsettled … scared, if you will! … when its left front wheel got hung up on a rock and stopped moving.

Luckily, we understood this kind of frightened behavior and were able to resume planning today as per usual. That meter was enough to give us a whole new set of targets to choose from. As APXS Strategic Planner this week, I had chosen darker-looking targets in the workspace — “Ladder Lake” and “Reds Meadow” (shown in the accompanying MAHLI image) — earlier in the week. I was happy that bumping backwards by a meter allowed us to reach some of the more typical pale colored bedrock at “Eureka Valley” and a second APXS analysis on “Black Bear Lake,” which is a mixture of both pale bedrock and some darker layers. MAHLI added in a bonus set of images on “Stag Dome,” focusing on small, rougher patches on the pale bedrock.

ChemCam is taking advantage of the short bump, too, adding a passive observation on the brushed Reds Meadow target, analyzed by APXS and MAHLI in Monday’s plan. A ChemCam LIBS target “Hoist Ridge” focuses on a small vertical face of dark material. Two long distance images planned for ChemCam’s Remote Micro Imager (RMI) look at the distribution of rocks along the Gediz Vallis ridge in the distance.

Mastcam is taking several mosaics this weekend (must have gotten extra energy from the Halloween sugar!). Close to the rover, Mastcam will acquire single-frame images of the targets Hoist Ridge and Eureka Valley, and a small mosaic of some surficial troughs just a little further away. Moving further afield, a small 3×1 mosaic (three images in one row) will image the same area as the ChemCam RMI of the Gediz Vallis ridge, and a larger 9×2 mosaic will focus on the faraway yardang unit, where we hopefully will be in a few years.

Then for the really big images: Mastcam will image the whole landscape in a special 360-degree view, so big it needs to be broken into two parts. The first will have 43×4 frames, the second 34×5 frames. These mosaics are huge, so we save them for when we are at a really good vantage point to allow us to capture as much detail as possible for science and engineering planning.

As ever, we continue our environmental monitoring of conditions, with Mastcam and Navcam movies and images looking at dust in the atmosphere above and around us in Gale crater, and watching out for dust devils.

Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Confucius Institute marks 15 years of promoting China-Malta friendship

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

The Confucius Institute at the University of Malta received acclaim on Monday for its role in promoting friendship between China and Malta, as it marked its 15th anniversary.

The special anniversary celebration featured performances by university students from the Confucius Institute as well as primary and secondary school students.

In his address, Peng Yijun, charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Malta, praised the institute’s contributions over the past 15 years.

“The Confucius Institute has opened a door for Maltese young people to explore the real China,” he said, underscoring the strong partnership between the University of Malta and Xiamen University in southeast China’s Fujian Province.

Shi Dalin, vice president of Xiamen University, expressed hope that the Confucius Institute would continue to serve as a model for educational and cultural collaboration between Xiamen University and the University of Malta.

University of Malta Pro-Rector Frank Bezzina highlighted Confucius Institute’s role in language teaching and cultural exchanges, noting that institute plays a unique role by promoting dialogue and mutual understanding.

In a video message, Yu Yunfeng, director of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation at China’s Ministry of Education, said the Confucius Institute has played “a unique and important role” in promoting cultural exchanges and enhancing mutual understanding and friendship.

MIL OSI China News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Chinese book reading classroom opens at university in Mongolia

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

The Chinese Book Reading Classroom at the Mongolian University of Life Sciences was inaugurated in Ulan Bator on Monday.

“All of our teachers and students are delighted that the Chinese Book Reading Classroom has opened at our school. We hope this classroom will help us learn more about China,” said Gonchigdorj Enkhbayar, vice director of the university, at the launch ceremony.

Xue Ming, deputy editor-in-chief of the Inner Mongolia People’s Publishing House, spoke at the opening ceremony about the Inner Mongolia Publishing Group’s commitment to strengthening cultural exchanges under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation with neighboring countries.

He said that the Chinese Book Reading Classroom will undoubtedly yield positive results in fostering cultural exchanges and mutual learning between the two countries. Additionally, it will provide new impetus and contribute to mutual assistance, friendly relations, and win-win cooperation.

The Chinese publishing group donated more than 800 Chinese books across over 400 categories, including traditional culture, science, agriculture, medicine, literature, and dictionaries, to the reading classroom.

Chinese Book Reading Classrooms have been gradually established in major universities in Mongolia since 2019, aimed at showcasing and introducing Chinese culture to Mongolian readers. Currently, there are six such classrooms.

The opening of the reading classroom at the Mongolian University of Life Sciences is part of a series of activities titled “Feel China,” co-organized by the Chinese Embassy in Mongolia, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Youth of Mongolia, and the Information Office of the People’s Government of China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

MIL OSI China News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Cambodia, China eye stronger digital economy cooperation

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 4 — The 2024 China-Cambodia Digital Economy Cooperation Forum was convened here in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Monday, exploring ways to boost stronger digital economy cooperation between the two countries.

In an opening speech, Cambodian Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth said the forum was vital to further promoting cooperation between Cambodia and China, especially in the fields of technology, innovation, and digital economy.

“For Cambodia, the development of the digital economy is considered an important driver in the process of economic development,” he told the forum with approximately 250 participants.

Pornmoniroth, who is also a Cambodian deputy prime minister, said the development of digital technology is one of the top priorities in the Cambodian government’s Pentagonal Strategy Phase 1 and that digital technology will help Cambodia achieve its vision of becoming a high-income country by 2050.

“In recent years, digital technology has been rapidly developed, becoming a new stand for supporting and ensuring economic resilience,” he said.

“The digital technology has spurred new innovations that contribute to value added creation, productivity increase, and work efficiency, as well as become a catalyst for global trade and economic connectivity,” he added.

Pornmoniroth said Cambodia and China have been working closely to promote digital economy and that the Southeast Asian country has collaborated with Alibaba to boost e-commerce and with UnionPay International and Ant International’s Alipay+ to bolster cross-border QR code payments.

At the event, the Digital Economy Professional Association of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia was launched.

Pornmoniroth hopes that the association will play a leading role in promoting digital innovations, producing digital talents, and enhancing the use of digital technology.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin praised Cambodia for its rapid development of digital economy, and was amazed by the significant rise of mobile payments with smartphones.

He was pleased to see that China-Cambodia digital economy cooperation has progressed well, saying that China will continue to help Cambodia achieve the goal of 100 percent high-speed Internet coverage in urban areas and 70 percent coverage in rural areas by 2025.

“Chinese companies in Cambodia have fully utilized their own technological advantages to promote emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud technology, and mobile payments in Cambodia, helping the kingdom improve its digital level and promote digital transformation,” he said.

Lin Shiqiang, president of the China Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, said China Unicom, Huawei and other companies have played a crucial role in constructing Cambodia-China submarine cable, providing strong support for the deep integration and connectivity of the digital economy of the two countries.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, said China has been a great supporter of digitalization of Cambodia, gradually transforming Cambodia’s present system into digitalization.

“China has a policy. They are sharing their wealth and their technology with countries and with their friends like Cambodia,” he told Xinhua.

MIL OSI China News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI China: 136th Canton Fair wraps up with record int’l buyer attendance

Source: China State Council Information Office

Buyers select massage machines at the 136th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Nov. 4, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 136th Canton Fair, officially known as the China Import and Export Fair, concluded on Monday in Guangzhou, south China, recording a historic high in terms of overseas buyer attendance, according to data from the organizers.

As of Sunday, a total of 253,000 overseas buyers from 214 countries and regions had attended the event, marking an increase of 2.8 percent compared to the previous edition held from April 15 to May 5 this year, setting a new record, Zhou Shanqing, deputy director of China Foreign Trade Center and head of the fair’s media center, told a press conference held on Monday.

Buyers from countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) accounted for over 60 percent of the attendance. The number of buyers from Middle East countries grew the most, reaching 34,000 or a surge of 32.6 percent compared with the previous edition. There was also a notable rise in the number of buyers from the United States and European countries, with 54,000 attending, an 8.2-percent increase from the previous edition.

The intended turnover of export transactions at this session reached 24.95 billion U.S. dollars, 1 percent higher than the previous session. Notably, transactions with Belt and Road partner countries accounted for more than half of this total, while transaction volumes involving buyers from Europe and the United States both logged growth.

Yang Zhusong, an associate professor at the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, said that the growing number of exhibitors at the fair is a microcosm of China’s influence in global import and export trade.

The increase in buyer attendance from Europe and the United States is attributable not merely to their confidence in China’s huge market potential but also to China’s efficient manufacturing prowess, which provides a complete industrial chain of services, Yang said.

The attendance of increasing number of enterprises from Belt and Road partner countries indicates that China’s cooperation with these countries is pragmatic and the benefits are mutual, according to Yang.

Christian Noll, a buyer from Germany, was still busy on the last day of the fair. Focused mainly on garments, he browsed some booths and settled on a cooperation plan with a partner from Fuzhou in east China’s Fujian Province.

“It is the biggest trade show I’ve ever seen. Normally trade shows happen every two years or at most once a year, to allow companies to innovate in between. This show occurs twice a year and each time the size is amazing, and there is a lot of new stuff. This is the coolest show on the planet,” said Noll.

Having attended the fair for four consecutive years, Moulay Elkamel, a buyer from Morocco, described his latest trip to China as “beyond delightful.”

“I’ve met great friends and partners and have seen many interesting products. It’s a pity the fair only lasts for half a month. I plan to come back for the show next year in April. There are already some orders ready for settlement,” Elkamel said.

Themed “Serving high-quality development, promoting high-level opening up,” the 136th Canton Fair featured more than 30,000 exhibitors showcasing 1.15 million new products.

Yang said international buyers are leveraging the Canton Fair as a platform to forge deeper, more mutually advantageous and promising partnerships with Chinese companies.

The continuous development of “Made in China” and “Created in China” is also injecting fresh impetus into the growth of global industrial and supply chains, Yang added.

Chu Shijia, deputy director and secretary general of the fair and head of China Foreign Trade Center, said that the continuous expansion of the Canton Fair reflects the growth and strength of China’s foreign trade, and demonstrates China’s unwavering determination to open wider to the outside world, providing new opportunities for the world with the country’s new development and contributing to the development of an open global economy.

Founded in 1957, the Canton Fair is held twice a year in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. It is the longest-running of several comprehensive international trading events in China, and is hailed as the barometer of China’s foreign trade.

MIL OSI China News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Primary care involves more than GPs. A new review shows how patients can better access care
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne

Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock

Australians today are more likely than previous generations to live with complex and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and depression.

This means they’re more likely to need health care from a variety of different providers, such as nurses, podiatrists, psychologists and physiotherapists, as well as GPs. This is known as “multidisciplinary care”. It works best when the skills of all these professions are available to the patient in a co-ordinated way.

But the roles of health professions, and the way they’re funded, have been frozen in legislation and policy for decades. Any change has been incremental and disjointed. It has mostly involved adding more items to the Medicare schedule, with each professional practising separately.

The result has been greater inequity of access. Because fewer than half of allied health fee-for-service visits are bulk-billed, most patients pay almost A$70 for each consultation – and sometimes much more. Those who can’t afford the out-of-pocket costs and can’t find a bulk-billing practitioner miss out.

To assess how the government can remove barriers to team-based care and get health professions working to their full potential, or their full “scope of practice”, last year the government commissioned an independent review.

The final report, released yesterday, sets a new path for the primary care workforce. This could make multidisciplinary care within reach of all Australians.

Using health-care workers’ full potential

The review involved extensive consultation, including on two issues papers. The report itself incorporates feedback from the consultations, including sceptical comments, reflecting a divergence of opinions.

Reflected the report’s title, Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce, its main emphasis is to change the rules and regulations imposed by state and federal governments. These stymie health professionals and limit their ability to use their full skills and knowledge to manage their patients’ care.

Over recent decades, health professionals’ education has improved. So professionals are capable of doing more than previously. Yet the rules and regulations have not advanced and so inhibit professionals from making those skills and knowledge available.

The review argues this contributes to career dissatisfaction, and to people leaving various health professions, exacerbating workforce shortages.

The review proposes a new way of documenting and describing what can be done by a profession through what it calls a National Skills and Capability Framework and Matrix.

As with many other recommendations, the review points to where this is done already internationally and how it can nestle into other policies and frameworks to aid implementation.

Health-care workers aren’t using all their skills.
DC studio/Shutterstock

To the disappointment of most allied health professions, the review does not recommend more Medicare payments for them to practise independently.

Rather, the review recommends payment to general practices for them to expand multi-disciplinary teams. This would see professionals working together, rather than in competition or isolation.

The review also recommends changing the rules about referrals by health professionals, allowing qualified health professionals to refer directly to non-GP medical specialists in similar areas. This means your psychologist could refer you directly to a psychiatrist if needed, or your physiotherapist could refer you directly to an orthopaedic surgeon rather than needing to go back to your GP.

This will weaken the role of the GP as a “gatekeeper” and also potentially undermine the more holistic care that GPs provide. But from a patient’s point of view, eliminating the intermediate step saves them out-of-pocket costs.

An important recommendation recognises that the health system evolves and rules and regulations need to evolve too. It therefore supplements its recommendations for changes now, with an approach for continuous review through an independent mechanism. This would provide evidence-based advice and recommendations about:
- significant workforce innovation
- emerging health care roles
- workforce models that involve significant change to scope.
When will we see change?

The review sets out a loose timeline for implementation, described as short, medium and long term. And it assigns responsibility for each element of its recommendations to appropriate bodies and governments.

As almost all the recommendations require legislative change, and many require agreement between the Commonwealth and the states, it’s unlikely any of the changes will take effect this financial year.

The review recommends change be implemented in a systematic, evidence-based and safe way. Implementation would start in areas of greatest need such as in rural and remote Australia and also in practices most ready for the change, such as Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisations or Victoria’s Community Health Centres.

The review recommends changes to the referral process.
voronaman/Shutterstock

In releasing what he referred to as a “landmark” report, Health Minister Mark Butler noted the complexity of implementation, which would require collaborative action with states and territories. He noted the need for further consultation, but nevertheless took a supportive tone.

Can this review prompt real health reform?

Overall, the review charts a middle course between letting health professionals roam free and the tight and inappropriate rules and regulations which constrain patient care today. It also sets out the practical steps to achieve its goals.

The one downside of the report is the emphasis on harmonisation of state and territory approaches. This would replace the current approach, where each state and territory decides, for example, on what vaccines can be administered by which professionals and what pharmacists can dispense without a medical practitioner’s prescription.

One of the benefits of a federation is the potential for state- and territory-based innovation and cross-border learning. Harmonisation will limit that experimenting, and may lead to more of the stasis seen in health workforce policy in the past.

Stephen Duckett was consulted by the Independent Reviewer during the course of the Review and commented on the Review’s Issues Papers and Draft Final Report

– ref. Primary care involves more than GPs. A new review shows how patients can better access care – https://theconversation.com/primary-care-involves-more-than-gps-a-new-review-shows-how-patients-can-better-access-care-242698
MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –
January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Gaming the news: How interactive journalism is changing how we tell stories to the next gen

Source: University of South Australia

05 November 2024

The Ramping Rush game.

Journalists have long used newspapers, radio, television, magazines and, more recently, the internet to entertain and inform the public on the stories that matter most. But what if there’s a richer, more compelling and interactive way to share and address real world issues?

A University of South Australia academic is exploring how video games are being developed in journalism as a more interactive way to engage younger audiences and tell impactful stories.

Dr Ben Stubbs, a senior lecturer in journalism and creative writing at UniSA, has created a news game – Ramping Rush: Ambulance Rescue – to explore one of South Australia’s most important health issues: ambulance ramping.

The game was led by UniSA’s Australian Research Centre for Interactive and Virtual Environments (IVE) and developed by computer science and media and literature students from around the world as part of a virtual internship.

Ramping Rush: Ambulance Rescue is a free and online single-player game that aims to demonstrate the impact of ramping – an issue that has given rise to countless media reports in recent years as the state’s hospital system strains under pressure. Ramping occurs when ambulances are made to queue outside overcrowded hospital emergency departments, leaving patients with a prolonged wait upon arrival.

In the game, the player steps into the shoes of a busy paramedic, racing against time to rescue patients while dealing with long hospital waits and ramping delays.

The aim is for the player to make snap decisions and save as many lives as possible before getting stuck in traffic or being held up at clogged emergency departments. However, the player soon learns that it’s impossible to save the patients and ‘win’ the game as the ramping situation is too dire.

By demonstrating the challenges of ramping through a gaming scenario, the team hopes to capture the attention of younger audiences, particularly school students, who are less likely to engage in traditional media.

Dr Stubbs, an experienced journalist who has written for publications including The New York Times, The Guardian and Sydney Morning Herald, says the video game was created to engage younger audiences with important and current community issues.

“Interactive news games are another way for people to think about real world issues in a fun and engaging way,” he says.

“We know that people have been moving away from traditional news for a long time now and how people are consuming news is constantly changing.

“Video games are just another way to think about the potential of alternative journalism when traditional forms might only reach certain audiences.”

Last year saw the biggest increase in the number of Australians playing video games, from 67% (17 million) in 2021 to 81% (21 million) in 2023. Nearly 95% of Australian households have a device for playing video games while 91% of parents play with their children to connect as a family.

Meanwhile, the journalism landscape has experienced significant change in recent decades, with traditional reporting formats like newspapers in decline. In Australia only 18% of people still read newspapers, with online news now attracting the majority of audiences.

“Shifting attitudes towards news consumption is driving demand for new outlets such as games,” Dr Stubbs says.

“News video games are not entirely new to journalism. For example, after the September 11 terrorist attacks, a game was created to help people understand the complexities of modern warfare.

“Similarly, ABC created The Amazon Race’ in 2019 to showcase the realities of working in a pressure-cooker environment such as Amazon’s Melbourne warehouse.”

UniSA has recently added a module all about news games to the Innovations in Visual Journalism course which will be part of the online Bachelor of Journalism program in 2025.

“I think there’s great potential with news games,” Dr Stubbs says. “In our research we found games on everything from the Syrian civil war, remembrance around the Madrid train bombings, identifying fake news, games on the realities of living with a low income, managing a sweatshop factory, pirate fishing, distracted driving and managing COVID misinformation.

“Creating new and timely additions to the video news portfolio is an important step in remaining connected to the next generation.”

Ambulance Rush: Ramping Rescue is available to play on itch.io.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Contact for interview: Dr Ben Stubbs, Senior Lecturer, UniSA E: Ben.Stubbs@unisa.edu.au
Media contact: Melissa Keogh, UniSA Media M: +61 403 659 154 E: Melissa.Keogh@unisa.edu.au

MIL OSI News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: ASEAN-Australia Centre inaugural Advisory Board appointments
Source: Australian Government – Minister of Foreign Affairs

Today, I am pleased to announce the inaugural Advisory Board of the ASEAN-Australia Centre.

The establishment of the ASEAN-Australia Centre was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit and commenced operations earlier this year.

The Centre replaces the Australia-ASEAN Council and will strengthen people-to-people links, increase ties with national cultural institutions, support emerging leaders, drive business engagement, and deepen Australia’s trade and investment links under Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.

The following individuals have been appointed to the Advisory Board of the ASEAN-Australia Centre:
- Ms Louise Adams, Chief Operating Officer, Aurecon
- Professor Nicholas Farrelly, Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Tasmania
- Professor Sango Mahanty, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australia National University
- Ms Audra Morrice, chef, author, television presenter and sustainability tourism champion in Southeast Asia and the Pacific
- Mr Tarun Nagesh, Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art
- Ms Su-Lin Ong, Managing Director and Chief Economist, RBC Capital Markets
- Professor Sharon Pickering, Vice-Chancellor and President, Monash University
- Ms Kate Russell, Chief Executive Officer, Supply Nation
- Ms Hayley Winchcombe, Engagement Manager, Mandala
- Mr John Hopkins, (ex officio) Managing Director and CEO, Export Finance Australia
- Ms Michelle Chan, (ex officio) Deputy Secretary and Head of the Office of Southeast Asia, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Chair of the Advisory Board will be announced early next year.

I would like to thank outgoing Chair Mr Glenn Keys AO and board member Ms Caroline Chan for their contributions in advancing the Australia-ASEAN Council’s work.

MIL OSI News –
January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI: Global Strategy: Fergus Kane Leads DIGZAX in Shaping the Future of Crypto Finance

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

ARVADA, Colo., Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Recently, the internationally renowned cryptocurrency exchange DIGZAX announced its global expansion strategy aimed at penetrating emerging markets and enhancing its business coverage and international influence. This initiative marks the further commitment of DIGZAX to the international market while showcasing its success in strategic positioning and market operations. As the heart of this expansion strategy, Fergus Kane, the founder and CEO of DIGZAX, has once again become a focal point in the industry.

Fergus not only possesses a robust financial background but is also a pioneer in the realm of cryptocurrency. He graduated from Harvard University, and later achieved significant success at top financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan on Wall Street. However, he did not confine himself to traditional finance; instead, he keenly recognized the vast potential within crypto finance.

After extensive research into the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors, Fergus identified numerous pressing issues facing cryptocurrency exchanges. In response, he decided to establish DIGZAX, a user-centric trading platform that emphasizes security and compliance. Since its inception in 2019, DIGZAX has rapidly secured a significant position in the global market, thanks to its innovative technology applications and high-quality user experience.

According to the recently announced global expansion plan of DIGZAX, the platform will first solidify its leadership in the Asia-Pacific market before gradually extending its reach into Latin America. Fergus stated that both regions are experiencing rapid growth in their cryptocurrency user bases, presenting immense market potential. DIGZAX intends to establish a solid business foundation in these markets through stringent compliance measures and flexible operational strategies.

This strategy not only reflects the global vision of DIGZAX but also underscores its keen attention to emerging markets. By deeply exploring these regional markets, DIGZAX aims to provide users with a more diversified range of services, ensuring it maintains a leading position in the fiercely competitive cryptocurrency landscape.

For Fergus Kane, DIGZAX is not merely a cryptocurrency trading platform; it is a bridge that helps more people safely and conveniently enter the world of crypto finance. Throughout its global expansion, DIGZAX has consistently prioritized user experience as its core objective. Whether it involves the continuous optimization of platform features, the promotion of user education, or rigorous compliance management, Fergus and his team are dedicated to creating an efficient and secure trading environment, ensuring that more potential investors can confidently engage with the crypto market and fully enjoy the growth dividends of the industry.

In addition to business expansion, Fergus particularly emphasized the importance of industry knowledge dissemination. He believes that users can only better participate and benefit from crypto finance when they truly understand its operational mechanisms and underlying values. Consequently, DIGZAX plans to further strengthen market education in the future, helping more investors grasp the relevant knowledge of cryptocurrencies. Through this initiative, DIGZAX aims to provide users with a safe and robust path to market participation, maximizing their potential returns.

With the rapid development of the cryptocurrency market, Fergus Kane and the DIGZAX exchange have emerged as industry leaders. Through precise market insights, cutting-edge technology applications, and a user-centered service philosophy, DIGZAX is swiftly rising to become a frontrunner in the global crypto finance sector. With its global expansion plan, DIGZAX will continue to drive industry innovation, creating greater value and opportunities for users.

Media Contact:

Full company name: DIGZAX BLOCKCHAIN DEVELOPMENT INC

Company website: https://www.digzax.co

Contact Person: Darma

Email id: support@DIGZAX.co

Disclaimer: This content is provided by sponsor. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/645f4f0f-608a-424c-9d2e-50837f5090e2

The MIL Network –

January 26, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: What to expect on Election Day: history could be made, or we’re in for a long wait (and plenty of conspiracies)

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Shortis, Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University

As Americans vote in one of the most important presidential elections in generations, the country teeters on a knife edge. In the battleground states that will likely decide the result, the polling margins between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are razor thin.

These tiny margins, and the general confusion around American politics today, make it impossible to predict the outcome.

The polls might well be wrong: the electorate may have shifted dramatically since 2020 in ways that will only reveal themselves after the election. The reality is we do not know much of anything for sure, and we may never be able to untangle all of the threads that make up the knot of American politics.

After two assassination attempts on Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden’s dramatic decision to leave the race in August, it is entirely possible this election will throw up more big surprises. But as things stand, there are three broad possibilities for what will happen on Election Day.

All of them throw up their own challenges – for the United States, and for the world.

Possibility 1: the return of Trump

Trump may make history and win back the White House. Only Grover Cleveland has managed to get elected a second time as president (in 1892) after suffering a defeat four years earlier.

If Trump does win, it could be via a similar path to the one he took in 2016 – by once again sundering the “blue wall” and winning the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

This feat will likely mean his campaign tactic of mobilising men has worked.

A Trump victory would represent the culmination of a generational project of the American right. A second Trump administration would be very different from the first – the movement behind Trump is more organised, focused and cognisant of the mistakes of the first Trump White House. It would also face considerably weakened democratic guardrails.

The implementation of Trump’s radical agenda, alongside some or all of the broader far-right agenda detailed in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, would radically reshape American life and create political and economic chaos.

The rest of the world would have to reorient itself, once again, around Trump.

Possibility 2: Harris makes history

It is entirely possible Harris makes history – not only by beating Trump, but by becoming the first woman and woman of colour to win the US presidency.

Like Trump, if Harris does win, it will likely be through one or more of the battleground states – in particular, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

For Harris, victory will likely come via high turnout by women and voters of colour, particularly African-Americans, or through a combination of turnout by this core Democratic base and swing voters in key states like Pennsylvania.

How Harris wins – and by how much – will be crucial, both to the immediate aftermath of the election and to the shape of a future Harris administration.

A big question: can she win by enough to head off resistance by Trump and the movement behind him? As Australian writer Don Watson has noted, a Harris victory would likely be taken as an existential defeat by the MAGA movement.

How Trump’s supporters react to such a defeat – and how US institutions react to their reaction – will be a critical test for American democracy.

Possibility 3: too close to call

This brings us to the third possibility: the polls are correct, and it’s such a tight race that the margins in the battleground states are in the thousands of votes, or even less.

If it is that close, counting could take days. And there could be recounts after that.

While conspiracies abound, a delay in the result like this would be an entirely predictable and normal outcome. In the United States, there isn’t one system for counting the votes; elections are run by the states on a county-by-county basis, and each state does it differently.

Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, for example, legally can’t start counting mail-in votes until the polls open on Election Day.

Then there is the supposed “blue shift” or “red mirage” that sometimes occurs on election night.

There are now many ways to vote in the US – in person on Election Day, early voting before Election Day or by mail-in ballot. And the time it takes to count these different ballots can vary. So, it may appear as if one candidate is winning early in the night (say, when in-person votes are counted) only for their opponent to slowly turn the tide (when mail-in ballots are counted).

In the 2020 election, this meant early Trump (“red”) leads were gradually lost to the Biden (“blue”) votes. Researchers found that counties won by Biden counted more slowly, on average, than those won by Trump – hence the so-called “blue shift”.

This is an entirely normal – and legal – phenomenon. In Nevada, for instance, state law permits mail-in ballots to be counted four days after Election Day, so long as they were postmarked by Election Day.

Trump and his surrogates like Steve Bannon, however, have exploited the differing times it takes to count votes to peddle baseless conspiracy theories, undermining Americans’ faith in their own democracy, and to incite unrest.

By baselessly declaring victory in 2020 on the early “red mirage” tallies in key states before all the votes were counted, Trump was able to create what Bannon described as a “firestorm” – one that eventually led to the insurrection of January 6 2021.

This could very well happen again. Bannon, in fact, has just been released from prison after serving four months for contempt of Congress, and could once again be a driving force in any post-election challenges by the Trump campaign.

Trump, meanwhile, lied again this week when he said “these elections have to be, they have to be decided by 9 o’clock, 10 o’clock, 11 o’clock on Tuesday night” – laying the groundwork for further election conspiracies.

Delays are normal – but fraught

Trump has made it very clear he will not accept another election loss. If he does lose, he or his surrogates will attempt to weaponise similar conspiracy theories again. They may also use legal challenges to vote counts as they did in 2020 – both to contest the result and to once again mobilise the MAGA movement.

In the event of close margins, it’s also possible some states will go to a recount.

There are different rules for this in different states. To take one example, if the margin is within 0.5% in Georgia, a candidate can request a recount.

In the 2020 presidential election, Biden narrowly defeated Trump in Georgia by 0.25%, which triggered a full hand recount of the votes. The Associated Press declared Biden the winner of the state more than two weeks after Election Day. A second recount was later reconfirmed by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Again, this is a normal part of the process. It ensures all votes are counted accurately and the result reflects the democratic will of the American people as best as the (admittedly, deeply flawed) system allows.

Such a delay, legitimate as it would be, would elevate the already very real risk of further political violence and instability in the United States.

None of these outcomes is inevitable. 2024 is not 2020; nor is it 2016. What happens next in America depends on the movement and interplay of so many tangled threads, it is impossible to see where old ones end and new ones might begin.

In all of this, only one thing is certain. Whatever the result – and however long it takes to come through – the divisions and conspiracy theories that have destabilised American politics for so long will not be easily or quickly resolved. That knot may well prove impossible to untangle.

Emma Shortis is Director of the International and Security Affairs program at The Australia Institute, an independent think tank.

– ref. What to expect on Election Day: history could be made, or we’re in for a long wait (and plenty of conspiracies) – https://theconversation.com/what-to-expect-on-election-day-history-could-be-made-or-were-in-for-a-long-wait-and-plenty-of-conspiracies-242598

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 26, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Fijian journalists embrace multimedia landscape for the digital age

By Catrin Gardiner, Queensland University of Technology

In the middle of the Pacific, Fiji journalists are transforming their practice, as newsrooms around Suva are requiring journalists to become multimedia creators, shaping stories for the digital age.

A wave of multimedia journalists is surfacing in Fijian journalism culture, fostered during university education, and transitioning seamlessly into the professional field for junior journalists.

University of the South Pacific’s technical editor and digital communication officer Eliki Drugunalevu believes that multimedia journalism is on the rise for two reasons.

“The first is the fact that your phone is pretty much your newsroom on the go.”

With the right guidance and training in using mobile phone apps, “you can pretty much film your story from anywhere”, he says.

The second reason is that reliance on social media platforms gives “rise to mobile journalism and becoming a multimedia journalist”.

Drugunalevu says changes to university journalism curriculum are not “evolving fast enough” with the industry.

Need for ‘parallel learning’
“There needs to be parallel learning between what the industry is going through and what the students are being taught.”

Mobile journalism is growing increasingly around the world. In Fiji this is particularly evident, with large newsrooms entertaining the concept of a single reporter taking on multiple roles.

Fijian Media Association’s vice-president and Fiji Times editor-in-chief Fred Wesley says one example of the changing landscape is that the Times is now providing all its journalists with mobile phones.

“While there is still a photography department, things are slowly moving towards multimedia journalists.”

Wesley says when no photographers are available to cover a story with a reporter, the journalists create their own images with their mobile phones.

Journalists working in the Fiji Times newsroom, which is among the last few remaining news organisations in Fiji to have a dedicated photography department. Image: Catrin Gardiner, Queensland University of Technology

The Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) also encourages journalists to take part in all types of media including, online, radio, and television, even advertising for multimedia journalists. This highlights the global shift of replacing two-person teams in newsrooms.

Nevertheless, the transition to multimedia journalists is not as positive as commonly thought. Complaints against multimedia journalism come from journalists who receive additional tasks, leading to an increase in workload.

FBC advertises for multimedia journalists, reflecting the new standard in newsrooms. Image: FBC TV/Facebook/QUT

Preference for print
Former print journalist turned multimedia journalist at FBC, Litia Cava says she prefers focusing on just print.

She worked a lot less when she was just working in a newspaper, she says.

“When I worked for the paper, I would start at one,” she says. “But here I start working when I walk in.”

Executives at major Fijian news companies, such as Fiji TV’s director of news, current affairs and sports, Felix Chaudhary, also complain about the lack of equipment in their newsrooms to support this wave of multimedia journalism.

“The biggest challenge is the lack of equipment and training,” Chaudhary says.

Fiji TV is doing everything it can to catch up to world standards and provide journalists with the best equipment and training to prepare them for the transition from traditional to multimedia journalism.

“We receive a lot of assistance from PACMAS and Internews,” Chaudhary says. “However, we are constantly looking for more training opportunities. The world is already moving towards that, and we just have to follow suit or get left behind.”

More confidence
Fortunately for young Fijian journalists, Islands Business managing editor Samantha Magick says a lot of younger journalists are more confident to go out and produce and write their own stories.

“It’s the education now,” she says. “All the journalists coming through are multimedia, so not as challenging for them.”

University of South Pacific student journalist Brittany Louise says the practical learning of all the different media in her journalism course will be beneficial for her future.

“I think that’s a major plus,” she says. “You already have some sort of skills so it helps you with whatever different equipment it may be.”

Catrin Gardiner was a student journalist from the Queensland University of Technology who travelled to Fiji with the support of the Australian government’s New Colombo Plan Mobility Programme. This article is published in a partnership of QUT with Asia Pacific Report, Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) and The University of the South Pacific.

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: The team of the Faculty of Information Technologies of NSU won the final of KubanCTF 2024

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University – From October 24 to 25, the International Conference on Information Security “Kuban CSC 2024” and the competition in practical information security “Kuban CTF 2024” were held in Sirius on the territory of the Imeretinsky resort. Team Faculty of Information Technology NSU won the final of the practical information security competition. A total of 16 teams from all over Russia participated in the final.

The team from NSU included:

Roman Lebedev, senior lecturer at the Department of Computer Systems, FIT NSU; Vladimir Sitnov, postgraduate student, assistant at the Department of Computer Systems, FIT NSU; Vladislav Nikiforov, master’s student at FIT NSU.

The Olympiad was held in two stages – a semi-final and a final. The stages were traditional Jeopardy (quiz) and Attack-Defense (CTF competition format, in which teams receive identical servers with a set of vulnerable services, to which the jury periodically sends private information – flags) competitions.

— There are not many CTF competitions in Russia that are accessible not only to students, so we decided to take part. We were also attracted by the location of the event. In addition, it was an opportunity for us to get together as a team. The main thing we managed to learn was that the Kuban CTF 2024 final had a very good level of execution. We can recommend these competitions to our student teams in the future. Personally, I am pleased with the performance. Not only did we win, but we also had a good time, — Roman Lebedev shared his emotions.

Such competitions are primarily good because they give participants the opportunity to test their knowledge and apply it in practice.

Congratulations to the winners!

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: SITI commences visit to Canada (with photos)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, began his visit to Toronto, Canada, on November 4 (Toronto time).

In the morning, Professor Sun visited MaRS Discovery District, an innovation hub, and met with its Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Alison Nankivell, to receive a briefing on the hub’s successful experience in nurturing an innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem. Located close to major universities and hospitals in downtown Toronto, MaRS focuses on nourishing deep technology industries including clean technology and life science. As the largest urban innovation centre in North America, MaRS Discovery District supports 1 200 enterprises and renders direct assistance to enterprises in the hub with a view to building communities of innovators and promoting the adoption of new solutions.

Professor Sun then visited the University of Toronto, and toured the Centre for Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Engineering of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering of the University. Professor Sun met with the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Christopher Yip, and the Acting Associate Vice-President International Partnerships, Professor David Wolfe, and was briefed on the latest developments and research and development (R&D) achievements of the Centre. The Centre brings together universities and industries to translate the latest advances of artificial intelligence and data analytics into technologies in areas ranging from advanced manufacturing to human health. Its team also delivers ongoing guidance for advanced analytics projects in industry settings. Professor Sun encouraged the University to co-operate with universities in Hong Kong to participate in the InnoHK research clusters to strengthen global R&D collaboration.

In the afternoon, Professor Sun visited a start-up that provides storage and delivery services in North America. The start-up adopts a smart platform that automatically processes orders and updates inventory levels in real time. It also utilises robotic shuttles to manage inventories automatically, thereby reducing the overall cost for logistics and delivery services.

Professor Sun attended a networking dinner organised by the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (Toronto Chapter) in the evening, and had an exchange with Hong Kong young people studying and working in Toronto to learn more about their study and work lives in Canada. Professor Sun shared with them Hong Kong’s efforts to develop as an international I&T centre and build an international hub for high-calibre talent. He noted that it is of paramount importance to enlarge the talent pool for the I&T development in Hong Kong, adding that the city is an ideal destination for young people to develop their careers and that Hong Kong youngsters are encouraged to seize the myriad opportunities there.

Professor Sun will proceed to Ottawa and continue his visit on November 5 (Ottawa time).

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: A new campaign rewards young gamers on Roblox for engaging with the US election. What does it mean for global politics?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Digital Literacy and Digital Wellbeing, Western Sydney University

Alex Photo Stock/Shutterstock

If historical trends are anything to go by, most young people in the United States will not vote at this week’s presidential election. For example, at the 2016 presidential election, less than half of Americans aged 18 to 29 cast their ballot.

But a new campaign on the hugely popular online gaming platform Roblox aims to encourage young people in the US to get out and exercise their democratic right on Tuesday.

The “Virtual Vote” initiative is a partnership between Roblox game developers and a national political non-profit organisation called HeadCount.

It has already engaged thousands of Roblox users – and it may mark the beginning of an entirely new way young people worldwide learn about and engage with real-life politics.

The ultimate virtual universe

Roblox is an online gaming platform where people can create an avatar, play a library of user-created games and socialise. Its developers describe it as the “the ultimate virtual universe”.

It has roughly 79.5 million reported daily users globally and is valued at US$38 billion.

The online gaming platform is especially popular among young people. However, it also poses a number of safety risks, including grooming and cyberbullying.

Because of this, some governments have cracked down on Roblox. For example, earlier this year, it was banned in Turkey.

Now the 2024 US presidential election has also entered the Roblox virtual gaming universe.

From games to politics

Virtual Vote is billed as the “first immersive civic engagement campaign”.

Justin Hochberg, CEO of Virtual Brand Group (which develops games for Roblox) and the founder of Virtual Vote stated that his goal was simple:

With 57% of gamers discovering global fashion, sports and entertainment brands while playing, this initiative meets Gen Z where they are to make a difference for the world’s biggest brand — #America.

Virtual Vote was launched just four weeks ago in partnership with Headcount, a long-standing, not-for-profit youth voter engagement platform in the US. Other organisations – many of which are prominent in the online brand and content space – have also come on board.

Players engage with Virtual Vote via popular games on Roblox, such as Livetopia, which has 4.7 billion user visits, and Karlie Kloss’s Fashion Klossette, which has 33.1 million total visits.

Upon entering Virtual Vote, players meet Sam the Eagle, a guide who encourages them to check their voter registration status. Through Sam, players explore interactive maps showing state-specific voting rules and timelines.

Virtual Vote is also a form of gaming and entertainment with big rewards and prizes for players who engage with it. Up for grabs is a trip to Hollywood to meet television presenter Jimmy Kimmel, VIP tickets to see musician Sabrina Carpenter, a snowboarding trip with champion American snowboarder Jamie Anderson, as well as limited-edition merchandise and content to play within Roblox.

In the four weeks since its launch, Virtual Vote has had a strong response from Roblox users. More than 500,000 people have played the mini game so far – almost 4,000 of whom subsequently checked their voter registration status.

Shaping political viewpoints online

Platforms like Roblox, with their massive global youth audiences, are becoming increasingly important for shaping political views and real-world political engagement.

Children and young adults immersed in these virtual worlds may be unknowingly absorbing information and perspectives that could influence their future voting decisions.

Right now, the focus is on voter registration. However, given the huge impact it’s having, there is clear potential for such campaigns to become much more persuasive and biased.

In future, we could see kids vying for rewards within online games or social media that may subtly shape their political viewpoints, which they then carry into how they vote as adults.

This phenomenon has flown under the radar for the current US election. But its impact could be significant. Even more so since young people currently get so much of their news from social platforms.

For example, the current trend on TikTok of women “cancelling out” the pro-Trump votes of their partners reinforces a gender binary for voting habits. These trending videos are fun, comedic, give minimal factual information. But some of them are getting up to two million views each.

Similarly, election-themed videos – many of which have been identified as misinformation – on the popular online video platform YouTube have racked up millions of views in recent weeks.

Exacerbating this situation is that young people often use social media, watch YouTube and play games on Roblox in combination. This can mean triple the impact of how these platforms can shape their political views.

Online games and platforms are constantly shape-shifting and looking for new ways to engage with ever bigger global audiences.

So wherever we live in the world, a campaign like Virtual Vote – seeking to achieve real-world political influence through an online video game platform – are important to pay attention to.

Given the impact of Virtual Vote on so many young people, in such a short period of time, we can expect to see more political influence in their play. Shaping elections in the online space has just taken a new step.

Joanne Orlando has received funding from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.

– ref. A new campaign rewards young gamers on Roblox for engaging with the US election. What does it mean for global politics? – https://theconversation.com/a-new-campaign-rewards-young-gamers-on-roblox-for-engaging-with-the-us-election-what-does-it-mean-for-global-politics-242901

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI: VTR Biotech Unveils Upgraded National Technology and Innovation Center：A Leap Forward in Biotech Innovation

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

CHINA, ZHUHAI, Nov. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Recently, VTR Biotech proudly announces the comprehensive upgrade of its National Enterprise Technology Center, a landmark achievement reflecting its commitment to advancing the biotechnology sector. The history of VTR Biotech began in the early 1990s when the company was founded with a vision to revolutionize the biotechnology landscape in China. From its inception, VTR Biotech has prioritized innovation and scientific excellence, rapidly establishing itself as a leader in the field. In the years that followed, the company made significant strides in research and development, resulting in groundbreaking advancements in biotechnology solutions.

The upgraded center features five state-of-the-art technology platforms: the Genetic Engineering Platform, High-Throughput Screening Platform, Biosynthesis Platform, Technology Transfer Platform, and Technical Support Platform. These platforms are designed to enhance VTR Biotech’s R&D capabilities, paving the way for groundbreaking advancements in biotechnology.

Key investments in high-performance artificial intelligence computing servers, advanced microbial selection robots, liquid handling workstations, and an expanded fully automated fermentation tank system are poised to enhance VTR Biotech’s independent R&D capabilities. These improvements aim to increase research efficiency and facilitate the practical application of research outcomes, ensuring that VTR Biotech remains at the forefront of biotechnological innovation.

“The upgrade of our National R&D Center is a monumental achievement for VTR Biotech,” said Mr. Chen, Chairman of the company. “We are proud to lead a global team of scientists and engineers working on transformative biotechnology solutions in life sciences, including genetic modification, microbiology, biosynthesis technology, and enzyme engineering. This upgrade elevates our R&D capabilities and strengthens our ability to provide innovative solutions to the global market.”

VTR Biotech’s National Enterprise Technology Center is recognized as one of China’s most prestigious enterprise technology innovation platforms, evaluated jointly by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Taxation Administration. This recognition underscores VTR Biotech’s significant contribution to technological advancement in China.

In recent years, VTR Biotech has demonstrated its dedication to research and development by employing over 200 professional R&D personnel, more than 30% of whom hold postgraduate degrees. The center also boasts a team that includes 15 PhDs and 10 senior engineers. Collaborative projects with leading research institutions such as the University of Sydney, South China University of Technology, and South China Agricultural University further emphasize VTR Biotech’s commitment to transforming scientific discoveries into practical applications for the global market.

The company has undertaken four national key R&D program projects and four key R&D projects in Guangdong Province, in addition to establishing 15 national, industry, and group standards. VTR Biotech has been recognized for its innovative efforts, receiving the China Patent Excellence Award for five consecutive years.

As VTR Biotech embarks on this new chapter with the upgraded National Enterprise Technology Center, the company is poised to set new standards in the biotechnology industry, driving innovation and delivering cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of its customers. For more information about VTR Biotech and its upgraded National Enterprise Technology Center, please visit www.vtrbiotech.com

About VTR Biotech

VTR Biotech is a leading biotechnology company dedicated to advancing the field through innovative research and development. With a commitment to scientific excellence and sustainability, VTR Biotech aims to deliver high standard biosolutions that address the challenges faced by the biotechnology industry.

Media Contact

Brand Name: VTR Biotech

Contact Person: Marketing Team

Email: vtrbiotech@vtrbio.com

Tele: +86-756-8676888

Website: www.vtrbiotech.com

SOURCE: VTR Biotech

The MIL Network –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Books explore ancient Greek influences on Asia and emerging Silk Road

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

Some 2,100 to 1,800 years ago in what is today’s northwestern Pakistan, the Gandharan civilization produced sculptures of Buddha and other Buddhist figures with the features of Greek gods wrapped in aristocratic robes.

The Gandhara art persisted until the 7th century and had some influence on the Buddhist sculptures seen in China and other East Asian countries.

“The Buddhist art of Gandhara has amazed and puzzled modern observers since its rediscovery in the 19th century, for the artists of Gandhara … took imagery and styles that ultimately originated in ancient Greece, and they made them Buddhist and Asian, and thereby introduced them into the later traditions of Chinese Buddhist art,” says Peter Stewart, professor of ancient art and director of the Classical Art Research Centre at the University of Oxford.

“They, and that story (of Gandhara), are emblematic of the fascinating filaments that run through all the periods and places explored in this publication,” Stewart says, speaking of the six-volume publication of From Mediterranean to the Yellow River: Hellenistic Civilization and the Silk Road, via video during the book’s signing ceremony for the production of an English version at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair in October.

Stewart is coeditor of the fourth volume, From Apollo to Buddha: Hellenistic Art and the Silk Road Arts, which deals with the dissemination and fusion of art, and which according to him, “traces Western classical art traditions from its Greek origins, looking at how it was disseminated and transformed in the Hellenistic world, how it became the heritage of the Roman Empire, and how it eventually became deeply embedded in the cultures of Central Asia and the steppe”.

Stewart is among the 40-odd researchers and contributors from across the world, who spent almost 10 years finishing the interdisciplinary studies, which were published by the Zhonghua Book Company as a series of books containing around 1,500 pictures.

“The project was vast, but at its heart was a simple proposition — that two distinct areas (the Hellenistic civilization and the Silk Road) of study were intimately connected and could usefully be researched and explained alongside each other,” Stewart says.

“Hellenistic civilization and the Silk Road seem to be two unrelated research fields, but in fact, there is an intrinsic logical relationship between them,” says Yang Juping, the book’s chief editor and a leading professor of Hellenism at Nankai University.

Yang says that the vast empire established by Alexander the Great, and the Hellenistic world he created that extended from the Mediterranean to Central Asia and the borders of India, laid the foundation for the opening of the Silk Road later on. Meanwhile, the ambitions of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) rulers to manage the western regions of their territory and the “exploration” of Central Asia by Zhang Qian ushered in a new era of cultural exchange and mutual learning between the Chinese and Hellenistic civilizations.

“The series is one of the first comprehensive studies of the relationship between the Hellenistic civilization and the Silk Road in China and abroad,” Yang says, adding that the perspective the book brings opens up a new field of research, and has allowed the voices of Chinese scholars to be heard on a global stage on matters that were little known or long disputed.

Each volume has a specific theme, but they are interconnected, and examine the general picture, the historical background, the cities, the currencies and the economic overview of the two areas, along with the Hellenistic heritage in China and along the Silk Road.

The publishing group Springer Nature will serve as an amplifier of these voices by bringing the series to a wider international audience with an English version.

“Today, we are not just releasing a book series, but also launching a dialogue that spans continents and centuries,” says Niels Peter Thomas, Springer Nature’s managing director for books.

Zhang Jihai, deputy editor-in-chief of the Zhonghua Book Company, believes that the series will provide valuable historical references for the Belt and Road Initiative, and be a delight to general readers, providing a glimpse of the overall picture of ancient cultural exchanges between China and the West.

MIL OSI China News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Sun Dong begins Canada visit

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong began his visit to Toronto, Canada, by touring an innovation hub, the University of Toronto and a startup.

In the morning of November 4, Prof Sun visited MaRS Discovery District and met its Chief Executive Officer Alison Nankivell to receive a briefing on the innovation hub’s successful experience in nurturing an innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem.

Located close to major universities and hospitals in downtown Toronto, MaRS focuses on nourishing deep technology industries including clean technology and life science.

It is also the largest urban innovation centre in North America, which supports 1,200 enterprises and renders direct assistance to enterprises, with a view to building communities of innovators and promoting the adoption of new solutions.

Prof Sun then visited the University of Toronto and toured the Centre for Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Engineering of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

He met Faculty Dean Prof Christopher Yip and Acting Associate Vice-President International Partnerships Prof David Wolfe, and was briefed on the centre’s latest developments and research and development (R&D) achievements.

The centre brings together universities and industries to translate the latest advances of artificial intelligence and data analytics into technologies in areas ranging from advanced manufacturing to human health.

Its team also delivers ongoing guidance for advanced analytics projects in industry settings.

Prof Sun encouraged the university to co-operate with universities in Hong Kong to participate in the InnoHK research clusters to strengthen global R&D collaboration.

In the afternoon, the technology chief visited a startup that provides storage and delivery services in North America.

Apart from adopting a smart platform that automatically processes orders and updates inventory levels in real time, the startup also utilises robotic shuttles to manage inventories automatically, thereby reducing the overall cost for logistics and delivery services.

In the evening, Prof Sun attended a networking dinner organised by the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (Toronto Chapter), where he had an exchange with Hong Kong young people studying and working in Toronto to learn more about their studies and work life.

Prof Sun shared with them Hong Kong’s efforts to develop as an international I&T centre and build an international hub for high-calibre talent.

He noted that it is of paramount importance to enlarge the talent pool for Hong Kong’s I&T development, adding that the city is an ideal destination for young people to develop their careers.

He also encouraged Hong Kong youngsters to seize the myriad opportunities.

Prof Sun will proceed to Ottawa and continue his visit.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI China: US election day voting begins with first ballots cast in New Hampshire

Source: China State Council Information Office

Voters in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, went to the polls early Tuesday morning, marking the official start of Election Day voting for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Six registered voters of the tiny town in northeastern United States cast their ballots at midnight, following a tradition that dates back decades ago.

Amid heightened security for fears of violence and chaos, the vast majority of polling stations across the country open on Tuesday morning and will remain open until the evening.

Prior to this, tens of millions of voters across the country have already cast their ballots early, either by voting in person at polling stations or by mail. According to data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab, as of Monday night, more than 82 million voters had already cast their ballots.

This election is widely regarded as one of the most divisive in American history. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump have repeatedly warned against potentially catastrophic consequences inflicted on the country if the other is elected. Voters hold vastly different views on key issues such as the economy, immigration, and abortion rights.

According to an annual survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, 77 percent of U.S. adults said the future of the nation was a significant source of stress in their lives. Additionally, 74 percent said they were worried that the election results could lead to violence.

“I would hope that whoever wins the presidential election will handle it gracefully, and whoever doesn’t win, likewise, will handle it gracefully,” Annmarie Pintal, one of the just six voters registered to vote in Dixville Notch, told Xinhua.

“We need unity. We need to come together on the common ground, and, be willing to set aside our differences,” said Scott Maxwell, another voter in the small town.

MIL OSI China News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK to create world-first ‘early warning system’ for pandemics
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

The government is set to partner with Oxford Nanopore, which uses technology to rapidly diagnose a range of cancers, along with rare and infectious diseases
New partnership with cutting-edge life sciences company Oxford Nanopore will lead to better scientific research and could create tests and treatments for patients, saving lives

Patients suspected of having severe acute respiratory infections will be diagnosed within 6 hours, supporting the establishment of a new diagnostic system

Technology will allow potential outbreaks of bacterial or viral diseases to be monitored alongside antimicrobial resistance, shifting NHS from analogue to digital as part of 10-Year Health Plan

The UK will create the world’s first real-time surveillance system to monitor the threat of future pandemics, prevent disease, and protect the public.

Plans have been announced to form a new partnership between the government, Genomics England, UK Biobank, NHS England, and Oxford Nanopore – a UK-headquartered, world-leading life sciences company.

Oxford Nanopore uses long read sequencing technology to analyse genes and pathogens to rapidly diagnose a range of cancers, along with rare and infectious diseases. The technology can sequence long strands of DNA or RNA in one go, without breaking it up into smaller fragments.

In infectious diseases, Oxford Nanopore’s technology will help to create an early warning system for future pandemics and potential biological threats, both preventing disease and protecting the public.

It will be used in the expansion of NHS England’s Respiratory Metagenomics programme, being led by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT). It uses samples from patients with severe respiratory infections and rapid genetic testing to match those patients with the right treatments within 6 hours.

This novel and world-leading application, developed in partnership with the NHS, will allow potential outbreaks of bacterial or viral diseases to be monitored alongside antimicrobial resistance across the country.

Following an initial successful pilot at St Thomas’ Hospital, the technology will now be rolled out from 10 to up to 30 NHS sites to address the current time lag between new pathogens emerging in the UK and action being taken to both treat affected patients and to prevent their spread, which will benefit people everywhere.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

If we fail to prepare, we should prepare to fail. Our NHS was already on its knees when the pandemic struck, and it was hit harder than any other comparable healthcare system.

We cannot let history repeat itself. That’s why this historic partnership with Oxford Nanopore will ensure our world-leading scientists have the latest information on emerging threats at their fingertips.

As we embrace the technological revolution, our 10-Year Health Plan will shift the NHS away from analogue to digital, saving countless more lives.

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:

During the Covid pandemic, we saw the power of the UK life sciences sector very clearly, from the Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccine that saved so many lives, through to operating one of the world’s most effective Covid surveillance systems, which spotted several emerging variants of the disease.

This partnership will build on that expertise to monitor emerging diseases as they arise, putting our scientists and decision-makers one-step ahead and providing the information they need to make informed decisions.

Together with the ability to better diagnose cancers and rare diseases, we are leveraging UK life sciences to protect the public and ultimately save lives.

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at UK Health Security Agency, said:

Early detection is absolutely crucial in enabling us to respond effectively to any emerging pathogen. The UK already has a wealth of expertise in genomic surveillance, and this programme will build on that expertise and enable us to bring our resources and capability to tackle developing threats at greater speed. Enhancing the capacity for the NHS to determine new and emerging pathogens causing severe acute respiratory infections will improve the detection and emergence of infections.

As part of the 100 days mission, this will enable the development of effective diagnostics for novel pathogens and enhance our pandemic preparedness.

Oxford Nanopore CEO Gordon Sanghera said:

The UK has a remarkable life science ecosystem, and we are delighted to be working more closely with the UK government and the NHS in this collaboration.

The world-renowned Genomics England and UK Biobank have led the way in scaling genomics discovery and translating these advances into patient impact.

By working alongside our partners on shared goals of improved patient outcomes – whether in cancer, genetic disease or infectious disease – and pandemic preparedness, we believe we can deploy our unique DNA sequencing technology in ways that are most impactful for the people of the UK.

Professor Ian Abbs, chief executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, said:

We’ve been working on the respiratory metagenomics programme for over 4 years and have clearly seen the benefit to our patients. It’s a momentous day now that we can ensure other hospitals, and more patients, can also benefit from faster and more accurate treatment for severe respiratory conditions thanks to new genomic technology.

As part of the expansion to the metagenomics programme, the data gathered using Oxford Nanopore’s technology will be provided to the UK Health and Security Agency, allowing quicker detection and action on emerging infectious diseases to be taken.

The collaboration between the government and Oxford Nanopore – which will also join up Genomics England and UK Biobank with NHS England – is another key vote of confidence in the UK’s life sciences sector, which will help kickstart economic growth and support the 10-Year Health Plan’s ambition to shift the health service from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention, helping keep patients out of hospital.

Genomics England will work strategically with Oxford Nanopore to further insights from the data they hold, including on cancer and rare diseases, to enable future breakthroughs in identifying genomic mutations that may be treatable and preventing these devastating conditions. UK Biobank will also continue to work with Oxford Nanopore and the government to improve the insights from their data and translate these into impact for NHS patients.

Along with the vast benefits to patients, this work will drive economic growth, supporting the expansion of one of our most promising life sciences companies.

This partnership comes hot on the heels of the Budget, where the government announced investment of £40m over 5 years in a Proof of Concept Fund for spinouts, companies formed based on academic research generated within and owned by a university.

This will build on the excellent example set by Oxford Nanopore, one of the UK’s most successful spinout companies, having been founded at Oxford University in 2005. This fund could help to unleash a raft of innovative new spinouts like Oxford Nanopore, helping to drive job creation and economic growth.

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Published 5 November 2024
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Internship of Russian specialists in China has started

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

On November 4, a group of Russian specialists – graduates of the Presidential Program, led by the Director of the Federal Resource Center Alexey Bunkin, arrived in the People’s Republic of China in Beijing to undergo an overseas internship in the areas of “Economic Cooperation in Mechanical Engineering” and “General Economic Cooperation”. 50 representatives of Russian business from 20 regions of the Russian Federation will undergo an intensive internship in the largest organizations in Beijing and Shanghai for a week.

The rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev is taking part in the Russian business mission. Let us recall that the State University of Management has been the operator of the program for training Russian specialists abroad for the third year in a row, which is conducted for graduates of the Presidential Program for Training Management Personnel for Organizations of the National Economy of the Russian Federation.

The business program of internship of Russian specialists in Beijing was opened by the director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “FRC” Alexey Bunkin, emphasizing that the internship opens up great opportunities for business representatives to establish business contacts, get acquainted with the peculiarities of the organization and management of enterprises, and study the experience of high-tech production.

Then, the rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev made a welcoming speech, noting that the program for training specialists abroad is a kind of driver for the development of trade and economic relations between the Russian Federation and other countries, providing participants with the opportunity to establish business contacts for the development of mutually beneficial economic ties and their own business, meet foreign partners, study the equipment and technologies offered, and negotiate with potential partners in specific areas and types of activities. Vladimir Stroyev also emphasized that internships are highly effective in terms of building horizontal ties and partnerships among Russian specialists. The rector of the State University of Management expressed confidence that the implementation of such projects will help form a new generation of entrepreneurs operating on the basis of specially formed competencies and practical skills in building international economic cooperation.

After the completion of the official opening of the program, representatives of the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in the People’s Republic of China, the Representative Office of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation in the People’s Republic of China, and the Russian House in Beijing made presentations.

The speakers talked about how to find a Chinese counterparty and start exporting your products to China, about the financial aspects of entering the Chinese market and checking the reliability of Chinese companies. The reports caused a lively discussion and a large block of questions.

Representatives of Russian departments in China wished the interns fruitful work and successful completion of the program and once again emphasized their readiness to provide assistance and support in the implementation of business projects for the benefit of the interests of Russian-Chinese trade and economic relations.

The first day’s program ended with an organizational meeting with the working group of the State University of Management under the leadership of Vice-Rector Dmitry Bryukhanov, during which they discussed in detail the upcoming events of the program, the specifics of representing Russian companies at meetings with representatives of the Chinese business community in terms of intercultural communication and the specifics of conducting negotiations with potential partners at B2B and individual meetings.

Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 11/5/2024

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI China: New initiative digs into literature for cinematic inspiration

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

The inaugural Neutron Star Fiction Monthly Film & TV Adaptation Value Potential List was unveiled on Nov. 1, awarding 10 works that could be adapted into either films or TV series. Taking place in Beijing, the event also promoted the close connection between literature and film.

Renowned screenwriter Chen Yu, chairman of Neutron Star Films, speaks at the Neutron Star Fiction Monthly Film & TV Adaptation Value Potential List release ceremony in Beijing, Nov. 1, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Neutron Star Films]

Neutron Star Films, Yida Media alongside Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House jointly announced the list to forge stronger connections between distinguished authors and film and TV producers.

According to organizers, the initiative seeks to display literary works’ potential to become film and TV adaptations. This provides a more diverse variety of compelling storytelling blueprints for film and TV creation, thereby fostering reciprocity and co-prosperous development between sectors of the media and entertainment industry.

Organizers spent a year gathering over 370 literary works from issues of Fiction Monthly, and its various versions, as well as Science Fiction Cube. All publications are distributed by Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House. After three rounds of evaluations by experts and industry leaders, five short stories and five novellas were chosen. The final 10 works were selected based on having the highest potential for film and TV adaptation.

For best short stories, the five works selected were “Night Wanderer,” “Birds Fly into the Forest,” “The Case of the Missing Shepherd,” “1993” and “Going to the Future for Shopping.” For best novellas “Land of No Name,” “Architecture Ethics,” “Remain Silent,” “Mutual Hunt” and “High Building in the Northwest” were chosen as potential source material for film and TV adaptions. The selected works cover topics such as romance, martial arts and contemporary urban life. Among them, “Night Wanderer” and “Land of No Name” were the highest-voted works in the short story and novella categories, respectively.

The organizers promised that they will deliver these literary works to production companies within the film and TV industry. This initiative aims to fully meet the market’s demand for a diverse range of film and TV content while also addressing the various needs of streaming platforms and their audiences.

Organizers of the event pose with the shortlisted works’ writers for a photo at the Neutron Star Fiction Monthly Film & TV Adaptation Value Potential List release ceremony in Beijing, Nov. 1, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Neutron Star Films]

“The profound expression of classic literature is still needed in the fragmented viewing atmosphere of the short video era, thus adaptations of classic literature into films and television series have ‘essential’ value in this age,” veteran screenwriter Chen Yu pointed out during the event to announce the 10 literary works.

Chen Yu, also a professor at Peking University and a famed director, is responsible for several blockbusters that were directed by China’s prominent filmmaker Zhang Yimou, such as “Under the Light” and “Full River Red.” Chen Yu founded Neutron Star Films and has served as its chairman since last year.

He noted that the film and TV industry’s lack of original content makes the search for excellent stories urgent. For the 10 shortlisted works, Chen Yu not only highlighted their textual values but also offered guidance on potential methods to develop them into film and TV projects, providing project references and discussing their relevance to contemporary values.

Speakers pose for a photo on stage after a forum themed “How film and TV works draw nutrients from literature,” held following the Neutron Star Fiction Monthly Film & TV Adaptation Value Potential List release ceremony in Beijing, Nov. 1, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Neutron Star Films]

A forum themed “How film and TV works draw nutrients from literature” was held following the announcement of the list, with six heavyweight speakers joining the panel to share their insight and experiences.

During the session, Chen Yan (no relation to Chen Yu), vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association and the China Theatre Association, emphasized that even short literary works should convey a grand theme and delve into the finer details of life, focusing primarily on a rich depiction of human nature. Regarding cinematic adaptations, he noted that while film and TV versions of literary works should respect the original work’s intent, scriptwriters should also have the freedom for creative interpretation.

Chen Yu believes that to determine whether a novel is worth adapting into a film or TV drama several criteria should be considered, including whether the work possesses contemporary relevance and originality as well as features distinctive characters and character relationships.

MIL OSI China News –

January 26, 2025

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Year End Review 2024: Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation,

Source: Government of India (2)

Posted On: 25 JAN 2025 10:14AM by PIB Delhi

The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of JalShakti has been working relentlessly towards achieving the vision and mission of making India a ‘Water Secure Country’ as envisioned by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, formed in 2019 by bringing together all water related departments and organizations under one umbrella Ministry, has been playing a pivotal role in implementation of a focused strategy towards making India ‘Water Secure’ while ensuring optimal utilization of precious and scarce water resources across the nation. During the year2024, the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has undertaken several new initiatives and achieved significant outcomes/milestones. Following is some of the key achievements of the Department in 2024:

National Mission forClean Ganga (NMCG)

National Mission for Clean Ganga, in the year 2024, completed 25 projects which resulted in the completion of a cumulative total of 303 projects, sofar, and also sanctioned 39 new projects amounting to ₹ 2,056 crore, bringing the cumulative total to 488 projects sanctioned worth ₹ 39,730 crore. In sewerage infrastructure, 12 projects for the creation/ rehabilitation of 305 MLD sewage treatment capacity have been sanctioned between January to December 2024. In the same period, 16 projects for the creation/ rehabilitation of 750 MLD sewage treatment capacity have been completed. Till date, a total of 203 sewerage infrastructure projects have been sanctioned in the Ganga Basin for the creation of 6,255 MLD sewage treatment capacity and the laying of a 5,249 km sewer network.

Other key achievements during the year 2024 are as follows:

(A) Inauguration and Laying of Foundation Stones Sewerage infrastructure projects by Hon’ble Prime Minister (Under Nirmal Ganga)

On 25^thJanuary 2024, the Hon’ble Prime Minister inaugurated the following projects with a cumulative cost of ₹ 790.5 Crores from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.

Construction of 30 MLD STP at Masani, Mathura (under Hybrid Annuity-basedPPP (HAM) model under Namami Gange Program), Rehabilitation of existing (30 MLD at Trans Yamuna and 6.8 MLD STP at Masani, Mathura) total 36.8 MLD and Construction of 20 MLD TTRO plant (Tertiary Treatment and Reverse Osmosis Plant), Masani, Mathura

Construction of 58 MLD STP with 264 km and sewerage Network at Moradabad

On 1st March 2023, the Hon’ble Prime Minister inaugurated three projects worth
₹ 575 crore from Hooghly, West Bengal. These projects include, 40 MLD STP work with Interception & Diversion at Bally, West Bengal, 60 MLD STP work with Interception & Diversion at Kamarhati and Baranagar Municipalities, West Bengal and 65 MLD STP work with Interception & Diversion at Howrah.

On 2^nd March 2024, the Hon’ble Prime Minister inaugurated twelve projects worth ₹ 2,189 crore from Aurangabad, Bihar. These projects include 60 MLD STP and 162 km sewerage network at Saidpur, Patna, 60 MLD STP at Pahari, Patna, 93 km sewerage network at Pahari Zone IVA (S), Patna, 116 km sewerage network at Pahari Zone V, Patna, 180 km sewerage network at Beur, Patna, 96 km sewerage network at Karmalichak, Patna, 11 MLD STP at Barh, Patna, 10 MLD STP at Sultanganj, Bhagalpur, 9 MLD STP at Naugachia, Bhagalpur, 3.50 MLD STP at Sonepur, Saran, 32 MLD STP at Chhapra, Saran.

On 10^th March 2024, the Hon’ble Prime Minister inaugurated three sewage projects worth ₹ 1,114 crore from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. These projects include 72 MLD STP and I&D network work at Naini (District-G, 42 MLD), Phaphamau (District-F, 14 MLD) and Jhunsi (16 MLD), Prayagraj, 30 MLD STP and I&D network work at Jaunpur and 45 MLD STP and I&D network work at Etawah.

On 2^nd October 2024, the Hon’ble Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for ten sewage treatment plant (STP) projects with a total cost of ₹ 1,555 crore. Among these, five projects worth ₹ 534.25 crore were inaugurated across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Additionally, laid the foundation stone for five more projects across Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, amounting to ₹ 1,021 crore.

(B) Inauguration and Laying of Foundation Stones Sewerage infrastructure projects by Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti (Under Nirmal Ganga)

On 4^th January 2024, the Hon’ble Union Minister for Jal Shakti inaugurated 14 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) with a 2.4 km Interception & Diversion (I&D) Network worth ₹ 77.36 crores in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.

On 18^th January 2024, the Hon’ble Union Minister for Jal Shakti laid the foundation stone for the 220 MLD Meerut sewage treatment plant (STP) with interception and diversion (I&D) project worth ₹ 370 crore in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

Training on Occupational Health & Safety Audit

NMCG organized 9 virtual safety training program and trained more than 1,500 officials on “Occupational Health and Safety Audit (OHSA)” From January 2024 to December 2024, to ensure workplace safety and compliance.

Activities Under Biodiversity Conservation (Under Aviral Ganga)

The programme has sanctioned projects focused on protecting and rehabilitating fishery, turtles, crocodiles, and dolphins. Projects Sanctioned in the year 2024 are as under :

Advancing Rescue System for the protection of stranded Ganges river Dolphins.
Conservation, Reintroduction, and Rehabilitation of threatened Turtles along ganga basin.

· Expanding Conservation Breeding Programme of Freshwater Turtle and Gharial at Kukrail Rehabilitation Centre, Lucknow

NMCG, in partnership with CIFRI, has successfully implemented fish ranching programs for Indian Major Carps and other species. In 2024, notable achievements include – Ranching of Indian Major Carps (IMC): 49.25 lakhs, Mahseer: 7,370, Hilsa: 42,117 and Hilsa tagging: 1,387 nos.

Important Activities (under Jan Ganga)

Launch of Namami Niranjana Abhiyan: NMCG launched the “Namami Niranjana Abhiyan” on 20^th February 2024, aimed at ensuring the perennial flow of the Niranjana (Falgu) river and bolstering the ongoing efforts of the “Niranjana (Falgu) River Recharge Mission”. The Falgu river, revered as Niranjana in Bodhgaya and Falgu in Gaya, originates from Belgadda in the Simaria block of Chatra district, Jharkhand, holding profound significance in the Hindu Sanatan religion. Pilgrims partake in rituals such as PindDaan and Tarpan for their ancestors using water from the Falgu river.
Celebration of International Day of Yoga: On the occasion of the International Day of Yoga, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organized ‘Ghat Par Yoga’ at BSF Camp, Zero Pushta, Sonia Vihar in Delhi on the bank of River Yamuna on 21^st June, 2024. Over 1,000 people participated in the event including officials and staff from the NMCG, NGOs under the Yamuna Action Plan (YAP-III) of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the Border Security Force (BSF), Ganga Vichar Manch, various other NGOs, as well as students and children.
8^thIndia Water Week 2024: The 8^th edition of India Water Week (IWW) 2024 was held during 17-20 September 2024, in New Delhi, on the theme “Partnerships and Cooperation for Inclusive Water Development and Management.” This prestigious international event has become a key platform for collaboration in water resource management. The event was inaugurated by the President of India, alongside Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti, and Hon’ble Minister of State for Jal Shakti.

Ganga Utsav- A River Festival 2024: On 4^th November 2024, the 8th edition of Ganga Utsav was organized by NMCG at scenic Chandi Ghat in Haridwar to promote the conservation of the Ganga River, emphasize its cultural and spiritual importance, and raise public awareness about cleanliness. The event was inaugurated by Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti in the august presence of the Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Hon’ble Uttarakhand Minister for Women & Child Welfare, Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, and DG, NMCG. This eighth edition of the event was the first time held on the riverbank, with celebrations extending across more than 110 districts in the Ganga basin states.The event featured participants from diverse spheres, including students, scientists, spiritual leaders, and more.
9^th India Water Impact Summit: The 9^th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) & 2^nd Climate Investments and Technology Impact Summit were organised jointly by NMCG & c-Ganga from 4^th to 6^th December 2024 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

International Collaboration

Meeting with German Delegates: On 9^th May 2024, a meeting was held with the Deputy Head of the Economic Division, German Embassy to discuss the current status of projects aimed at rejuvenating the Ganga River, supported through bilateral cooperation between India and Germany.
Workshop on Strengthening Quality Infrastructure for Water Monitoring of the Ganges River II: NMCG in association with Physikalisch- Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) under Indo-German Technical Cooperation Programme organised a 6-day training programme from 22^nd July to 31^st July 2024.
Inception Workshop for District Ganga Plans: On 5^th July 2024, NMCG in association with GIZ organized an inception workshop for the District Ganga Plans. The workshop aimed to create comprehensive District Ganga Plans (DGPs) based on a River Basin Management approach, which has been prepared for four pilot districts.
Smart Laboratory for Clean Rivers (SLCR): The Smart Lab for Clean Rivers (SLCR) has been set up under the Green Strategic Partnership between India and Denmark to bring global solutions on current challenges in the field of clean river water, conduct collaborative research and development to fit in real environment through Living lab approach and creation of platform between Government authorities, academic institutions and technology providers for knowledge sharing and co-creation to achieve clean river water.
Meeting of the Joint Review Committee: On 9^th October 2024, the first meeting of the Joint Review Committee (JRC) under the India-Israel Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was held under the chairmanship of DG, NMCG, to address priority areas such as reducing non-revenue water, urban water management through IoT and AI, wastewater treatment, and sewage sludge management.

Development of knowledge products (Under Gyan Ganga)

The ‘River Atlas for Ganga Main Stem Districts’, an in-house developed knowledge product of the GKC was launched by the Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti on 09^thDecember 2024 during the 13th Empowered Task Force Meeting. The atlas comprises maps of River Ganga and its tributaries, covering five main stem states in the Ganga basin – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. This comprehensive Atlas is essential for the effective implementation of policies and programs and accurate planning and informed decision-making.

National Water Mission (NWM)

MoU with Girganga Parivar Trust (Girganga) has been signed on 22.10.2024 on Pro bono basis. They have committed to build 11,111 bore well recharge and 11,111 check dams.
MoU with Sarkaritel.com/jalprahari.in has been signed on 13.12.2024 on Pro bono basis. They have committed for generating awareness on Water Conservation in the public.
MoU with Vyakti Vikas Kendra India (VVKI), the Art of Living has been signed on 16.12.2024 on Pro bono basis. They have committed for creating of Water recharge structure with the help of implementing many River Rejuvenation Programs through Government scheme MGNREGA

Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune
Central Soil and Material Research Station, New Delhi
National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee
Central Water Commission, New Delhi

Publication of research/ technical reports – 281 Nos.
Organisation of Trainings and workshops – 94 Nos.
Training of people for capacity building- 2623 persons
Publication of high impact technical report & research papers – 18 Nos.

13 new research schemes has been recommended by Standing Advisory Committee and approved by Secretary (WR).
The research project “Hydro-geological Assessment and Socio-Economic implications of Depleting Water Resources in tourist towns of Uttarakhand” has been completed.
The research project “Irrigation Efficiency Improvement through On–farm Water Management” has been completed.
The research project “Dynamic Downscaling to study Climate Change Impacts on
Water Resource in India” has been completed.

National Water Development Agency (NWDA): Inter-Linking of Rivers Project

Under National Perspective Plan (NPP) formulated by Government of India, 30 inter-basin water transfer links (16 Peninsular and 14 Himalayan component) have been identified by National Water Development Agency for preparation of Feasibility Reports. Detailed Projects Reports (DPRs) of 11 links, Feasibility Reports (FRs) of 26 links and Pre-Feasibility Reports (PFRs) of all the 30 links have been prepared. The Inter-Linking River (ILR) Programme has been taken up on high priority by Government of India. The works related to ILR projects are already in progress. Five links have been identified as priority links by Govt. of India viz., Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal Link Project (MPKC) and Godavari-Cauvery (G-C) Link Project (comprising of 3 link systems).

System studies of four link projects viz.; Manas-Sanksoh-Teesta-Ganga (MSTG) link, Ganga-Damodar-Subernarekha (GDS) link, Subernarekha-Mahanadi (SM) link and Farakka-Sunderbans (FS) link have been initiated and the work of these four links has been awarded to IIT, Guwahati, NIT, Patna, NIT, Warangal and NIH, Roorkee respectively. Inception Reports have been submitted in June, 2023 by all the four Institutes. The draft final reports of MSTG and GDS have been submitted by the respective Institutes. The system studies of Mahanadi-Godavari link have been completed by NIH, Roorkee and the Final Report has been submitted in May, 2023. Awarding of work for system studies of southern linkage initiated, however, it may be taken up after finalization of quantity of water that can be transferred from MSTG, GDS, FS and SM link projects to Mahanadi river, as per system studies.

Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP): is the first inter-linking of rivers (ILR) project for which implementation has been initiated. The project will be of immense benefit to the water starved Bundelkhand Region, spread across the States of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh which includes districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Niwari, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpur&Raisen and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi & Lalitpur respectively. The status of KBLP is as given below:

Subsequent to signing of tripartite agreement in year, 2021, Govt. of India approved implementation of the project in December, 2021 at an estimated cost of Rs. 44,605 Crore with central support of Rs. 39,317 Crore.
With allocation of budget under RE of FY 2021-22, the implementation of the project has started.
Steering Committee and Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority (KBLPA) were been constituted vide Gazette Notification dated 11.02.2022.
KBLPA HQ Office is set up at Bhopal with three more offices at Chhatarpur, Panna and Jhansi, which are fully functional with regular CEO/ACEOs, Director (Fin.) and other officials.
Six meetings of Steering Committee and Six meetings of KBLPA have been held so far.
Initially the focus is on land acquisition, R&R, fulfilling the compliances to the conditions of forest clearance and wildlife clearance.
Greater Panna Landscape Council (GPLC) under Chief Secretary, Govt. of MP has been constituted for implementation of Landscape Management Plan through various stakeholders. Its first meeting was held on 05.09.23. Sub-Committee of GPLC was constituted on 16.10.2023 and its 1^st& 2^nd meetings were held on 17.10.2023 & 29.11.2023 respectively.
Planning for an Integrated Research and Learning Centre (IRLC) at Panna has already been initiated by WII.
The Monitoring Committee for R&R works of KBLP under Secretary, DoLR, MoRD has been constituted.
Collector, Chhattarpur has made payment of Rs. 197.23 Crore to the affected Families. Whereas, Collector Panna has made payment of Rs.76.82 Crore to the affected families of Panna. The remaining Land Acquisition Payment for Private land in both the districts are in Progress.
The work for engagement of Project Management Consultant (PMC) is in process. 9 bids were received for PMC, Result of Technical Evaluation of Bids was published on the CPP Portal on 22.08.2024. The Financial Proposals of the 5 technically qualified firms were opened on 10.09.2024. 20 meetings of Consultancy Evaluation Committee (CEC) for hiring PMC have been held so far. 20^th meeting of CEC was held on 11.09.2024 for financial evaluation of bids. After financial and technical evaluation of bids received, recommendations of the CEC have been submitted to DoWR,RD&GR, MoJS for approval on 13.09.2024.
A Technical Advisory Group for KBLP (TAG-KBLP) for KBLPA has been constituted to review and advise KBLPA on various planning and technical matters on implementation of various components of the link project. 10 meetings of TAG have been held so far.
The tender document for the main component of the project i.e. Daudhan dam and its Appurtenant works (EPC mode) was finalized by Technical Advisory Group of KBLP and the Tender Evaluation Committee (TEC) and floated on CPP portal on 11.08.2023. The complete proposal of technical and financial evaluation of bids was sent to Ministry of Jal Shakti that has been approved by Ministry. Subsequently, KBLPA has issued Letter of Acceptance to M/s NCC Limited for the work of Daudhan dam on 28.11.2024.
Stage–II Forest Clearance for diversion of 6017.00 ha of forest land for development of KBLP has been accorded by MoEF& CC on 03.10.2023.
The draft tender for EPC execution of Ken-Betwa Link Canal is prepared in two packages and circulated to State Governments of MP and UP for their comments/suggestions. Suggestions from Govt. of UP have been received.
PTR has accepted total 6017 ha non-forest land Transferred/ Mutated. Notification of 6017 ha has been completed by Forest Department under section-29 of Indian Forest Act-1927 and has been published.
Land in submergence: 3239 ha (Govt. Land: 1784.67 ha + Private Land 1454.33 ha) of land is coming under submergence area of Daudhan Dam. Private land of 1454.33 ha and Government land of 1604.429 ha has been mutated in favour of WRD, MP. Balance 180.241 ha Government land is likely to be transferred to WRD, MP soon.
Land Acquisition for Ken Betwa Link canal (99 villages of MP and 10 villages of UP) is under progress.
The work on State specific components like Lower Orr, Kotha Barrage and Bina Complex Multipurpose Project is already in progress. Head Works of Lower Orr has been completed whereas Head Works for Kotha & Bina are ongoing.

Cumulative Progress (%) upto December, 2024

Lower Orr : 67.00
Kotha Barrage: 59.00
Bina Complex: 50.20

The preparation of DPRs of components of UP likes two barrages, renovation and modernization of Tanks of Mahoba district, renovation and modernization of three weirs and ken command system is in progress.
Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji laid the Foundation Stone of KBLP on 25.12.2024 at Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh).
The project is planned to be completed in 8 years by March, 2030.

Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal Link Project (MPKC):

PFR has been circulated to concerned States. The work of DPRs is under progress.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed on 28.01.2024 amongst States of MP, Rajasthan and Govt. of India.
Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) of Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link project has been signed on 05.12.2024 amongst States of MP, Rajasthan and Govt. of India. Subsequently Hon’ble Prime Minister declared the signing of the agreement on 17^th December, 2024 at Rajasthan.

Godavari-Cauvery (G-C) Link Project (comprising of 3 link systems):

Modified proposal for transfer of 4189 MCM of water from Godavari along with supplementation in Krishna basin through Bedti-Varda link (524 MCM) has been studied by NWDA.
Draft DPR of the modified /revised proposal has circulated to the concerned State/UT during Jan., 2024.
Draft MoA has been prepared for implementation of the project and circulated to concerned State/UT for perusal and observation during April, 2024.
Concerted efforts are being made for building up consensus amongst the States/UT for signing of MoA for the early implementation of this link project.

8^th India Water Week 2024:

IWW-2024 was successfully organized/held from 17^th to 20^th September, 2024 at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
The theme of the 8^th India Water Week is “Partnerships and Cooperation for Inclusive Water Development and Management”.
The mega event was inaugurated by the Hon’ble President of India.
The four-day multi-disciplinary conference comprises of Ministerial Plenary, Global Water Leaders’ Plenary (2), Country Forum (4), Water Leaders Forum (9), Practitioner’s Forum (8), Startup Forum, Youth Forum, Water Convention (18) one-day study tour and concurrently organized exhibition. Denmark, Australia and Israel were the Partner Countries. There were 15 Partner States viz.; Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, J&K, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.

More than 4500 delegates from India & abroad participated in the IWW-2024. About 215 delegates from 40 countries participated in the conference. Parallel to the conference, in the exhibition 143 Exhibitors from Central, States Government, Public Sector undertakings, Private Firms, NGOs, Startups and Schools etc. showcased their technologies.

Central Water Commission (CWC)

(i) Central Water Commission has undertaken sedimentation assessment studies of selected reservoirs located in various States using Satellite Remote Sensing technique under the plan scheme “Research & Development Programme in Water Sector”. It is planned to take up the studies in respect of 80 reservoirs during 2021-26. Accordingly, the work of carrying out the study for the first batch of 40 reservoirs was outsourced. Due to non-availability of either the desired water levels or satellite data for a reservoir on date of satellite pass, study in respect of 31 reservoirs was feasible which has been completed and reports published during 2022 to 2024. Besides this sedimentation studies in respect of 30 reservoirs have been completed in-house using Remote Sensing Techniques. Furthermore, a Google Earth Engine-based tool has also been developed by CWC officers, in-house under Smart Water Resources Modelling Organization (SWRMO) – Centre for Excellence, to automate the assessment of sedimentation in the live storage zone of reservoir.

(ii) A World Bank (WB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) team conducted the Mid-Term Review (MTR) mission for the Second Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP-2) between January 17 and May 3, 2024. The mission held discussions with Implementing Agencies (IAs) in Bhubaneshwar (Odisha), Surat (Gujarat), and New Delhi and undertook field visits to selected dams in Gujarat (Ukai) and Odisha (Hirakud, Rengali). The wrap-up meeting was held in New Delhi, chaired by Joint Secretary, D/o WR, RD&GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) and attended by Project Director, Central Water Commission (CWC), members of the Central Project Management Unit (CPMU), the Engineering and Management Consultant (EMC), and representatives of all Implementing Agencies (IA). As part of the mission, a detailed exercise on the use of the rapid risk assessment tool for Indian dams, in compliance with the National Dam Safety Act 2021, was carried out between March 5 and May 3, 2024.

(iii) The quarterly dialogues on Coastal Area Management, initiated as per the direction of the Chairman, Central Water Commission (CWC) was held in April and May 2024.These dialogues brought together stakeholders from various levels of government, research institutions, and relevant departments to discuss pressing issues such as coastal erosion, salinity ingress, and the need for robust data collection and management. The dialogues provided a platform for sharing information, best practices, and innovative solutions from all stakeholders. As an outcome of the Quarterly Dialogue, CWC has published a report titled “Status Report on Coastal Area Management- An Indian Perspective, Region Issues & Remedial Measures”. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and initiatives related to coastal management in India. The report highlights the significant impacts of coastal erosion and salinity ingress, emphasizing the need for robust data collection, effective mitigation strategies, and increased collaboration among stakeholders.

(iv) A Smart Water Resources Modelling Organization acts as Centre of Excellence to grow as a pioneering hub for developing in-house expertise and innovation in tackling diverse problem statements and studies in water sector and directly reports to Chairman, CWC.

(v) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 06.06.2024between Central Water Commission (CWC) and IIT, Roorkeefor research work related to Irrigation Efficiency Assessment, Water Accounting studies, Cropped Area Mapping, Water Auditing, Urban Flood Forecasting & Risk Management, Urban Flood Inundation & Hazard Mapping, etc. These works will be carried out through mutual consultations and collaboration, leveraging the expertise and resources of both institutions.

(vi) A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Central Water Commission (CWC) and Space Application Centre (SAC) in the field of hydrology and water resources management, leveraging remote sensing and collaborative research efforts for mutual benefit on 08^th July,2024.

(vii) Support for Irrigation Modernization Program (SIMP): Central Water Commission (CWC), DoWR, RD & GR has taken up an initiative Support for Irrigation Modernization Program (SIMP) with technical assistance from theAsian Development Bank (ADB) to modernize Major/ Medium Irrigation (MMI) projects in the country.

(viii) SIMP is proposed to be taken up in 4 phases. SIMP Phase-1 concluded on 31.12.2021 under which 4 MMI projects have been identified for inclusion under 1st batch of projects for preparation of Irrigation Modernization Plans (IMPs) out of the 57 proposals received from 14 States and 2 UTs. The entire process including the preparation of IMPs, Detailed Project Report (DPRs), detailed designs and final implementation/ project execution is expected to be completed by Phase-4. Implementation of the project would lie with the concerned States who would have an option to either fund it from their own resources or they can avail loan facility from ADB or any other financial institutions.

(ix) SIMP Phase-2 was initiated from November 2022. Irrigation Modernization Plan (IMP) of four projects namely VanivilasaSagara Project, Karnataka, Palkhed Project Maharashtra, Purna Project, Maharashtra and Loharu Lift Irrigation Project, Haryana have been prepared. As a 1st step for preparation of IMPs, FAO developed RAP-MASSCOTE (Rapid Appraisal Procedure-Mapping System and Services for Canal Operation Techniques) workshops were organized to assess the present status of the identified four projects. The findings of RAP MASSCOTE workshops and issues related to Batch 1 SIMP projects were discussed in a mid-term workshop organized by ADB and CWC on 09.06.2023 at New Delhi.

For capacity building under SIMP phase-II, the following activities were organized:

From 6th to 10th November 2023, a five days training on modernization and design of Pipe Distribution Networks (PDN) was organized at Panchkula/ Chandigarh. 22 Engineers from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab and CWC participated in the training.
On 15th and 20th December 2023, a Webinar on Irrigation Modernization and Design of PDN Systems was organized.
A Training on Asset Management Planning for Irrigation Schemes was held from 8^th to 12^th January 2024 at WALMI, Aurangabad.
A training on new technologies in Agriculture and Water Practices was held from 22^nd to 25^th January 2024 at HIRMI, Kurukshetra, Haryana.

The Preliminary Project Reports (PPR) of all the four projects has been submitted by ADB to the concerned project authorities. PPR of Loharu, Haryana is under process with Govt department. PPR of Palkhed and Purna, Maharashtra is under process in Planning Department of Haryana, PPR of VVS, Karnataka is under process with state finance Govt of Maharashtra.

PPRs are to be finalized by the states and submitted to DEA. After necessary approval from DEA, action for phase-3 will be taken up for preparation of DPRs.

(x) A Training program on the application of Rapid Risk Assessment tool, in association with the World Bank for the officers of the core group was held during April 22, 2024 – May 3, 2024 at Auditorium, 1st floor, CWC Library Building, Near Sewa Bhawan, Sector-1, R K Puram, New Delhi. Total 66 officials nominated by CWC, NDSA and States / DRIP IAs for taking forward the assignment of carrying out the Rapid Risk Assessment of specified dams in the country.

GLOF and Flood forecasting activities: –

CWC finalized the criteria for Risk Indexing of Glacial Lakes in the Indian Himalayan Region in September 2024, which provide a comprehensive methodology for identifying and categorizing Glacial Lakes based on factors such as Glacial Lake size, Glacial Lake type, Side slope, Snout distance from GL etc. and the potential socio-economic impacts of a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood.

In the year 2024, 2 new stations (Inflow) have started functioning. Currently CWC is providing flood forecast at 340 stations (200-level forecasting stations & 140-inflow forecasting stations). During the period from 1st April to 30.11.2024, 10415 (i.e. 7093 Level and 3322 Inflow) forecasts were issued, out of which 9947 (95.5%) forecasts were found within the accuracy limit (±0.15m for level forecast and ±20% for inflow forecast).During flood season, CWC operates the Central Flood Control Room on 24×7 basis at its headquarter in New Delhi and 36 Divisional Flood Control Rooms spread throughout the country for monitoring flood situation. On an average, about 10,000 forecasts are issued during flood season every year by the CWC. Normally, these forecasts are issued 6 to 30 hours in advance, depending upon the river terrain and location of the flood forecasting sites and their base stations. In addition to conventional flood forecasting techniques, mathematical model forecasting based on rainfall-run off methodology is being used for some areas. This has enabled CWC to issue 7-day advance flood advisory.

Automated online 7-day flood advisory for all the level and inflow forecasting stations is maintained. “Flood Situation for next seven days” in respect of stations likely to be above warning level has been added in the “Daily Flood Situation Report cum Advisory” based on the 7-day advisory.

Flood Plain Zoning

In order to have a reasonable degree of protection, floods need to be managed through both structural & non-structural measures so as to reduce the losses. Non-structural measures are planned activities to modify susceptibility due to flood related damages. These are meant to keep people away from floods. Flood Plain Zoning is one of the main non-structural measures for management of floods worldwide.

A technical committee under the chairmanship of Member (RM) was constituted during November 2022 for formulation of ‘Technical Guidelines on Flood Plain Zoning’ . After due deliberations, the committee submitted the guidelines to Ministry. The guidelines is presently under circulation to the states for their comments/review. Once implemented, these guidelines shall serve as a valuable document in guiding the states in framing their own legislation in protecting their rivers from future encroachments.

Hydrological Studies:

The success of a project is largely governed by the hydrological inputs. The success of a project is largely governed by the hydrological inputs. The Hydrological Studies Organization (HSO), a specialized unit under Design and Research (D&R) Wing of CWC, carries out hydrological studies in respect of the water resources projects in the country. The inputs in Detailed Project Report (DPR) or Pre- Feasibility (PFR) stage are made available in the form of:

Water availability/yield studies.
Design flood estimation.
Sedimentation studies.
Diversion flood studies.

The country has been divided into 7 zones and further into 26 hydro- meteorologically homogeneous sub-zones and flood estimation models are developed for each subzone to compute the design flood in ungauged catchments. So far, flood estimation reports covering 24 sub-zones have been published. During the year 2024- 25, technical examinations of hydrological aspects of DPRs in respect of 88 projects have been carried out in CWC. Out of this, 46 projects have been cleared and comments were issued for 17 projects. Rest of the projects are under examination.

Some of the major works carried out during this period are:

• Flood frequency analysis & carrying capacity of Yamuna River from Hathnikund Barrage to Delhi.

• Hydrology Chapter for Bakchachuu HEP, Ringyang HEP, &RimbiKhola HEP has been submitted.

• 100 yr& 500 yr Return Period flood of Chandrawal River under Ken Betwa Link project.

• Water Availability of the untapped catchment between alignment of feeder canal, Mahalpur barrage and Navnera Barrage Under MPKC link.

Technical Assistance / Advice tendered

HSO has provided secretariat assistance to various technical/ expert committees for undertaking special studies on various aspects related to water resources development and management. Some of the important contributions during the year 2024- 25 are as under:

Hydrological Studies for Ponnaiyar River Basin, to resolve the interstate issue between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Hydrological modeling for heavy rainfall across the Yamuna River catchment in July 2023 caused significant runoff and discharge, leading to rapid water level rises. In this study estimated submergence areas for different return-period floods, analyzed embankment overtopping, and identified drainage congestion and afflux of existing structures using 2-D modeling for the river reach between 21 km upstream of Wazirabad barrage and 10 km downstream of Okhla barrage.

Hydrological modeling for tackling issues related to high intensity rainfall, riverine flood, drainage and interrelated issues in urban areas.

Planning and Design of Water Resources Projects

CWC is actively associated with design of majority of the mega water resources projects in India and neighboring countries, viz., Nepal and Bhutan by way of design consultancy or in the technical appraisal of the projects. At present CWC is provided design consultancy to 94 projects. Out of this, 31 projects (including 3 from neighboring countries) are at construction stage, 35 projects (including 2 from neighboring countries) are at DPR stage and 28 projects involve special problems.

National Committee on Seismic Design Parameters: –

The National Committee on Seismic Design Parameters (NCSDP) was constituted by MoWR Order dated 21 st October, 1991 with the objective to recommend the seismic design parameters for the proposals received from the dam owners. Member (D&R), CWC is the chairman of the committee with 12 other experts from various engineering disciplines from different technical institutions and Government organizations as its members. Director (FE&SA), CWC is the member Secretary of NCSDP. The 38th meeting of NCSDP was held on 10.05.2024 at CWC, New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Member (D&R) wherein six projects were cleared.

Further, a special meeting of NCSDP was held on 05.06.2024 wherein the Guideline for Preparation and Submission Of Site-Specific Seismic Study Report of River Valley Project To National Committee On Seismic Design Parameters was revised comprehensively to be in line with the International practices.

National Register of Large Dams:

Before enactment of Dam Safety Act 2021, Dam Safety Organisation (DSO) , CWC compiled and maintained the register of large dams across the country in the form of National Register of Large Dams (NRLD) based on information provided by State Govts. / PSUs. After enactment of Dam Safety Act 2021, the NDSA has been mandated to maintain National level database of all specified dam in the country. The National Register of Specified (Large) Dams 2023 was released by Hon’ble Vice President of India in International Conference on Dam Safety held during 14th-15th September 2023 at Jaipur. As per NRLD- 2023, there are 6138 constructed and 143 under construction dams in the country. The NRLD, 2023 is available on CWC’s website and can be accessed by l ink- https:// cwc. gov. in/ publication/nrld.

Technical Examination of Instrumentation aspects of the projects:

Hydroelectric project:-

Detailed Project Report (DPR)/ construction drawings of 29 river valley projects in various States/ countries namely Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Bhutan and Nepal were examined, out of which 4 projects have been cleared with respect to instrumentation aspects and remaining 25 projects are at various stages of examination.

Pumped storage Project:-

Detailed Project Report (DPR)/ construction drawings of 42 river valley projects in various States/ countries namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh were examined, out of which 6 projects have been cleared with respect to instrumentation aspects and for remaining 36 projects, clearance from instrumentation aspects is no longer required as per the latest CEA guidelines.

Standing Technical Advisory Committee of CSMRS

The Standing Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Member (D&R), CWC for providing an overall perspective and guidance in technical scrutiny of research schemes being undertaken at CSMRS. The STAC is composed of 11 members drawn from various public sector institutions and is headed by Member (D& R), CWC. The 39th Standing Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) meeting of CSMRS was held on 25.10.2024

Other Seismic works:

Work related to technical evaluation and critical examination of web-based tool Seismic Hazard Assessment Information System (SHAISYS) being developed by IIT Roorkee and CWPRS Pune under DRIP is being carried out. A meeting is proposed on 18th December 2024 under the chairmanship of Member (D&R), CWC with the expert of IIT Roorkee at CWC, New Delhi regarding way forward for development of SHAISYS.

CWC Activities under National Hydrology Project (NHP):

Study on “Physical based Mathematical Modelling for estimation of Sediment Rate and Sediment Transport in Seven River Basin” has been completed.

Extended Hydrological Prediction (multi week forecast) for Yamuna, Narmada and Cauvery basins is in progress.

Reservoir Sedimentation Studies using Hydrographic survey for 32 reservoirs” under Phase-I has been completed. Works of Phase II: Consists of 87 reservoirs in 10 states (Rajasthan, Gujrat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, and Odisha is under progress.
Supply, Installation, Testing & Commissioning (SITC) of 93 Nos. ADCP (14 + 29 + 50 in three phases) for the measurement of discharge at the HO sites of CWC has been completed. Further procurement of additional 46 no’s ADCP and 8 no’s Total station is in under progress.
Supply, Installation, Testing & Commissioning (SITC) of 32 velocity radar sensors for modernization of discharge observations has been completed.
7 no’s of Water Quality Equipment (ICP-MS and GC-MS) have been commissioned and installation & Commissioning of 3 more Water Quality Equipment (1 GC-MS and 2 ICP-MS) is under process.
Consultancy services for “Early Flood Warning System Including Inundation Forecast in Ganga Basin” is in progress.
Consultancy services for Development of Decision Support System near to real time for Integrated Reservoir Operation System of Ganga Basin” has been completed.
Real Time Data Acquisition System (RTDAS) for Narmada Control Authority (NCA) and Arunachal Pradesh comprising of network of 48 & 50 no’s hydro meteorological Stations respectively has been commissioned.
Reservoir Sedimentation Studies using Hydrographic survey for 32 reservoirs” under National Hydrology Project, Phase-I have been completed and reports published and under Phase II studies in respect of 87 reservoirs are taken up.

DAM REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (DRIP) Phase-II and III

Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) is an externally aided project with financial assistance from the World Bank, targeting rehabilitation of some of the selected dams of the Country along with accompanying institutional strengthening component.

Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (Phase-II & III):

Based on the success of DRIP Phase- I, Ministry of Jal Shakti initiated another externally funded scheme, DRIP Phase-II and Phase-III. The Union Cabinet has approved the Scheme on October 29, 2020.

The scheme has provision for rehabilitation of 736 dams located in 19 States (Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and three Central Agencies (Central Water Commission, Bhakra Beas Management Board, and Damodar Valley Corporation). It is a State Sector Scheme with Central component, with duration of 10 years, to be implemented in two Phases i.e. Phase- II and Phase-III, each of six years duration with an overlap of two years. The budget outlay is Rs 10,211 Cr (Phase II: Rs 5107 Cr; Phase III: Rs 5104 Cr) with rehabilitation provision of 736 dams. Out of this cost, Rs. 7,000 crore is an external loan and Rs. 3,211 crores would be borne by the respective participating States and the three Central agencies. The funding pattern of scheme is 80:20 (Special Category States), 70:30 (General Category States) and 50:50 (Central Agencies). The scheme also has provision of Central Grant of 90% of loan amount for special category States (Manipur, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand). The DRIP Phase-II and III Scheme is 10 years duration, proposed to be implemented in two Phases, each of six-year duration with two years overlapping. Each Phase has external assistance of US$ 500 M. The Phase-II of the scheme is being co-financed by World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), with funding of US$ 250 million each. The loan agreement by World Bank was signed on August 04, 2021 with 10 States (Gujarat, Kerala, MP, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh) and became effective from 12th October, 2021. In addition to 10 States, four States (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka) have been notified by World Bank for inclusion under this scheme in June 2022 and their loan declared effective in January 2023.

The loan agreement by AIIB was signed on 19th May, 2022 with 10 States (Gujarat, Kerala, MP, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh) and declared effective on 29th December, 2022 by AIIB.

Inclusion of four States (Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Telangana) and two Central Agencies (BBMB and DVC) is under process.

Important project achievements include approval of PSTs of 139 dams costing Rs 3715 Cr by the World Bank. The contract(s) amounting approximately Rs 2906 Cr have been awarded by various Implementing Agencies and an amount of Rs 1487 Cr spent as on 30.11.2024 on various project activities including dam rehabilitation, institutional strengthening and project management activities

A training on DRIP Ph-II &Ph-III was given to 40 officers of Punjab WRD on 12th June 2024 at Shahpur Kandi. Few topics were covered like Overview of DRIP Ph-II &Ph-III scheme; dam structural problems & their identification; Procurement procedures; Hydro-Mechanical structural problems; PST preparation; Financial Management of DRIP scheme etc.

A three days training on DFR organized during 8th to 10th July, 2024, in which 22 participants from seven (7) states and CWC participated.

The Management Information System (MIS-with 05 modules) was officially rolled out to SPMU on 14^th August 2024. In this regard a virtual MIS demonstration was organized on 14th August 2024 in which concerned officials of CPMU, SPMU, and EMC participated.

2^nd meeting of National Level Steering Committee (NLSC) on DRIP Phase-II and III chaired by Secretary, DoWR, RD and GR were held on 25.09.2024 at New Delhi to discuss the progress and issues of DRIP Scheme.

3^rd meeting of Technical Committee of DRIP Phase II and III was held on 18.10.2024 under the chairmanship of Member (D&R), CWC at Dehradun, Uttarakhand in which nodal officer and Project Director of DRIP IAs participated. Deliberations in respect of technical matters with regard to pertaining to implementation of the scheme were held during the meeting.

National Task Force for Integrated Water Resources Development and Management

National Task Force for Integrated Water Resources Development and Management (NTFIWRDM) has been set up by DoWR, RD & GR vide its OM dated 25.11.2024.

Sustainable development of water resources and its efficient management is the key to water security and economic growth. As a country, aspiring to be the world leader with the most powerful economy, challenges like increasing population, economic growth, industrialization and urbanization are bound to result in increased and conflicting demands for various purposes across the country. Moreover, the vagaries of climate change have already started to affect the water sector adversely. In the wake of ever-growing challenges in the water resources sector, it has become necessary to prospectively assess the projected water use for various purposes. In view of above, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR has set up a National Task Force for Integrated Water Resources Development and Management (NTFIWRDM) on 25.11.2024 under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Member, Niti Aayog with members from various Govt. Departments and experts from different organisations; thereby comprehensively covering various domains of water resources. Chief Engineer, BPMO, CWC is the Member Secretary of the NTFIWRDM. The NTFIWRDM – 2024 is expected to complete its work within 24 months, with interim reports submitted at yearly intervals.

(xxii) LIST OF IMPORTANT PUBLICATIONS OF CWC during 2024

Sl. No.	Publication	Released during
1	Water Sector at a Glance-2022	Aug-2024
2	Water & Related Statistics-2023	Sept-2024
3	Water Sector at a Glance-2023	Sept-2024
4	National Register of Major & Medium Irrigation Projects in India-2024	Sept-2024
5	Compendium on Sedimentation of Reservoirs in India	August 2024
6	Assessment of Area Affected Due to Floods in India	July 2024
7	Report on Flood Damage Statistics (1953-2022)	July 2024
8	Assessment of Area Affected Due to Floods in India [Part II: Assessment at Sub-District Level]	September 2024
9	Criteria for Risk Indexing of Glacial Lakes in Indian Himalayan Region	September 2024
10	Status Report on Coastal Area Management – An Indian Perspective, Regional Issues & Remedial Measures	September 2024

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB):

National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM)

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is implementing National Aquifer Mapping and Management program (NAQUIM), which envisages mapping of aquifers (water bearing formations), their characterization and development of Aquifer Management Plans to facilitate sustainable management of ground water resources. Out of 32 lakh sq km of the entire country, entire mappable area of 25 sq lakh km has been covered under this programme. NAQUIM outputs are shared with various stakeholders including the District Authorities. Building on the experiences of the NAQUIM, the NAQUIM 2.0 has been initiated from the year 2023-24 which emphasizes on detailed mapping and implementable management plans for identified priority areas. CGWB has completed 68 such studies (covering nearly 40,000 sq km) in year 2024.

In order to create infrastructure for data generation under NAQUIM, a Project has been approved by the Public Investment Board (PIB) with an outlay of Rs 805 Cr for implementation by CGWB during the period 2022-2026. As of now, tenders amounting approximately Rs. 550 Cr have been awarded.

One of the components of the project involves the construction of 7000 piezometers and the installation of Digital Water Level Recorders with telemetry devices for strengthening and automation of groundwater monitoring networks in the country. Construction of piezometers for strengthening groundwater monitoring has been initiated in 15 states (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh, Chhattisgarh, UttarPradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, WestBengal, Odisha and Jammu&Kashmir). A total of 1796 piezometers have been constructed till 31st December 2024.

Another component of the project involves construction of 1135 Exploratory Wells (EW) and Observation Wells (OW) for completing the data gap in the NAQUIM project area for which work has been initiated under all awarded packages in 11 states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam). A total of 319 EW/OWs have been constructed till 31st December 2024.

Ground Water Resources

The Ground Water Resource Assessment for the water year 2024 was carried out jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and States/UTs, through the web-based automated application “INDIA-GROUNDWATER RESOURCE ESTIMATION SYSTEM (IN-GRES) for the entire country. The assessment provides the state wise ground water resource scenario and insights required to adopt an integrated and sustainable ground water management in the Country.

As per the assessment, the total annual groundwater recharge in the country has been assessed as 446.90 billion Cubic Meter (BCM). The annual extractable ground water resource has been assessed as 406.19 BCM. The annual groundwater extraction for all uses is 245.64 BCM. The average stage of groundwater extraction for the country stands at 60.47 %. Out of the total 6746 assessment units (Blocks/ Mandals/ Talukas) in the country, 4951 (73.4 %) assessment units are categorized as ‘Safe’. 711 (10.5 %) assessment units are categorized “Semi-critical’’, 206 (3.05 %) assessment units, have been categorized as ‘Critical’ and 751 (11.1%) assessment units have been categorized as ‘Over-exploited’. Apart from these, there are 127 (1.8%) assessment units, which have been categorized as ‘Saline’ as major part of the ground water in phreatic aquifers in these units is brackish or saline.

Key Highlights:

Total Annual GW Recharge has increased (15 BCM) substantially and Extraction has declined (3 BCM) in 2024 from 2017 assessment. There is slight reduction in recharge and increase in extraction in the present assessment year compared to the preceding year.
Recharge from Tanks, Ponds and WCS has shown a consistent increase in the last five assessments. In the year 2024, it has increased by 0.39 BCM w.r.t. 2023.
With respect to the year 2017, there is an increase of 11.36 BCM in recharge from Tanks, Ponds & WCS (from 13.98 BCM in 2017 to 25.34 BCM in 2024).
The percentage of Assessment Units under Safe Category have increased from 62.6% in 2017 to 73.4 % in 2024 (The percentage of Safe assessment units was 73.14 % in 2023).
The percentage of Over Exploited Assessment units have declined from 17.24 % in 2017 to 11.13 % in 2024 (The percentage of OE Assessment units was 11.23% in 2023)

The Union Minister for Jal Shakti released “National Compilation of Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India 2024” on 31^st December, 2024.

High resolution aquifer mapping and management in Arid areas of India

The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has undertaken high resolution aquifer mapping in the arid regions of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana using advanced heliborne geophysical surveys. Under Phase I of the project, an area of 97,637 sq. km has been surveyed, covering 40,313-line km across 92 blocks in these states.
Based on the heliborne geophysical survey results, Gram Panchayat-level information of saturated/de-saturated, saline/fresh aquifers, groundwater potential zones, drilling sites, and managed aquifer recharge sites has been identified. Detailed reports have been prepared for 39 out of 92 blocks, comprising 20 blocks in Gujarat, 11 in Rajasthan, and 8 in Haryana.
A Coffee Table Book on the Summary of the findings of Heliborne Survey Phase I was released on 19.09.2024 in India Water Week-2024 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi by the Hon’ble Minister of State, Jal Shakti.

Artificial Recharge Activities

Groundwater augmentation through artificial recharge in identified water stressed areas of Rajasthan, comprising Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Alwar, Jhunjhunu & Sikar districts of Rajasthan has been taken up in three phases

Phase-1: Two large dams have been constructed:
- Zoned Earth Fill Dam with Clay Core, Indroka, Mandore, Jodhpur
- Concrete Gravity Dam, Bastawa Mata, Balesar, Jodhpur.
Phase-2: 82 WHS (Stone Masonary Check Dams (MCD), Anicuts, Concrete Check Dams (CCD & Recharge shafts) have been constructed in certain water stressed blocks of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Sikar district.
Phase-3: 39 WHS (Check Dam, Anicut, Model Talab) have been constructed certain water stressed blocks in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Alwar districts of Rajasthan to know the concentrated effect of artificial recharge.

Regulation of Ground Water extraction

The primary role of Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) is to regulate groundwater resource exploitation in the country. The Authority has been regulating groundwater development and management by way of issuing ‘No Objection Certificates’ for groundwater extraction to industries, infrastructure projects, Mining Projects, registration of drilling rigs etc., and framed guidelines in this connection.

Development of a new portal for NoC issuance to ground water users i.e. BhuNeer APP, which is an advanced version of the application processing software of CGWA for issuing NOC to ground water users of Industries, Infrastructure & Mining projects and Bulk Water Supply. The motto of developing this portal is to provide users a smooth experience with new features and functionalities.

Rajiv Gandhi National Ground Water Training & Research Institute (RGNGWTRI)

It is the training wing of CGWB and functions as a `Centre of Excellence’ with the national role of capacity building of Officers and Officials of CGWB, other Central Govt. Depts., State Govt. Depts., Public Sector Undertakings, Non-Governmental Organizations, Academic institutions and other stake holders through three arms -Tier I (National Level), Tier II (State Level) and Tier III (Block level) trainings.

During the last 10 years, from 2012-13 to 2024-25(As on 24.12.2024) a total of 1711 training courses (Tier-I, Tier-II & Tier-III) were organized (Male 83,330 + Female 30,369 = 1,13,699 Participants) by RGNGWTRI, Raipur.
The institute has also conducted Four trainings for foreign nationals, during the last 10 years

Development of three Indigenous Softwares as part of Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2022- a significant step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat

Smart India Hackathon (SIH), a nationwide initiative envisioned under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister is an important mega annual event among students to provide solutions through innovations for specific challenges identified by different organizations. It is an annual event organized by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, All India Council for Technical Education, along with partners. Based on problem statements shared by CGWB and under the mentorship of CGWB scientists, following three software applications were developed by engineering students as a part of Smart India Hackathon (SIH)

Hydra-Q: A Standalone desktop application for analysis, visualization and interpretation of hydrochemical data.
Aqua Probe: A Standalone desktop application for Pumping Test data analysis.
OASIS-G: Online application System for Stable Isotope Studies-Ground Water

The software applications can be accessed / downloaded from CGWB website (https://www.cgwb.gov.in/freewares-groundwater-data-analysis).

These freeware applications will be useful for students, researchers and groundwater professionals. So far, the software that are used for such kind of analysis are developed mostly in countries other than India. This is a significant step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat and is likely to reduce India’s dependence on foreign software.

Aquifer Management for Augmentation and Sustainability of Urban Water Supply- Faridabad

CGWB has taken up a study on augmentation of water supply to Faridabad city through sustainable ground water development in active Yamuna flood plain in 2024. CGWB has signed MoU with Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA)

Ground Water Quality Analysis

The comprehensive assessment of Ground Water Quality conducted by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) provides valuable insights that can guide remedial actions and inform future planning by various stakeholders. Notably, this report on Ground Water Quality is the first to implement a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for groundwater quality monitoring, which ensures consistency in data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Additionally, the use of internationally recognized methods significantly bolsters the credibility and technical rigor of the findings. On December 31, 2024, Sh. CR Paatil, Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti, unveiled the Annual Groundwater Quality Report, 2024.

Key Highlights:

In terms of cation chemistry, calcium dominates the ion content, followed by sodium and potassium. For anions, bicarbonate is the most prevalent, followed by chloride and sulphate. This indicates that overall water in the country is of Calcium-Bicarbonate type.
Some regions face sporadic contamination of nitrates, fluoride, and arsenic.
Seasonal trends observed in parameters like Electrical Conductivity (EC) and fluoride provide evidence of positive monsoon recharge effects, which improve water quality.
From an agricultural perspective, the analysis of Sodium Adsorption Ration (SAR) and Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) reinforces the generally favorable suitability of groundwater for irrigation, with over 81% of samples meeting safe thresholds. However, localized issues of high sodium content and RSC values demand targeted interventions to prevent long-term soil degradation.
100% of ground water samples in North-Eastern States are in excellent category for irrigation.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for 2021-26 with an outlay of ₹93,068 Crore to benefit about 22 lakh farmers

Against a target of 34.63 Lakh Ha irrigation potential of 25.80Lakh Ha (approx.74.5%) created through AIBP works of the prioritized projects during 2016-17 to 2023-24
Nine (09) new MMI projects and two (02) new National projects have been further included under PMKSYAIBP.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)- Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP):

The Government of India on 27.07.2016 approved funding of the 99 prioritized irrigation projects (and 7 phases) with an estimated balance cost of Rs. 77,595 Crore (Central share- Rs. 31,342 crores; State share- Rs. 46,253 crores) for completion in phases. The works include both the AIBP and CAD works. Funding arrangement for both Central Assistance (CA) and State Share made through NABARD under Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF). Targeted Irrigation Potential to be created under the scheme is 34.63 Lakh ha. An expenditure of Rs. 68891 crore (upto March 2024) has been reported to be incurred by the concerned State Governments on these projects since 2016-17. In January 2020, Ministry of Finance conveyed the continuation of ongoing centrally sponsored scheme up-to 31.03.2021.

Physical Progress: Against the target of 34.63 Lakh Ha. Irrigation Potential of about 25.80 Lakh ha. has been created through AIBP works of the prioritized projects during 2016-17 to 2023-24. The potential created during 2024-25 shall be available only after the end of cropping season.

Project Completed under PMKSY-AIBP: AIBP works of 62 prioritized projects out of identified 99 projects (and 7 phases) were reported to be completed till date.

The Government of India has approved implementation of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for 2021-26 with an outlay of ₹93,068 Crore on date 15-Dec-2021 to benefit about 22 Lakh farmers. The Union Cabinet has approved central support of ₹37,454 Crore to States and ₹20,434.56 Crore of debt servicing for loan availed by Government of India for irrigation development during PMKSY 2016-21. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, ‘Har Khet Ko Paani’ and Watershed Development components have been approved for continuation during 2021-26. Total additional irrigation potential creation targeted during 2021-26 under AIBP is 13.88 Lakh hectare. Apart from focused completion of 60 ongoing projects including their 30.23 lakh hectare command area development, 9 additional projects have been taken up till date. Also, two national projects, namely Renukaji Dam Project (Himachal Pradesh) and Lakhwar Multipurpose Project (Uttarakhand) have also been included for central funding of 90% of works of water component under the scheme.

Inclusion of new Major/Medium Irrigation (MMI) projects as well as funding of National Projects under AIBP.

Financial progress requirement is dropped for inclusion of a project underAIBPand only physical progress of 50% to be considered.

Advanced stage (50% physical progress) criteria are relaxed for projects having command area of 50% or more in Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP), tribal, Desert Development Programme (DDP), Flood prone, Tribal area, Flood prone area, left wing extremism affected area, Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi (KBK) region of Odisha, Vidarbha& Marathwada regions of Maharashtra and Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh, as also for Extension Renovation Modernization (ERM) projects and also for States with net irrigation below national average.

Reimbursement is allowed for due central assistance in subsequent year also.

Project completion permitted with physical progress of 90% or more.

Online Management Information System (MIS) has been developed for monitoring of the projects. A nodal officer for each of the 99 priority projects has been identified who updates the physical and financial progress of the project regularly in the MIS.

GIS based Application has been developed for geo-tagging of project components. Remote Sensing Techniques have been used for digitization of the canal network of the projects. Further, the Cropped Area estimation in the command of 99 priority projects is being carried out annually through remote sensing.

To resolve the issue of Land Acquisition (LA) and increase water conveyance efficiency, use of Underground Pipeline (UGPL) has been actively promoted. Guidelines for Planning and Design ofPiped Irrigation Network were released by this Ministry in July, 2017.

Pari-passu implementation of Command area development works in the commands of these projects is envisaged to ensure that the Irrigation Potential Created could be utilized by the farmers. New Guidelines bringing focus on Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) have been brought out. Further, transfer of control and management of irrigation system to the Water Users’ Association (WUA) has been made necessary condition for the acceptance of CADWM completion.

The Financial Progress under PMKSY-AIBP is as follows:

Funds Released	2016-17 to 2023-24	2024-25 (so far)	Total
Central Assistance for AIBP projects including special and National Projects	18550.98	629.22	19180.20
State Share	33830.83	180.60	34011.4
Total	52,381.81	809.82	53191.6

Special Package for Maharashtra: A Special Package approved on 18.07.2018 which provides Central Assistance to complete 83 Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) projects and 8 Major / Medium Irrigation Projects in drought prone districts in Vidarbha and Marathwada and rest of Maharashtra in phases up to 2023-24 (extended till March-25). The overall balance cost of the said projects as on 1.4.2018 is estimated to be Rs.13651.61 Crore. Total CA is estimated to be Rs. 3831.41 Crore including reimbursement for expenditureduring 2017-18Balancepotentialof 3. 77 Lakh Ha would be created on completion of these schemes. CA of Rs. 2901.63 crores have been released under the scheme so far. Under the scheme, 53 SMI and 2 MMI projects have been reported to be completed by the State Government of Maharashtra. Overall irrigation potential of 1.66 Lakh ha. has been reported to be created through all these projects during 2018-19 to 2023-24. Further potential created during 2024-25 shall be available only after the end of cropping season.

Modernization of Command Area Development & Water Management (M-CADWM):

The Ministry of Jal Shakti is reviewing the CADWM programme to make it more relevant in the current context of water use efficiency and agricultural productivity. The proposed change is a proposed smart irrigation scheme which envisages transforming the existing command (whether rain fed or gravity based) to a Pressurized Piped Irrigation Command (PPIC) by providing pressurized irrigation water from Established source to Farm Gate below Minor (Tertiary) Level Network. This will make the entire command area micro-irrigation ready with robust back-end infrastructure using Surface Water. The farmers shall be empowered by creating a Water User Society, which will also be an “economic entity”.

The Scheme will develop suitable models for different Agro-Climatic zones, integrating various sources of water, and different levels of water availability, covering both areas of assured irrigation and protected irrigation. These models will pave the way for development of a National Plan for Modernization of water management in rural area in general and irrigation services in particular based on integrated, sustainable, efficient and inclusive water management.

Polavaram Irrigation Project: Polavaram Irrigation Project was declared as National Project under Section 90 of AP Reorganization Act, 2014, which came into force on 1^st March 2014. The project with 2467.50 m of earth-cum-rock fill dam and 1121.20 m long spillway aims at irrigating 2.91 Lakh ha in erstwhile East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, West Godavari and Krishna districts besides several other benefits envisaged by it. Central Government is funding 100% of the remaining cost of the irrigation component of the project, as on 01.04.2014. Government of Andhra Pradesh is executing the irrigation component of the project on behalf of Government of India. The approved cost of the Project as per Revised Cost Committee (RCC) is Rs 29,027.95 cr at 2013-14 PL and Rs 47,725.74 cr at 2017-18 PL up to FRL i.e. EL +45.72 m. After declaration as National Project, a sum of Rs. 15,605.96 cr has been released for execution of Polavaram Irrigation Project so far.

The Union Cabinet has approved the revised cost of the PIP in its meeting held on 28.08.2024, with water storage upto EL + 41.15 m at a cost of Rs. 30,436.95 cr with balance central grant for the project limited to Rs. 12,157.53 cr. Further, an amount of Rs. 2,348 cr has been released on 09.10.2024 as advance payment to GoAP on account of execution of Polavaram Irrigation Project in addition to the reimbursement of Rs 15,605.96 cr made to GoAP.

As reported by Water Resource Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, an expenditure of Rs 18,348.84 cr has been incurred on the project works up to 30.11.2024, after declaration of Polavaram irrigation project (PIP) as National Project.

Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal)

Atal BhujalYojana (Atal Jal) is a Central Sector Scheme of Government of India with an outlay of Rs 6000 Crore, with focus on community participation and demand side interventions for sustainable ground water management in identified water stressed areas in 8203 water stressed Gram Panchayats of 229 administrative blocks/Talukas in 80 districts of seven States in the country viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The scheme, partly funded by the World Bank, is being implemented from 1.04.2020 for a period of 6 years.

This unique scheme aims at increasing the capacity of States to manage their ground water resources and for ensuring their long-term sustainability with active participation of the local communities through a mix of top-down and bottom-up approaches. It also envisages convergence of various ongoing schemes for implementation of interventions for improving ground water availability with emphasis on demand management and also to inculcate behavioral changes in the community to ensure optimal use of available water resources.

The launch of Atal Bhujal Yojana heralds a change in the Government policy for ground water management by emphasizing the importance of community participation in planning, execution, and monitoring of scheme activities; convergence of ongoing schemes for implementing interventions aimed at improving ground water availability; focus on demand side management through improving water use efficiency and incentivizing participating States for awareness creation among the masses on the importance of ground water.

Atal Bhujal Yojana also envisages improving the capacity of States for ground water governance through strengthening of institutions dealing with ground water management, improving ground water monitoring networks, creation of awareness among the public on the importance and criticality of ground water resources and building the capacity of the grass root level stakeholders to plan and utilize the available resources in a judicious manner. It also addresses the gender perspective by making it mandatory to include women in all activities of the scheme.

Atal Bhujal Yojana is expected to improve ground water conditions in the target areas and to contribute significantly to ensure ground water sustainability for interventions planned under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). It is also expected to contribute to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s goal of doubling farmers’ income and to result in optimal use of ground water by the stakeholders in the long-run.

Further, to bridge the gap in the data availability at the GP level for better water management across India, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation in collaboration with Ministry of Panchayati Raj has taken the initiative to expand water budgeting exercise to non-Atal Jal areas as well by their inclusion in the Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs).

Key achievements under Atal Bhujal Yojana are as follows:

Public disclosure of data in all the Atal Jal GPs through various modes of disclosure viz., central/state web portals, display board at each GP, social media, wall paintings, distribution of pamphlets/brochure, public meetings and Atal Jal Mobile application.
States have used innovative measures like Groundwater Data Information Dissemination Centers, QR codes, social media, etc., to disseminate the groundwater related data to public.
Community led Water Budget and WSPs prepared for all the 8203 GPs and updated on yearly basis.
Groundwater monitoring system has been strengthened at GP level by providing equipment like Digital Water Level Recorders, water level indicators, rain gauges, water quality testing kits, water flow meters etc. In addition, piezometers have been constructed in GPs for monitoring of water levels.
A total of 49 State level, 410 District level, 1152 Block level and 99,406 GP level trainings have been conducted so far.
Awareness and sensitization at GP level through innovative Information Education and Communication practices like narrowcasting in Haryana, folk dances/songs in Karnataka, Jal dindis in Maharashtra, Ratri Choupals in Rajasthan have been used to drive the message of sustainable groundwater management.
Investment of Rs. 4355 Crore towards implementation of interventions proposed under WSPs through convergence.
An area of around 6.7 lakh Hectares has been brought under efficient water use practices including Drip, Sprinkler, Mulching, Crop Diversification etc.
More than 70,000 wells are being monitored for water level at GP level and shared with community.
More than 90,000 existing Water Conservation and Artificial Recharge structures have been mapped.
813 GPs in 47 Blocks have shown improvement in ground water level.
A total of Rs.3420.57 Cr. has been disbursed to the States since the inception of the scheme. A total of Rs.2863.98 Cr. has been utilized by the States since the inception of the scheme.
Sixth meeting of National Level Steering Committee (NLSC) for implementation of Atal Bhujal Yojana was held on 07 June 2024.

Minor Irrigation Statistics: Progress under the scheme “Irrigation Census”:

Minor Irrigation Census conducted quinquennially in order to create a sound and reliable database on groundwater and surface water minor irrigation schemes in the country. The Minor Irrigation Census is conducted under the centrally sponsored scheme “Irrigation Census” with 100% central funding through which State Statistical Cells constituted under different States/UTs are also supported.

The sixth Minor Irrigation Census and the first Census of Water bodies covering all water bodies in the country, both rural and urban have been completed. All India and State-wise report on 6^th Minor Irrigation Census and First Census of Water Bodies has been published and are available at the Department website ‘https://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in’. Key results have been disseminated on Bhuvan portal and the state wise unit level data has also been disseminated on Open Government Data (OGD) platform.

During 2024, the following progress under the scheme “Irrigation Census” has been achieved:

7^th Minor Irrigation Census and 2^nd Census of Water Bodies are underway, along with two new censuses: the 1^st Census of Springs and the 1^st Census of Major and Medium Irrigation Projects, with reference year 2023-24.
An all-India Workshop on these Censuses was held in 2023, with participation from all States and Union Territories. NIC has developed a mobile/web application for these censuses, with pilot testing successfully conducted in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Meghalaya in month of October, 2024.
Six regional workshops for training of trainers for upcoming censuses are being conducted at regional centers in Tripura, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and West Bengal from December, 2024 to January, 2025 to provide training to trainers at State level for further capacity building.
Grands-in-aid to States/UTs were released timely on receipt of proposals from eligible States/UTs.

Flood Management Wing (FM):

Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP):

The “Flood Management Programme (FMP)” and “River Management Activities and Works related to Border Areas” (RMBA) under operation during XII Five Year Plan were merged as “Flood Management and Border Areas Programme” (FMBAP) for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20 and further extended up-to March, 2021. Cabinet further approved the continuation of FMBAP scheme during 2021-22 to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs. 4100 Crore (FMP-Rs. 2940 Crore and RMBA – Rs. 1160 Crore).

Since the inception of FMBAP (till December 2024), Central Assistance of Rs. 7136 crores have been released to States/UTs under FMP component of Flood Management & Border Area Programme (FMBAP) scheme and Central Assistance of Rs. 1258.73 crores have been released to UTs/States under RMBA component of FMBAP scheme.

Completion of balance works of North Koel Reservoir Project: DoWR, RD & GR has taken up the long pending project for completion of balance works of North Koel Reservoir Project, Bihar and Jharkhand. In August, 2017 the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for balance works of North Koel Reservoir Project at an estimated cost of Rs. 1622.27 crore during three financial years from the start of the project. Subsequently, at the request of both State Governments, certain other components were found necessary to be included in the project. Complete lining of Right Main Canal (RMC) and Left Main Canal (LMC) was also regarded essential from technical considerations to derive envisaged irrigation potential. Thus, the works of Gaya distribution system, lining of RMC and LMC, remodeling of enroute structures, construction of a few new structures and onetime Special Package for R&R of Project Affected Families (PAFs) were to be provided for in the updated cost estimate. Accordingly, Revised Cost Estimate of the project was prepared. Out of the cost of balance works of Rs. 2430.76 crore, the Central would provide Rs.1836.41 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval to the proposal to complete the balance works of North Koel Reservoir Project at a revised Cost of Rs. 2,430.76 crore on 04.10.2023. Project will provide irrigation benefit to 114,021 hectares of land annually in drought prone areas of Aurangabad and Gaya districts of Bihar and Palamau and Garwa districts of Jharkhand. Project also has the provision for supply of 44 MCM water for drinking and industrial water supply. The execution of balance works of the project on turnkey basis by M/s WAPCOS Ltd., a CPSU under DoWR, RD & GR as Project Management Consultant (PMC). 10% works on dam & appurtenant, 100% of additional works of Mohammad Ganjbarrage, 86% works on left main canal and works on Right Main Canal in Jharkhand Portion & 18% works on Bihar portion have been completed.

India and Bangladesh Matters

A Treaty was signed by the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh on 12th December, 1996 for the sharing of Ganga/Ganges waters at Farakka during the lean season. As per the Treaty, the Ganga/Ganges waters is being shared at Farakka (which is the last control structure on river Ganga in India) during lean period, from 1^st January to 31^st May every year, on 10-daily basis as per the formula provided in the Treaty. The validity of Treaty is 30 years. The sharing of water as per the Treaty is being monitored by a Joint Committee headed by Members, JRC from both sides. The following India-Bangladesh Joint Committee Meetings have been convened.

The 83^rd meeting of the Joint Committee on sharing of the Ganga/Ganges waters at Farakka was held at Dhaka on 24^th January, 2024 after a visit to the joint observation site at Hardinge Bridge, on 24th January, 2024.
The 84^th meeting of the Joint Committee on sharing of the Ganga/Ganges Waters at Farakka was held at Kolkata on 7^th March, 2024 after visit to the joint observation sites at Farakka on 5^th March, 2024.
The 85^th meeting of the Joint Committee on sharing of the Ganga/ Ganges waters at Farakka was held at Dhaka (Bangladesh) on 14^th November, 2024 for the finalization of Annual Report of the lean/dry season of the year 2024.

During the 83^rd and 84^th Joint Committee meetings, the Indian delegation was led by Mr. Atul Jain, Commissioner (FM), Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry of Jal Shakti. During the 85th Joint Committee meeting, the Indian delegation was led by Mr. Sharad Chandra, Commissioner (FM), Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of the Republic of India and Member, India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission. The Bangladesh delegation was led by Dr. Mohammad Abul Hossen, Member, India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD)

Cleaning of river is a continuous process and Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in addressing the challenges of pollution of rivers by providing financial and technical assistance. Assistance is provided to State Governments for abatement of pollution in identified stretches of various rivers (excluding river Ganga and its tributaries) under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) on cost sharing basis between the Central & State Governments for taking up various pollution abatement works relating to interception & diversion of raw sewage, construction of sewerage systems, setting up of sewage treatment plants, low cost sanitation, river front/bathing ghat development, etc.

Project for ‘Pollution Abetment River Banganga at Katra’ in Jammu & Kashmir at a cost of Rs.92.10 crore was sanctioned.
Project for ‘Pollution Abetment and Conservation of river Mindhola at Surat’ in Gujarat at a cost of Rs.98.51 crore was sanctioned.
Project for ‘Interception & Diversion of Sewerage Water from Existing Drains to Nearest STP for Treatment Purposes in Jodhpur City for Pollution Abatement of River Jojari at Jodhpur’ in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs.13.10 crore was sanctioned.
Project for ‘Sewer rehabilitation of old and deteriorated pipes by Trenchless CIPP Technology for main trunk sewer lines heading towards Nandari and Salawas STPs for pollution abatement of Jojari River at Jodhpur’ in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs.51.99 crore was sanctioned.
Project for ‘Design of Complete Sewerage System and Proposal of Development of New STP for Jhalamand Area, Jodhpur for pollution abatement of river Jojari at Jodhpur’ in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs.53.63 crore was sanctioned.
Project for ‘Establishing and Commissioning of 30 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Nandari for pollution abatement of river Jojari at Jodhpur’ in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs.53.86 crore was sanctioned.
Project for ‘Rejuvenation of Imphal-Manipur River and Faecal Sludge and Septage Management at 27 ULBs’ in Manipur at a cost of Rs.92.39 crore was sanctioned.
Project for ‘Elamkulam sewerage project for rejuvenating Chitrapuzha River through restoration of natural streams/outfalls carrying sewage/pollutants-Construction of STP 17.5 MLD’ in Kerala at a cost of Rs.47.53 crore was sanctioned.
Project for ‘Perandoor Sewerage Project for Rejuvenating Periyar River through Restoration of Natural Streams/Outfalls Carrying Sewage/Pollutants—Construction of 19 MLD STP (Part 1)’ in Kerala at a cost of Rs.49.78 crore was sanctioned.
Project Management Consultant has been appointed for implementation the project of ‘Pollution abatement and conservation of River Nag at Nagpur, Maharashtra’ sanctioned at a cost of Rs.1,926.99 crore with Japan International Cooperation Assistance.
Project for pollution abatement of river Devika and Tawi at Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir sanctioned for Rs.186.74 crore has been completed 3 sewage treatment plants (STPs) with total capacity of 13.06 mld constructed under NRCP.
Project for pollution abatement of river Tapi at Surat, Gujarat sanctioned for Rs. 971.25 crore has been completed 11 sewage treatment plants (STPs) with total capacity of 208.97 mld constructed under NRCP.
Central Assistance amounting to Rs. 425 crores released to various State Governments/Agencies for implementation of projects under NRCP.
Stakeholder Consultation Workshop on Guidelines for National River Conservation Plan and DPR Preparation held on 06th May, 2024 in the presence of Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR. The recommendation and suggestions of the stakeholders are under review and accordingly will be proposed in the revised guidelines of NRCP and DPR guidelines.
First meeting of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) was held on 31.05.2024 under the Chairpersonship of Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR at Nagpur under the project Condition Assessment and Management Plan of Six River Basins (Cauvery, Periyar, Narmada, Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna).
The project “Assessment of ecological status of 7 rivers viz. Narmada, Mahanadi, Godavari, Cauvery, Periyar, Pamba and Barak for conservation planning” has been entrusted to Wild Life Institute of India (WII) at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 24.56 crore in September, 2020. The project broadly aims to spearhead river conservation in above seven Indian rivers for biodiversity conservation and maintenance of ecosystem services. Intensive ecological studies will be carried out in the seven prioritized river basins of India and ecological status will be assessed. Stake Holders workshops of NRCD- WII held at Bengaluru, Karnataka Cauvery River basin.

External Affairs & International Cooperation (EA&IC)

DoWR, RD & GR has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with different countries on cooperation in the field of water resources management and development. For effective implementation of activities under the various signed MoUs, to enhance the collaboration under the MoU, certain activities were undertaken including Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting, the details of which is as follows –

MoU with Denmark – The MoU between India and Denmark on Cooperation in the field of Water Resources Management was signed on 12.09.2022. Two projects namely “Centre of excellence on Smart Water Resources Management (CoESWaRM)” and “Smart Laboratories on Clean River (SLCR)” have been identified under the MoU. Indian side Joint Working Group was formed on 05.08.2024. First Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting under the MoU was held on 05^th December 2024. In the meeting, it has been agreed to have organizational division at PMU level into two sub-thematic areas under the existing Centre of Excellence (CoE).

MoU with European Union – The MoU between India and the European Union on Water Cooperation was signed on 01.10.2016. Three JWG meetings have been convened so far. Third Meeting of JWG was convened on 12.07.2023 virtually. The 6th EU-India Water Forum meeting was held on 18.09.2024 during the 8th India Water Week in New Delhi. The forum inter-alia explored trilateral collaboration between East Africa, India and the EU to address water challenges in regions like Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika.

MoU with Israel: The MoU between India and Israel on Water Resources Management and Development Cooperation was signed on 11.11.2016. A Joint Review Committee (JRC) (Now Steering Committee) has been formed on 20.02.2024 to assess the activities and progress of the projects identified for implementation under the MoU. 1^st meeting of the JRC was convened on 9th Oct 2024 recommending the proposal for the “Establishment of India-Israel Centre of Water Technology (CoWT)”.

MoC with Japan (Water Resources): The Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan in the area of Water Resources was signed on 11.12.2019. Two meetings of Joint Working Group (JWG) have been convened so far. 2nd JWG meeting was held on 14.11.2024. In the meeting both sides agreed for extension of the MoU and to identifying additional areas for collaboration.

MoU with Morocco- The MoU between India and Morocco on cooperation in the field of Water Resources was signed on 14.12.2017. Four JWG meetings have been convened so far. Fourth JWG meeting was convened on 20.09.2024. It was agreed upon that both the countries will share their experiences, analysis, findings, policies and developments in the field of water resources in its next meeting of JWG.

Bilateral Meetings of Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti with the Ministers of Foreign Nations during India Water Week 2024 in New Delhi: –

Denmark: Mr. C.R. Paatil, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti met with H.E. Mr. Morten Bødskov, Denmark’s Minister of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs. Denmark’s Minister reaffirmed Denmark’s commitment to sustainable water solutions and highlighted the expertise of Danish companies in water management. The Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti proposed collaborative initiatives to develop scalable technologies for water challenges, suggesting pilot projects at the district level.
Guyana: A significant meeting took place between Mr. C. R. Paatil, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti and Mr. Collin D. Croal, Hon’ble Minister of Housing & Water, Guyana. It was agreed upon that both the countries will share their experiences, policies and developments in the field of water resources
Tanzania: Mr. C. R. Paatil, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti, India met with Mr. Mathew Andrea Kundo, Deputy Minister of Water, Tanzania. The Tanzanian Minister proposed discussions on a new project to transport water from Lake Victoria, estimated at $600 million, to address water challenges in Tanzania. Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti assured that this proposal would be deliberated upon in the Ministry positively.
Zimbabwe: A productive meeting took place between Mr. C. R. Paatil, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti and Mr. Vangelis Peter Haritatos, Hon’ble Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s Minister sought innovative financing options beyond traditional avenues such as EXIM etc. Hon’ble Minister for Jal Shakti assured that these matters would be deliberated upon positively, emphasizing that improvements in Zimbabwe’s irrigation sector would significantly enhance food security across Africa.

Barhmaputra & Barak (B&B) Wing

Expert Level Mechanism (ELM)

During the visit of the Hon’ble President of the People’s Republic of China to India on November 20-23, 2006, it was agreed to set up an Expert-Level Mechanism to discuss interaction and cooperation on provision of flood season hydrological data, emergency management and other issues regarding trans-border Rivers as agreed between them. Accordingly, the two sides have set up the Joint Expert Level Mechanism through a Joint Declaration by both the countries.

The ELM meetings are held alternately in India and China every year. Fifteen meetings of ELM have been held so far. The 15^th meeting of ELM was held at Beijing, China during 13^th-14^th August 2024. The GoI delegation was led by Shri S.K. Sinha, Commissioner (B&B), DoWR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Chinese delegation was led by Mr. Hao Zhao, Director General of the International Economic & Technical Cooperation and Exchange Centre, Ministry of Water Resources, People’s Republic of China. Representatives of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Central Water Commission (CWC) had also participated in the meeting.

(ii) INDIA-BHUTAN COOPERATION

Joint Group of Expert (JGE) on Flood Management:

A Joint Group of Expert (JGE) on Flood Management has been constituted between India and Bhutan to discuss and assess the probable causes and effects of the recurring floods and erosion in the southern foothills of Bhutan and adjoining plains in India and recommend to both Governments appropriate and mutually acceptable remedial measures. Ten meetings of JGE have been held so far. The 10^th meeting was held during 28^th-29^th February, 2024 at New Delhi, India. The GoI delegation was led by Shri S. K. Sinha, Commissioner (B&B), Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD& GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI and the RGoB delegation was led by Mr. Karma Dupchu, Director, National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM), RGoB.

Joint Technical Team (JTT) on Flood Management:

In accordance with the decision taken during the first meeting of JGE, a Joint Technical Team (JTT) on Flood Management between the two countries was constituted. The purpose of JTT is to assess the field situation and provide technical support to JGE on flood management. Eight meetings of JTT have been held so far. The 8^th meeting of JTT was held during 18^th–20^th November, 2024 at Chalsa, Jalpaigudi, West Bengal. The Indian delegation was led by Shri G.L. Bansal, Chief Engineer, Brahmaputra Basin Organisation (BBO), Central Water Commission, GoI and the Bhutanese delegation was led by Dr. SingayDorji, Chief of Meteorological Services Division (MSD), National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology, RGoB.

Joint Experts Team (JET) on Flood Forecasting:

A Joint Experts Team (JET) consisting of senior officials from the Government of India and Royal Government of Bhutan(RGoB) continuously reviews the progress and other requirements of a network of 36 hydro-meteorological sites located in the catchments of trans-border rivers Puthimari, Pagladiya, Sankosh, Manas, Raidak, Torsa, Aie and Jaldhaka. So far, JET has met 38 times alternately in India and Bhutan since its reconstitution in 1992 and the last JET meeting i.e. 38^th meeting was held at Mandarmani, West Bengal, India during 10^th-11^th December, 2024.

The Indian delegation was led by Shri Subhrangshu Biswas, Chief Engineer, Teesta&Bagarathi-Damodar Basin Organisation (T&BDBO), Central Water Commission, GoI and the Bhutanese delegation was led by Mr. Karma Dupchu, Director, National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM), RGoB.

13. NERIWALM

The North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management (NERIWALM), under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, continued its vital contributions to water and land management across North East India in 2024. As the only institute of its kind in the region, it upheld its mandate of capacity building and skill enhancementfor efficient management of water and land resources for irrigation and agriculture.

During the year (January to December, 2024), the institute organized 76 training programmes, reaching 3,173 beneficiaries. Among these were induction-level courses for newly recruited engineers from the Irrigation and Agriculture Departments of Assam, as well as the Brahmaputra Board. A faculty development program on advancements in agriculture and water management was also conducted. NERIWALM collaborated with leading national institutions and agencies to host a two-day National Seminar on Advances in Irrigation Technologies and Management, fostering knowledge exchange and innovation.

In research and development, the institute undertook a diverse range of projects sponsored by state and central government departments. Key initiatives included the preparation of State-Specific Action Plans for 19 states, evaluations of PMKSY-AIBP and PMKSY-HKKP irrigation projects in Assam and Meghalaya, research project on farmer participation in irrigation management in Manipur, studies on good water management practices and study on the impact of climate change on dam-related hydro-geomorphic and social aspects in Arunachal Pradesh.

NERIWALM’s academic program also progressed with the enrollment of 15 students in the M.Tech course on Water Resource Management for the 2024-25 session. The institute further strengthened its credentials by developing e-learning modules on water resource management for the i-GOT platform. NERIWALM was accredited as “EXCELLENT” under the Capacity Building Commission’s National Standards, while its Soil and Water Laboratory achieved NABL accreditation.

14. NATIONAL HYDROLOGY PROJECT

National Hydrology Project (NHP), with support from the World Bank, envisages establishing a system for timely and reliable water resources data acquisition, storage, collation and management. It has pan-India coverage with 48 Implementing Agencies (IAs) {12 from Central Government (including 3 from River Basin Organisations) and 36 from States/ UTs}. It will also provide tools and systems for informed decision making for water resources assessment, planning and management. The National Hydrology Project has been approved with an outlay of Rs. 3,679.77 Crore as a Central Sector Scheme with 100% grant to State Governments and Central Implementing Agencies. The project originally had a duration of 8 years from 2016-17 to 2023-24. However, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance has accorded approval for extension of project till Sept-2025 within the same allocation.

Broad objectives of NHP include: a) To improve the extent, quality, and accessibility of water resources information; b) To create decision support system for floods and basin level resource assessment/planning; and c) To strengthen the capacity of targeted water resources professionals and institutions in India.

Under the ongoing NHP, almost 22960 Real Time Data Acquisition System (RTDAS) surface water and ground water stations have already been installed in the country. Besides, 46 Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) packages have been commissioned; almost 5667 piezometers constructed; 134 stationary as well as mobile water quality labs have been developed/procured/maintained and put into operation;
high-resolution DEMs, CORS network as well as Geoid model have also been developed. Furthermore, Bathymetric surveys of 464 important reservoirs of the country covering 162 BCM have also been taken up under NHP of which 373 studies have already been completed. Further 36 State Data Centres / Regional data centres / knowledge centres, etc. have been completed under the ongoing NHP. The need for development & maintenance of appropriate institutional framework both at the Central as well as State level for water resources information system intended for collection, collation and dissemination of the database was given shape in the ongoing NHP. As envisaged in the Cabinet note, the National Water Resources Informatics Centre (NWIC) has been created in 2018 and is now functional. Additionally, the formation of the State Water Informatics Centres for development of respective State Water Resources Information Systems was expedited in the ongoing NHP. Till date almost 19 SWICs have already been formed with a few more under process. The information system covering hydro-meteorological, hydro-geological, sedimentation, morphological and water quality data is also important in the context of various studies being done under NHP which
include IT Applications, Digital Products, geospatial hydro products, etc.

15. Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) scheme

Under the Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) scheme, since 12th plan onwards, 7282 schemes are ongoing with an estimated cost of ₹ 16113.560 crores. Central Assistance (CA) of Rs. 9009.169 crores have been released to states up-to March, 2024. Further, 4965 schemes have been reported to be completed up-to March, 2024. Target irrigation potential creation of these schemes is 11.58 L Ha and out of this, 8.59 L Ha is reported to be created till March, 2024.

16. Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies scheme

Under the Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies scheme, since 12th plan onwards, 3075schemes are ongoing with an estimated cost of Rs. 2834.692 crore. Central Assistance (CA) of Rs. 554.279Crore has been released to states up to March, 2024. Further, 2192 water bodies have been reported to be completed up to March, 2024. Target irrigation potential restoration of these schemes is 2.41 L Ha and out of this, 2.00 L Ha is reported to be restored till March, 2024

18. Mass Communication Internship programme

DoWR, RD & GR undertook internship programme in mass communication on during 2024. Students pursuing Degrees or are Research Scholars enrolled in recognized University/Institution in the field of Mass Communication in India are given opportunity to apply as “interns”. The Internship Programme provided short term exposure to “selected candidates” to be associated with the Department’s work related to media/social media activities. The objectives of the programme are to well acquaint the “Interns” with the working of the Department in field of media/social media related activities etc. and simultaneously the “interns” to supplement the process of mass publicity of this Department to create awareness about importance of development and management of water resources in holistic manner.

03 interns were selected for an initial period of 6 months under the program.

*****

Dhanya Sanal K

Director

(Release ID: 2096022) Visitor Counter : 29

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 26, 2025

MIL-Evening Report: 31% of companies are not paying tax in Australia. How do they do it?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kerrie Sadiq, Professor of Taxation, QUT Business School, and ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology

Seb Zurcher/Unsplash

Large companies paid the Australian government a record A$100 billion in tax in the last year, a 17% increase on the previous year. But, over the same period, there were still 31% of large companies, operating here but not paying any tax.

The Australian Taxation Office’s annual corporate tax transparency report released last week includes data on nearly 4,000 of Australia’s largest corporations.

In its tenth year, the report is lauded by the government and ATO as a way to increase corporate accountability and reduce tax avoidance. But there is no detail on the tax practices of multinational entities, including how they interact with their offices around the world.

In particular, there is little information about how 1,200 companies paid no tax.

What the report tells us

The transparency report provides data on corporations with income of $100 million or more and businesses which pay the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT). This includes Australian public and foreign-owned corporate tax entities, as well as Australian-owned resident private companies.

The report details the total income, taxable income, tax payable, and PRRT payable for all entities that meet the reporting threshold. Taxable income is simply assessable income minus deductions. Tax payable as a percentage of taxable income, can then be used to calculate an effective tax rate. The statutory corporate tax rate is 30%.

A variation between an effective tax rate and the statutory tax rate is not evidence of tax avoidance. However, questions need to be asked about how profitable companies reduce their tax liability to zero.

Zero liability can be achieved by deducting offsets and credits. For example, companies that conduct significant research and development are given tax breaks which reduce the amount of tax payable.

Where a company has accounting losses or a tax loss because it has incurred more expenses than income, tax will be zero. These are legitimate reasons for paying no tax.

But the limited information provided simply tells us how profitable a company is, the amount of tax deductions claimed against that profit, and the tax payable.

What the report doesn’t tell us

The transparency report reveals little about tax practices of multinational entities.

The question remains what deductions are being claimed by corporations and tax entities. The ATO has this information but can only publish what the law allows them, which is limited.

For multinationals, deductions will include dealings with overseas parts of the global entity, such as subsidiaries or the parent entity. These transactions create legitimate tax deductions.

Common transactions include payments to overseas subsidiaries for services, royalty payments for intellectual property, and interest on overseas borrowings.

In the case of petrol company Chevron, money was borrowed in the United States at around 1.2% and on lent to a related Australian entity at 9%.

After a long court battle, about 5% of interest was allowed as a deduction, an amount significantly above the original interest rate. This gave Chevron in Australia a large tax deduction.

It is through these types of transactions profits earned in Australia are shifted overseas. Current tax law allows this but requires the transaction, known as the transfer price, to be at arm’s length – that is, the price is agreed to between independent parties entering the same transaction.

What is transfer pricing?

Multinationals are global by nature and therefore logically maximise worldwide profits. Tax systems do not operate in the same way.

Tax comes under domestic law which means transactions between parts of a global entity are recognised for tax purposes.

If goods or services are sold by one part of the entity to another, an internal transaction occurs. For tax purposes the transaction is recognised as a deduction in one location and income in another. An Australian entity would pay a foreign party for things like marketing, and get a deduction for the expense.

In recent years the ATO has settled marketing disputes with large multinationals including Google, BHP, Apple, Rio Tinto, ResMed and Microsoft.

Where a deduction is allowed in a high tax jurisdiction, such as Australia, and income is included in the profits of a low tax jurisdiction, such as Singapore, the result is larger overall global profits.

The tax system recognises the incentive for multinational entities to shift profits this way and requires transactions to be at a commercial or negotiated price. Determining the price however can be fraught and has led to numerous court cases and tax disputes.

The tax transparency report reveals nothing about these types of transactions.

Taxing multinationals in Australia

In the last decade there have been moves to tax income in the location of the economic activity. The OECD has tried to stop profit shifting by companies, which erodes the tax base of high taxing jurisdictions, through its tax reform agenda.

Further complicating the issue of transfer pricing is the question of whether there is any real activity in the countries where different parts of a multinational are located.

Singapore is recognised for what are known as service hubs. These are places where various services such as sales negotiations are conducted and marketing occurs. Singapore also happens to have a headline corporate tax rate of 17%. This is often reduced to single digits after deals are entered into between taxpayers and the Singapore revenue authority.

Intellectual property poses similar problems.

These are increasingly valuable assets for multinational entities as they provide a unique edge in the market. We only need to think of Apple, Microsoft and Google to understand how valuable names, logos and designs are.

By its very nature intellectual property has no physical location and can be owned anywhere in the world. Often, intellectual property is held in low or no tax countries.

The transparency report includes no details about how much is transferred to these locations. This is where Australia’s proposed public country-by-country reporting may assist.

Is the ATO’s corporate tax transparency report worthwhile?

Australia should continue to strive to be a leader in corporate tax transparency.

A two-step approach is required to eliminate corporate tax avoidance. Information is valuable and public transparency measures are an important first step.

A second step, however, is to reform substantive tax laws to tax profits where they are genuinely being generated.

Kerrie Sadiq is the recipient of a four year Australian Research Council Future Fellowship Grant.

– ref. 31% of companies are not paying tax in Australia. How do they do it? – https://theconversation.com/31-of-companies-are-not-paying-tax-in-australia-how-do-they-do-it-242695

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 26, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Crossbenchers cancel their membership of airlines’ elite lounges

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

Crossbench independents Allegra Spender, Helen Haines and Kate Chaney have declared they are pulling out of the elite lounges run by Qantas and Virgin, amid the ongoing spotlight on privileges politicians receive from the airlines.

Allegra Spender, the member for the Sydney seat of Wentworth, also said she’d write to ask Qantas and Virgin not to give free upgrades to parliamentarians. It was “time to end the upgrades”.

She said all sides of politics enjoyed the perks, and both major parties had blocked greater competition from Qatar Airways.

Airlines operated under government policy and ministerial decisions, she said. “The public is understandably losing trust in politicians to make those decisions impartially when they’re being given free upgrades from the companies they’re supposed to regulate.”

Spender urged a review of the ministerial code of conduct. Tighter rules were needed about what politicians could accept. The code should also be extended to shadow ministers. There should as well be much more transparency over the diaries of ministers, she said.

“This is the only way to deal with the perception – and potential reality – of decisions being influenced by perks.”

But Labor MP Luke Gosling, from the Darwin seat of Solomon, accused her of grandstanding. “It’s a bit rich from the people with harbour views who either drive or have less than a one-hour flight,” he told the ABC.

Haines, from the Victorian regional seat of Indi, said she was quitting the lounges because she wanted “to remove any possibility of an actual or perceived conflict of interest” in her work as an MP.

“The reality that airlines offer these kinds of perks because ultimately they want to get something in return does not sit well with me and I want to continue to contribute to creating a culture of transparency and accountability through my actions as well as my words.”

Haines said she wanted “to see more rigorous rules around MP disclosures of upgrades and I think a ban on soliciting free flight upgrades is more than reasonable”.

Chaney, who holds the Western Australian seat of Curtin, said with the media attention on the issue “we need to do everything we can to rebuild trust in politicians making decisions in the public interest”.

Another crossbencher, Monique Ryan, from the Melbourne seat of Kooyong, who dropped her Qantas chairman’s lounge membership last year on integrity grounds, said she welcomed the discussion about the impact of corporate largesse on MPs’ decision-making.

“I am deeply concerned about lobbying and its potential to impact government decision making. Free upgrades and airline hospitality are lobbying practices that we have taken for granted for a long time, and it is important that we re-examine them — especially given public concerns about conflicts of interest.”

Meanwhile there is no indication of when opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie, who was leading the charge against the prime minister over his upgrades, will produce a list of her own. She has said she has written to three airlines to check what upgrades she has had.

Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Crossbenchers cancel their membership of airlines’ elite lounges – https://theconversation.com/crossbenchers-cancel-their-membership-of-airlines-elite-lounges-242782

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Festive week: National Unity Day at the State University of Management

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

The beginning of November in our country has been celebrated in an atmosphere of national unity for many centuries. The famous events of 1612 in Tsarist Russia were remembered on the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, in the USSR the anniversary of the Great October Revolution was celebrated during these days, and since 2004 the new Russia has returned to celebrating the end of the Time of Troubles and the restoration of firm state power.

Today this holiday is extremely relevant. The state and the people are uniting again in the face of external threats, moving together to achieve technological sovereignty and leadership, defending their own traditional values and showing other countries an example of a fair social order.

The State University of Management congratulates all Russians on National Unity Day and wishes to live in harmony and mutual understanding, support each other regardless of nationality and religion, remember not only the glorious pages of our country’s history, but also the dark times that strengthened us and brought us to a new stage of development.

This year, the State University of Management celebrates National Unity Day the entire work week after the holiday. As part of the Friendship Without Borders project, we will host the following events: — November 5 — Interethnic Sports Games in the Sports Complex (starts at 10:30); — November 6 — the Improvisation show in the atrium of the Information Technology Center (starts at 14:00); — November 7 — a discussion called Our Values in the Information Technology Center (room 211, starts at 15:00); — November 8 — Interuniversity Interethnic Game Guess the Melody in the atrium of the Information Technology Center (starts at 14:00).

Students from Moscow universities are invited to participate in the events. Up-to-date information on registration for the events is posted on the project’s Telegram channel: https://t.me/drujbaguu.

Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 11/4/2024

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI: 18th Global Citizenship Conference to be held in Singapore

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

LONDON, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — More than 400 delegates from over 50 countries are expected to attend the 18^th annual Global Citizenship Conference, which takes place 27–29 November in Singapore.

Hosted by world-leading international citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, this annual event has become the world’s largest and most significant conference on investment migration, bringing together presidents and prime ministers, other senior government ministers and officials, and leading academics, as well as top-tier private client advisors and wealth management professionals, and financial and business media.

The 2024 conference program features sophisticated content on the dynamics shaping the mobility options of wealthy families today. The conference will explore legal and economic developments and their implications, societal impacts relevant to global citizens, and trends in investment and wealth migration, along with regulatory and tax changes and the evolving concept of citizenship. Delegates will have the opportunity to engage with some of the world’s finest minds and latest ideas around global citizenship and interconnectivity and discover how to harness the power of global mobility.

Dr. Christian H. Kalin, Group Chairman of Henley & Partners, emphasizes the timely relevance of connecting across borders as global citizens. “The Great Wealth Migration, as we call it, reflects a global trend fueled by geopolitical instability, economic uncertainty, the climate crisis, and technological disruption. Wealthy individuals are increasingly recognizing that, in an interconnected world, relying solely on any one nation as a place of residence or citizenship — even a prosperous, democratic one — can be a risk they are no longer willing to take. As they consider their options, however, there is a crucial opportunity to reflect on the broader implications of their decisions. How can wealth be used not only for personal advantage but also to create positive social impact? Global citizenship, at its core, is the belief that we have responsibilities that extend beyond our own borders — to our communities and to the world as a whole. This conference seeks to broaden our perspectives through shared global learning, empowering us to drive meaningful change on both a local and a global scale.”

Notable key speakers at the conference include the Hon. Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, and the Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis. The Hon. Mohamed Nasheed, former President of the Maldives and current Secretary-General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, will also share his insights along with senior government officials from Indonesia, Montenegro, and the South Pacific.

Legendary global investor and best-selling author, Jim Rogers, will offer his perspective on global financial trends. Other distinguished speakers include Dr. Parag Khanna, Founder and CEO of Climate Alpha, Prof. Mehari Taddele Maru of the European University Institute and John Hopkins University, Irene Mia, Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and Balaji Srinivasan, American tech entrepreneur, investor, and author of The Network State.

A conference highlight will be the 2024 Global Citizen Award Dinner on 28 November, where a remarkable individual working to advance one of the global challenges affecting humanity today, will be honored. This year’s laureate will be announced at the gala event hosted in collaboration with the Swiss non-profit humanitarian organization Andan Foundation, which focuses on promoting the self-reliance of refugees through education, entrepreneurship, and employment, and to which the net proceeds of the evening will be donated.

For further information and media accreditation to attend the 18^th annual Global Residence and Citizenship Conference, please contact:

Sarah Nicklin
Group Head of Public Relations
sarah.nicklin@henleyglobal.com

The MIL Network –

January 26, 2025

Category: Universities

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Updates to this page

(xxii) LIST OF IMPORTANT PUBLICATIONS OF CWC during 2024

Expert Level Mechanism (ELM)

What the report tells us

What the report doesn’t tell us

What is transfer pricing?

Taxing multinationals in Australia

Is the ATO’s corporate tax transparency report worthwhile?