Over 200 Migrants Drown in Three Days in Mediterranean — Death Toll for 2018

ON JULY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

So far this year, the Libyan Coast Guard has returned some 10,000 people to shore from small vessels.

“I am traveling to Tripoli once again this week and will see firsthand the conditions of migrants who have been rescued as well as those returned to shore by the Libya Coast Guard,” said William Lacy Swing, IOM Director General. “IOM is determined to ensure that the human rights of all migrants are respected as together we all make efforts to stop the people smuggling trade, which is so exploitative of migrants,” said Swing.

IOM staff were deployed to provide support and first aid to the the 41 migrants who survived the capsize of their small rubber vessel that capsized off AlKhums. This is the second major shipwreck in as many few days. On Friday, a rubber dinghy capsized north of Tripoli and the 16 survivors (young men from Gambia, Sudan, Yemen, Niger and Guinea) were rescued by the Libyan Cost Guard. However, an estimated 103 people lost their lives.

Adding to grim and tragic scene, the bodies of three babies were taken from the sea by the Libyan Coast Guard. IOM provided assistance at the disembarkation point, including provision of food and water and health assistance. IOM is also in the process of providing psychosocial aid at Tajoura detention centre where the survivors have been transferred. The need for physcosocial support is high as the survivors spent traumatizing time in the water as their engine broke only 30 minutes after departing Garaboli. The survivors have received psychosocial first aid at the detention centre and IOM continues to monitor their condition.
From Friday to Sunday, close to 1,000 migrants were returned to Libyan shore by the Libyan Coast Guard, who intercepted small crafts as they made their way towards the open sea. Upon disembarkation to shore, migrants have received emergency direct assistance, including food and water, health assistance and IOM protection staff has provided vulnerability interviews. Those rescued and returned by the Libyan Coast Guard are transferred by the Libyan authorities to the detention centres where IOM continues humanitarian assistance.
“There is an alarming increase in deaths at sea off Libya Coast,” said IOM Libya Chief of Mission Othman Belbeisi, adding: “Smugglers are exploiting the desperation of migrants to leave before there are further crackdowns on Mediterranean crossings by Europe.”

“Migrants returned by the coast guard should not automatically be transferred to detention and we are deeply concerned that the detention centres will yet again be overcrowded and that living conditions will deteriorate with the recent influx of migrants,” added Belbeisi.

Two other search and rescue operations by the Libyan Coast Guard are currently ongoing.
For more, information please contact:
Christine Petre IOM Libya, Email: chpetre@iom.int Tel + 216 577 9636
Leonard Doyle IOM Spokesperson, Email: ldoyle@iom.int, Tel: +41 792857123

Ramleela in fourteen different languages

ON JULY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

This year Ramleela in fourteen different languages, focusing  on digital technology!

   Well, this year the world’s biggest Ramleela will be showcased in a grand manner in comparison with past years. As this time along with artists their performances, costumes Ramleela will be revealed in 14 different languages along with more digital technology. In the recent press conference held in Constitution Club of India, Delhi, many ideas and details were revealed by the Chairman of LuvKush Ramleela, Ashok Aggarwal.

   Along with him, the event was graced by Avtar Gill, Rupesh Kataria, Shankar Sahni, Ritu Shiv Puri, Payas Pandit, who will be performing this year in Ramleela. And as per the details by Chairman Ashok Aggarwal, “nowadays youngsters are more into social media and digitality, after studying these trends in depth, we decided to add more digital technology. According to him, last year more than nine hundred thousand viewers watched Live Ramleela on Youtube, the highest number of viewers was from European countries and the rating kept on increasing.”

   Talking about the characters this year, he told media, Avtar Gill will portray Vibhishan, Ritu Shiv Puri will be Sita’s mother Sunaina. Shankar Sahni will be Guru Vashisht. This year LuvKush Ramleela will be highlighted for the National and International audience through Television. Well, the 40-year-old LuvKush Ramleela will be showcased from 10th October till 21st October 2018.

500 Million Dollar Venture Mall

ON JULY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

500 Million Dollar Venture Mall.Global to Give Online Shopping a Facelift: True Hybrid the Future of Retail

DUBAI, July 2, 2018

Online shopping will become a lot more exciting with the launch of Mall.Global. The USD 500 Million debut venture of the Dubai based tech firm revealed the project outline that is all set to give traditional e-commerce a facelift by incorporating immersive technologies and operational practices.

The platform will offer a personalized experience to each user within a virtual world and employ innovative integrations and technologies to enhance the customer’s experience with; Brand Immersion, Virtual Reality, On-Ground AR Cues, Micro-Influencer Reviews, AI & Machine Learning, Cross-Platform Loyalty and multi Cryptocurrency acceptance; to offer what the developer refers to as a True Hybrid experience.

The platform is due to go live by 2020 with over 2500 brand stores and sequential launches across the GCC, India, North Africa, Europe, CIS and China. Mall.Global will undergo testing with live customer sets early next year.

Emerging markets are home to 90% of the world’s millennials, with an annual income expected to surpass 4 trillion dollars by 2030, Mall.Global’s True Hybrid experience is designed to match the lifestyle of these Digital Natives.

Mall.Global is designed to be the true definition of a digital mall, where brands can do much more than just sell products and in fact recreate the retail experience to deliver the perfect bridge between on-ground and online.

Mall.Global will enable brands to deliver their personality and communicate their campaigns in an online environment as well as they do them in traditional retail. Every brand on the platform will have its own VR Store Design Toolkit that will enable them to design, create and constantly update their online stores in sync with their campaigns, collections and seasons.

Aided by a tech team of global e-commerce and technology professionals, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Mall.Global Sofya Shamuzova said, “Some of the best innovations of our time have come as a result of need. The need, in this case, was to attain a higher level of value and convenience, maintain all aspects of online shopping that consumers are used to and retain the essence of brand personas as in traditional retail. The platform is designed to address the most common wishes of customers with features like ‘Try & Buy’ where shoppers have the option of receiving certain products like apparel and footwear in a size above and below their chosen order to ensure 100% satisfaction in every sense of the word. We often hear that e-commerce is the future of all retail; I say it is its present, at best. The future is a place where customers don’t just browse and buy products but actually experience the brand before they do so, and Mall.Global will offer just that.”

“Add to it the fact that Mall.Global will back all its products for originality and our Genuine Guaranteed & Global brand promise begins to make more sense,” she added.

Visit http://www.mall.global

Contact info@nfactor.global – media@mall.global

Iris Nibbering, PR Consultant, N Factor, Phone: +971-50-462-4491 Email: iris@nfactor.global

First Delta Ranking of Aspirational Districts

ON JULY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

NITI Aayog releases report on First Delta Ranking of Aspirational Districts

The NITI Aayog recently launched the first Delta ranking (incremental progress) for the Aspirational Districts, based on self-reported data of districts between March 31, 2018 to May 31, 2018, across five developmental areas viz. Agriculture and Water Resources, Basic Infrastructure, Education, Financial Inclusion Health and Nutrition, and Skill Development. The objective of the ranking is to spur a sense of competition among the dynamic teams in the districts. Since these districts face many challenges including legacy, unexploited or weak resource base, deficit of manpower at different levels due to difficult living conditions etc, the ranking is also a tool to identify sectors and indicator specific challenges so that Team India, which is driving this programme, can take immediate corrective measures. The delta ranking is computed in a transparent manner for combined improvements made during April and May 2018. The Districts started entering data from 1st April, 2018 in the Champions of Change Dashboard and 108 districts out of total 112, participated in this ranking. Data entry by remaining four districts is also in progress, though they are not part of this ranking. Some of the data points have been sourced from Central Ministries viz. Financial Inclusion, Skill Development and 3 indicators of Basic Infrastructure – Household Electricity Connections, Household Toilets and Rural Drinking Water. Most of the data points, however, have been self-reported by the various districts themselves. Asifabad district of Telangana, which was ranked 100 in Baseline ranking released in March this year, has made significant improvements in past two months and stood at 15 in Delta ranking. Dahod district of Gujarat improved 19.8 points to rank first in the Delta ranking (was Ranked 17 in Baseline ranking). West Sikkim district in Sikkim stood second with 18.9 points, a huge improvement from being in the 30th position in Baseline ranking. Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh also made significant strides by improving 14.7 points and ranked 6th position in Delta ranking from 45th position in Baseline ranking. This Delta ranking takes a step further and looks into specific aspects of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and analyses how districts have performed in last two months across important sectors. This grouping and positioning would aid the District Magistrates/Collectors to focus more on these sectors and improve their ranking in future. Most Improved District Launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji in January this year, the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ programme aims to quickly and effectively transform some of the most underdeveloped districts of the country. The broad contours of the programme are Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors), and Competition among districts driven by a Mass Movement or a Jan Andolan. With States as the main drivers, this program will focus on the strength of each district, identify low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress, and rank districts. The Government is committed to raising the living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth for all – SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas. To enable optimum utilization of their potential, this program focuses closely on improving people’s ability to participate fully in the burgeoning economy. Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure are this programme’s core areas of focus. After several rounds of consultations with various stakeholders, 49 key performance indicators have been chosen to measure progress of the districts. Districts are prodded and encouraged to first catch-up with the best district within their state, and subsequently aspire to become one of the best in the country, by competing with, and learning from others in the spirit of competitive & cooperative federalism.

Tata Steel – thyssenkrupp sign 50:50 joint venture

ON JULY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Tata Steel and thyssenkrupp AG has signed, a definitive agreement to create a new company by combining their European steel businesses in a 50/50 joint venture.

Variant performance development of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Tata Steel Europe has differential valuation gap between the two entities. The pivot  agreement includes compensation for this valuation gap in such form that in case of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the joint venture thyssenkrupp happens to  receive a higher share of the proceeds, reflecting an economic ratio of 55/45 in favour of thyssenkrupp. In addition, thyssenkrupp has the right to exclusively decide on the timing for a potential IPO.

The proposed new company, likely to be registered with ROC,  thyssenkrupp Tata Steel B.V., best to be positioned as a leading pan-European high quality flat steel producer with a strong focus on performance and technology leadership. The transaction is subject to merger control clearance in several jurisdictions, including the European Union.

The joint venture not only addresses the challenges of the European steel industry. It is the only solution to create significant additional value of around 5 billion euros for both thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel due to joint synergies which cannot be realized in a stand-alone scenario. For both partners the stake in the joint venture means a significant lift up of value.

—Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger, CEO of thyssenkrupp AG

Andres Iniesta, announced retirement

ON JULY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Andres Iniesta, announced his retirement from international football after Spain’s shock defeat has played  world cups,2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018

Andres Iniesta,  gave Spain their first World Cup ever. You are irreplaceable. Legend

FIFA World Cup, which it did at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in South Africa, the first time the team had reached the final.

  India’s external debt stands at about USD 530 billion at end March 2018

ON JULY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

India’s external debt stands at about USD 530 billion at end March 2018, recording an increase of US$ 58.4 billion over its level at end-March 2017. At end-March 2018, India’s external debt witnessed an increase of 12.4 per cent over its level at end-March 2017, primarily on account of an increase in commercial borrowings, short-term debt and non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits. The increase in the magnitude of external debt was partly due to valuation loss resulting from the depreciation of the US dollar against major currencies. The external debt to GDP ratio stood at 20.5 per cent at end-March 2018, higher than its level of 20.0 per cent at end-March 2017. Major highlights pertaining to India’s external debt at end-March 2018 are presented below: Ø  At end-March 2018, India’s external debt was placed at US$ 529.7 billion, recording an increase of US$ 58.4 billion over its level at end-March 2017 Ø  Valuation loss due to the depreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis major currencies (viz., euro, SDR, Japanese yen and pound sterling) was placed at US$ 5.2 billion. Excluding the valuation effect, the increase in external debt would have been US$ 53.1 billion instead of US$ 58.4 billion at end-March 2018 over end-March 2017 Ø  Commercial borrowings continued to be the largest component of external debt with a share of 38.2 per cent, followed by NRI deposits (23.8 per cent) and short-term trade credit (19.0 per cent). Ø  At end-March 2018, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) was placed at US$ 427.5 billion, recording an increase of US$ 44.3 billion over its level at end-March 2017. Ø  The share of long-term debt (original maturity) in total external debt at end-March 2018 was 80.7 per cent, lower than its level of 81.3 per cent at end-March 2017. Ø  The share of short-term debt (with original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt increased to 19.3 per cent at end-March 2018 from 18.7 per cent at end-March 2017. The ratio of short-term debt (original maturity) to foreign exchange reserves increased to 24.1 per cent at end-March 2018 (23.8 per cent at end-March 2017). Ø  Short-term debt on a residual maturity basis (i.e., debt obligations that include long-term debt by original maturity falling due over the next twelve months and short-term debt by original maturity) constituted 42.0 per cent of total external debt at end-March 2018 (41.6 per cent at end-March 2017) and stood at 52.3 per cent of foreign exchange reserves (53.0 per cent at end-March 2017) Ø  US dollar denominated debt continued to be the largest component of India’s external debt with a share of 49.5 per cent at end-March 2018, followed by the Indian rupee (35.8 per cent), SDR (5.5 per cent), Japanese yen (4.8 per cent) and euro (3.4 per cent). Ø  The borrower-wise classification shows that the outstanding debt of both government and non-government sectors increased at end-March 2018 Ø  Debt service payments declined to 7.5 per cent of current receipts at end-March 2018 as compared with 8.3 per cent at end-March 2017 India’s Key External Debt Indicators End-March External Debt (US$ billion) Ratio of External Debt to GDP (Per cent) Debt Service Ratio (Per cent) Ratio of Foreign Exchange Reserves to Total Debt (Per cent) Ratio of Concessional Debt to Total Debt (Per cent) Ratio of Short-term Debt to Foreign Exchange Reserves (Per cent) Ratio of Short-term Debt (original maturity) to Total Debt (Per cent) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1991 83.8 28.7 35.3 7.0 45.9 146.5 10.2 1996 93.7 27.0 26.2 23.1 44.7 23.2 5.4 2001 101.3 22.5 16.6 41.7 35.4 8.6 3.6 2006 139.1 16.8 10.1# 109.0 28.4 12.9 14.0 2007 172.4 17.5 4.7 115.6 23.0 14.1 16.3 2008 224.4 18.0 4.8 138.0 19.7 14.8 20.4 2009 224.5 20.3 4.4 112.2 18.7 17.2 19.3 2010 260.9 18.2 5.8 106.9 16.8 18.8 20.1 2011 317.9 18.2 4.4 95.9 14.9 21.3 20.4 2012 360.8 21.1 6.0 81.6 13.3 26.6 21.7 2013 409.4 22.4 5.9 71.3 11.1 33.1 23.6 2014 446.2 23.9 5.9 68.2 10.4 30.1 20.5 2015 474.7 23.9 7.6 72.0 8.8 25.0 18.0 2016 R 484.8 23.4 8.8 74.3 9.0 23.2 17.2 2017 PR 471.3 20.0 8.3 78.5 9.4 23.8 18.7 2018 P 529.7 20.5 7.5 80.2 9.1 24.1 19.3 Source: RBI. Note: R: Revised. PR: Partially Revised. P: Provisional. #: works out to 6.3 per cent with the exclusion of India Millennium Deposits (IMDs) repayments of US$ 7.1 billion and pre-payment of external debt of US$ 23.5 million.

‘Make in India for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)’

ON JULY 1, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Promoting UAS Industry in India

July 11, 2018; 0900 hrs | FICCI, Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi

Greetings from FICCI !

We are pleased to inform you that FICCI is organising a program on ‘Make in India for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) – Promoting UAS Industry in India’ at FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi on July 11, 2018. Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India is likely to partner us for this programme, in efforts to promote UAS industry in India. The program aims to bring together stakeholders from the Government, Special Forces, Industry, Academia & Think Tanks to discuss on business opportunities, challenges and the way forward pertaining to the UAS Industry in India.

The theme of the conference is ‘Make-in-India’ for UAS, as there is a need to develop an ecosystem that promotes manufacturing capabilities and encourages services & innovation in this sector. It further proposes to provide platform to Indian startups for understanding the requirements of Government agencies and support them to showcase / promote the emerging technologies.

Some of the key discussion areas are :

·         India Business Opportunity

·         R&D & Testing sites for UAS Operations

·         Commercialization of UAS

·         Regulating Imports on UAS

·         UAS & Industrial Defense Corridor

·         Policy & Operational Challenges

·         The Way Forward for UAS Industry

It is our pleasure to invite you to join us at the seminar, which is scheduled at 0900 hrs on July 11, 2018 at FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi.

Your office may contact my colleague Ms. Sonali Hansda, Research Associate, FICCI atsonali.hansda@ficci.com , for further information / clarification.

Look forward to your kind participation.

Best,

Sumeet Gupta

Senior Director  

Citizen Conclave

ON JUNE 30, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Date: June 30, 2018

New Delhi

After the highly successful first Citizens’ Conclave organised by India Inclusive, a second conclave was organised on the 30th of June 2018. The Conclave, titled “Safeguarding the Constitution: Ensuring the Independence and Integrity of the Civil Services and Defence Forces”.

The first session of the day was chaired by Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas and the speakers were, Air Marshal Vir Narain. Dr. Atul Bhardwaj (Economic Political Weekly, Former Naval Officer), NC Saxena (Former Secy, Planning Commission), Dr. Tuk Tuk Ghosh (Former Secy, Planning Commission), and Wajahat Habibullah (First Chief Information Commissioner of India).

Over 200 people attended the Conclave over the entire day and the sessions touched upon various themes that were related to the Constitution, those in the system, the system itself and the impending consequences of it all.

The session opened with Mr Vir Narayan discussing the ways in which the Constitution could be safeguarded. He said, “The danger is from within the system, the armed forces and the civil servants are pandering to those in power.” Dr. Atul Bhardwaj added to this by talking about the slowly crumbling structure of the defence forces. “The armed forces by nature are supposed to not side with any particular ideology, but today they are openly flouting those principles, it is a shame to see the structure of the forces being demolished from within.” Furthermore, while talking about the threats to the system and the people, Dr. Atul Bhardwaj also spoke about the idea of nationalism that the current government is peddling. “All this talk of nationalism is to hoodwink the citizens of this country. It acts as a smokescreen behind which the government continues to threaten the very systems that help the people to survive and empower themselves. They don’t want to protect the country or the people or Hinduism. They are protecting their class behind these illusions.”

Dr. NC Saxena spoke at length about the Civil Services and how the system has now succumbed to the political rulers of the country. “Ultimately, if our political system itself flawed, we cannot assume the civil services will continue being fair and transparent.” Wajahat Habibullah added to this by talking at length about how the civil services have now become prey to casteist and bigoted practices. “A great level of professionalism has to be brought back to the Services. The civil servants have to move away from the practice of maintaining their status quo and rather start acting efficiently and not be responsible for the precariousness of India’s democracy.” He further added that the challenge that the country faces now is to preserve the structures of democracy that have been put in place. The judiciary, the civil services and the defence forces have to be kept independent of the political ideologies in power.

Dr. Tuk Tuk Ghosh argued that, “The civil servants are responsible for carrying out the work of those in power, they do it without any sense of accountability, they are only concerned with their own upward mobility. When you point a finger at your politicians, remember the civil services who have emboldened them.” While talking about the lateral entry system, she said, “The lack of professionalism amongst by the civil servants have led to the questioning of their ethics and work. This will be used and is already being used as an excuse to privatise the services itself. The civil services will be wiped out of the country and it will be very easy to dismantle the governance that our constitution has guaranteed to us.”

While concluding the session, Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas spoke about the crippling effect that the want of wealth has on the civil services. While talking about the elite position that civil servants hold, he said “The constitution of India is the holiest book of this country, it should be treated as such and especially by civil servants who take their oath on it.”

A round of questions followed the session from the audience; the panellists reiterated the need to safeguard the structures that are responsible for ensuring the democracy of the nation. The fact that the actual assessment and critique of the State lies in the hand of the public was also repeated several times to embolden the public to take charge of those who work for them.

The second session of the day was chaired by Mr. Ashok Vajpeyi (Former Cultural Secy) while the speakers in attendance were Air Marshal Kapil Kak, Aruna Roy (Former IAS), Ashok Kumar Sharma (Former IFS). Commodore Lokesh K Batra (Retd.), Niranjan Pant (Former Deputy CAG) and K. S. Subarmaniam (Former Officer, IPS).

Air Marshall Kapil Kak opened the session, he stressed on the need to safeguard the organic link between the systems of civil services and defence services with that of the Constitution. The other organic link he spoke about was that between the armed forces and the general public at large. Mr. Niranjan Pant spoke about the indiscipline that has plagued the Indian Civil Services in the last few decades. “People in the Services are concerned with rankings, wealth and promotions. Their attitude towards work is conditional and they are now in debt to political leaders. We need to reform the system which will take time but without a reform we are headed to a complete breakdown of the country.”

Aruna Roy added to the point of demanding accountability of government officers and civil servants by urging the public to take up that role. “The need of the hour is for all of us, every citizen to understand the constitution, enforce it themselves and disallow anyone to threaten it.” She also reiterated Dr. Tuk Tuk Ghosh’s point on the role of civil servants in letting politicians run amok. “Behind a single politician there are dozens of civil servants who have put their ideologies into actual administrative actions” she said. K. S Subarmaniam talked about the lack of systemic aids that are available to the minority communities to acquire justice. “There is a total collapse of justice when it comes to minority groups. The IPC severely lacks the idea of accountability of the system in terms of case handling and prosecution, majority of it is about securing the state. If we want to safeguard minorities we need to work extensively on the Constitution. Which means the constitution has to be open to amendments in today’s day and age.” He said.

Commodore Lokesh and Dr. Ashok Kumar Sharma both spoke about safeguarding the services and that the public needs to wake up and take up the role of being the watchdogs of those in power. Commodore Lokesh criticised the lies that are being peddled as facts by the current government, while addressing the younger audience he urged that the public needs to verify the news it receives, especially via social media. Dr. Ashok Kumar Sharma spoke extensively about the civil services system and the methodical breaking down of it, “When we talk of the Civil Services, the problems are multiple. The selections are biased, the interviews themselves are a gateway to nepotistic biases. Furthermore, a certain type of ideology, which is right wing and destructive, is being fed into them and that reflects in their work later on.”

The Chair, Mr. Ashok Vajpeyi, concluded the session. “The politicians in power have worked consistently to endanger the country and the constitution for personal gain. The Civil servants are not far behind in that either”, he said. While talking about the efficiency of the system, he said, “The government has excelled in placing inexperienced and uneducated individuals in positions of power. Lies and collective amnesia is being encouraged by key political leaders who cannot be questioned due to the fear of retaliation.” He urged the public to realise that the power lies in their hands, “We all are responsible for electing this government into power, and we have to take the responsibility to safeguard the democratic nature of our country. And we should oppose any and everyone who tries to discredit the freedom that is provided to us by the Constitution”.

Anajli Hedge, core group of India Inclusive, concluded the Conclave with the vote of Thanks. She thanked the speakers and the participants and said that our efforts were to create space for discussing issues, which are concerned to us. She also asked everyone to help us in identifying the issues for the next conclave.

Shabnam Hashmi

9811807558

Leena Dabiru

9811137421

António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino elected as new Director General of UN Migration Agency

ON JUNE 30, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino elected as new Director General of UN Migration Agency

Geneva – On Friday 29 June 2018, the member states of the IOM, the United Nations Migration Agency, elected Portugal’s António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino as the International Organization for Migration’s next Director General.

Mr. Vitorino, 61 (DOB 12 January 1957), succeeds the United States’ William Lacy Swing, who is leaving IOM after serving two five-year terms as Director General. Mr. Vitorino’s directorship begins on 1 October 2018.

The latest IOM director general is a former European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs (1999-2004) and former Minister of the Presidency and National Defence (1995-1997). He has also enjoyed a distinguished career in Portugal as a lawyer as well as in electoral politics.

Mr. Vitorino was elected to Portugal’s Parliament in 1980. In 1983 he became Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs. He later served as Deputy Secretary for the Governor of Macau until 1989, when he returned to Lisbon to become a judge of the Constitutional Court, a term that ended in 1994. He subsequently served as Minister for National Defence and Deputy Prime Minister within the government of António Guterres, now the United Nations’ Secretary General.

From 1999 to 2004 António Vitorino served as the European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs. During his tenure, Mr. Vitorino participated in conversations that led to the drawing of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the Convention on the Future of Europe.

Since exiting politics in 2005, Mr. Vitorino has returned to law, serving as a partner with the firm of Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira & Associados. Vitorino has been President of the think tank Notre Europe since June 2011 and for many years enjoyed an ongoing role as commentator for the leading Portuguese television channel RTP 1.

António Vitorino earned a degree from the University of Lisbon’s School of Law in 1981, as well as a Master’s Degree in Legal and Political Science. Mr. Vitorino has authored works on Constitutional Law, Political Science, European Community Law, and was also a member of the Drafting Committee of the Portuguese White Book on Corporate Governance.

Established in 1951, International Organization for Migration has over 10,000 staff and over 400 offices in more than 150 countries. IOM is the UN Migration Agency and is the leading inter-governmental organisation in the field of migration. It is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.

IOM works with its partners in the international community to assist in meeting operational challenges of migration, advance understanding of migration issues and to encourage social and economic development through migration while upholding the well-being and human rights of all migrants.

IOM provides services and advice to governments and migrants to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.

IOM was granted permanent observer status to the UN General Assembly in 1992. A cooperation agreement between IOM and the UN was signed in 1996. IOM joined the UN system as a related organization in September 2016, when the agreement outlined in GA res.70/296 (2016) was signed during the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants.

For further information please contact Leonard Doyle at IOM HQ, Tel: +41 792857123, Email: ldoyle@iom.int

Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai, on the List of World Heritage. 

ON JUNE 30, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

  Victorian  Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai inscribed on the World Heritage List –Happy 37th, India!

New Delhi, 30 June 2018 – Today, the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee currently taking place in Manama (Bahrain) inscribed the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai, on the List of World Heritage.

Reacting to the decision from India, Eric Falt, UNESCO New Delhi Director said “I would like to offer my warm congratulations to the State Government of Maharashtra, and commend them for the excellent nomination dossier highlighting the outstanding universal value of these groups of buildings which are now inscribed officially on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.  This adds to the 36 other Indian sites already inscribed. Happy 37th, India!

The Nominated Property is situated in South Mumbai’s historic core district and comprises an urban ensemble straddling two heritage precincts of the Fort Precinct and Marine Drive. It includes the row of public buildings to the east of Oval Maidan and the Art Deco buildings consisting of the first row of Backbay Reclamation scheme and Marine Drive. 

By inscribing these building groups on the List of World Heritage, the World Heritage Committee recognized that the  Victorian Gothic and the Art Deco ensembles exhibit an important exchange of European and Indian human values over a span of time, creating an Indo-Gothic style.  The Committee further recognized that together the ensemble reflects the developments in urban planning in Mumbai and urban expansion over two centuries which led the city to become the internationally important mercantile city of the 20th century.  

UNESCO seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

 To access the congratulatory video message of the UNESCO New Delhi Director click here

 For further information, contact:

Junhi Han

Programme Specialist for Culture

UNESCO New Delhi