External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the all-women Ima market in Imphal on Sunday. The market, also known as the Mothers’ Market, Ima Keithel, or Nupi Keithel, is said to be nearly 500 years old and is solely managed and run by women. Sharing the video and photos from his visit on Twitter, Jaishankar called the market a “great example of Nari Shakti powering economic growth." The minister is in Manipur for a three-day visit, which began on Saturday, to attend the ongoing Manipur Sangai Festival 2022. In Ima Keithel, around 5,000 women shopkeepers hold licenses. These licen
India is now the world’s second-largest gamer base with over 369 million gamers, says a report by games market intelligence platform Niko Partners. The country makes up 50.2 per cent of all gamers in the top 10 Asian countries' list, according to the data provided by the market research firm. Indian gamers spend 14 hours per week on average on mobile games. The report added that India is also the fastest growing market with a 5-year growth rate of 21 per cent for revenue, mentioned in the report The Asia-10 Games Market. Niko Partners projects the Asia-10 PC and mobile game market wil
Indian wildlife biologist Dr Purnima Devi Barman is among the winners of United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 2022 Champions of the Earth award. The UN’s highest environmental honour is given for an individual’s work to avert, stop, and undo ecosystem degradation. She has been honoured with the award in the Entrepreneurial Vision category. Dr Barman is the leader of Hargila Army, an all-female grassroots conservation movement dedicated to protecting the Greater Adjutant Stork from extinction in Assam. The women create and sell textiles with motifs of the bird in their attemp
The Centre on Monday cancelled the mandatory rule of submitting the declaration form, Air Suvidha, for international arriving passengers, beginning the midnight of 22 November. A self-declaration form, Air Suvidha, was introduced as a COVID-19 prevention measure for contact tracing. The contactless solution by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Health Family Welfare was facilitated by Delhi Airport for all international passengers coming to India. Following the announcement, people flying into India from abroad will no longer be required to fill out the form and take an RT-P
India plans to showcase Nagaland’s famous Hornbill Festival when it assumes the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022. The start date of the festival – scheduled from December 1 to 10 – also coincides with the day India officially begins the presidency. The thought of showcasing the famous cultural festival on a global scale came up for discussion during a meeting of G20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla with Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphu Rio. Shringla discussed opportunities to showcase the festival through the lens of G20 and bring India’s most prestigious multilateral event
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Donyi Polo Airport at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. The greenfield airport has been developed on 694 acres of land at Hollongi, 25 km from Arunachal’s capital Itanagar. It has been developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 645 crore, and is equipped to handle 300 passengers during peak hours. With a 2300 m runway, the airport is suitable for the operation of the A- 320 type of aircraft. The terminal of the airport will be an energy-efficient building, providing balanced glazing and wall panelling along with insulated roof, glazing
The United States, Indonesia and other allies signed a $20 billion deal on Tuesday at the G20 summit to help Indonesia reduce its reliance on coal. The agreement, Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), has the United States, Japan, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom as partners. The $20 billion JETP deal will include $10 billion in public sector pledges from participating governments, while the other $10 billion will come through private investments. Indonesia is the world’s third-largest producer of coal. Its coal power plan
Saudi Arabia, the largest economy of the Arab world, has come to the UN climate summit being held in Egypt with a green vision. Part of this vision are hydrogen cars and vehicles that capture their tailpipe pollutants, computer mice made from recycled ocean waste plastic, hundreds of millions of trees planted in the desert, and other initiatives. The biggest Gulf economy has put on display its vision of an environment-friendly future just a short drive from the climate summit venue, Sharm El Sheikh. Saudi Arabia is presenting itself as a leader in green energies and eco-friendly practices,
India saved $4.2 billion in fuel costs through solar power generation in the first half of the calendar year 2022, and 19.4 million tonnes of coal, said a report released on Thursday. The report was released by the global energy think tank Ember, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The researchers analysed the rise of solar power over the last decade and found that five of the top 10 economies with solar capacity are now in Asia. China, Japan, India, South Korea and Vietnam are steadily generating power with the wi
India’s first fully solar village at Modhera is changing the lives of thousands of its poor residents such as potters, tailors, farmers and shoemakers to produce more products at zero energy cost. The ample renewable energy available around the clock has also been helping their children study inside the house. Located in the Mehsana district of Gujarat, Modhera is a village of around 6,500 residents. The solar power project commissioned in 2021 has around 12 hectares of land covered with solar and rooftop panels on roughly 1,300 homes generating 1kW of energy. This is more than th