Women Transforming India Awards

         About Women Transforming India Awards:

• On November 28-30, 2017, NITI Aayog, Government of India in partnership with the Government of the United States of America hosted the 8th Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad, India with the overarching theme of ‘Women First, Prosperity for All’.
• To take the idea forward, CEO, NITI Aayog announced setting up of Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to promote and support established as well as aspiring women entrepreneurs in India.
• WEP is the first of its kind unified access platform which enables meeting of several stakeholders in the entrepreneurial space on a single platform, work in collaboration with various partner organizations to provide a wide range of support services to women entrepreneurs under various service verticals of WEP.
• WEP partners such as Google, CRISIL, SIDBI, NIC, NASSCOM, UN India Business Forum, WEE Foundation, SEWA bank, MannDeshi Foundation, Shopclues, ICAI, ALC India, LK, GEN India, SSM have committed specific services such as WE check, Free Credit Rating, Free Ad credits, apprenticeship, mentorship, technical workshops etc. to WEP registered women entrepreneurs under verticals such as Financial Assistance and Funding Support, Entrepreneurship Skilling, Incubation and Acceleration, Compliance Assistance, Marketing Assistance and a dedicated vertical for Social Entrepreneurship.
• The Women Transforming India Awards were instituted to recognise and celebrate stories of exemplary women from across India.
• This year’s theme is “Women and Entrepreneurship” and fifteen winners have been chosen through an extensive six-month long process to identify fascinating and inspiring stories of women entrepreneurs.
• The Women Entrepreneurship Platform seeks to transform the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country and shall be a one-stop resource centre for future and budding women entrepreneurs.
• It seeks to act as a medium for various stakeholders in the economy to come together and offer integrated services such as Incubation Support, Mentorship, Funding avenues, Compliance, Marketing Assistance etc.

Vijay Diwas

        About Vijay Diwas:

• Vijay Diwas is commemorated every 16 December in India, as it marks its military victory over Pakistan in 1971 during the war for the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
• The end of the war also resulted in the unilateral and unconditional surrender of the Pakistan Army and subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh.
• On this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani forces, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with 93,000 troops, surrendered to the allied forces consists of Indian Army and Mukti Bahini, led by General Jagjit Singh Aurora, of India in Dhaka after their defeat in the war.
• The anniversary of Vijay Divas is observed across India by paying tributes to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the nation.

Outcome of 24th Session of Conference of Parties (COP)

         Highlights:

• The conference was a significant one which focused on three key issues including finalization of guidelines/ modalities/ rules for the implementation of Paris Agreement, the conclusion of 2018 Facilitative Talanoa Dialogue and the stocktake of Pre-2020 actions implementation and ambition.
• India demonstrated the spirit of commitment and leadership during the COP-24 by reiterating its promise to implement the Paris Agreement in its spirit and to act collectively to address climate change.
• India engaged positively and constructively in all the negotiations while protecting India’s key interests including recognition of different starting points of developed and developing countries; flexibilities for developing countries and consideration of principles including equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).
• The guidance on Nationally Determined Contributions preserves the nationally determined nature of NDCs and provides for Parties to submit different types of contributions including adaptation.
• The overall guidance reflects the principles of the Paris Agreement and recognizes the leadership that developed countries have to display for achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
• The guidance on adaptation recognizes the adaptation needs of developing countries and is built on the overarching principle of CBDR-RC. The differentiation has been operationalized by incorporating provisions on providing support for adaption activities of developing country parties.
• India has been in favor of a robust transparency regime, and the finalized Enhanced Transparency Framework builds upon the existing guidelines while providing flexibilities for developing countries.
• The guidance on finance provisions operationalizes the obligation of developed countries in providing means of implementation to developing countries and recognizes the need for climate finance to be new and additional and climate specific. Parties have also agreed to initiate the work on setting up the new collective finance goals post-2020 from the floor of USD 100 billion.
• The overarching framework for technology recognizes the need for enhanced support towards operationalization of the framework and comprehensively covers all stages of technology development and transfer.
• The modalities for Global Stocktake take into consideration the core principles of equity and includes assessment of collective progress on all the pillars of climate action.
• India also engaged in a meaningful way in the 2018 Facilitative Talanoa Dialogue and stocktake exercise on Pre-2020 implementation and ambition. The Talanoa Dialogue was an inclusive and participatory process which led to exchanging best practices between all stakeholders.
• The pre-2020 stocktake exercise also led to a meaningful dialogue with developed countries being urged to step up their actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to address gaps in the provision of technology, finance and capacity-building support.

Watan ko Jano

         Highlights:

• The programme is sponsored jointly by Ministry of Home Affairs, Central Government (Kashmir Cell) and J&K State Rehabilitation Council Social Welfare Department.
• It aims to give exposure to youth and children of J&K about the cultural and socio-economic development taking place in other parts of country. Youth and children hit by militancy and from weaker sections from J&K are selected for the programme.
• Youth and children hit by militancy and from weaker sections of the society have been identified for the purpose.