PRESIDENT OF INDIA'S GREETINGS ON THE OCCASION OF "GURU RAVIDAS JAYANTI"

The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil has greeted fellow citizens on the occasion of Guru Ravidas Jayanti, which shall be celebrated tomorrow. In her message, the President has said, "On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Ravi Das, I extend my greetings and good wishes to all.

Guru Ravi Das was a great saint who preached that everyone should be treated equally. He considered service to humanity as service to God and his teachings of universal brotherhood are of utmost significance today.

May the teachings of Guru Ravi Das inspire us all to strive to remove social inequities in our society." (press release from rashtrapati bhawan n.delhi)

New benchmark must for speedy achievement of power for all: Sushilkumar Shinde

The Union Power Minister, Shri Sushilkumar Shinde presenting the National Award for Meritorious Performance in Power Sector to Mandal Mahila Samakhya, Seethampeta, Andhra Pradesh in the category of Rural Distribution Franchisee Performance, in New Delhi on January 29, 2010.

The Minister of State of Power, Shri Bharatsinh Solanki is also seen.

(Photo by PIB No:CNR-30130 )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(PIB NEWS)Union Power Minister, Shri Sushilkumar Shinde today urged the Power Sector Utilities to keep up the good work and continue their contribution in the task of building a strong infrastructure needed to achieve energy security. Speaking after giving away the National Awards for Meritorious Performance in Power Sector at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi today he called upon all concerned to establish new benchmarks for achieving the target of “electricity to all” as expeditiously as possible. He said that the awards have helped in significant improvement in operating performance, however their impact in expeditious completion of ongoing projects needs to be more pronounced in the years to come.Expressing satisfaction over the fact that Plant Load Factor (PLF) of a number of thermal power stations is reported to be over 90%, the Minister praised the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd for bagging all the six awards in thermal performance category for Simahdri, Korba, Ramagundam, Vindhyachal, Rihand and Dadri Thermal Power Stations. He also urged new generating stations to leave no stone unturned for emulating the performance of these stations in the years to come.The Minister also expressed satisfaction that all the 17 transmission systems which participated in the Award Scheme, have reported availability above 99.14% and the Western Region Transmission System – I of PowerGrid Corporation of India Limited has received Gold Shield with availability of 99.91%. He said that PowerGrid also needs special commendation for completing a transmission line of about 400 circuit kilometer and a sub-station in Afghanistan under difficult working conditions, hilly terrain and snow bound area as well as difficult law and order conditions and completing the same ahead of contractual schedule.
Shri Shinde said that awards to Rural Distribution Franchisees, started by the Ministry from the year 2007-08, have catalyzed the franchisees and better results would be witnessed from more franchisees in the years to come.In his Address, Minister of State for Power, Shri Bharatsinh Solanki highlighted the performance of Rural Distribution Franchisees which is being measured in terms of revenue collection, metered services, type of franchise, etc. He observed that India is the first country where women have come in the business of rural franchisees where they are not only engaged in revenue collection but also in maintaining of the networking equipment. Congratulating the Mahila Mandal Samakhya, Seethampeta, a franchisee of Eastern Andhra Pradesh Discom who won the award this time, he wished all such organisations for continued success in the years to come.
Earlier, Shri Anil Kumar, Special Secretary, Ministry of Power addressed the gathering. He called for inclusive growth where electricity would reach out to every nook and corner of the country. Pointing out that India has only 700 units per capita while the world average is about 2700 units, he reminded the players in the power sector of the great expectations in terms of demand which called for capacity addition up to 8,00,000 MW by 2027.
Shri Rakesh Nath, Chairperson,CEA who was also present on the occasion, welcomed the gathering . Shri. Sudhir Kumar, Joint Sectretary in the Ministry of Power, proposed the vote of thanks.
The Comprehensive Awards Scheme was introduced by the Ministry of Power w.e.f the year 2004-05. The objective of this scheme is to develop a spirit of competitiveness among the various power stations / projects / companies in thermal, hydro and nuclear generation, transmission, distribution and rural distribution franchisees for achieving improved performance and early completion of thermal, hydro projects and transmission projects, distribution companies in the power sector. It also aims at encouraging personnel engaged in the power utilities to improve their efficiency & productivity and show better results.
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I&B Minister Smt,Ambika Soni,inaugurates"Broadcaster and New Media Technologies"conference/exhibition

The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni lighting the lamp to inaugurate the 16th International Conference and Exhibition on Terrestrial and Satellite Broadcasting. Conference on ‘Broadcasters and new Media Technologies’, in New Delhi on January 29, 2010,(Photo by PIB No:CNR-30126)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(PIB News) The Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smt Ambika Soni inaugurated the 16th International BES EXPO 2010 in New Delhi today. Acknowledging that technology is clearly a growth driver for many an innovations in Broadcast sector, the Minister urged the Broadcasters to ensure that fruits of new technology actually reach the consumer. Smt Soni said that it is the endeavour of her Ministry to ensure that policy framework and business models are in sync to cater to the consumer interest. “We are guided by the thought that technology neutral approach to policies is the appropriate way. Convergence in technology has to fast become a reality” the Minister said. Broadcast engineers must play a crucial role in guiding the best possible options in the carriage of the content to the public, she added.
The Minister emphasized that the Government is committed to technological improvement/digitalization of the DD network to improve the viewing experience. As the official Broadcaster for telecast of the Commonwealth Games 2010, the High Definition Television is in place, the Minister said. She added that Digitalization of the Broadcasting Services of Doordarshan/All India Radio and Cable Services, is one of the key thrust areas identified by the Ministry because of the “advantages digital mode offers in terms of efficient utilization of available spectrum, better quality of picture and services, various interactive and niche services and transparency above all.” Smt Soni noted that the trend worldwide has been to fix sunset dates for complete switch off of analog services. “While India as yet has not declared any sunset date for complete migration, it is now being increasingly felt that by 2017 we should also aim for complete switchover”, the Minister stated.
The Minister also announced that serious thought is being given to devise suitable policies for Mobile television. “With a view to incentivize the introduction of FM radio services in the North Eastern States, Jammu and Kashmir and island territories and to further liberalize the regulatory framework to provide for greater diversity of content and bring down operational costs, the Government is in the process of finalizing the FM Phase-III policy soon”, the Minister said. The Ministry also hopes to set up around 4000 Community Radio Stations in next three years the Minister announced. Distributing the annual BES Awards for Best Technological innovations, Smt Soni called upon the broadcasting industry to contribute not just in statistical figures for the economy but also contribute to a healthy socio-cultural growth of the society as a whole.
The 3 day international Expo and Conference proposes to discuss topical issues such as ‘innovative technologies for coverage of Commonwealth Games, HDTV and beyond; New technologies for Digital TV and Radio; Frequency Spectrum related issues under the theme of ‘Broadcast regulatory Issues’.