On July 7, 2022, the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi visited his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. There he inaugurated, and laid foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 1800 crores at Dr. Sampurnanand Sports Stadium, Sigra of Varanasi including the following Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam:
PM inaugurated Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam in Varanasi
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a three-day summit, ‘Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam’ at International Cooperation and Convention Centre, Rudraksh in Varanasi on the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Its culmination saw the adoption of the Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education.
- This declaration will showcase India’s extended vision and a renewed commitment to help achieve the goals of higher education system.
Organizers:
It was organised by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in association with the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU), along with UP Governor Anandiben Patel, and its Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, among others.
Participants:
Over 300 Vice-Chancellors and Directors from public and private universities as well as educationists, policymakers and industry representatives, along with UP Governor
During the summit discussions on nine themes that have been identified for higher education as a part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The nine themes include:
i.Multidisciplinary and holistic education
ii.Skill development and employability
iii.Research, innovation and entrepreneurship
iv.Capacity building of teachers for quality education
v.Quality, ranking and accreditation
vi.Digital empowerment and online education
vii.Equitable and inclusive education
viii.Indian knowledge system
ix.Internationalisation of higher education
PM inaugurated Projected worth Rs 590cr under Varanasi Smart City and Urban Projects
During the programme at Dr Sampurnanand Sports Stadium in Varanasi, the PM inaugurated projects worth over Rs 590 crore. These include the following multiple initiatives under Varanasi smart city and urban projects:
i.Redevelopment of Namo Ghat in Phase-I along with construction of bathing jetty ii.Conversion of diesel and petrol engines of 500 boats into CNG
iii.Redevelopment of Kameshwar Mahadev ward of Old Kashi and over 600 EWS flats constructed in village Harhua, Dasepur
iv.New vending zone and urban place prepared under Lahartara-Chowka Ghat flyover
v.Tourist facility and market complex at Dashashwamedh Ghat; and 33/11 KV substation at Nagwa under IPDS Work Phase-3.
Inauguration of Road Projects:
He inaugurated various road projects, including:
i.Construction of four-lane road over bridge on Babatpur-Kapsethi-Bhadohi Road
ii.Bridge on Varuna river on Central Jail road
iii.Widening of Pindra-Kathiraon Road
iv.Widening of Phoolpur-Sindhaura Link Road
v.Strengthening and construction of eight rural roads
vi.Construction of seven roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
Inauguration of projects related to Improvement of Sewerage and Water Supply
These projects include rehabilitation of old trunk sewer line in Varanasi city through trenchless technology; laying of sewer lines; over 25,000 sewer house connections in Trans Varuna area; leakage repair works in Sis Varuna area of the city; rural drinking water scheme at Taatepur village, etc.
Inauguration of Social and Education Sector related Projects:
i.These include Industrial Training Institute at Village Mahgaon, Phase-II of ‘Vedic Vigyan Kendra’ in Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Government Girls Home at Ramnagar, Theme Park in Government Old Age Women Home at Durgakund.
ii.He also inaugurated synthetic athletic track and synthetic basketball court in Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Sports Complex, Bada Lalpur and various police and safety fire projects.
PM laid Foundation stone of projects worth more than Rs 1,200 crore
i.These include multiple road infrastructure projects which will significantly help reduce the traffic load on city and rural roads.
ii.To boost tourism in the region, PM laid the foundation stone of multiple projects, including development work of Sarnath Buddhist Circuit under World Bank-aided UP pro-poor tourism development project.
- There will be Construction of ‘Paavan Path for Asht Vinakaya’, ‘Dwadash Jyotirling Yatra’, ‘Asht Bhairaw’, ‘Nav Gauri Yatra’, tourism development work of five stoppages in ‘Panchkosi Parikrama Yatra Marg’ and tourism development of various wards in Old Kashi.
iii.The PM also laid the foundation of Phase-1 of redevelopment works of sports stadium at Sigra.
PM Inaugurated Akshaya Patra Mid-Day Meal Kitchen with cooking capacity for 1 lakh students
He inaugurated Akshaya Patra Midday Meal in Varanasi, which is an automatic kitchen to around 150 government schools, and has the capacity of cooking mid-day meals for around one lakh students.
- It will Managed by the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which also runs one of the world’s largest school feeding programmes in collaboration with the Central Government’s Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme.
Salient Features:
IT includes a roti machine that can churn 40,000 rotis in an hour, a 700-litre capacity rice cauldron with a hydraulic system, a 1,200-litre capacity daal cauldron with automatic motors and an RO plant for water purification using reverse Osmosis.
- It also uses solar panels for electricity production, heat pump and solar water heater to boil water.
Recent Related News:
i.The city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh has become the first in India to adopt vacuum-based sewer. These vacuum sewers will be placed in public areas. The maintenance and complete care of the sewers for up to five years will be done by the Netherlands company.
ii.Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) and Chairman of Dr.Ambedkar Foundation, Virendra Kumar launched Dr. Ambedkar Centres of Excellence (DACE) Scheme from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
About Uttar Pradesh:
Capital– Lucknow
Folk Dance – Ramlila; Braj Raslila; Charkula; Rasiya
Wildlife sanctuaries – Katarniya Ghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary
