ITV

Tag: Ministry of External Affairs

  • Coronavirus scare: Govt throws IPL ball back to organiser’s court

    Coronavirus scare: Govt throws IPL ball back to organiser’s court

    MUMBAI: The central government, in the backdrop of the coronavirus scare, has thrown the ball back to organiser’s court to decide on the future of the thirteenth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), which is scheduled take place between 29 March and 24 April 2020.

    The eight-team franchise is termed to be the biggest sporting event in the country. And, it’s expected that at least 40,000 people will witness the game live from the stadiums during this season of IPL 2020.

    On the effect of coronavirus on IPL, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson had said: “It is for the organisers to decide whether to go ahead with it or not. Our advice would be to not do it at this time but if they want to go ahead, it is their decision.”

    However, the ministry clarified: “Some general observations were made on holding large sporting events in India. But no specific recommendations have been sought or made by MEA on hosting the IPL or any other sporting event in India.”

    It has been speculated that the tournament is likely to be postponed or will be hosted in a closed-door format without large gatherings. However, while confirming these speculations, the Maharashtra government has asked the IPL organisers to host close-door tournament or postpone it to a later date to curb the spread of the virus.

    In this regard, the Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday said: “Cabinet discussed and we are of the view that big gatherings should be avoided. We have two options: IPL should be done without spectators or else matches should be postponed.”

    Asian News International, quoting sources, reported, “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited all Indian Premier League team franchises for IPL Governing Council meeting on Saturday”.

    Earlier on Thursday, the Madras High Court ordered to issue notices to the BCCI and the union health ministry regarding a PIL against conducting IPL matches in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

    The virus that first appeared in the Wuhan city of China has spread to over 46 countries and entered India earlier this month. Around 100 positive cases have been confirmed in India as of Thursday. The first death in the country has been reported from Karnataka as a 76-year-old male was infected by the novel virus.

  • TO THE NEW develops ‘Performance Smartboard’ for Ministry of External Affairs

    TO THE NEW develops ‘Performance Smartboard’ for Ministry of External Affairs

    MUMBAI: TO THE NEW, a leading digital technology company was recently appointed by the Ministry of External Affairs to design and develop the ‘MEA Performance Smartboard’. The dashboard is an initiative of the government to provide quick insights into various citizen-centric services like visas, Pilgrims, OCI cards and even the posts of MEA across the world, in one glance.

    The ‘MEA Performance Smartboard’ was launched by Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, on Wednesday, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan, New Delhi. The dashboard is a major priority set by the PM for all the ministries, bringing transparency and accountability across all systems of government and is a tool for performance monitoring, allowing citizens and senior officials to view the key performance indicators of MEA. It encourages users to deep dive into key metrics of the various schemes, programs, and initiatives of MEA, in one glance.

    The dashboard is an integration of three types of Dashboards – Operational (for real-time monitoring), Tactical (for analysis and benchmarking) and Strategic (for tracking the achievement of strategic objectives). It further details out MEA's global and Indian footprint showcasing key information such as 'Mission and Posts', 'Iconic Projects', the number of Passport Seva Kendras pan India and lots more.

    "Thanks to TO THE NEW for their services in the successful creation and launch of a wonderful and beautifully designed MEA Performance Smartboard, with many world-class features! Their razor-sharp insights into website design, technical solutions, and data analytics are truly commendable, as also their commitment to timely delivery of the Product. It was wonderful to work with and know the ever-reliable and creative team at TO THE NEW,” said MEA joint secretary (eG&IT&CD) Upender Singh Rawat.

    Commenting on the engagement, TO THE NEW CEO & co-founderDeepak Mittal said, “We are very excited to design and develop the Smartboard for the Ministry of External Affairs. This platform will certainly help people to access very useful information with a click of a button. The Government of India has truly embarked on a Digital Transformation journey and we are glad to be an integral part of it. We are proud to be playing a critical role in the Digital India initiatives that will propel our country to the forefront of the global landscape.”

    TO THE NEW has followed a rigorous experience design process to analyze the end objectives and the workflow of the website. Leveraging a time tested open source content management system; TO THE NEW has built a superior digital experience for the Ministry of External Affairs.

    The superior UX design ensures that the visitor has access to a variety of information in just a couple of clicks. In the coming days, TO THE NEW also plans to offer backend data analytics and integration that will continuously enhance the user experience as well as update all data on an almost real-time basis where available.

  • US hails Indian progress in Internet, cyber security

    US hails Indian progress in Internet, cyber security

    NEW DELHI: India and the United States are setting up sub working groups on priority areas to provide a mechanism for continued engagement in the areas of Internet of Things, Standards and Electronics and Internet governance.

    They also resolved to hold digital video conferences to discuss Government procurement practices of ICT goods and services, policy issues for unmanned aerial vehicles, and e-commerce.

    These decisions were taken at the meeting of the United States-India Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Working Group which promotes development of the ICT sector here on 27 September 2016. The participants decided to hold the next ICT Working Group in 2017 in Washington, D.C.

    The United States congratulated India on its tremendous progress in becoming the world’s second largest population of Internet users and the world’s fastest growing Internet user base.

    The participants noted that the Working Group aims to strengthen collaboration between the governments and private sector of the two countries in the field of ICT.

    Marking the occasion, the sides reviewed the deepening strategic partnership between India and the United States and their commitment to empowering citizens of both nations through increased access to the Internet and a thriving digital economy.

    Both sides discussed the accomplishments of the Digital India Programme in transforming India into a digitally empowered society and a key stakeholder in the knowledge economy.

    The two sides also discussed the Global Connect Initiative, launched by the US Department of State, to connect the next 1.5 billion people to the Internet by 2020. Participants resolved to continue collaboration with an aim to advance the goals of the Digital India Programme and the Global Connect Initiative.

    Separately on 28 September, the two sides held discussions on cyber security, where the aim is to affirm the common objectives in international cyber fora, especially the application of international law to state behaviour in cyberspace, the affirmation of norms of responsible state behaviour, and the development of practical confidence-building measures. The two countries decided to hold the next round of the Cyber Dialogue in Washington in 2017.

    The Cyber Dialogue is a forum for implementing the framework for the India–US cyber relationship.

    The whole-of-government Cyber Dialogue, fifth in the series, was led by the US National Security Council Senior Director for Cyber Policy Samir Jain (in the pix) and India’s External Affairs Ministry Joint Secretary for Policy Planning and Global Cyber Issues Santosh Jha. The Department of State Coordinator for Cyber Issues Christopher Painter and the National Security Council Secretariat Joint Secretary Abhimanyu Ghosh co-hosted the Dialogue.

    Some other American and Indian government organisations too participated in the discussions.

  • US hails Indian progress in Internet, cyber security

    US hails Indian progress in Internet, cyber security

    NEW DELHI: India and the United States are setting up sub working groups on priority areas to provide a mechanism for continued engagement in the areas of Internet of Things, Standards and Electronics and Internet governance.

    They also resolved to hold digital video conferences to discuss Government procurement practices of ICT goods and services, policy issues for unmanned aerial vehicles, and e-commerce.

    These decisions were taken at the meeting of the United States-India Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Working Group which promotes development of the ICT sector here on 27 September 2016. The participants decided to hold the next ICT Working Group in 2017 in Washington, D.C.

    The United States congratulated India on its tremendous progress in becoming the world’s second largest population of Internet users and the world’s fastest growing Internet user base.

    The participants noted that the Working Group aims to strengthen collaboration between the governments and private sector of the two countries in the field of ICT.

    Marking the occasion, the sides reviewed the deepening strategic partnership between India and the United States and their commitment to empowering citizens of both nations through increased access to the Internet and a thriving digital economy.

    Both sides discussed the accomplishments of the Digital India Programme in transforming India into a digitally empowered society and a key stakeholder in the knowledge economy.

    The two sides also discussed the Global Connect Initiative, launched by the US Department of State, to connect the next 1.5 billion people to the Internet by 2020. Participants resolved to continue collaboration with an aim to advance the goals of the Digital India Programme and the Global Connect Initiative.

    Separately on 28 September, the two sides held discussions on cyber security, where the aim is to affirm the common objectives in international cyber fora, especially the application of international law to state behaviour in cyberspace, the affirmation of norms of responsible state behaviour, and the development of practical confidence-building measures. The two countries decided to hold the next round of the Cyber Dialogue in Washington in 2017.

    The Cyber Dialogue is a forum for implementing the framework for the India–US cyber relationship.

    The whole-of-government Cyber Dialogue, fifth in the series, was led by the US National Security Council Senior Director for Cyber Policy Samir Jain (in the pix) and India’s External Affairs Ministry Joint Secretary for Policy Planning and Global Cyber Issues Santosh Jha. The Department of State Coordinator for Cyber Issues Christopher Painter and the National Security Council Secretariat Joint Secretary Abhimanyu Ghosh co-hosted the Dialogue.

    Some other American and Indian government organisations too participated in the discussions.