Nishtha Dudeja wins the Miss Deaf Asia 2018
“She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.” Nishtha Dudeja, is perhaps a strong believer of the above statement by Elizabeth Edwards
She was declared winner of the title of Miss Deaf Asia 2018 in the finale of Miss and Mister Deaf World -Europe -Asia Beauty Pageant 2018 held at Prague, Czech Republic on September 29. She enthralled the audience with her dance performance on the Hindi song Nagaade sang dhol baaje in the traditional lehenga choli dress. In national costume round, she wore a silk saree, passed over from her grand mother to her mother and then to Nishtha.
After winning the pageant, Nishtha posted on her instagram page @nishtha_dudeja “Thank you INDIA. Your love and affection has brought me to this stage of getting Miss Deaf Asia 2018 Crown. I am so grateful to the people of my beautiful country for their blessings. I dedicate this crown to my family. On this occasion, I want to convey that the differently abled people don't need sympathy or pity. All they need are opportunities to prove themselves. Jai Hind!”
Today Nishtha is the brand ambassador for Sivantos India Pvt Ltd. (Formerly Siemens hearing Instruments Pvt Ltd.) the world's leading brand of hearing aids, having about 25 per cent market share globally.
ICAI signs the Mutual Recognition Agreement with CPA Ireland
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has signed the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with CPA Ireland on October 5 in Ireland. Signing of the Agreement between ICAI and CPA Ireland would facilitate mutually recognising the qualification of each other’s and admit the members in good standing by prescribing a bridging mechanism between the two institutes. Under the terms of MRA, an ICAI member in good standing of ICAI can become the member of CPA Ireland on completing and passing two online tests in Irish Taxation and Irish Law & Strategy.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 18 had approved the signing of MRA between the ICAI and CPA Ireland. While signing the MRA, CA. Naveen N.D. Gupta, President, ICAI mentioned that “The MRA between ICAI and CPA Ireland would help to foster strong working relations between the two accounting institutes and will lead to greater mobility of professionals at either end.”
Cormac Mohan, President, CPA Ireland expressed, “The MRA between ICAI and CPA Ireland would be beneficial for the members of both Institutes and they can enjoy the benefits that each organisation offers.”
Eamonn Siggins, CEO, CPA Ireland and CA. S.B. Zaware, Central Council Member, ICAI were also present during the MRA signing ceremony.
Book Exhibition on Mahatma's
150th birth anniversary
The National Book Trust India's Western Regional Office in Mumbai organised a Book Exhibition which showcased books on Mahatma Gandhi at Daman to coincide with his 150th birth anniversary celebrations. The titles included illustrations on Mahatma Gandhi's life, biographies, his contribution and viewpoints on various aspects of the Indian society. These books can also be purchased from the online web store of NBT and from Amazon.
ESIC wins award
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has won the “ISSA Good Practice Award” for Administrative Solution for Coverage Extension at the “Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific” held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia recently.
The award recognises the measures taken by ESIC for extension of coverage-SPREE (Scheme for Promoting Registration of Employers and Employees), reduced rate of contribution rates for 24 months in newly implemented areas and raising the wage limit for coverage under the ESI Act, etc.
Raj Kumar, IAS, Director General, ESIC represented Employees' State Insurance Corporation and received the Certificate of Merit on behalf of ESIC.
INDIAN COAST GUARD CONDUCTS
MARITIME SEARCH AND RESCUE WORKSHOP
On October 8, Indian Coast Guard Region(A&N) conducted a Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop for all stake holders present in Andaman and Nicobar region. The workshop was inaugurated by Chetan Bhushan Sanghi, IAS, Chief Secretary, Andaman & Nicobar in the presence of Inspector General MV Pathak, Commander Coast Guard Region(A&N). The event witnessed participation of multiple Maritime - Search and Rescue (M-SAR) stake holder organisations.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest praised the dedication and commitment of Coast Guard towards rendering selfless service. He also highlighted the need to strengthen the M-SAR infrastructure and refine the procedures in light of the planned expansion of the maritime sector in the A&N Islands. He also emphasized on the need to maintain the synergy achieved between all stake holders to realise a prompt response to any incident at sea.
The workshop was aimed at identifying the gaps between the ‘expectations and capabilities’ and thus was structured to present varied perspectives from the M-SAR service provider, Administration and the Maritime Industry.
Participants from M-SAR stake holder organisations, maritime industry, DGS/MMD, DGCA/AAI, DSS, PMB, Indian Registry of Shipping, Department of Fisheries, ISTRAC, INCOIS, DMA, CISF, Customs, Andaman Merchant club, Rep of sport fishing club etc, actively contributed to the discussions during the event.
India Expo Mart is The Best MICE venue
India Expo Mart has been once again awarded as The Best MICE venue of the year and its Chairman Rakesh Kumar has been honored as Best MICE Person for the year 2018 at the 14th International Hospitality & Travel Awards 2018 held at Hotel Ashok, New Delhi on October 5. Ramdass Athawale, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment gave away the awards. During last year also India Expo Centre & Mart and its Chairman Rakesh Kumar were awarded during International Hospitality & Travel awards.
Receiving the accolade, Rakesh Kumar said, “India Expo Mart has been setting quality and service benchmarks since its inception. Our ultra-modern infrastructure is a testimony to our commitment to provide world-class facilities to the event organisers.”
BSES CSR Empowers Over 3 Lakh Women
Focussing on women (and girl) empowerment is a key element of BSES CSR programs, which aims to contribute to welfare and growth of the society in a sustained manner. In the last four years, the discoms’ CSR programmes have reached-out to and empowered over 3 lakh women, which is around 50 per cent of the total (over) six lakh beneficiaries. Moreover, these programmes have benefited women between the ages of 12 and 97 years.
The BSES’ CSR programs are empowering and reaching-out to women through several activities in five main categories, including: (i) Education, (ii) Energy Conservation, (iii) Health, (iv) Sanitation and (vi) Self Defence Training etc. Some of these programs like “Adult Literacy”, “Vocational Training”, “Self Defence” are exclusively for women. Even for other, programmes like “Energy Conservation”, “Health Camps”, “Eye Care Camps”, “Sports”, “Cancer Detection” and “Sanitation”, the share of women beneficiaries is well above 40 per cent.
SCOPE APSE Conducts Executive
Development ProgramME
SCOPE Academy of Public Sector Enterprises (APSE) conducted the week-long 11th Executive Development Program for young executives of Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) at APSE premises. Ajit Seth, Former Cabinet Secretary to Government of India and the Former Chairman, Public Enterprises Selection Board emphasised that training and enhanced leadership skills, understanding best global practices and customising these skills in the Indian context can help PSEs reach higher levels of excellence. Dr U D Choubey, Director General, SCOPE said that successful companies are those who have strong Corporate Governance norms and transparency in functioning that leads to stakeholder's trust which further translates to enhancement of stakeholder value.