20-Nov-2019: Cabinet approves establishment of the National Institute of Sowa Rigpa (NISR) at Leh
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the establishment of the National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa in Leh as an autonomous organization under the Ministry of AYUSH and to create the post of Director in Level -14 (Rs.1,44,200-2,18,200/-)(Pre-revised Rs.37,000-67000/- +Grade Pay of Rs.10000/-) to oversee implementation of the project from the construction stage itself.
Consequent to the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory and for the promotion of native culture of Ladakh, it has been decided by the Government of India to promote Sowa-Rigpa system of medicine by establishing a National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) at Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh at an estimated cost of Rs.47.25 crore.
Sowa-Rigpa is a Traditional Medical system of the Himalayan belt in India. It has been popularly practiced in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling (West Bengal), Himachal Pradesh, Union Territory of Ladakh and now all over India.
The setting up of the National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa would provide an impetus for the revival of Sowa-Rigpa in the Indian Sub-continent. The Institute will also provide opportunities for students of Sowa-Rigpa not only in India but also from other countries.
The Institute will be an autonomous National Institute under Ministry of AYUSH with the mandate to undertake interdisciplinary education and research programmes in Sowa-Rigpa in collaboration with premier national and international Institutes and facilitate integration of different systems of medicine.
After setting up of NISR, the synergy among the existing Sowa Rigpa Institutions – Central University of Tibetan Studies. Sarnath, Varanasi and Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh. which are under the administrative control of Ministry of Culture and NISR will be established.
This will facilitate quality education, scientific validation, quality control & standardization and safety evaluation of Sowa-Rigpa products, standardized Sowa-Rigpa based tertiary health delivery and to promote interdisciplinary research & education of Sowa-Rigpa at undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral levels.
The National Institute of Sowa Rigpa would identify the best Sowa-Rigpa treatment – including their standard procedures-within the framework of traditional Sowa-Rigpa principle and possible co-relation with bio-molecular western medicine in providing health care facilities to the general public.
Objective: The objective is to establish the National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) as an apex Institute for Sowa-Rigpa with aim of bringing a valid and useful synergy between Traditional Wisdom of Sowa-Rigpa and modern science, tools and technology. It will help to promote interdisciplinary research & education of Sowa-Rigpa.
3-Aug-2019: Foundation stone of Space Situational Awareness Control Centre by Chairman, ISRO.
Space Situational Awareness & Management (SSAM) has become an internationally significant area due to the ever growing manmade space debris population and the increased collision threat with operational spacecraft.
Chairman, ISRO laid foundation stone for Space Situational Awareness Control Centre at Peenya, Bengaluru on 2nd August, which is an important milestone in the progress of ISRO.
ISRO has taken special attention to this aspect. ISRO has set up a Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management aiming at protecting high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions. To carryout systematically all activities related to SSAM, a control centre is being established at Bengaluru.
The Control Centre would facilitate the intensified activities foreseen for SSAM, in view of increasing debris population and operational space assets. The control centre would host a range of activities pertaining to protection of Indian Space assets from inactive satellites, pieces of orbiting objects, near earth asteroids and adverse space weather conditions. It would assimilate the tracking data of inactive satellites from indigenous observation facilities and generates useful information from bare observations through analysis. For sustainable use of space, the control centre would enable research activities pertaining to active debris removal, space debris modelling and mitigation.
24-Jul-2019: Cabinet approves merger / amalgamation of National Institute of Miners' Health with ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved to dissolve National Institute of Miners' Health (NIMH), an autonomous Institute under Ministry of Mines (MoM) and merge / amalgamate with ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) with all assets and liabilities; and absorb all the employees of NIMH in NIOH in the similar post/pay scale as the case may be and their pay be protected. NIMH, ICMR, NIOH, MoM and Department of Health Research (DHR), MoHFW to take actions required for effecting dissolution and merger/amalgamation of NIMH with NIOH.
Impact: The merger/amalgamation of NIMH with NIOH will prove beneficial to both the Institutes in term of enhanced expertise in the field of occupational health besides the efficient management of public money.
Background: NIMH was set up by Government of India in 1990 and registered as a Society under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960. The registered office of NIMH is located at Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka and the Central Laboratory in Nagpur. The Institute conducts applied research in occupational health and hygiene and specializes in providing technical support services to mining and mineral based industry with special reference to metalliferous sector and endeavors for safe mines and healthy miners through research & development.
The focus areas of NIOH include a vast array of areas related to occupational health which also includes, occupational medicine and occupational hygiene. In the context of review of working and performance of autonomous institutes, Expenditure Management Commission recommended, inter-alia, that- "Organisations with similar objectives can be considered for merger to encourage synergy in operations and reduction in cost". Accordingly, recommended merger of NIMH with NIOH.