Shri Girish Shankar assumes charge of Secretary, Official Language

Shri Girish Shankar assumes charge of Secretary, Official Language 

Shri Girish Shankar today took charge of Secretary, Department of Official Language under the Ministry of Home Affairs. 


A 1982 batch IAS officer of Bihar Cadre, Shri Shankar was working as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism. He replaces Shri Sanjay Kumar Srivastava who has joined as Secretary, Coordination and Public Grievances in the Cabinet Secretariat. 

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NCB to organise South Asian Sub-Regional Drug Focal Point Meeting in New Delhi from Sep.9-11, 2015 

The Narcotics Control Bureau is organizing the Sub-Regional Drug Focal Point Meeting and Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) Expert Group Consultation, South Asia under the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme (CPDAP) here from 9th to 11th September, 2015. The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh will be the Chief Guest on this occasion. 

About 40 delegates from various participating countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and observer countries namely USA and Myanmar are expected to participate in the meeting. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) representative from Regional Office for South Asia, New Delhi will also participate in this meeting. 

The main objective of the meeting is to review the progress of the Drug Demand and Supply Reduction activities in the region. This conference will facilitate exchange of views on technical aspects of the drug cooperation programme and it aims at achieving effectiveness and efficiency. It will also address the needs of the member states and help formulate a uniform strategic plan to address drug use and abuse related problems. This Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme (CPDAP) will be a great platform to coordinate among different countries fighting for the cause of drug menace. 

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A two-day Advance Coordination Conference inaugurated ahead of the South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise-2015 

Representatives of SAARC Member Countries discuss various aspects of Disaster Management 

An Advance Coordination Conference began here today ahead of the South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx-2015) being organised by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) later this year. The representatives of Disaster Response from the SAARC member countries besides representatives from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), NDRF and Senior Officers from the nodal Ministries are participating in the two-day Conference where modalities and requirements for the main exercise to be conducted at the NDRF Base, Ghaziabad, during November 23-26, 2015, are being discussed.

Addressing the inaugural session, the Member Secretary, NDMA, Shri R.K. Jain said that disasters are an inevitable phenomenon and we have to prepare ourselves to tackle it. Worldwide, there is a loss of over 300 billion US dollars every year due to disasters and South Asia is more prone to disasters, he added. Shri Jain further said that the Regional and International Cooperation is critical in facing disasters and there is a need to move together for the preparedness of disaster management. The Secretary, NDMA further highlighted the fact that conduct of Disaster Management exercise on annual basis is need of the hour and it is imperative for the countries involved to get together at the earliest to set up appropriate institutional mechanism for sharing best practices related to disaster response and management. 

The Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Shri B.K. Prasad, while addressing, said that SAARC countries are vulnerable to various kinds of disasters and the time has come to move together to face the eventualities. He further said that this two-day workshop is crucial for the main summit to be held in November 2015. 

The Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Dr. A.M. Gondane said that SAARC has developed various mechanisms over the years to address various issues and the time has come to develop a better mechanism for tackling disasters. SAARC countries should work closely not only for growth and development but also remain prepared for unexpected eventualities, he added. 

The Director General, NDRF, Shri O.P. Singh, while welcoming the delegates, said that South Asia is facing disasters and has to move together to minimise the impact. Since SAARC countries share the borders, trans-border manifestations come to play a crucial role in disaster management. 

After the inaugural session, the representatives of all the participating member countries gave a brief account of the Disaster Response Mechanism in their respective countries and also shared the best practices in the field. The Nepal representative, during his presentation, appreciated the efforts of NDRF during the Nepal earthquake 2015, and also highlighted the fact that the NDRF teams reached within six hours of the disaster. 

During a thought provoking brainstorming session on Regional Cooperation in the field of Disaster Response and Management, a detailed presentation on ‘Walk Through to the SAADMEx-2015’ was made by the Deputy Inspector General, NDRF, Shri S.S. Guleria. During this session, the draft Concept Paper on Disaster Management was discussed threadbare, and the representatives of Member Countries made valuable suggestions. Shri Guleria also made a presentation on the ‘On Site Operation Coordination Centre’, ‘Receive and Dispatch Centre’ and ‘National Emergency Operation Centre’. 

Deputy Inspector General, NDRF, Shri R.K. Rana later made presentations on ‘Table Top Exercise’, ‘Field Training Exercise’ and ‘After Action Review’, in which the delegates actively participated. Shri Rana also made a presentation on ‘Logistic Plan’ for the final SAADMEx-2015. 

Delegates from SAARC Countries, representatives from Embassies/High Commission of SAARC Nations in Delhi, NDMA, NDRF, NIDM and Senior Officers from the Ministries of Home Affairs and External Affairs are attending the conference. All the delegates will be heading for a Field Site Inspection and discussion on administrative preparations for the SAADMEx-2015 exercise at designated Field Sites tomorrow.