Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh and Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh discussed and fine-tuned the subjects and issues ahead of Prime Minister’s visit to Jammu to grace the nationwide “Panchayati Raj Diwas” celebrations on 24^th April, 2022.

Union Ministers Dr Jitendra Singh and Giriraj Singh today fine-tuned Exhibition themes for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Jammu event on 24th of this month.

At a follow-up preparatory meeting ahead of Prime Minister's visit on the occasion of national “Panchayati Raj Diwas”, senior officers from different participating Ministries and Departments of Govt of India took part, including Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and six science Departments of Science & Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Biotechnology, Space, Atomic Energy and Earth Sciences.

Pertinently, 25 to 30 Stalls at the Exhibition venue of Prime minister's programme are being put up by various departments and wings of the Union Ministry of Science & Technology, which will display latest technologies and innovations beneficial for rural areas and farming.

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that some of the themes identified as poverty and enhanced village livelihood, Healthy village, Child-friendly village, Water sufficient village, Clean and green village, Self-sufficient infrastructure in village, Engendered development in village to be implemented by different departments of Science Ministries will bring about revolutionary transformation in augmenting the household income of the rural populace.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that Stalls will be put in “Theme Sequence” out of which 25 to 30 Stalls are from the six Science Ministries/Departments, placed in sequence with the Stalls set up by Ministries of Rural Development and the UT Government of Jammu and Kashmir. The Minister informed that Agriculture and Rural Regeneration through modern technological interventions will be the key highlight of the Exhibition.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that stalls demonstrating best practices in Agriculture, be it DBT’s Bio-Tech Kisan Scheme, Drone farming will be supplemented by Centre’s and UT Government’s innovative initiatives for the welfare of farmers. He said, stalls exhibiting Aroma Mission & Purple Revolution Floriculture mission, modern uses of Bamboo, wastewater management will also be set up.

Similarly, the Minister said, Stalls showcasing integration of Science & Technology with the themes of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj will be put up for the benefit of common man. He added that instead of having conventional stalls at the event, efforts are being made to showcase latest technology which can add value to farmers’ income and science-based demonstration with Panchayati Raj features.

It may be recalled that on Monday, a 12 member high level Central team led by Dr Jitendra Singh had visited the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Palli Panchayat, Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Minister said, even though the event will be held in Jammu, lakhs of Gram Panchayats across the country will be able to connect and watch the event, virtually.

The prominent among those who accompanied the Union Minister to Palli Panchayat included experts from Central Electronics Limited, PSE under Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Union Ministry of Science and Technology, which is in the process of setting up of a Solar Plant in the Palli Panchayat in a record time of 20 days. The 500 KV Solar Plant is being installed on a total area of 6,408 square metres and will provide clean electricity and light to 340 houses in the Panchayat, thus making it the first Carbon Neutral Panchayat under the Government of India’s “Gram Urja Swaraj Programme”.

Panchayat Palli in Jammu has been selected for the Panchayati Raj Diwas function this year and an exhibition showcasing latest innovations will be put up enabling farmers, sarpanchs and village heads to improve their income and their produce. Amongst important innovation that are planned to be showcased, are geospatial technology for rural development and farmers, apps usable by farmers for weather forecast for five days, lavender cultivation famously known as purple revolution, biotechnology innovation to increase produce of apple at the same land to increase farmers’ income, drone application for pesticide spray and waste treatment, shelf life of fruits to be increased through atomic radiation etc.

Today's meeting was attended, among others, by Nagendra Nath Sinha, Union Secretary Rural Development, Sunil Kumar, Union Secretary Panchayati Raj and senior officers from different departments.

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