The Centre Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has recently sanctioned a digital advertisement policy, a significant move aimed at empowering its advertising arm, the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC), to execute campaigns in the rapidly expanding digital media domain. According to the Information Ministry, this policy is a crucial step in the CBC’s mission to disseminate information and raise awareness about various government schemes, programs, and policies in response to the evolving media landscape and the increasing digitization of media consumption.

The policy acknowledges the substantial subscriber base in the digital realm and recognizes the effectiveness of technology-enabled messaging through digital advertisements. The ministry anticipates that this will enable targeted delivery of messages, leading to cost efficiencies in public-oriented campaigns.

The shift in audience media consumption towards the digital space has been noticeable in recent years, driven in part by the central government’s ‘Digital India’ program. This initiative has substantially increased the number of people in the country connected to the internet and various social and digital media platforms.

As of March 2023, internet penetration in India exceeded 880 million, and the number of telecom subscribers surpassed 1,172 million, as reported by TRAI’s Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators January-March 2023.

Under the new policy, CBC gains the ability to empanel agencies and organizations in the Over-The-Top (OTT) and video-on-demand spaces. Additionally, CBC can tap into the growing audience of podcasts and digital audio platforms through the empanelment of digital audio platforms.

The policy not only streamlines the empanelling process for internet websites but also for the first time allows CBC to channelize public service campaign messages through mobile applications. Recognizing the significance of social media platforms in public conversations, the policy facilitates the placement of government advertisements on these platforms, empowering CBC to empanel digital media agencies for wider outreach across various platforms.

Acknowledging the dynamic nature of the digital landscape, the policy enables CBC to onboard new and innovative communication platforms with the approval of a duly constituted committee. The Digital Advertisement Policy, 2023, introduces competitive bidding for rate discovery, ensuring transparency and efficiency. The rates discovered through this process will be valid for three years and applicable to all eligible agencies.

In the contemporary era, nearly all Ministries/Departments of the Government of India maintain dedicated social media handles, generating substantial content such as infographics and videos. This outreach will now be complemented by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s Media Unit, the Central Bureau of Communication, designated for issuing advertisements across all forms of media.

Nepal and India discussed matters pertaining to bilateral and mutual interests during the Foreign Secretary-level talks in New Delhi.

At the invitation of his Indian counterpart Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Poudyal arrived in New Delhi and held the bilateral talks at Hyderabad House on Tuesday where two sides discussed a wide range of issues and issues related to mutual interest and concerns, according to statements issued by New Delhi and Kathmandu.

The Foreign Secretaries discussed multiple areas of cooperation between Nepal and India covering trade, transit, connectivity, infrastructure, power sector, irrigation and inundation, agriculture, investment, development cooperation, health sector cooperation, culture, and people to people relations, among others, a statement issued by the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi said.

“They reviewed the progress on the discussions held during the high-level visits of the Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba to India on April 1-3 and of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to Lumbini, Nepal on May 16. The two Foreign Secretaries discussed the ways and means to build on momentum generated by those visits. They also discussed cooperation on multilateral forums,” the statement added.

Kwatra and Poudyal also expressed satisfaction at the progress made in different areas including power sector, construction of transmission line, railway etc.

Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon on Wednesday said that the two countries are working together to combat terrorism.

Speaking to ANI exclusively, Gilon said, “I will reaffirm that India and Israel are suffering a lot from terrorism and are also cooperating together whenever we can, to combat terrorism.” He also stressed on the importance of regional groupings, especially of I2U2 bloc comprising India, Israel, UAE, and the US that held its first virtual summit in July 2022.

“I think, it’s a very important group together which brings close allies and likeminded countries – UAE, US, India and Israel which put the interests of people ahead. I think that such more groupings – regional groupings can be a very useful element to improve in both Asia and the world – by bringing new technologies, new cooperation, better economy and new values,” said the Israeli envoy.

I2U2 was initially formed in October 2021 following the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, to deal with issues concerning maritime security, infrastructure and transport in the region.

At that time, it was called the ‘International Forum for Economic Cooperation.’ That was referred to as the ‘West Asian Quad’.

I2U2 initiative is a new grouping of India, Israel, the US and UAE. In the grouping’s name, ‘I2’ stands for India and Israel, whereas ‘U2’ stands for the US and the UAE. This is a great achievement which tells the geopolitical changes that happen in the region.

Pakistan purchased the Chinese Z-9EC helicopters in 2006, an ASW variant specifically produced for the Pakistan Navy and Air Force, however it is marred by poor maintenance capabilities of the Chinese supplier.

Pakistan purchased these helicopters equipped with pulse compression radar, low-frequency sonar, radar warning receiver and doppler navigation system to counterbalance India, however, it has little chance of doing harm to New Delhi, reported Difesa Online, an independent newspaper specialized in the defence sector and related industry. The problem would mainly concern the poor maintenance capabilities of the Chinese supplier (the helicopters were produced by the Harbin Aircraft Industry), as they would not be able to repair damaged helicopters, thus compromising the operational capabilities of the anti-submarine aircraft.

It is certainly not the first time that Chinese weapons systems have been the subject of harsh criticism from Pakistani naval circles. In fact, many countries that militarily depend on low-cost supplies from Beijing complain of major deficiencies, especially from the point of view of maintenance, reported the Italian publication.

The ASW Z-9EC helicopters are embarked, as previously mentioned, on the Zulfiqar class frigates (photo), the latter designed and built jointly in the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyards in China and KS&EW Ltd in Pakistan. These naval units carry out missions such as air defence, ban on enemy shipping and patrolling the EEZs. In 2009, the then Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Navy, Admiral Noman Bashir, claimed that Chinese technology was compatible with Western technology. But within a short time, the Pakistani Navy had to encounter serious problems with the helicopters, reported Difesa Online.

The most serious problem was the failure of the tail rotor blade, a defect that has a direct impact on the airworthiness of the machine. Indeed, without a functioning tail rotor blade, the helicopter tends to make a sudden, uncontrolled swing which could, if not corrected, create a dangerous situation for the crew.

The occurrence of such a problem on a combat mission could lead to serious consequences.

Centrally sponsored schemes envisaged benefiting common people are helping the residents of Jammu and Kashmir live a life which they yearned for 70-long years. The administration has been making intense efforts to create awareness about how the schemes devised by the Centre can benefit the common man in the Union Territory.

Camps are being organized to register the beneficiaries so that they get the benefits that stand reserved for them. Recently the divisional administration in Kashmir organized a mega registration camp for beneficiaries in Srinagar. The purpose of the event was to create awareness and extend the benefits of the Centrally sponsored schemes to the general public.

According to the officials, over 600 beneficiaries under 133 schemes were extended benefits while hundreds of people were made aware of the various profitable schemes and assistance during the camp.

Meanwhile, officials of various departments, including Urban Local Bodies, Rural Development Department, Horticulture, Agriculture, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, Sheep Husbandry, Rural Sanitation, Housing Board, Social Welfare, School Education, Rural Sanitation etc., took part in the campaign and informed the participants about facilities, subsidies and assistance provided to the eligible under various schemes which include machinery, capital, finances, etc.

Holding registration camps to create awareness about the schemes that could benefit the common man is an entirely new concept which has evolved in the Himalayan region after August 5, 2019–when the Centre announced its decision to abrogate J-K’s special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.

Till 2019, people had to run from one office to another to even get information about the Centrally sponsored schemes, availing of benefits was a Herculean task. But now things have changed. Instead of people running from pillar to post the administration is itself reaching out to them with the schemes and is ensuring that the benefits trickle down to the deserving.

More and more people are being covered:

The optimal implementation of Centrally sponsored schemes during the past three years has made the lives of people in J-K easy. The statistics reveal that more and more people are being covered under these schemes in the Himalayan region.

Under the Mid-day Meal Scheme programme of the Government of India designed to provide a nutritious diet to school children, over 8.30 lakh children in J-K have benefited from this scheme.

Similarly, under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, a pioneering programme in the education sector of the country, 1588 information communication technology labs, 1423 computer-aided labs, and 803 vocational labs have been established in the Union Territory besides uniforms and textbooks worth Rs 67 crore have been provided to 7.8 lakh children.

Nearly 8.96 lakh beneficiaries were covered under Poshan Abhiyan, an overarching umbrella scheme to improve the nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers to prioritize the efforts of all stakeholders on a comprehensive package of intervention and services targeted on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.