Archives for April 3, 2023

On the auspicious occasion of ‘Mahavir Jayanti’, I extend my warm greetings and good wishes to all the residents of A&N Islands.
Tirthankar Mahavir’s divine life and noble teachings inspire us to lead a life of compassion, truth, humility, peace and non-violence. Let us draw inspiration from the life of Lord Mahavir and promote peace, love and harmony in our Islands by unwaveringly following the path of righteous action.
On this joyous occasion, I wish that this festival brings happiness in the life of all Islanders and our Islands continue to march on the path of peace, prosperity and development.
Sd/-
(Admiral D K Joshi)
PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.)
Lt Governor, A&N Islands &
Vice Chairman, Islands Development Agency

On the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir, I extend my warm greetings to the people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Lord Mahavir taught non-violence, mercy on living beings and human values. Ideals, principles and message of Lord Mahavir are ever relevant.

On this occasion, let us all take a pledge to work towards promoting non-violence and eradicating all kinds of social evils in the society.

Kuldeep Rai Sharma
Member of Parliament
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Port Blair, Apr 03: The Andaman & Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee (ANTCC) on Sunday launched its ‘Jai Bharat Satyagraha’ protest programme by organizing a Press Conference at Gandhi Bhawan, Port Blair highlighting the motive behind preplan conviction and subsequent disqualification of Rahul Gandhi.
In the press conference, ANTCC President Mr. Rangalal Halder informed the media that the protest programme will start from April 16th and various forms of protest, including a series of public meetings, nukkad-natak campaign, post card campaign and social media campaign will be organized at State, District and Block levels across the Islands.
“During the protests, the ANTCC will highlight the blatant looting of people’s money by the Modi Government by conspiring with some of his close associates like Gautam Adani”, he said.
ANTCC Campaign Committee Chairman Mr. TSG Bhasker said that Rahul Gandhi was targeted because he asked the Prime Minister about the scam of Adani group and demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the matter.
“The BJP and Narendra Modi are trying to shut the mouth of Rahul Gandhi so that he stops exposing the scam. The recent conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case and disqualification was a pre-plan to gag Rahul Gandhi”, he said.
ANTCC Chief Spokesperson Mr. K. Ganeshan and ANTCC Spokesperson Mr. Tamil Selvan jointly said that the Congress Party would do everything to save the democracy and would stand firm for justice to Rahul Gandhi.
“The government at the Centre is blatantly misusing Central agencies to suppress the voice of opposition parties. Now Rahul Gandhi is being targeted because he has raised serious questions on democracy and capitalists”, they alleged.

Port Blair, Apr 03: Due to increase in ambient temperature, there has been a substantial increase in power demand which has created a shortage of power during evening peak hours from 05.30 PM to 10.30 PM in Port Blair and adjoining areas of South Andaman. All the consumers of the Electricity Department are therefore advised by Electricity Department to use the available energy judiciously in view of shortage of power particularly during the evening peak hours. Further it is also requested that usage of major power guzzlers like ACs, Motors, OTGS, Geysers, Garden lighting may be avoided during evening peak hours from 05.30 PM to 10.30 PM. This would help the department to maintain power supply in Port Blair and adjoining areas of South Andaman without curtailment. The Electricity Department will be closely monitoring for the compliance of above by surprise checks to ensure effective Demand Side Management by all consumers.

Port Blair, Apr 03: Mr. Girish Arora, President of the Hoteliers Association of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Executive Member of Hotel & Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) attended a two day Chintan Shivir ‘Tourism in Mission Mode: Convergence and Public Private Partnership’ on behalf of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) which was organized by Ministry of Tourism, GoI on 28th -29th March 2023 at The Hotel Ashok, New Delhi. Lieutenant Governor, A&N Islands Admiral D K Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.) and Mr. Nikhil Kumar, Principal Secretary, IP&T and Mr. Anand Vardhan Mishra, Director (Tourism) A & N Administration represented the A&N Islands.
Mr. G Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER addressed the participants of the Chintan Shivir and shared insightful thoughts and strategies that can be adopted nationally to implement Tourism in Mission Mode in India. He stated that the government is on a mission and the tourism sector should aspire to contribute USD 3 trillion to the country’s GDP by 2047, when India will be celebrating 100 years of its independence. Government to use tourism as a vehicle for socio-economic development, job creation and achieving sustainable development goals for the country.
Mr. Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, shared about the upcoming 1st Global Tourism Investors Summit and the valuable inputs that have been received from stakeholders to carry forward the mission of growth in India’s tourism sector. Several line Ministries like Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Jal Shakti, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Industry Associations and Industry leaders from FICCI, FHRAI, CII, FAITH, IATO, ATOAI, HCVB, Invest India shared their plans to develop various natural and cultural attractions under their control in consultation and partnership with Ministry of Tourism so that the same could be marketed and promoted to the domestic and foreign travelers. Further, he restated that the 1st Global Tourism Investors Summit (GTIS), under the aegis of India’s G20 Presidency will be held in New Delhi from 17th -19th May 2023. It will serve as a platform to enable interaction between global and domestic business leaders and explore investment opportunities in the Indian Tourism and Hospitality sector and the Chintan Shivir will also provide significant inputs for conducting business during upcoming GTIS.
During the session, it was emphasized that the private sector will play a leading role in the development of the tourism sector. Public and Private sector can support each other in their respective roles and forge mutually rewarding partnership will be key to promoting India as a Global Tourist Destination. Deliberations in different Sessions included the topics of Convergence of Government Programs in developing different sectors, Developing Home stays, Souvenirs, and Tourist Guides and Developing Adventure Tourism and Rural Tourism in the Country.
In the session, some of the best practice of various state very highlighted and it was suggested that the same shall be taken up for replication by other states such as grant of Industry Status to tourism and hospitality sector by Rajasthan, Lakshadweep as a success story for PPP, measures to Ease of Doing Business in Tourism and Hospitality by Andhra Pradesh, 100% exemption on land conversion charges, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. The session ended with productive discussions on a wide range of challenges and opportunities for the tourism sector’s development, with active participation from states, industry associations, and industry leaders.
Mr. Girish Arora said, it is a great initiative by the Ministry of Tourism, the first time such initiatives have been taken where GoI put Tourism on the centre stage. Focus on rural tourism development, nearly 6 lakh villages will be opened and developed across India for rural tourism. This will benefit rural economic growth. The GoI has asked all the states to share a list of investable projects to be taken on PPP mode to be presented for the Global Tourism Investors Summit. He also shared that the Secretary (Tourism) emphasized that the government should be a facilitator rather than a regulator and should work towards enabling a regulatory ecosystem.

Port Blair, Apr 03: ANTCC President Mr. Rangalal Halder on Monday accepted the Resignation of Congress Ex- Zilla Parishad Adhyaksha Mrs. Elizabeth (N & M Andaman) and other Five Zilla Parishad Members of N & M Andaman namely Mrs. Sujata Dey (Urmilapur Constituency), Mr. Tapas Roy (Rangat Constituency), Mr. Ashok Howlader (Long Island Constituency), Mr. Mahadeb Gain (Radhanagar Constituency) and Mr. Pradip Das (Subhash Gram Constituency).
On the 1st of April, 2023 a high level Congress Committee Meeting was held in the Congress office, Gandhi Bhavan to review the letter of resignation of Zilla Parishad Adhyaksha and Zilla Parishad Members from the Congress Party and accordingly the decision has been constituted in acceptance of the Resignation from the Primary Membership of Congress Party with immediate effect.