News

First of its kind two-day Global Summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’ to begin today in Hyderabad

A global, two-day summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’ will begin in Hyderabad later this afternoon. Union Ministry of Culture is organising the first of its kind summit to celebrate the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements, as part of Azadi Ka Amritmahotsav marking 75 years of Independence of the Country. Union Culture and Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy will be formally inaugurating the summit. Over thousand museums from the country and abroad will showcase cultural heritage on the occasion to for educating future generations as part of the summit. The Summit will bring together leading luminaries, domain experts and practitioners in the field of museum development and management from India and around the world to discuss best practices and strategies. The summit will be focussing on four broad themes relating to Architecture, Management, Collections and Education during the summit. The Summit is expected to act like a platform for engaging with nationally and internationally renowned museum professionals and share best practices in Museology, fostering networks, encouraging strategic partnerships, and creating a framework to Steer Museum development and renewal. Participants from countries like Australia, France, Italy, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom will also take part. The summit is open to the public and over 2 thousand people have registered so far.

Read more

Jammu’s Bagh-e-Bahu gets musical fountain and light and sound show

A Musical Water Fountain with Laser, Light & Sound Show showcasing the cultural heritage of Jammu today inaugurated at Bagh-e-Bahu, Jammu by the Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha. The majestic and captivating musical fountain and sound and laser beam light show just nearby the ropeway will give a boost to the tourists flow at Jammu. The Lt Governor said that the Musical Water Fountain with Laser, Light & Sound Show is the first of its kind in the Jammu Region. This innovative project will showcase cultural heritage & take the tourism in Jammu to new heights, he added. The Lt Governor observed that the unique amalgamation of heritage and modernity developed while keeping in mind the importance of historic Bahu fort will add to the aesthetics of Jammu city. Jammu offers spiritual and scenic richness that is divine. It has vast tourism potential and we are developing 37 offbeat destinations in Jammu Division that will boost the economy and provide large number of jobs to the people, observed the Lt Governor. The Lt Governor said that the government is working on mission mode to transform the tourism sector of Jammu division and developing tourist places which were neglected for years. Jammu is a treasure trove of culture, spirituality, tradition and literature. The beauty of Jammu division is truly mesmerizing and tourists have plenty of scenic locations to explore, observed the Lt Governor. The project has been fitted with German-made equipment and will be the first of its kind fountain in North India. In this project the fountain, music frequency and sound in the third, with the water and air going high up in the water waves to create colorful scenes. Water screen gets prepared in the fountain with the help of modern technology and on it with the help of laser, the beauty, culture, heritage of Jammu city will be depicted. According to an official of Tourism department, in this light and sound show of 15 to 20 minutes, tourists will get a chance to know the whole city and it will boost the tourism flow in Jammu.

Read more

Vietnam to scrap COVID-19 restrictions on international flights from February 15

As per the latest developments, Vietnam is all set to remove its COVID-19 restrictions on international passenger flights arriving from all countries. This updated rule will come into effect from February 15, along with no limitation on the number of flights. As reported earlier, the Southeast Asian country introduced tight border controls during the start of the COVID pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus further. Although the said step helped the nation to some extent, its burgeoning tourism sector suffered a lot, which accounted for around 10 per cent of gross domestic product. Reports citing Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam Dinh Viet Son stated that Vietnam will lift restrictions on international flights starting February 15, and that the frequency of flights will be restored to pre-pandemic level. Son was quoted saying that although Vietnam has already informed its partners regarding the new policy and that only China has not yet agreed to resume commercial flights with Vietnam. Reportedly, Vietnam had already started gradually resuming international flights from the beginning of this year with 15 markets, while easing quarantine requirements, whereas vaccinated passengers are required to undergo only three days of self-isolation.

Read more

UAE flights: Abu Dhabi updates ‘Green List'; check if you can travel without quarantine

Authorities in Abu Dhabi have updated the 'Green List' of countries for inbound travel into the UAE Capital. Covid-vaccinated travellers to Abu Dhabi from Green List countries do not need to quarantine. They must take PCR tests on arrival at Abu Dhabi airport and day six of their stay. Unvaccinated travellers from Green List countries are also exempt from quarantine, but they must take PCR tests on arrival at Abu Dhabi airport and days six and nine of their stay. Effective February 15, the Green List of countries, regions and territories are: Albania Algeria Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahrain Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria Burma Cambodia Canada China Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hong Kong (SAR) Hungary Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Italy Japan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Luxembourg Malaysia Maldives Netherlands Morocco Norway Oman Papua New Guinea Philippines Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Saudi Arabia Serbia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Syria Seychelles Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Thailand Tunisia Turkey Yemen Turkmenistan Ukraine United States of America Uzbekistan

Read more

Bullet Train between Mumbai-Nagpur: Journey of 766 km to be covered in just 3.5 hours

Mumbai-Nagpur Bullet Train! Soon, passengers can travel between Mumbai and Nagpur in less than four hours! Indian Railways had proposed to introduce high-speed rail services between Nagpur and Mumbai in Maharashtra. According to Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve, the Mumbai – Nagpur Bullet Train services will cover a distance of around 766 kilometres in just 3.5 hours, along the soon-to-be-ready Samruddhi Expressway. At present, it takes approximately 12 hours to reach the city of Nagpur from Mumbai by road. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Mumbai – Nagpur high speed rail corridor is being prepared by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is also implementing the country’s first, Mumbai – Ahmedabad Bullet Train project. Last year, the officials said that a series of surveys have been completed for the Mumbai – Nagpur Bullet Train project, including the aerial survey, lidar survey, environmental impact assessment (EIA) as well as social impact assessment (SIA). The Mumbai – Nagpur high speed rail project will pass through as many as 10 districts. According to NHSRCL, the proposed plan for Mumbai Nagpur High Speed Rail Corridor will connect the city of Mumbai with cities/towns like Nagpur, Wardha, Khapri Deport, Pulgoan, Malegaon Jahangir, Jalna, Karanja Lad, Mehkar, Shirdi, Nashik, Aurangabad, Igatpuri, Shahapur. The aim of Samruddhi Expressway (Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg), which is being constructed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, is to provide connectivity to the last mile with the best public transport facilities for easy and quick movement of both, people as well as goods. The Samruddhi Expressway is said to enable a large population in Maharashtra to have easy access to major centers in the state for a wide range of self employment as well as wage employment opportunities, trade, education, business, health care, and other necessary services.

Read more

Australia-India Infrastructure Forum launched, tourism MoU renewed

Following meetings between India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Australian Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Dan Tehan in New Delhi, the Australian government has also renewed the bilateral MoU on tourism cooperation and launched the Australia India Infrastructure Forum. As per the Australian Trade Commission, the renewed MoU positions tourism operators to take advantage of Australian international border reopening to all fully vaccinated eligible visa holders, including tourists and business travellers, from February 21. Under the MoU, Australia and India will promote travel between the two markets and advance cooperation on tourism policy, data sharing, training and industry engagement. Pre-pandemic, India was Australia’s fastest-growing source of international visitors. In 2019, almost 400,000 visitors from India visited Australia and spent a combined total of $1.8 billion. “The Australia India Infrastructure Forum will serve as a hub to promote two-way investment in infrastructure. As a side initiative of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, currently under negotiation with India, it will also support our broader trade and investment objectives. A new $5.8 million Bay of Bengal Connectivity Partnership will expand this work to other countries in the region. “These initiatives reflect our nations’ shared commitment to cooperation and exchange, as set out in the Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, agreed in June 2020,” the Trade Commission said.

Read more