India 2018

328 India 2018
The pilot project for provision of passport related services utilizing the
Head Post Offices(HPO) in the various states was inaugurated in 2017 in Gujarat
and at Mysuru in Karnataka. Once having applied for passport on-line through
the passport portal, applicants can now schedule an appointment and visit the
Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) to complete the formalities necessary
prior to the issue of a passport. This is an important outreach activity of the
Ministry for delivering passport related services to the citizens of the country.
New POPSK in all the HPO will be opened in a phased manner.
Indian Council for Cultural Relations
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) undertook a wide range of
activities to promote better understanding of India and its culture. It organized
summer camps, celebrated International Student Day and International Day of
Yoga at Regional Offices and Missions abroad. The Council sponsored 124 Indian
cultural groups abroad which performed in about 50 countries and brought
out journals in Hindi, English, Arabic, French & Spanish for distribution in
various countries.
Indian Council for World
Affairs
fairs
The ICWA continued to accord high priority to research and study of political
and economic development in Asia, Africa, Europe, United States, Latin
America, and wider global geostrategic environments were analyzed. The
conclusions were disseminated in the form of Sapru House Papers, Issue Briefs,
Policy Briefs and Viewpoints, which were placed on the ICWA website. Further,
ICWA continued translating its academic outputs in Hindi which have been
posted on its website. In addition, since April 2016, the Council has published
three books (translated one book in Hindi), one monograph and one Sapru
House Paper. Efforts are under way to revamp ICWA website to make it more
user friendly. ICWA has also opened its library for general public and
membership rules have been eased. In lines with its mandate ICWA conducted
a large number of events, lectures, conferences and outreach activities. The
library service was improved and new books were acquired.
RIS
Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) is a New
Delhi-based autonomous policy research institute that specializes in issues
relating to international economic development with special focus on trade,
investment and technology. RIS is envisioned as a forum for fostering effective
policy dialogue and capacity-building among developing countries on global
and regional economic issues. The focus of the work programme of RIS is to
promote South-South Cooperation (SSC) and collaborate with developing
countries in multilateral negotiations in various fora. It is engaged across intergovernmental
processes of several regional economic cooperation initiatives.
Through its intensive network of think tanks, RIS seeks to enhance policy
coherence on international economic issues and the development partnership
canvas.