The Ambassador of the European Union for the Pacific,H.E Sujiro Seam with the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Dame Meg Taylor at the signing ceremony. The European Union (EU) and the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS) have today signed …
The Ambassador of the European Union for the Pacific,H.E Sujiro Seam with the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Dame Meg Taylor at the signing ceremony.
The European Union (EU) and the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS) have today signed a new project worth EUR 5.75 million (equivalent to FJD 14.3 million) to enhance the trade capacity of Pacific countries.
The project titled “Strengthening Pacific Intra -Regional and International Trade (SPIRIT)” (SPIRIT) aims at boosting and increasing intra-regional and international trade by strengthening institutional and technical capacity in the region. It will facilitate the implementation of trade agreements, in particular the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and of the Pacific’s Aid-for-Trade Strategy 2020-2025. SPIRIT will also contribute to the development of a statistical monitoring framework that will foster greater regional economic integration.
In her remarks, Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Dame Meg Taylor said that, “The implementation of SPIRIT will ease trade challenges faced by the Pacific ACP[1] countries and focus on creating opportunities to trade regionally and internationally. Most importantly, it will strengthen the capacities of trade departments in the region through the provision of a technical position at the sub-regional level in each of the three sub-regions in the Pacific.”
Today’s announcement outlines the significant partnership and commitment between the EU and the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat in advancing the Pacific countries’ benefits from trade agreements by promoting their efficient and streamlined implementation. Three Long-Term Trade advisers will be deployed in the sub-regions of Melanesia (including Timor-Leste), Micronesia and Polynesia to assist with the development and implementation of trade and investment policies. These Trade Advisers will also deliver a range of capacity-building and training initiatives to the Pacific countries.
The Ambassador of the European Union for the Pacific, H.E Sujiro Seam said: “The European Union is not only a development partner for the Pacific, it is also the best success story of regional trade and economic integration following the Second World War. With a market of 500 million consumers, the European Union is a business partner for the Pacific. This SPIRIT project comes at the right time, to alleviate the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Pacific economies, build value and growth in the region and take advantage of the business opportunities offered in the European market.”
The Pacific ACP benefitting from the initiative are Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The EIB and the Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development expand cooperation on the development and financing of Croatia’s key energy, resilience and climate projects.
The EU bank will help Croatia maximise opportunities created by various EU funds and initiatives, including the European Commission’s Green Deal Investment Plan.
The partners will join efforts to contribute to a green, energy efficient and sustainable European Union.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of the Republic of Croatia have agreed to expand cooperation on the development and financing of key energy, sustainability and climate-related projects in the country.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed today, the two sides have agreed to develop joint operations in areas such as (i) renewable electricity generation and transmission distribution infrastructure; (ii) clean energy and energy efficiency measures, and renovations and conversions of buildings; (iii) green mobility; and (iv) support for the Croatian economy’s transition to a circular economy.
The EIB will step up its support to the Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and back key energy and climate initiatives such as the National Energy and Climate Plan. The partners will also cooperate to maximise opportunities stemming from EU programmes such as InvestEU, the Green Deal Investment Plan, and the Just Transition Fund.
EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco, who is in charge of operations in Croatia, said: “This agreement is a win-win cooperation on the common goals related to energy, resilience and climate projects in Croatia. It will also enable the country to maximise the opportunities stemming from various EU programmes, funds and initiatives and attract more finance for key operations, which will help the Croatian economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and the two devastating earthquakes that recently struck the country.”
Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Ćorić, PhD, said: “Cooperation between the Ministry and the EIB has been fruitful and this Memorandum will help us to strengthen our partnership even more. Croatia supports the decarbonisation of Europe and we see it as an opportunity for the development of the Croatian economy. Our goal of running on renewable energy by 2030 is ambitious but achievable. We also have a lot of new green projects that will decarbonise our economy and we see the EIB as a strong partner in implementing these projects.”
Ognian Zlatev, Head of the European Commission’s Representation in Croatia, said: “We very much welcome this cooperation between the EIB and the Croatian government, which will help maximise the great opportunities created by EU funds and initiatives in the field of climate and energy. This will help Croatia to make the most of the Commission’s European Green Deal Investment Plan and successfully implement its ambitious energy and climate projects, in line with the EU target to be climate-neutral by 2050.”
EU bank support boosts Croatia’s COVID-19 and earthquake recovery
The implementation of the projects outlined in the National Energy and Climate Plan are expected to boost the local economy as it recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the two devastating earthquakes that hit the country in 2020.
Support for a green, energy efficient and sustainable Croatia
The partners agreed on a coordinated effort to create long-term conditions for the sustainable development of Croatia through (i) improved protection and conservation of the environment; (ii) the development of sustainable water management practices; (iii) the development of systems to monitor weather and climate conditions; and (iv) the strengthening of Croatia’s energy and hydrocarbon management systems.
The Memorandum of Understanding outlines the support the EIB will extend to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development in implementing the National Energy and Climate Plan and the Recovery and Resilience Plan, as well as major energy efficiency projects in the country, contributing to Croatia’s and the European Union’s energy and climate goals.
Croatia’s Energy Strategy and National Energy and Climate Plan are spearheaded by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. These documents are key to the long-term, sustainable and green development of Croatia and will help accelerate the achievement of the European Union’s energy and climate goals.
EIB to invest €1 trillion in climate action by 2030
The EIB will increase similar investments across the European Union as it transforms into the EU climate bank, mobilising €1 trillion for the climate and the environment by the end of the decade.
Last year, the share of EIB investments that went towards climate action and environmental sustainability projects rose from 34% to 40%, in spite of the COVID-19 crisis, bringing the EU bank closer to its 50% target.
In November 2020, the EIB Board approved the Climate Bank Roadmap, which outlines how the Bank will achieve these ambitious targets. The Roadmap sees the phasing-out of financing for high-emission projects such as airport expansions and sets stringent criteria for the financing of certain other projects such as motorways, after the Bank already announced an end to unabated gas projects.
Maximising and expanding opportunities from EU funds and initiatives
The EU bank will also provide technical and advisory support to maximise and expand opportunities deriving from EU initiatives and funds by working alongside the Croatian Ministry of Environment to access and blend financing from these sources with EIB financial products.
The EIB in Croatia:
To date, the EIB has supported the economic and social development of Croatia by investing €6.71 billion in operations covering the most important sectors of Croatia’s economy, including transport, the environment, energy infrastructure, manufacturing and services. Another key component of EIB activities in Croatia is support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps through the creation of long-term financing options in cooperation with local financial institutions. To date, the EIB has supported Croatian SMEs by unlocking new sources of finance worth close to €3.75 billion.
The European Insurance and Occupational Pension Authority (EIOPA) launched today a public consultation on open insurance, focused on access to and sharing of insurance-related data. In its Discussion Paper, EIOPA explores questions on whether and how far insurance value chains should be ‘opened’ up by the sharing of insurance-related and specific policyholder data amongst insurance and non-insurance firms, to protect policyholder rights and to allow for innovation in products and services. The main areas of the consultation paper include:
open insurance definition and use cases
risks and benefits of open insurance
regulatory barriers
possible areas to consider for a sound open insurance framework
Initial analysis indicates that the exchange of both personal and non-personal data through (open) Application Programming Interfaces has started to emerge in the insurance sector. This can facilitate industry-wide innovation and increase the agility of businesses in responding to changes in customer needs and expectations. However, it could also give rise to new or amplified risks such as data security, cyber risks, interoperability challenges, and liability, ethical and broader consumer protection issues. Increased data sharing, especially if combined with artificial intelligence or machine learning tools could also increase financial exclusion.
A key consideration for possible open insurance solutions is finding a balance between regulatory objectives related to data protection, insurance, and competition while supporting innovation, efficiency, consumer protection and financial stability.
To find such a balance, EIOPA believes a broad multi-stakeholder discussion is needed. Stakeholders are strongly encouraged to provide views to the Discussion Paper by filling out theEU Survey Tool by 28 April 2021.
EIOPA will assess the feedback received to better capture open insurance developments, risks and benefits as well as to plan next steps, such as for the upcoming legislative initiatives foreseen in the European Commission’s Digital Finance Strategy or to supplement EIOPA´s ongoing work on digitalisation.
While Europe’s drive for carbon neutrality and sustainability will inevitably leave at least some businesses out of pocket, the list of industries currently affected by EU environmental initiatives include those with sustainable interests at heart.
The European Union’s flagship climate policy vehicle, the Green Deal, took another major step forward in December, with a new binding target for a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. However, a little over a year after the original deal was first inked, the Green Deal is already accused of failing to ensure no one is “left behind”. At the same time, debate over key pillars of EU environmental efforts continues to play out within the European institutions, with the European Parliament still developing its response to the Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan and environmental groups pushing for increasingly stringent rules.
While Europe’s drive for carbon neutrality and sustainability will inevitably leave at least some businesses out of pocket, the list of industries currently affected by EU environmental initiatives include those with sustainable interests at heart. Alongside its new and more ambitious targets, will the Commission be able to ensure it fairly distributes the financial support and technical assistance it offers to those most impacted by its dramatic moves towards a green EU? And is it willing to look beyond the headlines to support the sectors doing the heavy lifting on sustainable innovation? The track record thus far is not altogether encouraging.
Sustainable mobility is one area underlined for investment by the EC, especially because the transport industry will have to reduce emissions by 90% to meet Green Deal targets. The bloc’s electric vehicles (EV) market is growing rapidly, with 500,000 vehicles sold in 2020. In November, these vehicles accounted for fully 80% of the overall automotive market in Norway. In Germany, the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) motor transportation authority found annual EV sales last year increased third times over.
Nonetheless, this focus on electric cars themselves has detracted from the important question of how to charge them. While the EV industry saw an 110% increase, the rollout of electric charging stations is stalling at just 58% growth. Worse, sustainable independent electric charging stations, which power cars using solar energy and wind power, are being side-lined in favour of EV stations proffered by oil and gas companies along European motorways.
Berlin has dedicated $2.8 billion to charging infrastructure, and will oblige all fuel stations to have an EV charging point. But independent companies like Ionity and Fastned are suffering from unfair systems which favour ‘bundled’ tenders on historic petrol station territory, so that any contender must propose oil and gas pumps as well as service facilities. While Big Oil plugs into new energy portfolios, younger and more sustainable European entrants cannot compete fairly.
This unequal playing field comes to the detriment of smaller, ecologically innovative European players, and it remains to be seen whether the EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive, due out later this year, will effectively address it.
Cherry-picked sustainability policies also affect one of the biggest manufacturing industries in the bloc, namely the food and drink industry, which employs 4.82 million people and generates a turnover of €1.2 trillion annually. With restaurants shuttered, the food industry has taken a huge hit during the pandemic. Takeaway and delivery services have become a lifeline for eateries struggling to make ends meet.
Ironically, this small silver lining now leaves European restauranteurs in hot water with the Commission. The current draft guidelines of the EU’s Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), a major component of the Circular Economy Action Plan, are in the process of being finalised by member states as well as the European Parliament’s environment (ENVI) committee. As they currently stand, the guidelines place polymer-insulated fibre-based products (such as paper cups and containers) on their blacklist, stating that “single‐use plastic products… fall within its scope also if they are made partly from plastic, regardless of the amount of plastic contained.”
While the European Commission’s attempt to force out plastic is to be lauded, that radically broad definition of ‘plastic’ includes many non-plastic products which include a small amount of plastic lining. It also overlooks the advantages that paper and carton-based disposable products, including cups and cutlery, can bring to the table. A recently published life cycle assessment (LCA) of single-use packaging commissioned by the European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA) quantifies the discrepancy between the Commission’s approach and the concrete impact of single-use paper food and drink packaging used in European restaurants, clearly demonstrating how paper can be better for the environment than reusable tableware.
The assessment – carried out by Ramboll, an independent Danish consultancy to the European Commission, and certified by TÜV – demonstrates that energy consumption in the use phase of reusable plastic and traditional tableware (during washing and drying) actually outweighs the environmental impact of disposable paper alternatives. As such, foodservice based on reusable products was found to use 267% more freshwater and 238% more fossil fuel resources compared to paper-based disposables. This resulted in a 177% higher carbon footprint overall – regardless of the material of the reusable packaging and the in-store or out-of-store washing options considered.
Those findings help illustrate how, in the pursuit of fighting plastic pollution, the SUPD is simply threatening to ban or limit the use of many paper-based products altogether, undermining its own objectives of sustainability and recyclability by singling out products which are already recycled 85% of the time. Ramboll’s results pertaining to increased fossil fuel use, for their part, also point to a wider issue undermining environmental policies across the EU.
Take Germany, for example, which has pledged to cut out coal by 2038. All while seeking to meet this target, Berlin is dismantling nuclear power plants quickly in parallel. Ten years into this post-Fukushima policy, the power Germany received from nuclear has paradoxically been replaced mainly by coal, even as the National Bureau of Economic Research estimates Germany bears costs of nearly €10 billion every year from its nuclear phase out.
Germany is not only phasing out coal too slowly, but wind and solar companies were further disappointed after Germany’s Renewable Energies Act reform in early December cut the renewable energy industry off from subsidies after just 20 years. More assertive EU climate law could prevent member states from making knee-jerk reactions by setting individual deadlines for fossil fuel phase out, banning subsidies to fossil fuels, and channelling financial support into renewables. In their absence, even Europe’s most climate-conscious member states are backsliding in important ways.
While the EU’s overall green objectives are vital, stakeholders on all sides feel major policies need rethinking at a time when Greenpeace says “the Commission’s policies should be guided by a true paradigm shift in these systems.” Member states are also coming to resist certain facets of Timmermans’ aggressive approach, such as when the Vice-President created uproar this past autumn by threatening to scrap reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy. To achieve both top-level and grassroots buy-in, the Commission clearly still needs to iron out important inconsistencies.
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Jan 28, 2021 (Market Insight Reports) --
The Europe anaerobic digestion market is estimated to grow at a steady pace over the coming years owing to shifting emphasis on increasing the region’s renewable energy share, and strict government rules towards the reduction of carbon footprint. Anaerobic digesters are used in commercial, industrial and residential spaces. The types of feedstock that are used in the process include sewage sludge, organic waste, energy crops and others. There are two kinds of processes in anaerobic digestion, namely, dry AD and wet AD.
Imposition of new government norms across the region could facilitate market expansion. As per the new EU waste legislation, separate collection of biowaste will be made compulsory from end-2023. Considerable growth is also anticipated from industrial applications owing to ongoing investments to obtain energy optimization.
Driven by growing application, companies operating in the Europe anaerobic digestion market are developing new plants and technologies. For instance, in 2020, German plant manufacturer, WELTEC BIOPOWER announced the construction of its new biogas plant in Greece, focused on efficient generation of bioenergy from animal waste. Based on such developments, Global Market Insights, Inc., estimates that the Europe anaerobic digestion market may surpass USD 75 billion by 2026.
Mentioned below are some of the key trends driving Europe anaerobic digestion market expansion:
Increasing adoption of dry AD plants
<p>Use of dry AD plants is on the rise credited to less water usage for the digestion process and flexibility with regards to feedstock. Dry AD technology requires less power and heat as well as few critical equipment. The availability of various substrates per digester along with low maintenance costs & complexity could fuel the usage of dry AD systems across Europe.</p><ul class="articleList"> <li>
<strong>Growing demand for organic waste </strong>
</li> </ul>
<p>There is a strong demand for organic waste across Europe owing to a transition towards increasing biogas production from biodegradable waste sources. Organic waste usually consists of green waste, food waste, food-soiled paper, landscape & pruning waste, and non-hazardous wood waste. Strict waste disposal practices as well as rising emphasis on achieving circular economy is anticipated to propel product adoption.</p> <p>Moreover, construction of new biogas plants in Europe could offer impetus to the market. In 2020, Titan LNG, a major supplier of LNG to the industrial and marine markets in Europe, was offered EUR11 million in funding from the EU's CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) for its Bio2Bunker biogas project.; supporting the switch to cleaner fuels for transport.</p> <p><strong>Request For Customization of Research Report @ <a href="https://www.gminsights.com/roc/2067" target="_blank" class="icon none" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.gminsights.com/roc/2067</a></strong></p><ul class="articleList"> <li>
<strong>UK emerging as a promising business avenue </strong>
</li> </ul>
<p>The UK anaerobic digestion market is likely to witness considerable growth owing to government support schemes aimed towards improving the region's renewable energy share. The government, for example, gives feed-in-tariff for biogas producers up to a capacity of 5 MW. Focus of shifting towards cyclic economy coupled with ample availability of feedstock is expected to boost regional industry size.
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Dialogue Books is publishing Poor Little Sick Girls, Ione Gamble’s debut non-fiction book about “what it’s like to be at the centre of a feminist movement that…
Dialogue Books is publishing Poor Little Sick Girls, Ione Gamble’s debut non-fiction book about “what it’s like to be at the centre of a feminist movement that has no real place for you”.
Gamble is the founder and editor of the feminist and queer independent zine Polyester. In Poor Little Sick Girls, slated for summer 2022, she turns her “sharp, pop-culture obsessed eye” to “our current fixation on identity politics, personal branding, productivity, and #LivingYourBestLife” in a collection of essays.
The book’s synopsis reads: “From her complex relationship with self-care to our fetishisation of the right kind of female illness (thin, pale, white, submissive), to the dark side of coping mechanisms and why it is in fact okay to spend a lot of time in bed… Poor Little Sick Girls picks apart the apparently benign threads of a very troubled cultural moment and charts the history of how we got there.”
Publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, in the book from literary agent Kate Evans at PFD.
Gamble, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, said: “Having the opportunity to tell my story as a chronically ill woman but also provide my perspectives of modern feminism is an absolute dream. I hope Poor Little Sick Girls will be a bible for all those unable to fit within our optimisation obsessed world, searching to find their place within it. I am so thrilled to be working with Dialogue Books, their relentless support of marginalised talent makes them the perfect publisher for this book, and feels completely aligned with my publication, Polyester.”
Lovegrove commented: “I’ve been following Ione’s journey for a while and have been captivated by her ability to tell her truths and break through the noise of normal and create a space that is inclusive, inspiring and individual. Ione is a real talent and generous in bringing women together to explore sexuality, identity, class, illness and broaden the notions of success. Poor Little Sick Girls promises to give the next generation a different feminist perspective while asking the questions of how we got here. As an activist imprint, Ione’s voice is a perfect match for Dialogue and I am proud to be her publisher.”
COVID-19 has shut down church gatherings in many countries, but Americans are most likely in developed countries to say that the pandemic has strengthened their religious faith, a new Pew Research Center survey conducted in the summer of 2020 reveals.
Nearly three-in-ten U.S. adults say the outbreak has boosted their faith; about four-in-ten say it has tightened family bonds says the research on Jan. 27.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause deaths and disrupt billions of lives globally, people may turn to religious groups, family, friends, co-workers or other social networks for support, said Pew.
The Pew Research Center survey conducted mid-year in 2020 reveals that more Americans than people in other economically developed countries say the outbreak has bolstered their religious faith and the faith of their compatriots.
Nearly three-in-ten Americans (28 percent) report stronger personal faith due to the pandemic, and the same share think the religious faith of Americans overall has strengthened, according to the survey of 14 economically developed countries.
Far smaller shares in other parts of the world say religious faith has been affected by the coronavirus.
For example, just 10 percent of British adults report that their own faith is stronger as a result of the pandemic, and 14 percent think the faith of Britons overall has increased due to COVID-19.
In Japan, 5 percent of people say religion now plays a stronger role in both their own lives and the lives of their fellow citizens.
Majorities or pluralities in all the countries surveyed do not feel that the pandemic has strengthened their religious faith.
That includes 68 percent of U.S. adults who say their own faith has not changed much and 47 percent who say the faith of their compatriots is about the same.
Some previous studies have found an uptick in religious observance after people experience a calamity.
And a Pew Research Center report published in October 2020 showed that just over a third (35 percent) of Americans say the pandemic carries one or more lessons from God.
When it comes to questions about strength of religious belief, the wide variation in responses across countries may reflect differences in the way people in different countries view the role of religion in their private and public lives.
European countries experienced rapid secularization starting in the 19th century, and today, comparatively few people in Italy (25 percent), the Netherlands (17 percent) or Sweden (9 percent) say that religion is very important in their lives.
East Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea have low rates of religious affiliation and observance – at least by Western-centric measures.
The European Parliament (EP) this week held hearings on the possible threats of interference from third countries in a geopolitical context, and raised the question of whether the Indian government was linked to the massive disinformation campaign uncovered by EU Disinfolab last year.
The hearings were part of the EP’s Special Committee on Foreign Interference which discussed the issue virtually with experts from China, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The discussion was chaired by Member of European Parliament (MEP) Raphaël Glucksmann.
Last year, a European group EU Disinfolab through an investigation titled Indian Chronicles exposed an Indian network that systematically worked to reinforce pro-Indian and anti-Pakistan and anti-Chinese feelings in Europe.
One member of the committee, V Bilcik, highlighted that disinformation is an important political issue and that the EU “shouldn’t shy away from it” at the India-EU summit coming up in May this year.
“I have questions about how much these attempts are linked to state sponsorship,” he asked the experts, which included members of the EU Disinfo team that lead the investigation.
“Do we have in-depth data on this? Some may not be under direct control [of the Indian government] but perhaps there are some links? Is it possible that this network operated independent of the state?”
He also asked if there is “any evidence that India could go beyond” toundermine democratic processes.
Member E Jamet, another MP, took exception to the topic being discussed.
She questioned who financed the EU Disinfolab inquiry. “I find it difficult to understand why we needed this committee on interference. State services have this task. I am surprised India is on the agenda – the truth is that this inquiry is levying criticism at India because it is a shame India is a strategic partner for France and the biggest democracy in the world,” she said.
Mr Glucksmann responded by saying, “We are talking about very real things.
Here we are absolutely not talking about issuing any geopolitical judgement on countries we study. We are just trying to find out how we can fight attemptsat interference in debates in Europe.”
Executive Director EU DisinfoLab Alexandre Alaphilippe said it is difficult to formally identify the person or a state behind this. “Indian Chronicles is an operation ongoing for 15 years. It pushed things in the interest of India. This is not something someone dreams up in a back bedroom. It requires a lot of coordination and a lot of means. There are certain coincidences we are seeing, clear will to act and be resilient, strong will and a lot of support behind it.” Roman Adamczyk who is part of the EU Disinfolab research team, maintained that his group’s investigation focused on tactics deployed by some actors to influence the EU and UN and is in no way a judgement f the situation of human rights and minorities in Pakistan nor of the geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan Mr Adamczyk outlined that the study ‘Indian Chronicles’ took place over several months by the whole team.
“When you try to disable misinformation networks, targets are not always clear. Im Indian Chronicles our dossier doesn’t look at networks in the Indian state but more private actors in India.”
He added that the study is focused on misinformation and manipulation and the use of false media outlets to influence Brussels political ecosystem to shape the narrative in favour of India.
The young Union Territory of Ladakh on Tuesday made its debut in the Republic Day parade on the Rajpath with a beautiful tableau depicting the iconic Thiksey Monastery and its cultural heritage.
Until 2019, Ladakh was a region of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir. In August 2019, the Parliament of India passed an act by which Ladakh became a union territory on 31 October 2019.
Located to the North of the Indus River on a hilltop, less than 20km from Leh town, Thiksey Monastery built in 1430 AD belongs to the Gelukpa Order of Buddhism.
India displayed its military might and vibrant cultural heritage on the Rajpath on the 72nd Republic Day, with the ceremonial event this year being drastically scaled down in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There was a palpable excitement among members of the Ladakh contingent, who received applause from many audience when their float rolled down the ceremonial boulevard.
‘The Ladakh tableau highlights the vision for Ladakh to be carbon-neutral, and exemplary for the world. It also showcases the Indian Astronomical Observatory, located in Hanle near Leh, one of the world’s highest sites for optical, infrared an gamma-ray telescopes,’ according to the tableaux details shared by the officials.
Ladakh region is known for its unique cultural and beautiful architectural heritage and vibrant costumes and festivals and delicious food, besides scenic beauties dotted with monasteries.
The tableau depicted an avatar of Lord Buddha in the front portion of the float and the Thiksey monastery in the rear side. A group of artists from the contingent, colourful traditional Ladakhi ‘gunchas’, performed on folk music, while accompanying the float.
‘Our tableau was showcased for the first time on Rajpath in the grand parade. We had struggled to get a separate UT status and that aspiration was fulfilled in 2019 and we had celebrated it in Ladakh. And, now as an independent UT, with our own identity, we took part in the ceremonial event. We are feeling very happy,’ said Diksit Palmo, who hails from Leh.
She is one of the five women in the 11-member contingent led by a government official.
Palmo says she also was part of the contingent of the then state of Jammu & Kashmir in 2015, but this time, ‘our identity is our own’.
Thiksey Monastery is located on top of a hill in Thikse in Leh district and is one of the most-visited tourist sites in the region.
Rinchen Dolma, another member of the contingent, said, ‘We are proud to represent our region with our own name — Ladakh, and not as a constituent of J&K, which also has a different identity now.’ A total of 17 states and UTs were represented on the Rajpath in this year’s parade through their vibrant tableaux, besides that of various ministries and the defence arm.
Jammu and Kashmir, however, did not figure in the tableaux list released by the government earlier.
Sarabjeet Kaur, a Jammu native, felt sad that the new UT of J&K was not represented this year during the Republic Day parade.
‘I am part of the Ministry of Culture’s tableau which depicted the heralding of 75th year of our Independence Day, and I am happy to be part of it. But, a bit unhappy that my state, now a UT, is not there in the tableaux parade,’ said Kaur, an artiste who will depict herself as a Kashmiri woman, dressed in a traditional costume while accompanying the ministry’s tableau.
The Ministry of Culture’s tableau also carries a giant bust of freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and men and women dressed as INA soldiers, and the models of the old Parliament House and the proposed new Parliament building here.
