Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Parmarth Niketan to plant 200K saplings in north India

AN INAUGURAL ceremony was held in the northern Indian city of Rishikesh to plant the first 15 of the 200,000 saplings by Parmarth Niketan and the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance.

The programme led by Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji aims to plant 200,000 saplings this year.


The inaugural ceremony of the planting programme was held on the occasion of ‘Basant Panchami’, an Indian festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring.

Baby Rani Maurya, governor of Uttarakhand state, who attended the event as the chief guest, was joined by the speaker of the state legislative assembly Premchand Agarwal, among others.

Indian lender HDFC Bank has donated 100,000 saplings to Parmarth Niketan and GIWA for the planting mission.

The first 100,000 saplings will be planted across Uttarakhand state and in the neighbouring regions by Parmarth Niketan, GIWA and Ganga Action Parivar.

Saplings will be planted at selected public places such as universities, hospitals, schools, railway stations and others.

Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, president of Parmarth Niketan, founder chair of GIWA, said: "We should celebrate all our occasions and festivals by planting and giving trees. If there are no trees, there is no water, and if there is no water, there is no life. Therefore, let us use every occasion to renew our green pledge.

"I appreciate the HDFC Bank for coming forward, under the leadership Shri Aditya Puri, managing director, HDFC, to donate the first one lakh trees to our Monsoon Greening Drive. I encourage all banks, businesses and institutions to come forward through their corporate social responsibility and human social responsibility (programmes) to plant trees and to end single-use plastic."

The governor of Uttarakhand state, Baby Rani Maurya, said: "One of the simplest and most powerful ways each one of us can help reverse climate change is by planting trees. Therefore, I welcome youth, students and all organisations to join the government in this cause. This is a beautiful beginning from Rishikesh that I am sure will spread to the entire nation."

Kumar Sanjeev representing HDFC Bank said: "HDFC is one of the most reputed banks in the world, and we are not only coming forward to support urban and semi urban communities but to provide financial security to rural areas. Trees to me are our investment in our present and in our future, and we are proud to be supporting this cause."

More For You

Southport stabbings: Terrorism watchdog rejects definition change

FILE PHOTO: Riot police hold back protesters near a burning police vehicle in Southport, England (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Southport stabbings: Terrorism watchdog rejects definition change

TERRORISM watchdog has rejected calls to redefine terrorism following last summer's tragic Southport murders, while recommending a new offence to tackle those intent on mass killings without clear ideological motives.

Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, published his highly anticipated report on Thursday (13), concluding that the existing definition of terrorism should remain unchanged despite growing concerns about violent attackers with unclear motives.

Keep ReadingShow less
Commonwealth wreath-laying ceremony held in London

A military piper, choir, and the Sikh soldiers of the British Army took part in the ceremony.

Commonwealth wreath-laying ceremony held in London

A WREATH-LAYING ceremony was held at the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill in London on 10 March to honour Commonwealth servicemen and women who fought in the First and Second World Wars.

Lord Boateng, chairman of the Memorial Gates Council, led the event, highlighting the importance of remembering those who served.

Keep ReadingShow less
Student visas

The ongoing negotiations focus specifically on business mobility, addressing only the relevant business visas

iStock

Student visas excluded from UK-India FTA talks, says government

THE government last week clarified that only temporary business mobility visas are part of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

Other types of visas, such as student visas, will not be included in the trade deal, it was revealed during a debate in the House of Lords.

Keep ReadingShow less
India Detains Crypto Administrator Wanted by US for Laundering

Aleksej Besciokov, was charged with money laundering and accused of violating sanctions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, according to the US Justice Department. (Photo: US Secret Service)

India arrests crypto administrator wanted by US for money laundering

INDIAN authorities have arrested a cryptocurrency exchange administrator at the request of the United States on charges of money laundering conspiracy and sanctions violations, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Wednesday.

The arrest follows a joint operation by the United States, Germany, and Finland, which dismantled the online infrastructure of Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Getty

Starmer said that the change would free up funds for doctors, nurses, and frontline services while reducing red tape to accelerate improvements in the health system. (Photo: Getty Images)

Starmer scraps NHS England, brings health service under ministerial control

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer has abolished NHS England, bringing the health service under direct ministerial control.

The decision reverses a key reform introduced by former health secretary Andrew Lansley during the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, The Guardian reported.

Keep ReadingShow less