The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today condoled the passing of Kumudini Lakhia. He hailed her as an outstanding cultural icon, whose passion towards Kathak and Indian classical dances was reflected in her remarkable work.
He wrote in a post on X:
“Deeply saddened by the passing of Kumudini Lakhia ji, who made a mark as an outstanding cultural icon. Her passion towards Kathak and Indian classical dances was reflected in her remarkable work over the years. A true pioneer, she also nurtured generations of dancers. Her contributions will continue to be cherished. Condolences to her family, students and admirers. Om Shanti.”
Deeply saddened by the passing of Kumudini Lakhia ji, who made a mark as an outstanding cultural icon. Her passion towards Kathak and Indian classical dances was reflected in her remarkable work over the years. A true pioneer, she also nurtured generations of dancers. Her…
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
SLW attends GBA Talent Development Showcase in Kuala Lumpur to promote Hong Kong’s opportunities and unique advantages Delivering his opening remarks at the symposium of the showcase, Mr Sun said that Hong Kong is uniquely positioned in the GBA area to serve dual roles as Mainland China’s gateway to Southeast Asia and as Malaysia’s springboard to the vast opportunities in Mainland China’s domestic markets. He stressed that the multilingual nature of the two places, being fluent in Cantonese, English and Putonghua, ensures the smooth integration of Malaysian talent in Hong Kong. Mr Sun added that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government had earlier established the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, which builds on Hong Kong’s strategic positioning of “eight centres”, with a view to flexibly attracting and gathering specialised talent in various sectors to build an international hub for high-calibre talent to contribute to the high-quality development of Hong Kong and the country.
Following the symposium, Mr Sun and the delegation toured the career fair concurrently held at the showcase and visited multiple booths to learn more about the jobs offered by exhibitors as well as different companies’ demand for international talent. Numerous students studying at Malaysian universities as well as professionals attended the fair to explore career prospects in Hong Kong and Mainland cities of the GBA.
The showcase, organised by the Labour and Welfare Bureau and HKTE to be held today and tomorrow (April 13) in JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur, is expected to attract a combined attendance of over 4 000. It consists of two main components: a symposium and a career fair. The symposium featured experts from various fields discussing the GBA’s latest developments and opportunities, while the career fair attracted nearly 40 leading GBA enterprises from industries including technology, I&T, engineering, finance, accounting, legal services, insurance and real estate, providing international talent from Southeast Asia with a wide range of career options and opportunities for professional growth.
Mr Sun said, “Hosting the showcase in Malaysia, a dynamic emerging economy with strategic development potential, the LWB and HKTE aimed at implementing the strategy of joining hands to attract international high-calibre talent under the Memorandum of Understanding on promoting talent services co-operation in the GBA signed last year by nine municipalities in Guangdong Province as well as the Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR. HKTE will continue to intensify global promotion efforts with a view to attracting more outstanding talent worldwide to pursue their careers in Hong Kong.”
Yesterday morning (April 11), Mr Sun first visited Universiti Malaya and met with Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Hasniza Zaman Huri and other senior management of the university. Mr Sun said that as the top-notch institution of Malaysia, Universiti Malaya is an eligible university under the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS). He said he was pleased to note that since the implementation of the TTPS, over 60 applications from graduates of Universiti Malaya have been approved, adding that he looked forward to more outstanding graduates of the university to pursue their careers in Hong Kong. Mr Sun then led the delegation to pay a courtesy call on the Chargé d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, Mr Zheng Xuefang, in the afternoon and briefed him on the efforts made by Hong Kong in building the GBA into an international hub for high-calibre talent.
Afterwards, Mr Sun called on the Minister of Human Resources of Malaysia, YB Steven Sim during which they exchanged views on strengthening regional collaboration. Mr Sun stressed that the two-way flow of talent fosters enhanced co-operation between the two places, thereby achieving beneficial all-win situations. At the meeting, Mr Sun also elaborated on Hong Kong’s work done on improving occupational safety and health, as well as boosting manpower skills through engaging the Employees Retraining Board.
While in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Sun also met with representatives of the Hong Kong-Malaysia Business Association and the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia to understand more on the local business environment and manpower situation. Mr Sun invited them to visit Hong Kong more often to explore development opportunities.
Mr Sun concluded his three-day visit this afternoon and will arrive in Hong Kong tonight. Issued at HKT 18:15
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
    Owing to the thunderstorm warning, the flag-lowering ceremony to be conducted at Golden Bauhinia Square, Wan Chai at 6pm today (April 12) will be cancelled.
    If the thunderstorm warning is cancelled and weather conditions permit by then, the flag-lowering ceremony may be resumed without further notice.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Speech by SCMA at Equal Opportunities Commission’s 15th Anniversary Celebration on Implementation of Race Discrimination Ordinance cum Celebration of International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination – Appreciation Event with Community Stakeholders (English only) To effectively perform our roles and functions as “super connector” and “super value-adder”, we always seek to ensure people of all ethnicities enjoy equal opportunities in different aspects of life. First and foremost, the Government leads by example. As the largest employer in Hong Kong, the civil service has strived to enhance employment opportunities for ethnic minorities; over fifty civil service grades have reviewed and adjusted their Chinese-language proficiency requirements to give more opportunities to non-ethnic Chinese applicants to join the civil service.
The Government also strives to promote equal opportunities in the private sectors and the community. To name a few, the Labour Department’s Racial Diversity Employment Programme provide customised employment support services to ethnic minority job seekers. The Education Bureau works with educational establishments at all levels to step up learning support for non-Chinese speaking students, to enhance their proficiency in Chinese, to provide them with a better learning experience, and to smoothen their transition from school to the workplace.??? In addition, ten Ethnic Minority Care Teams and two new support service centres were set up under the Home Affairs Department’s new Care Teams programme. They enhance support and provide holistic services to ethnic minorities, including language tutorials and community integration workshops. All these underline the Government’s commitment to building an equal, inclusive, and harmonious society.Issued at HKT 17:13
Central Electricity Authority concurred a record number of Detailed Project Reports of Hydro Pumped Storage Projects during 2024-25. CEA has ambitious plan to concur minimum 13 PSP of 22 GW for 2025-26.
A great investment opportunity ahead in Hydro PSP as so far identified potential crosses 200 GW
Posted On: 12 APR 2025 2:18PM by PIB Delhi
The Central Electricity Authority (CEA), under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, has concurred Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of following 6 Hydro Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) of about 7.5 GW in record time during 2024-25, marking a key milestone in India’s ongoing commitment to developing advanced long term energy storage solutions:
Upper Indravati (600 MW) in Odisha
Sharavathy (2,000 MW) in Karnataka
Bhivpuri (1,000 MW) in Maharashtra
Bhavali (1,500 MW) in Maharashtra
MP-30 (1,920 MW) in Madhya Pradesh
Chitravathi (500 MW) in Andhra Pradesh
This is the outcome of the collaborative efforts of the PSP developers, appraising organisations (CWC, GSI and CSMRS).
A number of steps were taken to resolve the issues and fast track the appraisal process. This is a big achievement since inception of new concept of Off-Stream, close loop PSPs. CEA has made the appraisal process transparent through the Portal “Jalvi Store”. The DPR for appraisal has been made shorter, check list has been provided for ease of submission of chapters to appraising agency and many more such initiatives.
Further, CEA has made ambitious plan to concur minimum 13 PSPs of about 22 GW during 2025-26. Most of these PSPs are targeted to be commissioned in 4 years and latest by 2030. Development of these projects shall boost energy storage capacity drastically in the country, making a major contribution to grid reliability and supporting India’s ambitious renewable energy goals. This further underscores the CEA’s ongoing commitment for facilitating the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient power system.
The participation of private sector in this segment is quite encouraging and with the help of self-identified PSP, the PSP potential in the country has crossed 200 GW and it is further increasing almost every month. Thus, from a meagre 3.5 GW of operational hydro PSP capacity in the country, the development needs to be taken up in an accelerated mission mode to harness this potential. This year two PSPs around 3000 MW will get commissioned and by 2032 we expect around 50 GW. At present 8 projects of 10 GW is under construction and DPR has been concurred for 3 projects of around 3 GW. In addition to this, 49 projects of 66 GW are under Survey and investigation. All these DPRs are expected to be finalised by the developers in 2 years.
Hydro PSPs are vital for the energy transition, as they allow excess electricity generated during off-peak hours to be stored in the form of water in elevated reservoirs. This stored energy can then be used back during non-solar hours peak demand periods, ensuring a reliable, consistent, and flexible power supply.
For developers and investors, it is a great investment opportunity to develop and invest in a long term assets of more than 70- 80 years.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
JPC Innovation and Technology Competition 2024-25 Award Presentation Ceremony cum Carnival held today The Commissioner of Police, Mr Chow Yat-ming; the Under Secretary for Education, Dr Sze Chun-fai; the General Manager of Information Technology Department of Bank of China (Hong Kong), Mr Yung Fai; and the Director of Operations of Police, Mr Chan Tung, officiated at the ceremony.
In his welcome remarks, Mr Chow said that since its establishment in 1974, the JPC has been committed to training young people to become youth leaders and crime-fighting partners through diversified activities, striving to nurture a new generation of law-abiding young people with an affection for the country and Hong Kong, and equipped with positive thinking and an aspiring mindset. He noted that as the Police step up enforcement against “space oil drugs”, the competition introduced the theme of youth drug prevention, encouraging participants to raise anti-drug awareness among young people through creative solutions.
Mr Chow also highlighted the quality of entries received, underscoring the pivotal role of experiential learning in STEAM education, which fosters students’ curiosity while developing their teamwork and problem-solving skills. He added that the JPC will launch more innovative activities to nurture I&T talents for Hong Kong and our country.
The competition aims to encourage primary and secondary school students to utilise their knowledge and skills in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) to construct innovative and feasible “Smart City” solutions. Two “Best Smart City Awards” were introduced to recognise the most innovative entries in artificial intelligence and gerontechnology, while the “Best Safe City Awards” were also presented to acknowledge innovative solutions for fraud prevention and crime fighting, youth drug prevention, and community safety enhancement, ensuring that citizens can continue to thrive in a safe living environment. The competition was divided into four categories, namely junior primary school, senior primary school, junior secondary school and senior secondary school. Over 1700 students from nearly 160 schools participated, and over 1 300 submissions were received. The list of winning teams has been uploaded onto the JPC website.
To further encourage the younger generation to engage with innovation and technology, some winners introduced the creative ideas and stories behind their works at the award presentation ceremony. An I&T carnival was also held and featured a workshop on simulated evidence collection at crime scenes and a number of virtual reality games, allowing participants to learn about the work of the Police, while experiencing the fun of technology.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the JPC has organised the competition which combines experiential learning and policing elements to nurture future young leaders to join hands in preventing and combating crime. The competition was supported by the Education Bureau, the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, the Digital Policy Office, the Association of I.T. Leaders in Education, the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, the Hong Kong Computer Society, the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, the Hong Kong Extra-curricular Activities Masters’ Association, the Hong Kong New Emerging Technology Education Association, the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Hong Kong STEM Education Alliance and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. Issued at HKT 16:45
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
In support of National Security Education Day, the Civil Aid Service (CAS) held the National Security Education Day and Civil Aid Service Headquarters Open Day at its headquarters today (April 12) to raise public awareness of national security and showcase CAS achievements.
The Permanent Secretary for Security, Mr Patrick Li, officiated at the kick-off ceremony of the open day. In his speech, Mr Li said that April 15 this year marks the 10th National Security Education Day. He said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government not only promotes national security in a broader and deeper manner but also strengthens citizens’ awareness and sense of responsibility in upholding national security. He said that society should shoulder the responsibility of safeguarding national security, making every citizen a guardian of it.
He expressed his gratitude to the CAS for its contributions to social security. He said the CAS spares no effort in disaster rescue, public order, public safety promotion and national security education, and its achievements are evident to all.
The Chief Staff Officer of the CAS, Mr Leung Kwun-hong, said the CAS had organised visits by Cadet Corps to various cities on the Mainland and exchanges with local youths to understand the importance of national security and the latest developments on the Mainland. He said over 200 cadets participated in five exchange visits in Mainland China and Macao during the summer holiday last year. Mr Leung noted that during each tour, the cadets realised they share the same mission and responsibility as the Chinese people, fostering a sense of identity that will unite them.
Over 3 000 visitors joined the open day, which featured an exciting programme of activities, adding to the lively atmosphere.
Apart from viewing the national security exhibition and a display of award-winning entries from the Love for China Chinese essay competition, visitors also enjoyed the emergency and mountain search-and-rescue demonstration, foot drill performance, music performance, and a bicycle show by CAS members. In addition, the Deputy Commissioner (Development and Youth) of the CAS, Dr Wong Kong-tin gave talk to explain the importance of national security for Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.
The CAS will continue to uphold the principle of “one country, two systems” and safeguard national security while adhering to the spirit of “Serving the Community with Passion, Courage and Commitment” to build a better home for Hong Kong people.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Attention TV/Radio announcers:
Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:
Here is an item of interest to swimmers.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (April 12) that as lifeguards are unable to go to Hap Mun Bay Beach in Sai Kung District by ferries due to rough sea conditions, lifesaving services at the beach has been suspended. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at this beach until further notice.
Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary hands over Rs. 515.31 crore to Asset Disposal Committee Chairman Justice D.K. Seth (Retd.) for restitution of properties to legitimate investors in Rose Valley Ponzi scam Restitution of Rs. 515.31 crore to approximately 7.5 lakh victims out of total claims of 31 lakh registered with Asset Disposal Committee; Rs. 22 crore has already been restored to 32,319 lawful investors by the ADC
Rs. 515.31 crore was attached by ED in the years 2015-17 by investigating money trail and tracing 2,987 different bank accounts
Posted On: 12 APR 2025 1:20PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary handed over a Demand Draft of Rs. 515.31 crore today to Justice D.K. Seth (Retd.), Chairman of the Asset Disposal Committee formed for the purpose of restitution of properties to legitimate investors in Rose Valley Ponzi scam.
Shri Rahul Navin, Director, ED and other senior officials of the government were also present on the occasion.
It is estimated that this amount will be used to restitute money to approximately 7.5 lakh victims out of the total claims of 31 lakh lodged so far with Asset Disposal Committee. Earlier, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had handed over an amount of Rs. 22 crore to the ADC which was used to restitute money to 32,319 lawful investors.
The amount of Rs. 515.31 crore was attached by ED in the years 2015-17 by investigating money trail and tracing 2,987 different bank accounts where the money collected from innocent victims had traversed. The said bank accounts were then seized/ attached following due process of law and converted into more than 700 Fixed Deposits (FDs) after confirmation of attachment by the Adjudicating Authority. It may be mentioned that ED has also attached other movable and immovable assets of Rs. 1,172 crore (present market value of the assets is estimated to be more than Rs. 2,000 crore), which is also in process of liquidation and refund to the victims.
ED is investigating five (5) Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases against the Rose Valley Group in the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Tripura. ED has filed prosecution complaints in all these cases before the Special Courts under PMLA.
Investigation under PMLA revealed that Rose Valley Group companies, had collected funds of Rs. 17,520 crore by luring people mostly from the lowest strata of society with promises of providing land parcels or time sharing in hotels and in the event of inability to deliver the land/time sharing, refund with high rate of interest was promised on maturity of investments. Investigation has revealed that out of the above, an amount of Rs. 6,666 crore, which constitutes the proceeds of crime, remained unpaid to the investors.
This is one of the single largest investigation of this type undertaken by the ED, and an order passed by the Special court (PMLA) at Khurda, Bhubaneswar, on 29.03.2025 has paved the way for the return of investors’ money all over the country through the Asset Disposal Committee (ADC).
It is pertinent to mention that on the direction of the Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta, an Asset Disposal Committee (ADC) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Justice Dillip Kr. Seth (Retd.), High Court of Calcutta with ED and others as members for restitution of properties to the lawful investors of Rose Valley Group Ponzi Scam.
ED has played a crucial role in attachment, possession and disbursement of assets of the Rose Valley Group thereby smoothening and expediting the restitution of properties to the lakhs of victims of the States of West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Tripura etc. Till now, around 31 Lakh investors of Rose Valley Group have registered their claim on the website www.rosevalleyadc.com. ED is also providing assistance to the ADC in conducting survey and valuation of confirmed attached properties and facilitating expeditious monetisation of the assets for timely disbursal of the same to the investors/victims of Rose Valley Group of Companies.
Further, the restitution process is expected to continue in full swing over the coming months as more claims are being scrutinised and validated by the ADC.
The instant restitution is in line with the commitment of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, to return the money looted from poor people. The Prime Minister of India has consistently emphasised the urgent need to recover and return funds misappropriated from the poor and innocent citizens of the country, and has repeatedly stressed that money siphoned off through fraudulent means must be rightfully restored to those who have been cheated in Ponzi schemes.
The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs has also reiterated that the Government’s commitment for restitution of assets attached by ED to the victims/ rightful owners and made a statement in Parliament to this effect.
The ED is actively pursuing investigations in cases of financial fraud, with a firm commitment to ensure that the proceeds of crime are not only traced and confiscated but also put immediately to productive use for the economy by being restored to the victims who have suffered financial loss. The ED continues to act decisively in such matters, reinforcing public trust and contributing to the larger goal of a corruption-free and transparent financial system.