National
Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela 2023
⇒ The three-day Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela 2023 was organized from 2 to 4 March 2023 in New Delhi.
Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela was inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. Shri Tomar also gave away awards to Progressive dedicated farmers and released publications.
- Along with thousands of farmers, scientists and startup entrepreneurs participated in the fair.
Organized by:
The Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela is organized every year by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).
Theme:
The theme of Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela 2023 was “Nutrition, Food and Environmental Protection with Shree Anna”.
Key Points:
- The main attractions of the fair this year was Technical Sessions on important and contemporary issues in Agriculture, development of Shree Anna based value chain under International Year of Millets, Smart Farming/Protected Farming Model, Climate Friendly and Sustainable Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing and Exports, Farmers’ Innovations – Potential and Problems, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) – Startup linkages.
- Thematic exhibitions of key technologies were also organized, while stalls of research institutes, startups and entrepreneurs were also put up.
- Shree Anna based stall educated about different types of Shree Anna, their cultivation practices, value addition and nutritional value.
- Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad as well as VPKAS Almora, CAZRI Jodhpur and S.K.N. Agricultural University, Jobner, which are involved in research on Shree Anna, also participated in the fair.
- Live demonstrations of important varieties of wheat, mustard, gram, vegetables, flowers and fruits were held at the fair. There was live webcast of the fair for the benefit of remote farmers and consumers.
- During this, the Innovative Farmers’ Conference facilitated exchange of ideas among the farmers. Thousands of farmer brothers and sisters participated in the fair during the three-day event.
Vice Chief of the Army Staff
⇒ Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar has assumed the appointment of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 01 March 2023.
- The General officer has taken over the appointment from Lieutenant General BS Raju who has taken over the reins of Jaipur based Sapta Shakti Command.
About MV Suchindra Kumar:
- Prior to taking over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar was tenanting the appointment of Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) at Army HQ.
- An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, the General Officer was commissioned into 1 ASSAM REGIMENT in June 1985.
- He has commanded 59 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion (ASSAM), an Infantry Brigade and an Infantry Division on the Line of Control and the highly active White Knight Corps in Northern Command.
Principal Director General of Press Information Bureau
⇒ Shri Rajesh Malhotra has assumed charge as Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau (PIB) on 01 March 2023.
- Shri Malhotra takes over after the superannuation of Shri Satyendra Prakash.
Previously, Shri Rajesh Malhotra, an Indian Information Service (IIS) Officer of the 1989 batch, had been working in Ministry of Finance since January 2018.
Millets Mahotsav in Bhojpur, Bihar
⇒ A two-day Millets Mahotsav was organized from 28th February to 1st March 2023 at Bhojpur, Bihar.
The event was inaugurated by Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras and brought the stakeholders of the food-processing sector on a common platform with a special focus on millets.
- During his inaugural address, Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras stated that due to the initiative of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the United Nations declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
- The state is known for the production of Jowar, Bajra, Ragi and Small Millets. During the year 2021-22, Bihar has exported 21,187.60 MT Millets worth 5.92 Million US Dollars and Bhojpur is the hub of sourcing of Sorghum and Small Millet.
Key Points:
- The two-day event encompassed a wide range of activities like the exhibition and sale of various millet-based products, informative sessions on millet processing, interactive sessions between industry experts and micro food processing enterprises, SHGs, FPOs engaged in food processing.
- It witnessed an overwhelming response, with more than 1,000 participants attending the event, including micro food processing enterprises, self-help groups, farmer-producer organizations, producer cooperatives, etc.
- The event was organised as part of a series of Millets Mahotsavs being celebrated across 20 States and 30 Districts in the country by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries in the wake of the United Nations General Assembly declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
- The States that will be hosting the events include Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Punjab, Kerala, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, West Bengal, and Jharkhand.
World Food India 2023:
In addition to the Millets Mahotsavs, a mega-food event – World Food India-2023 is being organized by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries from 3-5 November 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
- The event will provide a unique platform for all stakeholders, including producers, food processors, equipment manufacturers, logistics players, cold chain players, technology providers, academia, start-up & innovators, food retailers, etc. to interact and dialogue.
- Furthermore, the event, slated to be the biggest-ever congregation of dignitaries, global investors, and business leaders of major international and domestic food companies, will put India firmly on the global food landscape.
International
1st meeting of Governing Board of BIMSTEC Energy Centre
⇒ India hosted the first meeting of the Governing Board of BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC) on 27th February, 2023 at Shangi-La Hotel, Bengaluru.
Shri Ajay Tewari, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power, and chairperson of the Governing Board of the BEC, gave a brief background about ongoing cooperation among BIMSTEC countries.
Participation:
There was active participation from all BIMSTEC countries viz.- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand along with BIMSTEC Secretariat.
Key Points:
- India’s “Neighbourhood first” and “Act East” Policies were highlighted during the meeting. A snapshot of areas where BIMSTEC countries could learn from each other was also presented.
- As the Host of the BIMSTEC Energy Centre, India made a presentation on establishing the BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC) in India. It was conveyed to the member countries that the BEC will be housed in the premises of the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), Bengaluru.
- Shri Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson, CEA was nominated as the first Executive Director of the BIMSTEC Energy Centre. The Meeting considered and finalized the Note on “Host Country Agreement between the Government of Republic of India and the BIMSTEC Secretariat”. The same was recommended to the Seventh Meeting of BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee for consideration.
- Considering the current energy scenario in BIMSTEC region, the Meeting recommended to add the additional following areas under the specialized Wings of BEC: (a) Cyber Security, (b) Green Hydrogen (c) Energy Transition
- The member countries appreciated India’s efforts for organizing the first meeting of the Governing Board of BIMSTEC Energy Centre. All countries also expressed that such meetings of the BIMSTEC may happen more frequently.