National
PM lays foundation stone and dedicates development projects in Varanasi
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated development projects worth more than Rs 1780 crores in Varanasi, on 24 March 2023.
Prime Minister dedicated and laid the foundation stone of projects during the programme at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University ground
» The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Passenger Ropeway from Varanasi Cantt station to Godowlia.
- The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 645 crores. The ropeway system will be 3.75 km in length with five stations. This will facilitate ease of movement for the tourists, pilgrims and residents of Varanasi.
» The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of 55 MLD sewage treatment plant at Bhagwanpur under Namami Ganga Scheme, to be built at a cost of more than Rs 300 crores.
» Under the Khelo India Scheme, the foundation stone of Phases 2 and 3 of the redevelopment work of Sigra Stadium was laid by the Prime Minister.
» The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the LPG bottling plant at Isarwar village, Sewapuri to be built by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
» The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of various other projects including a primary health centre in Bharthara village, and floating jetty with changing rooms, among others.
» The Prime Minister also dedicated 19 drinking water schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission, which will benefit more than 3 lakh people of 63 Gram Panchayats.
- He also laid the foundation stone of 59 drinking water schemes under the Mission.
» He also dedicated an integrated pack house in Karkhiyaon for grading, sorting and processing of fruits and vegetables.
» The Prime Minister dedicated various projects under the Varanasi Smart City Mission including redevelopment work of Rajghat and Mahmoorganj government schools; beautification of internal city roads; redevelopment of 6 parks and ponds of the city among others.
» He also dedicated various other infrastructure projects including the ATC tower at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport; a 2 MW solar power plant at water works premises, Bhelupur; an 800 KW solar power plant at Konia Pumping Station; a new Community Health Center at Sarnath; infrastructure improvement of Industrial estate at Chandpur; rejuvenation of temples of Kedareshwar, Vishweshwar and Omkareshwar Khand Parikrama among others.
International
One World TB Summit 2023
⇒ On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the One World TB Summit 2023 at Rudrakash Convention Centre in Varanasi, on 24 March 2023.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister stated that the ‘One World TB Summit’ embodies the Indian philosophical principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, a Sanskrit phrase that means ‘the world is one family’.
Organised by:
This summit was organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Stop TB Partnership.
Founded in 2001, the Stop TB Partnership is an organisation hosted by the United Nations that amplifies the voices of the people, communities, and countries affected by TB.
» The event attended by representatives from corporates, industries, civil society, NGOs, and TB Champions, reiterated India’s commitment to eliminate the high-burden infectious disease by 2025, five years ahead of the global goal of 2030.
Key Points:
In March 2018, during the End TB summit held in New Delhi, the Prime Minister called on India to achieve TB-related SDG targets by 2025, five years ahead of the stipulated time.
- One World TB Summit provided an opportunity to further deliberate upon the targets as the country moves forward to meet its TB elimination objectives.
- It was also an opportunity to showcase learnings from National TB Elimination Programmes. International delegates from over 30 countries participated in the summit.
- The deliberations at the event helped bring to spotlight the key strategies introduced by India to strengthen its TB elimination response.
» During the event, Prime Minister launched various initiatives including the TB-Mukt Panchayat, the official pan-India rollout of a shorter TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) etc.
- The Prime Minister unveiled the “Annual India TB Report 2023” which is a compilation of the country’s efforts towards making India TB-free by 2025.
- He launched a Training module on Extra Pulmonary Tuberculosis. The module is developed for training the healthcare workers of secondary and tertiary levels of public and private sector in India.
- The Prime Minister also launched the TB-Mukt Panchayat initiative to leverage the support of over 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats to raise awareness about TB, eliminate the stigma attached to the disease and help monitor and improve uptake of services.
- A new Treatment Preventive Therapy was also launched to prevent the development of active TB – thereby stemming the spread of the disease. Alongside, a family-centric care model was also announced to ensure the wellbeing of families affected by TB.
- The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the National Centre for Disease Control & High Containment Laboratory and inaugurated the site for the Metropolitan Public Health Surveillance Unit in Varanasi.
» The Prime Minister also awarded select States/UTs and districts for their progress towards ending TB. States and districts were awarded for making significant progress on key programmatic indicators.
- Karnataka and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir were awarded in the category of states/UTs and the Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu), Pulwama (J&K) and Anantnag (J&K) were given the district level awards.
1st G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) Meeting
⇒ The 1st Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting under India’s G20 Presidency was held in Mumbai, from March 28-30, 2023.
During the three-day meeting, over 100 delegates from G20 member countries, invitee countries, regional groupings and international organizations engaged in deliberations to accelerate global trade and investments.
Day 1:
The first day of the TIWG meeting commenced with an international conference on cooperation on trade finance among the G20 member countries. It was organised by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
» An event was also hosted by the Department of Commerce and organised by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) Limited and India EXIM Bank on the sidelines of the 1st G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) Meeting in Mumbai.
- Delegates from the member countries, industry and academic experts from across the world were present at the conference to engage in constructive dialogue and exchange of ideas in the domain of trade finance.
Two sessions were organised as part of the International Conference.
Session1: The role of banks, financial institutions, development finance institutions and export credit agencies in closing the trade finance gap
The first session took a macro view of the current trends in international trade and trade finance, and their future prospects. Some key points of the discussion were:
- Current trends in international trade and trade finance amidst the pandemic and growing import bills in developing countries.
- Cause of trade finance gaps, including reduced credit line support in the private sector and inflation cuts into bank lending limits.
- The role of export credit agencies in bolstering trade finance
Session 2: Accelerating digitalisation and fintech solutions can improve access to trade finance
During this session, trends in the digitalisation of trade finance were discussed in detail, and how these can accelerate innovation and efficiency to make trade finance accessible for firms, especially MSMEs.
- The discussion also looked upon current and emerging fintech solutions that can assist in making customized lending decisions as well as enhance trade finance supply for MSMEs.
Some of the specific discussions would include:
- Need for digitalising trade finance by working with multiple stakeholders to innovate advanced technologies for revamping the trade ecosystem in its entirety.
- Scope of digitalisation of MSMEs to reduce the implementation time and cost, and promote innovation in the supply of finance for low-value or single transactions since major bottlenecks arise due to high-cost services and the cost of cyber security risk mitigation strategies.
- Emerging solutions in financial technologies, such as network data, real-time payment behaviours, SaaS-based technologies and optical character recognition.
After the seminar, the delegates went for an excursion to Bharat Diamond Bourse. The Bharat Diamond Bourse is the largest diamond bourse in the world that houses more than 2500 offices, spread over an area of 20 Acres / 0.87 Million sq. ft. land in the heart of Mumbai.
Day 2:
On the second day, the 1st Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad.
- The priorities related to global trade and investment, which the Indian Presidency is pursuing, were discussed on the second day of the TIWG meeting across four technical closed-door sessions.
- The deliberations focused on making trade work for growth and prosperity and building resilient Global Value Chains (GVCs). The emphasis was on achieving shared outcomes for making growth inclusive and resilient, increasing the participation of developing countries and the Global South in GVCs, and building resilient GVCs to withstand future shocks.
Day 3:
The 1st G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting concluded on March 30 in the presence of Commerce and Industry Minister, Shri Piyush Goyal.
- The TIWG priorities on integrating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in global trade, and building efficient logistics for trade were discussed in the two working sessions on the last day.
In the sessions, several member countries affirmed the need for diversification of existing value chains and accelerating the participation of firms from developing countries and LDCs for holistic economic growth.
- The need for making information and finances easily accessible for MSMEs was discussed in detail during the working sessions. In addition, several countries expressed that the digital entry barriers for MSMEs should be seriously reviewed for their efficient integration with digital trade platforms.
In the session “Building efficient logistics for trade”, delegates discussed the effective ways of developing robust logistics infrastructure that can help reduce transaction costs across borders and in the hinterlands.
Important Day
188th Raising Day Assam Rifles
⇒ Assam Rifles, the oldest and most decorated Para Military Force of the Country, celebrated its 188th Raising Day on 24 March 2023.
- Minister of DoNER, Culture & Tourism Shri G. Kishan Reddy addressed the 188th Raising Day ceremony of Assam Rifles in Shillong on 24 March as the Chief Guest.
Assam Rifles was raised on March 24, 1835. The force has done yeoman service to the nation and contributed immensely in bringing peace in the northeastern states.