National
Guinness World Record set in Surat as 1.53 lakh people participate in Yoga Day celebration
⇒ The Yoga Day event organised in Surat city of Gujarat on June 21 has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering for a yoga session at one place with 1.53 lakh people joining the program.
Key Points:
- People performed yoga in a programme organised on the International Day of Yoga, in Surat on June 21, 2023.
- The previous world record was set in 2018 in Kota city of Rajasthan when 1,00,984 people participated in a Yoga Day session in one place.
- The Yoga Day event in Surat has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people for a yoga session in one place.
- More than one lakh people took part in this event and broke the previous record.
PM Kisan Mobile App with Face Authentication Feature
⇒ The PM-Kisan Mobile App with Face Authentication Feature was launched by Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar under the central government’s ambitious and popular scheme for income support to farmers “Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi”.
Key Points:
- Best example of modern technology using Face Authentication Feature from this app farmer can complete e-KYC remotely, sitting at home easily by scanning face without OTP or fingerprint and helped 100 other farmers to do e-KYC at their home.
- Recognizing the need to make e-KYC mandatory, the Government of India has extended the ability of farmers to perform e-KYC to officers of state governments, so that each officer can complete the e-KYC process for 500 farmers.
IPA’s 8th Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit 2023
⇒ Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers and Health & Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya on 23 June 2023 addressed the 8th Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit 2023 in Mumbai.
- Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Indian pharma industry should strive to maintain the reputation of India as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’ which was established during the Covid-19 crisis.
Organized by:
Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) organized the 8th edition of the Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit on 22-23 June 2023 in Mumbai
Theme:
The theme for the 8th edition of the Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit was, ‘Patient Centricity: New Paradigm of Manufacturing and Quality’.
Participation:
The two-day Summit brought together industry leaders, global regulators, quality experts and stakeholders to foster knowledge exchange and deliberate on areas of importance in shaping the pharmaceutical landscape in India.
Discussion:
» The first day highlighted the importance of the future of manufacturing and building quality as a culture in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Regulators from around the world – US FDA, MHRA, EDQM and CDSCO discussed the regulatory affairs highlighting recent inspection observations and trends.
- The day concluded with discussions on technology architecture, exploring best-in-class engineering controls to ensure excellence in pharmaceutical production.
» Day two of the summit witnessed industry leaders shedding light on industry advancements, continuous manufacturing, regulatory expectation, digital technologies in pharmaceutical manufacturing and learnings from other industries.
About IPA:
- Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance represents 25 research-based national pharmaceutical companies.
- Collectively, IPA companies account for over 85 percent of the private sector investment in pharmaceutical research and development. They contribute more than 80 per cent of the country’s exports of drugs and pharmaceuticals and service over 60 per cent of the domestic market.
Team Marksmen’s "Most Preferred Workplace of 2023-24"
⇒ NTPC Ltd., the country’s largest power generator, has been honoured with the prestigious title of “Most Preferred Workplace of 2023-24” by Team Marksmen.
Key Points:
- The award recognizes NTPC’s exceptional performance in various key areas, including Organizational Purpose, Employee Centricity, Growth, Recognition & Rewards, Intrapreneurial Culture, Work-life Balance, Diversity, Equality & Inclusion, Safety, and Trust.
- This achievement reflects NTPC’s unwavering commitment to achieving excellence in the development and management of its human resources through continuous process improvement, engagement, and learning and development opportunities.
- The company’s progressive and “People before PLF” (Plant Load Factor) approach has contributed to making NTPC a preferred workplace, as evidenced by the numerous awards and recognitions it has received over the years as one of India’s Best Employers.
- The awards, conducted by Team Marksmen in association with India Today and Business Standard, are the result of a comprehensive consumer study conducted across the industry.
International
India-United States Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS X) launched in US
⇒ India-United States Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS X) was launched at an event in Washington DC, USA on 21 June 2023.
Co-organised by:
The INDUS X event was co-organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Ministry of Defence, and US Department of Defence (DoD) and hosted by US-India Business Council (USIBC).
Shri Anurag Bajpai, Joint Secretary (Defence Industries Promotion), MoD, led the Indian delegation in the two-day INDUS-X event on 20-21 June 2023.
- The event also saw a first-of-its-kind joint showcasing of innovative technologies by Indian and US start-ups. 15 Indian start-ups and 10 US start-ups, from multiple domains of maritime, AI, autonomous systems, and space, showcased their technologies to Indian and US stakeholders.
- Two panel discussions and two roundtables were held, focussing on deepening collaborations across various domains, including government, academia, and industry especially startups. Discussion on export control regulations were also held.
- INDUS X Factsheet for operationalising the ‘Defence Innovation Bridge’ under Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) was released at the event.
About INDUS-X:
- The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) launched the India U.S. Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) to expand the strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between our governments, businesses, and academic institutions.
- This initiative builds on a commitment by the U.S. and Indian National Security Advisors in January 2023 to launch an “Innovation Bridge” to connect U.S. and Indian defence start-ups as part of the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
- India’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and the Office of the Secretary of Defence (OSD) are leading INDUS-X activities for MoD and DoD, respectively.