Home » Current Affairs Date: 23 December 2022

Current Affairs Date: 23 December 2022

National

PM lays foundation stone and dedicates various projects in Surat

⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Gujarat on 29th and 30th September, 2022.

» The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated various projects worth more than ₹3400 crores in Surat on 29 September 2022.

These include works for water supply, drainage projects, DREAM City, Biodiversity Park and other development works such as public infrastructure, heritage restoration, city bus / BRTS infrastructure, electric vehicle infrastructure, and joint development works by the central and state government.

About Projects:

» The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Phase-I of road infrastructure works and the main entrance of Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City.

    • DREAM City project has been launched with the vision to meet the growing demand for commercial and residential space to complement the rapid growth of the diamond trading business in Surat.

» The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of Phase II of the project.

» The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Biodiversity Park, which is being built in an area of over 87 hectares from Dr Hedgewar Bridge to Bhimrad-Bamrolli Bridge.

» The Prime Minister also inaugurated Khoj Museum at Science Centre in Surat.

    • Built for children, the museum will have interactive displays, inquiry-based activities and inquisitiveness-based explorations.

PM inaugurates and lays foundation stone of projects in Bhavnagar

⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Gujarat on 29th and 30th September, 2022.

» The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth over ₹5200 crores in Bhavnagar on 29 September 2022.

About Projects:
World’s First CNG Terminal and of brownfield port:

» The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the World’s First CNG Terminal and of brownfield port at Bhavnagar.

    • The port will be developed at a cost of over ₹4000 crores and will have the state-of-the-art infrastructure for the world’s first CNG Terminal along with the world’s fourth largest lock gate system.
    • In addition to the CNG Terminal, the port will also cater to the future needs and demands of various upcoming projects in the region.
    • The port will have an ultra-modern Container Terminal, Multipurpose Terminal, and Liquid Terminal with direct door-step connectivity to the existing roadway and railway network.
    • It will not only lead to economic benefits in terms of cost saving in handling cargo but also generate employment for people in the region.
    • Also, the CNG Import Terminal will provide an additional alternate source of energy to meet the growing demands for clean energy.

» The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi also inaugurated the Regional Science Centre in Bhavnagar, which is spread over 20 acres and has been built at a cost of around ₹100 crores.

    • The centre has several theme-based galleries including Marine Aquatic gallery, Automobile gallery, Nobel Prize gallery – Physiology and Medicine, Electro-Mechanics gallery, and Biology Science gallery.
    • The centre will also provide a creative platform for discovery and exploration for children through outdoor installations like animatronic dinosaurs, science theme-based toy trains, nature exploration tours, motion simulators, portable solar observatories etc.

» During the programme, the Prime Minister also inaugurated various other projects including package 7 of Sauni Yojna link 2, 25 MW Palitana Solar PV Project, APPL Container (Aawadkrupa Plastomech Pvt. Ltd.) project; and laid the foundation stone of projects including package 9 of Sauni Yohna link 2, Chorvadla Zone water supply project among others.

International

Joint Statement to formalize the bilateral Fast-Track Mechanism between India and The Netherlands

⇒ The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and The Embassy of The Kingdom of The Netherlands officially signed the Joint Statement to formalize the bilateral Fast-Track Mechanism (FTM) between India and The Netherlands.

    • Invest India, the national investment promotion and facilitation agency, is the executing body of the bilateral FTM.

The Ambassador of The Netherlands to India, Mr. Marten van den Berg, and Secretary, DPIIT, Shri Anurag Jain, formally signed and exchanged the Joint Statement on 27th September 2022.

About FTM:
    • The bilateral FTM between India and The Netherlands aims to serve as a platform for faster resolution of investment cases of Dutch companies operating in India.
    • The mechanism functions in close collaboration between DPIIT, respective ministries and departments, Invest India and the Embassy of The Netherlands.
    • The mechanism will strengthen and assist bilateral efforts to increase mutual investment activities, as well as support and develop business cooperation between companies in both the countries.
Key Points:
    • Diplomatic relations between India and The Netherlands were formally established in 1947. Since then, the two countries have developed strong political, economic & commercial relations, and various sectoral co- operations.
    • According to official Indian statistics, The Netherlands is the 4th largest foreign direct investor in India. Between April 2000 and June 2022, the cumulative flow of foreign direct investment from The Netherlands to India reached some USD 42.3 billion.
    • In 2021-2022, bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to USD 17 billion.
    • India’s exports to The Netherlands consists mainly of mineral fuels and mineral-based products, organic chemicals, electrical machinery and equipment, aluminium, iron and steel and pharmaceutical products.

Source: PIB & Other News Reports

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