National
7th Edition of India International Footwear Fair 2023
» Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal addressed as a Chief Guest at India International Footwear Fair 2023 (IIFF) at New Delhi on 29 July 2023.
Commerce and Industry Minister said that India has the capacity to become world’s largest and best quality footwear manufacturer. India is the 2nd largest exporter of leather garments, 3rd largest exporter of Saddlery & Harness and 4th largest exporter of Leather Goods in the world.
7th India International Footwear Fair 2023:
The 7th India International Footwear Fair (IIFF) 2023 was organised on July 27-29, 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
Organized by:
IIFF was organized by India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) and co-organized by Confederation of Indian Footwear Industries (CIFI).
Key Points:
- IIFF 2023 was an annual fair that aimed to celebrate India’s rich footwear heritage and its growing presence on the international stage.
- Bringing together a diverse range of exhibitors, distinguished speakers and fashion enthusiasts, the fair became an extraordinary platform to forge new business connections, and explore the latest trends in the footwear sector.
- The footwear fair comprised of various product showcases, knowledge sharing sessions, seminars for the industry and a specially curated fashion show over the course of three days.
- IIFF had display of entire range of products relating to footwear and leather industries: footwear, raw material, finished products and auxiliary products such as synthetic material, finished leather; shoe components – uppers, soles, heels, counters, lasts; footwear machinery and equipment, process technology, software, chemicals and publications.
- Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI) in association with CIFI organized the ‘Fashion Show’ at Pragati Maidan on 28th July 2023.
- Footwear Design & Development Institute is an Institution of National Importance as per FDDI Act 2017, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
PM lays foundation stone and inaugurates various development projects in Pune
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Pune, Maharashtra on 1st August 2023. During the visit, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and inaugurated various development projects in Pune, Maharashtra.
Inauguration of completed sections of Pune Metro:
» The Prime Minister flagged off Metro trains marking inauguration of services on completed sections of the two corridors of Pune Metro Phase I.
- These sections are from Phugewadi station to Civil Court station and Garware College station to Ruby Hall Clinic station.
- The foundation stone of the project was also laid by the Prime Minister in 2016.
- The design of some of the metro stations on the route draws inspiration from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
- The Chhatrapati Sambhaji Udyan Metro Station and Deccan Gymkhana metro stations have a unique design resembling the headgear worn by soldiers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – also known as ‘Mavala Pagadi’.
- The Shivaji Nagar underground Metro station has a distinctive design which reminds of the forts built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
- A unique feature is that the Civil Court metro station is one of the deepest metro stations in the country, having the deepest point at 33.1 m. The station roof is made in such a manner that direct sunlight falls on the platform.
Waste to Energy Plant under PCMC:
» The Prime Minister inaugurated the Waste to Energy Plant under Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
- Developed at a cost of about Rs 300 crores, it will use up about 2.5 lakh MT of waste annually to produce electricity.
Other Projects:
» Moving ahead towards the mission of achieving Housing for All, the Prime Minister handed over more than 1280 houses constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by PCMC along with more than 2650 PMAY houses constructed by Pune Municipal Corporation.
» Further, the Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of around 1190 PMAY houses to be constructed by PCMC, and of over 6400 houses constructed by Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority.
International
G20 EMPOWER Summit in Gandhinagar
» The G20 EMPOWER Summit took place in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on August 1-2, 2023.
- This summit followed on from the Inception Meeting held in Agra and the 2nd meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.
- The summit was organised around the theme “Women-Led Development: ensuring a sustainable, inclusive, and equitable global economic growth”.
- During India’s G20 Presidency, women-led development has emerged as a crucial focus area based on a life-course approach marking a shift from women’s empowerment alone.
The G20 EMPOWER Summit is a landmark event that underscores the critical role of women in driving global economic growth and helping to create a more inclusive and equitable world.
Participation:
- The Summit had a participation of over 300 participants (263 domestic participants and 70 international delegates). The international delegates were from 13 G20 and 4 guest countries and 8 International Organisations.
- These included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UK, USA, Bangladesh, The Netherlands, Spain, UAE, WTO, ISA, UN Women, UN, UNICEF, ILO, World Bank and ADB.
The Summit marked the achievement of tangible outcomes alongside identification of commitments and recommendations encompassing all three themes of G20 EMPOWER under the Indian presidency –
- Education: A Game-changing Pathway to Women’s Empowerment
- Women’s Entrepreneurship: A Win-Win for Equity and Economy
- Creating a Partnership for Promoting Women’s Leadership at all Levels including Grassroots.
Key Points:
» G20 EMPOWER serves as a platform to learn from insights and best practices across industries and businesses and strengthen knowledge sharing across the public and private sectors.
» Towards this end, the G20 EMPOWER Best Practices Playbook has been substantially scaled up under India’s Presidency. With extensive outreach and surveys, 149 best practices from 19 G20 countries have been added to the Playbook. The Playbook has been digitised to make it easily accessible.
- With the Indian Presidency having focused on women entrepreneurs and community leaders at the local level as a key theme, a fourth new focus area was added to the Playbook for encouraging the private sector to increase initiatives for women at local or grassroots level.
» As a first under India’s Presidency, 73 Inspirational Stories from 9 countries have been curated on the G20 EMPOWER Website to highlight success stories of women achievers from across G20 nations and invited countries to motivate the next generation of girls and women. India has emphasized Citizens’ Engagement across its policy action.
Five sessions were held on the first day of the Meeting:
- Session I: Leading the Change: Women Redefining Leadership
- Session II: Leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure to advance financial equality of women
- Session III: Closing the Gap: Achieving TechEquity for Women
- Session IV: Shepreneurs: Harnessing the power of Women-led Enterprises
- Session V: Leadership Unplugged: Empowering Stories by Inspirational Leaders
» The second day included excursions and sightseeing for the delegates to showcase India’s rich cultural history and tradition.
Through the several commitments and initiatives, the G20 EMPOWER outcomes, commitments and recommendations will accelerate the creation of a world where women have the necessary skills, access to resources, supportive infrastructure and environment, and mentorship for a transformational shift towards women-led development.