National
National Horticulture Fair 2023
⇒ The Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the 4-day National Horticulture Fair on 22 February 2023 at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru.
» Union Minister Shri Tomar said that Horticulture production has increased 13 times from 25 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 331 million tonnes during 2020-21, which is more than the food grain production.
- Constituting 18% of the area, this sector contributes about 33% of the gross value to the agricultural GDP.
- The sector is being considered as a driver of economic growth and is gradually turning into an organized industry linked to seed trading, value addition and exports.
- Horticulture has a significant contribution in the export of agricultural products worth more than Rs 4 lakh crore.
- He also said that Rs 2200 crore has been allocated in the budget for the development of Horticulture sector, especially for AatmaNirbhar (self-sufficient) clean plants programme.
Theme:
The National Horticulture Fair 2023 was held on 22-25 February 2023 on the theme “Innovative Horticulture for Self-Reliance”.
» National Horticulture Fair 2023 was organised to showcase the latest technologies developed by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru, under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), for the benefit of productive farmers and other stakeholders.
» The program was presided over by Dr. A.K Singh, Deputy DG (Horticulture Science).
Best Farmer awards:
Shri Sushant Kumar Patra, Shri Pinku Debnath, Shri G Swami, Shri Sangram Kesari Pradhan, Ms Vidya, Shri Siddharthan and Shri Polepalli Sudhakar were given the Best Farmer awards.
» The guests released souvenir and a handbook on ‘Vegetable Production Techniques’.
Extension of the term of the 22nd Law Commission of India
⇒ The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the extension of the term of the Twenty-second Law Commission of India upto 31st August, 2024.
Reason:
- The various Law Commission have been able to make important contribution towards the progressive development and codification of Law of the country. The Law Commission has so far submitted 277 Reports.
- The Chairperson and Members of the Twenty-second Law Commission have joined office recently and have taken up several pending projects for examination and report, being the work in progress. The tenure of present Twenty-second Law Commission of India was ending on 20th February, 2023.
- Therefore, the tenure of the Twenty-second Law Commission has been extended upto 31st August, 2024.
Background:
- The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body, constituted by the Government of India from time to time.
- The Commission was originally constituted in 1955 and is re-constituted from time to time.
International
2nd Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
⇒ The 2nd meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) under the Indian G20 Presidency was held on April 12 – 13, 2023, on the margins of the 2023 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.
- Finance Minister of India, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman and the Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shri Shaktikanta Das jointly chaired the meeting.
- The meeting saw the participation of around 350 delegates from G20 members, 13 invitee countries, and various international and regional organizations.
The meeting was organised in three sessions covering the following themes:
- Global Economy
- International Financial Architecture
- Sustainable Finance
- Financial Sector
- Financial Inclusion
- International Taxation
The goal of this FMCBG meeting was to deliberate on the progress made by the various work streams of the G20 Finance Track on the deliverables that were tasked to them by the Ministers and Governors in the February G20 FMCBG Chair’s Summary and Outcome Document and to seek guidance on the way forward.
Session 1: Global Economy and International Financial Architecture
- Members discussed the key challenges to the global economic outlook, including the war in Ukraine, food and energy insecurity, climate change, and recent risks to financial stability.
- Members agreed that the G20 can contribute to building a common understanding of fostering a conducive environment for global economic recovery and ensuring that the most vulnerable countries and sections of the population are adequately protected.
Session 2: Sustainable Finance, Financial Sector and Financial Inclusion
- Discussions focussed on the mobilisation of resources for climate change, the role of the multilateral financial institutions in catalysing private finance flows for Sustainable Development Goals and the role of the G20 in scaling up and encouraging wider adoption of social impact investment instruments.
Session 3: International Taxation
- Discussions were done on the need for coordinated efforts toward effective implementation and wider adoption of the two-pillar international tax package. Ministers shared suggestions on how best G20 can complement global efforts to enhance tax transparency.
High-level side events were also held on the margins of the G20 FMCBG sessions.
- A meeting of the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) was also held on April 12, 2023, which was co-chaired by Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sit, IMF Managing Director Kristaline Georgieva and World Bank Group President, David Malpass.
- The meeting saw discussions on the current global debt landscape and ways to address existing challenges in debt restructuring.
Air Services Agreement between India and Guyana
⇒ The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the signing of the Air Services Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
The new Air Services Agreement between India and the Co-operative Republic of Guyana will provide enabling environment for enhanced and seamless connectivity while providing commercial opportunities to the carriers of both the sides.
Highlights:
» Indians have a sizeable presence in Guyana and are the largest ethnic group comprising about 40% of the population as per 2012 census.
- The signing of Air Services Agreement with Guyana will enable a framework for provision of air services between the two countries.
- In view of the growing aviation market and developments such as liberalization of aviation sector in India, air services agreement has been signed with many countries for paving way for International air connectivity.
- Air Services Agreement (ASA) provides the legal framework for air operations between two countries which is based on the principles of sovereignty of nations, nationality of carriers and reciprocity in terms of commercial opportunities for the designated airlines of each side.
- At present there is no Air Services Agreement (ASA) between the Government of India and the Government of Co-operative Republic of Guyana at present.
- India and Guyana are signatories to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).