National
‘Department of Commerce Restructuring Dossier’
⇒ Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles Shri Piyush Goyal on 23 August 2022 released the ‘Department of Commerce Restructuring Dossier’ at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi.
Releasing the report, Shri Goyal said restructuring of the entire department of commerce aims at preparing India to become a key global player in world trade.
Union Minister further said the restructuring rests on 5 major pillars:
- Increasing India’s share in global trade,
- Assume leadership role in multilateral organisations,
- Democratisation of trade,
- Creating 100 Indian Brands as Global Champions,
- Setting up Economic Zones in India to strengthen the manufacturing base and attract greater investments to India.
» Shri Goyal said Restructuring exercise is a mammoth endeavour focused on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and an Aatmanirbhar Commerce Department.
- The 14 volumes of the report define the role of each section within the department and lays down the expected outcomes and key performance indicators.
- These manuals would enable all the relevant stakeholders to understand their role in the revamped department and help the organization perform effectively.
» Shri Goyal noted some of the ideas that have emerged out of Restructuring exercise include a dedicated ‘Trade Promotion Body’ to drive formulation & execution of promotion strategy, Digitization of trade facilitation processes, Rehauling of the data & analytics ecosystem and capacity builSerg of Indian Trade Service to drive specialization & institutional memory.
Conclave on Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017
⇒ Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal on 23 August 2022 inaugurated the “Conclave on Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017” at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi to sensitise stakeholders about the Order.
Chairmanship:
The conclave was held under the Chairmanship of Mr Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, to sensitize stakeholders on the order and seek their suggestions for improvements.
Addressing the conclace, Union Minister Shri Goyal said we need to take collective resolve to become a developed nation by 2047, one of the 5 Prans stated by Shri Narendra Modi in his Independence Day Address.
- We really need to push the envelop and work hard to ensure prosperity reaches to last person in the bottom of pyramid.
Panel discussion was held during the conclave –
- Make in India initiatives in ICT Sector
- Make in India initiatives in health Sector
- Make in India initiatives through Government e-Marketplace
About PPP-MII Order, 2017:
» The “Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017” has been issued pursuant to Rule 153 (iii) of General Financial Rules, 2017 as an enabling provision to promote local industry by providing them preference in public procurement.
- The Order is applicable on procurement of goods, services and works by Central Ministries/Departments, their attached/ subordinate offices, autonomous bodies controlled by the Government of India, Government companies, their joint ventures and Special Purpose Vehicles.
International
Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2022
⇒ The 28th edition of the biennial Rim of Pacific (RIMPAC-22), the world’s largest international maritime exercise was conducted in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.
- The US Navy led biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise 2022.
- The RIMPAC-22 exercise was conducted from 29th June to 4th August, 2022.
Theme:
The theme of RIMPAC 2022 was “Capable, Adaptive, Partners”.
Participation:
Indigenous Frigate INS Satpura and one P8I LRMRASW maritime patrol aircraft from the Indian Navy participated in one of the largest multilateral Naval Exercises, RIMPAC-22.
- The ship participated in Anti-Submarine, Anti-Ship and Anti-Air Warfare exercises with multi-national navies in the Pacific Ocean during the sea phase apart from undertaking cross-deck landings of Indian Naval helicopter on foreign warships and replenishment at sea.
- The P8I aircraft participated in coordinated multinational, multiplatform advanced Anti Submarine Warfare operations along with 20 MPRAs from seven participating nations.
- INS Satpura is an indigenously designed and built 6000-tonne guided missile stealth frigate equipped to seek and destroy adversary in air, surface and underwater.
Key Points:
- The exercise spanned over six weeks of intense operations and training, was aimed at enhancing interoperability and to build trust among Navies of friendly foreign countries.
- 28 countries, 38 warships, 09 land forces, 31 unmanned systems, 170 aircraft and over 25,000 personnel participated in the multi-dimensional exercise.
Harbour phase:
The harbour phase of the exercise saw participation in multiple symposiums, exercise planning discussions and sports competitions.
Sea phase:
The sea phase commenced on 12 July 2022 and culminated with the closing ceremony on 04 August 2022.
- The sea phase of RIMPAC-22 was divided into three sub-phases wherein ships undertook basic and advanced level integration exercises during the first two sub-phases.
- The event culminated with a theatre level large force tactical exercise.
- The exercise witnessed the participation of an aircraft carrier battle group, submarines, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, remotely piloted surface ships and also an amphibious force landing operation including joint operations with Special Forces of multinational navies.
Units and personnel included in this year’s exercise:
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States.
» RIMPAC was initiated in 1971 as an annual exercise by the US, Australia and Canada. In 1974 the maritime exercise became a biennial event. India participated in RIMPAC for the first time in 2014.
Sports
4th Indian Open National Para-Athletics Championships-2022
⇒ The 4th Indian Open National Para-Athletics Championships-2022 was held on 18 and 19 August 2022 at Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore, Karnataka. This Championship is approved by the World Para Athletics.
Host:
The 4th Indian Open National Para-Athletics Championships-2022 was hosted by Paralympic Committee of India and Karnataka Sports Association for Physically Handicapped.
Records:
» Tokyo Paralympics champion javelin thrower Sumit Antil and silver medallist discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya created new world records at the fourth Indian Open National Para Athletics Championships.
- Sumit, picked up from where left off in Tokyo, and created a new world record after hurling the spear to a record distance of 68.62m in his event. The 24-year-old para-athlete’s previous world record throw of 68.55m in the F64 category came at the Tokyo Games last year.
» Yogesh, on the other hand, also created a new world record in the discus throw event with a throw of 48.34m.