1. Union Minister Murugan addresses the Global News Forum in New Delhi
Tags: place in news Summits
Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L. Murugan delivered the keynote address at Global News Forum 2022 meeting in New Delhi on 4 October 2022. The three day (3-5 October) meeting is being organized by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union with DD (Doordarshan) India in New Delhi.
The theme of the Global News Forum 2022 is: Truth and Trust at times of Crisis’
Worlds leaving news media channels like Al Jazeera, CNN, NHK, ABC and CNA and other international organisations like Reporters without Borders, the World Food Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Zero Risk International are participating in the Forum meeting.
Asia -Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU)
ABU was established in 1964 as a non-profit, non- governmental, non-political, professional association with mandate to assist the development of broadcasting organisations in the region.
It has over 253 members in over 67 countries in Pacific region, Asia (South east, North, And South, and Central), West Asia,East, Europe, North Africa and North America.
Doordarshan (DD) & All India Radio (AIR) both are Full Members of ABU. All India Radio was a founding member of the ABU in 1964 while Doordarshan joined ABU in 1976.
Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
2. Digital India Conference of State IT Ministers concludes
Tags: National Summits National News
The three day "Digital India Conference of State IT Ministers" began on 1st October 2022 concluded on 3rd October in New Delhi.
Important facts
The Digital India Conference of State IT Ministers, along with the sixth edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC 2022) was inaugurated by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
On the first day, detailed discussions were held with the States and Union Territories on the key priority areas of the Digital India initiative, chaired by the Minister of Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Ashwini Vaishnav.
In his concluding remarks, Ashwini Vaishnav said that connectivity is the key to Digital India and its reach to every nook and corner of the country.
He said that Rs 26,000 crore has been sanctioned by the government for setting up 25,000 new towers in the next 500 days.
He congratulated all the States and Union Territories for swiftly joining PM Gati Shakti.
On the second day of the conference MeitY organized three sessions on important aspects like ‘IT Rules, Online Gaming and Data Governance’, ‘Digital India Bhashini & Digital Payment’, and ‘MyScheme and Meri Pehchaan’.
On the third day, MeitY organised five panel discussions.
The title of discussions were ‘Attracting Startups to Tier 2 Cities and Sustaining Them’, ‘Use of Emerging Tech in Public Services’, ‘Making India Talent Nation’, ‘Realization of Digital Government in States’, and ‘Make-in-India for the Globe – India as Semiconductor Nation’.
3. Union Minister Narayan Rane inaugurates Khadi Fest – 2022 exhibition in Mumbai
Tags: place in news National Summits
The Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Narayan Rane inaugurated the Khadi fest – 2022 Exhibition in Mumbai on 3 October 2022. The Khadi Fest – 2022 has been organized by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and will be held till 1 November, 2022.
Khadi and Village Industries Commission has been organizing Khadi Fest every year to mark the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. However, this time the exhibition has been organized after a gap of two years.
Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC)
- The Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC) was set up in 1957 under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956.
- It is under the Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.
- It is responsible for planning, promotion, organisation, and implementation of programs for the development of Khadi and other village industries in the rural areas along with other agencies engaged in rural development wherever necessary.
Chairman of KVIC: Manoj Kumar
4. Amitabh Kant led the Indian delegation at the G-20 Sherpa meeting in Indonesia
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Summits Person in news
The Indian delegation led by Indian G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant participated in the third G20 Sherpa meeting organised by Indonesia at Yogyakarta, from 26th to 29th of September 2022.
Amitabh Kant was appointed as India’s G20 Sherpa by the Government in June 2022 in place of the Union Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goel.
They met in Yogyakarta to discuss the agenda of the forthcoming G20 summit meeting to be held in Bali, Indonesia in November 2022.
Role of the Sherpa’s
The G20 process is led by the Sherpa’s of member countries, who are personal emissaries of the Leaders. The Sherpa’s oversee negotiations over the course of the year, discussing agenda items for the Summit and coordinating the substantive work of the G20.
Group of 20 or G-20 is a multilateral organisation of 19 countries and the European Union was set up in 1999. India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999. India will be holding the G20 Presidency from 1 December 2022 and will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit in 2023 for the first time..
5. First America Pacific Island Summit held in Washington
Tags: Summits
In order to check the growing influence of China in the South Pacific region , the United States hosted the first US Pacific Island Summit meeting at Washington D.C on 28-29 September .The American president Joe Biden addressed the summit on 29 September and announced $810 million in new funding for Pacific Islands.
The summit meeting was attended by the leaders of 14 Pacific island countries of; Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru and Vanuatu.
The U.S. also announced to recognize the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign states, following appropriate consultations. While both Cook Islands and Niue have full constitutional independence from New Zealand and act as independent countries, the U.S. considers them as self-governing territories and has not established formal diplomatic relations.
The U.S. will also launch a new trade and investment dialogue with the Pacific Island nations, enhance maritime security, and provide up to $3.5 million over five years to improve the region’s internet connectivity and to support cyber security.
Threat of China
- In the past year, the US and Australia have been increasingly concerned about growing Chinese government influence in the Pacific and have escalated diplomatic activity in the region.
- Despite their small populations and economies, each Pacific state represents a vote at international forums such as the United Nations. They also control vast swathes of resource-rich Ocean and access to a region with strategic military significance.
- China wants to gain influence in the region which is strategically dominated by the United States and its allies, Australia and New Zealand.
- In May 2022, China had offered an economic and security arrangement to the 10 pacific countries in order to increase its influence in the region. However it failed in its effort.
6. PM Modi to officially launch ‘5G mobile service’ on 1 October 2022
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Summits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially launch the 5G (5th Generation) telecom mobile service in India on 1 October 2022. The commercial launch of the service is expected in Diwali.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the service at the 6th Indian Mobile Congress being held in New Delhi from 1-4 October 2022.
The Theme of the 6th Indian Mobile Congress 2022: New digital Universe".
The top three telecom companies which have been granted 5g licenses; Jio, Airtel and Voda Idea will be present there.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Group chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla will be present at the ceremony and will represent their respective telecom companies.
Commercial Launch of the 5g Service
Mukesh Ambani had announced at the 45th annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries Limited that its telecom company Jio will launch the 5g services in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai by Diwali and the whole country would be covered by December 2023.
Sunil Mittal owned Airtel plans to launch its services in October and extend them pan-India around the same time frame.
Birla owned Voda Idea has not yet announced its plan on 5g services
7. Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav represented India in the ‘8th World Green Economy Summit’ held in Dubai
Tags: place in news Summits Person in news
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav attended the Ministerial Roundtable for the Green Economy at the 8th World Green Economy Summit (WEGS) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 28 September 2022.
WGES is organised by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), and the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.
The theme of the 8th World Green Economy Summit: ‘Climate Action Leadership through Collaboration: The Roadmap to Net-Zero’.
The World Green Economy summit announced the launch of the ‘Global Alliance on Green Economy’.
The ‘Global Alliance on Green Economy’ aims to build a coalition of countries, prioritising a green economy in the context of climate action and sustainable development, to enhance the capacity of developing countries, provide support for their green economy transition projects and exchange knowledge on implementation.
8. 13th FICCI Global Skills Summit 2022 inaugurated by Dharmendra Pradhan
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Summits Economics/Business Person in news
Union Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the 13th FICCI Global Skills Summit 2022 in New Delhi on 27 September 2022.
The two-day (27-28 September) Summit has been organised by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Skills.
Theme of the 13th FICCI Global Skills Summit 2022: “Education to Employability - Making It Happen.”
Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
It is a business lobby group of top business houses in India which was founded by Ghanshyam Das Birla.
It was set up in 1927
It articulates the views and concerns of industry and tries to influence the government to make policy which is in favour of the industry and business.
Headquarters: New Delhi
President: Sanjiv Mehta
9. National conference on alternative to single use plastic held in Chennai
Tags: place in news National Summits
To promote an environment friendly alternative to the now banned single use plastic in the country, an National Expo on alternatives to banned single use plastics items and Conference of Startups -2022 was inaugurated in Chennai , Tamilnadu on 26 September 2022.
The conference has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, and Government of Tamil Nadu.
The government of India banned single use plastics from 1 July 2022.
The conference is an attempt to encourage the Startups to innovate and develop an environment friendly alternatives like items made from natural fibers such as coir, bagasse, rice and wheat bran, plant and agricultural residue, banana and areca leaves, jute and cloth.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change: Bhupendra Yadav
10. India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant chairs inter-ministerial meeting to review G20 preparations
Tags: Summits Person in news
India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on 24 September 2022 chaired an inter-ministerial meeting with the chairpersons of all Working Groups under India’s upcoming G20 Presidency and discussed substantive and logistical aspects of the preparations for it.
This year, the G20 Summit will be hosted by Indonesia in Bali in the month of November. India will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to 30 November 2023.
G 20 Sherpa and its work
The Government of India appointed former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant as the Sherpa of G-20 in July this year. He will be responsible for conducting and coordinating the Sherpa track meetings of the forthcoming G-20 Summit to be hosted by India.
With the G-20 presidency coming to India in November 2022, India will set the agenda of G-20 for the year, identify the themes and focus areas, conduct discussions and work out outcome documents. To prepare for this the G20 process has been divided into the Sherpa track and the Finance track.
Sherpa Track
Under the Sherpa track, about 100 official meetings are expected to be organized in the areas of employment, health, digital economy, trade, investment & industry, environment & climate, energy, anti-corruption, agriculture, tourism, culture, and socio-economic development, education, and women empowerment.
Finance Track
Under the Finance track, about 40 meetings are expected to be organized including those in the areas of international financial architecture, financial inclusion and sustainable finance, financing for infrastructure, climate finance and tax matters.
G-20 is a group of 19 countries and the European Union.
