Bhajan : 'Jin Ram Na Jana Kya Jana' | Chinmay Mission | Lodi Road | New Delhi

Bhajan : 'Jin Ram Na Jana Kya Jana' | Chinmay Mission | Lodi Road | New Delhi

Lord Ganesha | Ekdant | Dr Hari Shankar Pandey | Indian Veterinary Research Institute | Bareilly

Lord Ganesha | Ekdant | Dr Hari Shankar Pandey | Indian Veterinary Research Institute | Bareilly

India Concludes Strong Showcase at Davos

 India concludes strong showcase at Davos, demonstrating resilient economy, investment opportunities across sectors

 

 The Indian delegation at the 54th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting, from January 15 to January 19, 2024, in Davos, Switzerland, made an impactful showcase as India was in the spotlight throughout the event, attracting attention to its strong economy, stable governance and opportunities across several sectors.

 

The Indian Government delegation at WEF was led by Smt. Smriti Irani, Hon’ble Minister of Women & Child Development along with Sh. Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Housing & Urban Affairs, Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics & IT and Sh. R K Singh, Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The delegation spoke at various sessions of the World Economic Forum in the presence of other global political and business leaders covering the topics of Education, Biofuels, Gender gaps, Renewables, Semiconductors, and Manufacturing.

 

India's commanding presence at the Annual Meeting was marked by four distinct spaces at WEF, each dedicated to highlighting the India Opportunity and narrating its Growth Story to global investors:

 

•  India Engagement Centre: This lounge unfolded India's growth narrative, showcasing its digital public infrastructure, vibrant startup ecosystem, and burgeoning energy sector. Fireside chats on globally significant pillars enriched the dialogue.

 

• Experience India Centre: This lounge unveiled the technological leaps powered by New India, commitments to sustainability and inclusivity along with its vibrant culture.

 

• India Investment Centre: This served as the center for Government-to-Business (G2B) and Business-to-Business (B2B) networking, hosting roundtables, sessions, and panels on leading topics.

 

• We Lead Lounge: This year a dedicated gender lounge “We Lead Lounge” focused on women participation in various walks of life, financial inclusion and bridging the digital gender gap.

 

As many as 21 sessions were held over five days at the annual meeting. India showcased its opportunity, opening doors for discussion on Manufacturing, Technology, Gender based impact, Sustainability, Mobility, Startups, Healthcare, and AI, among other themes.

 

Smt. Irani held meetings with the leadership of Uber, Mastercard, Unilever, and with the Federal Minister of the European Union, among others. She participated in multiple WEF sessions and panel discussions on themes of public-private agenda for education, protecting democracy in the digital era, and investing in gender parity. The minister graced an event organized by the B20 to launch the B20 Global Institute. The institute will provide knowledge, research and policy advocacy to global enterprises.

 

Sh. Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Housing & Urban Affairs, highlighted the immense opportunities in India's hydrocarbons sector in meetings with leaders from corporations such as SOCAR, Shell, Equinor, Honeywell, Occidental, OMV AG, Petronas, Trafigura, BP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, SAP SE, and Engie. Sh. Puri also highlighted India's commitment to energy transition and sustainable development by providing affordable energy to its citizens.

 

Sh. Ashwani Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics & IT, participated in a panel discussion with global industry stalwarts to explore how the global economy can leverage investments in infrastructure for business and societal impact. The Minister highlighted measures by the Government of India to promote infrastructure creation, the reforms implemented, and the role of India's stable economic policies in strengthening its infrastructure. Minister Vaishnaw also held a bilateral engagement with his counterpart from Singapore where AI regulations were discussed.

 

The minister presented India's semiconductor manufacturing potential to global investors, and spoke about the various cutting-edge technologies being leveraged in manufacturing in India, and the policy interventions being made to further strengthen India's manufacturing sector.

 

Sh. R K Singh, Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, spoke about the transformative potential of Indian entrepreneurship on a global stage. He talked about Deep Tech and its potential in the Indian context. Sh. Singh met leaders from Coca Cola, Mitsubishi, Volvo, and Audi, and discussed their expansion plans in India. He also held meetings with industry leaders from companies such as Nestle, Ericksson, HPE, AB InBev, Nasper-Prosus, and Schnider Electric, among others, discussing their roadmap to increase investment in India. He addressed the WEF session titled - Governors Policy Meeting on Supply Chain and Transport, where he highlighted the impact of PM Gati Shakti (गति शक्ति) programme on infrastructure development in India. The secretary also highlighted the ULIP - Unified Logistics Interface Platform.

 

(Basic Inputs from Press Release)

Finance Minister Handed Over Sanction Letters for Multiple Developmental Initiatives by NABARD in Sikkim

 Finance Minister Handed Over Sanction Letters for Multiple Developmental Initiatives by NABARD in Sikkim 

 The Hon’ble Finance Minister, Government of India, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, handed over/announced the sanction worth of Rs 52.87 crore of funds for developmental initiatives by NABARD to boost rural development during her visit to Sikkim for Credit Outreach Programme on January 6, 2024. The noteworthy initiatives included support for rural connectivity (Rs 50.71 crore), a grant of Rs 1.29 crore for livelihood support to tribal households, Rs 28.28 lakh for ongoing orchard-based livelihood intervention, Rs 22.79 lakhs for Springshed development intervention aiming to rejuvenate 12 identified springs crucial for the water supply to 850 families, a grant assistance of Rs 34.50 lakh to Sikkim State Cooperative Bank Ltd. (SISCO) for financial inclusion initiatives, including conducting 200 Financial Literacy camps and providing 100 micro-ATMs to identified Milk Cooperative Societies. Esteemed key dignitaries, including Shri Prem Singh Tamang, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Sikkim; Shri Vivek Joshi, Secretary, DFS, Government of India; and Shri Shaji K.V., Chairman of NABARD were present during the event. The Hon'ble Finance Minister also acknowledged the immense potential for Sikkim to grow and the crucial role of banking and development & refinancing institutions like NABARD, in rebuilding the state after the flash floods. 

NABARD organized an interaction program with a group of FPOs in the state with Dr. Vivek Joshi, Secretary, DFS, Government of India on January 7, 2024 at Namchi. Dr. Joshi was accompanied by Shri Shaji K.V., Chairman of NABARD and Shri P K Goyal, Joint Secretary, DFS, Government of India. FPO members represented four FPOs, namely Sankhu Radhu Khandu Farmers Organic Producer Cooperative Society Ltd from Gyalshing district, along with Bermiok Tokal Farmer Producer’s Cooperative Society Ltd., Passi Farmer Producer’s Cooperative Society Ltd., and Gangchung Farmer Producer’s Cooperative Society Ltd. from Namchi district. The Secretary DFS interacted with the FPO representatives at length and deliberated on their set of activities, the role, and the benefits that this aggregation of farmers into FPOs had brought to the individual farmers. He also expressed that this interaction greatly helped to understand the ground realities of the FPOs’ activities, spread of credit and other Banking activities in far-flung areas and urged banks to expedite the process of credit disbursements. He advised stakeholders to orient their activities actively towards the small, marginal and dairy farmers in view of their significance to the economy. Shri Shaji K.V., Chairman, NABARD, in his address, highlighted the priority of NABARD in strengthening cooperatives. He stated, “NABARD has continued its efforts to support FPOs presently under the umbrella of Cooperatives.” He further stressed the need for strengthening the value chain of agricultural commodities via such FPOs. “The convergence of funding support reflects NABARD's dedication to strengthen the agricultural value chain. Notably, in Sikkim, where every FPO is registered under the Cooperative Societies Act, we take pride in supporting these entities directly from our own financial resources. The successful transition of all MPCSs to the 'go live trial' stage in PACS computerization project marks a pioneering achievement. We appreciate the FPOs for providing valuable insights, ensuring our interventions align with ground-level reality,” he added.

[Based on Press Release]

Chitra Kala Sangam| Padma Shri Virendra Prabhakar Death Anniversary|Samman Samaroh & Kavya Sandhya

Chitra Kala Sangam| Padma Shri Virendra Prabhakar Death Anniversary | Samman Samaroh & Kavya Sandhya

Plasma Waters and Heartfulness Institute to Enable Sustainable Food Security

 Plasma Waters and Heartfulness Institute to Enable Sustainable Food Security Through New Collaboration Agreement

The Indian subsidiary of US Agri-Tech company Plasma Water Solutions Inc announced a very unique and promising partnership with one of the leading global NGOs of India, The Heartfulness Institute. The two organizations have signed a collaboration agreement to promote the common purpose of enabling food security in the most sustainable manner & introducing the Green Revolution 2.0 from India to the rest of the world.

Plasma Water Solutions’ proprietary breakthrough cold-plasma technology converts water from any source, in continuous flow & real-time, to Plasma-ized Water TM (PW). PW technology is used for seed treatment, crop spray and irrigation to enhance productivity through faster and more efficient germination, accelerated growth, preventing the transmission of plant pathogens and enhancing stress tolerance during the crop cycle.

With over 150+ years of collective experience and expertise in fields ranging from Forestry, Plantation, Plant Bio Technology to Plant Physiology and Environmental Engineering, the Heartyculture Nursery team of Heartfulness Institute has been recognized with multiple awards from the Government of Telangana (Green Kanha and Mayuri Haritha Vanam). Kanha Shantivanam, the world HQ of Heartfulness, has been awarded the Platinum Honour for being 'The Biggest Green Campus' from Indian Green Building Council in 2019. The entity specializes in nurturing native & endangered trees and plants of India too  actively leads various afforestation projects in private/ public partnerships.

“The institute has been promoting good practices in agriculture, training farmers in natural solutions and methods to promote plant health, soil health & water health without harming the environment while enhancing food productivity and farmers’ income which is in perfect alignment with the value proposition that Plasma Waters technology offers,” said Robert Hardt, President & CEO, Plasma Water Solutions Inc, USA, while expressing his gratitude to the President of Heartfulness Institute, Shri Kamlesh D Patel(Daaji), & the Heartfulness team for the proactive support extended in the last several months. He further said that he sees Heartfulness as a strategic partner in shaping the company’s R&D efforts meaningfully in India & spreading the outcome to the rest of the world.

Different teams at Kanha Shantivanam have been testing the effects of Plasma Waters treatment on seeds, disease and plant health for the last several months as this was the first site of the company through Samunnati in India. This 1700-acre campus has been extensively using Plasma Waters sprays on multiple crops, vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants & trees. Applications range from treating 250 Neem trees’ dieback issues, 350 Papaya plants’ mosaic virus infestation, 74 date palm trees & 22 Pongamia Pinnata trees’ infestation to seed treatment & sprays on a wide range of food crops, horticulture, hydroponics and nurseries.

The collaboration agreement states that the joint validation trials of Plasma-ized Water TM application for Agriculture, R&D activities, Agro-Forestry & other agriculture-related uses will be conducted at a large scale & at multiple centers/nurseries of the Heartfulness Institute. The existing & new use cases will be tested & demonstrated to the farming community, various stakeholders and agriculture value-chain players to benefit the community at large.

The President of Heartfulness Institute, Shri Kamlesh D Patel (Daaji), the visionary behind all the Green initiatives of Heartfulness, said, “Our experience with Plasma Waters has been very positive. It has shown significant results in germination, stand quality & disease management. Since this is a natural sustainable solution, Heartfulness would not only use it, recommend it but also meaningfully contribute to the R&D activities of the company in India.”

While the core practices of Heartfulness Institute is in training individuals on the refinement of human consciousness through meditative practices, the Institute has been working incessantly towards the cause of education, environment, farming & reskilling at a very large scale under its holistic living principles based on minimum inputs for maximum outputs fundamentals. The goal is to take the least but give back to the environment & community in leaps and bounds. Located in the dry and arid environs of Reddy District, Telangana, on the Deccan Plateau, with fast depleting groundwater and once a dry barren land, this 1700 acre campus in the last 5 years, has undergone transformation in to a lush green place with the plantation of more than 200,000 trees. A sapling nursery with more than 600,000 saplings is acting as a supply for the plantation in the region, while close to 1,000 trees saved and translocated from faraway places resurrected here.

The Heartfulness Institute is a perfect partner for a purpose-driven Agri-Tech company like Plasma Waters and its R&D activities with the focus, patronage & passion for sustainable Green Revolution that is offered here heartfully.

“The diverse platform for demonstration & continuous refinement of the tech that is offered by Heartfulness through opportunities ranging from traditional farming, hydroponics, aeroponics, tissue culture processes, horticulture, floriculture, oil seeds, fruit orchards to agro-forestry & afforestation projects is very exciting & reassuring for our India journey,” said, Pragya Kalia, MD, Plasma Water Solutions India Pvt Ltd.

Mr Vamsi Chalagulla, Joint Secretary of Heartfulness and a tech-preneur himself, said, “under Daaji’s guidance, Heartfulness has trained thousands of farmers and farming communities so far on sustainable climate smart agri practices and techniques. Plasma Waters technology fits the offerings well since it is natural and helps the farming community on multiple fronts.

[Based on  inputs received from Press Release]

Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme | MSME, Government of India | Badaka Singhanpura | Buxar| Bihar

Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme | MSME, Government of India | Badaka Singhanpura | Buxar| Bihar