India in Vancouver - Weekly Newsletter
     Issue No. 43. March 03,2023

      Consulate Weekly Newsletter

                                           PM Shri Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat with the Nation

CONSULATE NEWS

   ONE DISTRICT ONE PRODUCT

To promote the One District One Product initiative of the Government of India, the Consulate General of India, Vancouver set up an #ODOP corner during the celebration of the International Year of Millets 2023 on February 23, 2023. Amroha musical instruments; Marble (Tic tac toe box) from Agra, Uttar Pradesh; Marble (Bejewelled elephant) from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh; Brass Artifacts Jangaon from Telangana; Madhubani Paintings from Bihar; including various different products from different districts of India were displayed during the event.

               KNOW YOUR MILLETS

Indian millets are a group of nutritiously rich, drought tolerant and mostly grown in the arid and semi-arid regions of India. They are small-seeded grasses belonging to the botanical family Poaceae. They constitute an important source of food and fodder for millions of farmers and play a vital role in ecological and economic security of India. Indian Millets are nutritionally superior to wheat and rice as they are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. They are also gluten-free and have a low glycemic index, making them ideal for people with celiac disease or diabetes.

                         INCREDIBLE INDIA-PUDUCHERRY

Puducherry is a vibrant city located on the south-eastern coast of India. Brimming with unspoiled beaches, heritage buildings, French and Tamil quarters, ancient temples and churches and a colonial ambience, this French Colony has a plethora of things to do and see.

With remnants of the French colonial past spread across the town's architecture and crystal clear beaches surrounding it, the city is among the most admirable destinations in South India.Often referred to as the 'French Capital of India

                     NEWS FLASH

NEWS SEGMENT

Indian millets are claiming rightful global recognition

When India proposed to the United Nations to declare 2023 as the international year of millets, it was met with overwhelming support of 72 other countries. Today, India is leading the world towards a revolution, which will boost global nutritional outcomes, promote sustainable eating habits, and, most importantly, address concerns around food security. The Indian superfood millets are now claiming rightful global recognition for their multifaceted benefits..

As India Shakes Off Shackles, It Emerges as Global Economic Power

For what seems like forever, India was a story of unfulfilled potential: abundant labor and entrepreneurial energy hobbled by lousy infrastructure, a meddlesome state, stifling regulation and a deep ambivalence about engagement with the broader world. It might be time to retire that story. In fact, 2023 could be the year India finally emerges as a global economic heavyweight.

We trust Indian (G20) Presidency, country has a very influential voice on world scene’

Ahead of the G-20 Foreign ministers’ meeting beginning on Wednesday, European Union’s High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (equivalent to Foreign minister) Josep Borrell said on Tuesday that it trusts the Indian Presidency and will support its work towards an outcome that reflects the current extraordinary circumstances.

Multilateralism in crisis, need for unity of purpose: PM Modi at G20 foreign ministers’ meet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to G20 foreign ministers, said multilateralism is in crisis and stated that the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ signals the need for unity of purpose and unity of action.

India will show how developing economies can tackle global challenges

The inaugural event of the Urban 20 Engagement Group was held in Ahmedabad on February 9-10, 2023. Urban 20, or U20, is among the most influential city-level diplomacy initiatives held annually. Receiving participation from mayors and designated 'city sherpas' from the G20 cohort, the deliberations at U20 inform G20 negotiations and are integral to the broader discourse on urban development.

India has created the right conditions to spur demand

Procter & Gamble Co (P&G), the world's second-biggest consumer goods maker, said the Indian government is establishing the right environment and infrastructure to create demand and help the country reach an inflection point.

‘India is not just a beneficiary of new breakthroughs, but an innovator of them’

Delivering the fifth Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture in New Delhi, Bill Gates, co-chair Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, shared ideas on health systems, energy, climate change, and creating an equal world through innovation.

Why is India’s status among Asean nations rising?

India’s greater visibility on the world stage in recent years and its refusal to take sides in the Ukraine war amid a major power rivalry are likely why Southeast Asian countries increasingly view New Delhi as a strategic partner, analysts say. In a survey released this month by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, a growing number of respondents from the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) said they would choose India, after the European Union and Japan, in hedging against the uncertainties of US-China strategic rivalry.

Bill Gates appreciated India's Covid management, vaccination drive, Digital health Initiatives

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates Wednesday appreciated India's Covid-19 management, vaccination drive and digital health initiatives like Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission in a meeting with Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya According to an official, he appreciated how India worked excellently during the Covid pandemic. During the meeting at Nirman Bhawan, Mandaviya showed Gates the dedicated war room at the ministry which is now known as Health Emergency Operation Centre and National Public Health Observatory.

Covid vaccine mission is a lesson for the world

When Covid-19 began in early 2020, most experts predicted India could face disastrous consequences. But the unprecedented and extraordinary response of the government under the personal and constant supervision of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi belied such doomsday predictions. India emerged stronger from the pandemic, setting an example of scientific and technological resilience for both the developed and developing world.

World Needs early warning system for Virus

Billionaire-philanthropist Bill Gates, on his first tour of India since the pandemic, does not mince his words when he talks about lessons from the tragedy wrought by Covid. Bill Gates, co-chair and trustee of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is in India  to get a sense of the country’s recovery after the Covid-19 Pandemic

India can touch up to $40-trillion economy by 2047

Predicting that India would be the third largest global economy within four-five years, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said the rate at which the country's economy is growing, it could touch $35-40 trillion by 2047 - the centenary year of India's Independence, here. Speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue here, Goyal said that it is the desire of every Indian to be second to none, and India is not only the fastest growing economy, but will continue to be so for many decades to come..

Where Digital Payments, Even for a 10-Cent Chai, Are Colossal in Scale

The little QR code is ubiquitous across India’s vastness. You find it pasted on a tree next to a roadside barber, propped on the pile of embroidery sold by female weavers, sticking out of a mound of freshly roasted peanuts on a snack cart. A beachside performer in Mumbai places it on his donations can before beginning his robot act; a Delhi beggar flashes it through your car’s window when you plead that you have no cash.

Canada’s De Havilland eyes Indian market for small planes, considered key to connect distant corners

Toronto-based De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited is aiming to capture 80 per cent of India’s small-plane market as the south Asian nation seeks to improve connectivity in distant corners and over challenging terrain, Bloomberg reported. The company, which is a leading manufacturer of turboprop aircraft, expects India to have in the next decade 120 small planes that accommodate less than 20 passengers, Yogesh Garg, De Havilland’s Asia Pacific sales director, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers of India conference in New Delhi on Tuesday (28), the report added.

Privilege to use India’s skills, talent': German CEOs after meeting PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and several prominent business leaders on Saturday. Following the meeting, executives from big German firms had lavished praise on India's skills and talent pool. The officials are set to head to Bengaluru on Sunday and will visit German software firms including SAP.

PM Modi Gifts Meghalaya Stole, Nagaland Shawl to Germany's Scholz | History, Significance of Souvenirs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in New Delhi. The Prime Minister gifted Meghalaya Stole and Nagaland Shawl to Scholz, who is on a two-day visit to India. PM Modi said security and defense cooperation can become an important pillar of India-Germany strategic partnership.

Germany, India to Boost Cooperation in Renewable Energy, Defense

Germany and India agreed to partner on technology to make a transition to renewable energy easier, and deepen defense cooperation and trade during Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s first visit to the South Asian nation as leader. “We want to further strengthen trade ties between the European Union and India,”

US praises India, says its role on global stage continues to grow

Speaking to community leaders and local ethic Indian media reporters during a trip to Silicon Valley this week, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nancy Izzo Jackson said India’s role on the global stage continues to grow. She asserted India-US ties are one of the consequential relationships. India's presidency of the G20 will help the country intensify its growth in every sphere, Jackson said.

We are Very Happy to be a Partner of India-CEO Of SAP 

India has high aspirations for sustainability and wanted to use technology to decarbonize supply chains and produce green hydrogen which goes hand in hand with technology, and "we are very happy to be a partner of India," said Christian Klein, CEO of Software company SAP.

US Treasury Secretary pitches for ‘friendshoring strategy’ with India to bolster supply chains

Terming India as the biggest trading partner, US Treasury Secretary Janet L Yellen on Saturday pitched for advancing an approach called "friendshoring" to bolster the resilience of supply chains. As President Biden has said, India is an indispensable partner to the United States, Yellen said while addressing a roundtable with US and Indian tech business leaders on the sidelines of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting here.

Stubble as fuel: India to partner with Denmark on bio power projects

The visit of the Crown Prince of Denmark, Frederik Andre Henrik Christian, to India is likely to give a boost to setting up a bio-based power project that uses stubble as feedstock. If this is cleared it would be a boon for people living in the national capital territory as they have to bear the brunt of inhaling polluted air due to stubble burning every year.

'Dost' India and Turkey: Friends indeed in turbulent times

Perhaps one needs to muster enough courage to describe the world’s worst natural calamity in recent history to hit Turkey the devastating earthquakes in the first week of February. Perhaps no statistical mechanism will be ever able to comprehend or quantify the exact width and breadth of the human and material loss this earthquake has incurred. It will take years, if not decades, to overcome the horror and despair of the terrible loss of those whose lives were cut short and the memories of those who evaded the fury of nature.

India, Italy elevate bilateral ties to strategic partnership

India and Italy have decided to elevate their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership, opening a new chapter on defence cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Thursday after holding comprehensive talks with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni. On a two-day state visit, her first after being elected as Prime Minister last year, Meloni also announced that Italy was joining the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative as the two nations celebrate the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations.

India-born MIT Professor Hari Balakrishnan Wins Prestigious Marconi Prize For Societal Impact Of His Work In Communication Networks

The Marconi Prize for 2023 has been awarded to Nagpur-born Hari Balakrishnan, the Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the United States (US).

IISc Researchers Develop Computational Model To Help Protect Aircraft From Lightning Strikes

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a unique computational model to simulate how lightning can strike an aircraft. The insights they have gleaned from this model can help design better lightning protective measures for aircraft.

Indian women lead way closing gender gap in aviation industry

When Hana Mohsin Khan decided to switch careers and become a pilot around six years ago, she stepped into a male-dominated industry where women are trying to reverse the trend. She pushed through despite discouragements from her relatives and the 33-year-old is now among more than 1,000 female pilots in India, the highest proportion globally according to an estimate by the International Society of Women Airline Pilots.

Inspiring stories of 5 successful women entrepreneurs in India

Women in India are today chartering the unknown territories of the once male-dominated business world unabashedly and fearlessly, making a difference with their ideas. We have compiled a list of five Indian women entrepreneurs who have not only scripted their success stories in today's new-age world but have also inspired countless other women in India and overseas to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

Hindi writer Vinod Kumar Shukla wins US literary award

Hindi short story writer, novelist and poet Vinod Kumar Shukla has received the 2023 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. Shukla, 87 years old, is known for novels like Naukar Ki Kameez (1979) and poetry collections like Sab Kuch Hona Bacha Rahega (1992).“Shukla’s prose and poetry are marked by acute, often defamiliarising, observation. The voice that emerges is that of a deeply intelligent onlooker; a daydreamer struck occasionally by wonder.

Consulate General of India
#201-325 Howe Street Vancouver, BC, V6C 1Z7
Telephone: (604) 662-8811 Fax : (604) 682-2471
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