1) Jammu and Kashmir to host G-20 meetings in 2023
•Jammu and Kashmir will host the 2023 meetings of the G20, an influential group of the world’s major economies. J&K government has set up a five-member high-level committee for overall coordination of G20 meetings to be held in the Union Territory. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was appointed as India’s Sherpa for the G20 in September 2021. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India will hold the G-20 presidency from December 1, 2022, and convene the first G20 leaders’ summit in 2023.
•India’s representation at G20 summits has been led by Prime Minister Modi since 2014. The G20 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom.
2) Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launches 17th ‘Shala Praveshotsav’
•In Gujarat, the Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has launched the 17th ‘Shala Praveshotsav’, the drive to enrol students in primary schools in the state. The three-day enrollment drive begins from Memadpur primary school in Vadgam taluka of Banaskantha district. Chief Minister Patel said that the dropout rate of students’ reduced drastically following the mass enrolment drives of the children. He said that the drop out rate has been reduced to just 3.07 percent from 37.22 percent in 2002.
•According to official sources, the state officials including IAS and IPS officers and Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly will visit different schools of the state and enrol children in Class I.
3) ‘Vivatech 2020’ Conference: India recognized as ‘country of the year’
•Europe’s biggest startup conference, “Vivatech 2020” has recognized India as the “country of the year.” It is a tremendous honour for India to be named “country of the year” in Vivatech 2020. This is due to the contribution of the Indian startups to the world. This is the recognition of Indian startups.
•Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the India pavilion at the technology exhibition Vivatech 2020, held in Paris, France. Around 65 start-ups from India are participating in Vivatech 2022 with government support.
•Indian start-up ecosystem has been growing very fast. It has been innovating at a rapid pace and now we have over 100 unicorns which reflects the scale and recognition of Indian ecosystems. The combination of billions of smartphones, billions of bank accounts with billions-plus digital identities help in enabling the creation of novel use cases for technology development in India.
4) Ookla Speedtest Global Index: India ranked 115th
•The Speedtest Global Index released by network intelligence and connectivity insights provider Ookla showed that India recorded 14.28 Mbps median mobile download speeds in the month of May, slightly better than 14.19 Mbps in April 2022. With this, the country is now three notches up in its global ranking and is at 115th position.
•India also improved its global ranking for overall fixed median download speeds, from 76th in April to 75th in May, according to network intelligence and connectivity leader Ookla. In April, India had dropped four spots in rank globally for overall median fixed broadband speeds — from 72nd to 76th spot.
5) 14th BRICS Summit: Members of BRICS take a similar stance on world economy
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a virtual summit of the five-nation grouping sponsored by China that the consequences of the Covid epidemic on the global economy are still apparent and that cooperation among the BRICS countries can be a beneficial part of its recovery. The BRICS member nations, according to the prime minister, share a similar approach to managing the world economy.
6) First India-Nepal Bharat Gaurav tourist train flagged off
•First Bharat Gaurav tourist train connecting places associated with the Ramayana Circuit in India and Nepal was flagged off from the Safdarjung Railway Station in New Delhi. The Bharat Gaurav train carrying 500 tourists from India will arrive at the Janakpur Dham railway station in Nepal.
•The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’s (IRCTC) 18-day Shri Ramayana Yatra special tourist train will take pilgrims to sacred places associated with the life of Lord Ram. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw along with Minister of Tourism and Culture G. Kishan Reddy flagged off the train.
7) Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurates the National Conference On Millets
•Union Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel has inaugurated the National Conference on Millets. The theme of the conference is ‘The Future Super Food for India’ in New Delhi, organised by industry body ASSOCHAM with the support of M/o Food Processing Industries. The conference has been organised to discuss opportunities and challenges in ensuring food and nutritional security.
•The Union Minister said that the production of coarse cereals in the country has increased to 17.96 million tonnes in 2020-21 from 14.52 million tonnes in 2015-16 and the production of bajra (pearl millet) has also increased to 10.86 million tonnes in the same period. The major millets producing states in India include Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
8) Government department will work with SBI, to establish an integrated pension platform
•In order to improve the quality of life for seniors, the State Bank of India (SBI) and the Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW) of the Centre will work together to develop an integrated pension platform. SBI field employees were given sessions on pension policy reforms and digitization relating the disbursement of pensions to central government pensioners at a two-day banker’s awareness event in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
9) Union Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurates Mango Festival in Belgium
•Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, inaugurated a “Mango Festival” in Brussels, Belgium to raise awareness among Europeans and establish a market for Indian mangoes in Europe. India is a big supplier of mangoes to the rest of the globe, but most of the mangoes end up in the Middle East rather than Europe.
•During the event, mangoes like Banganapalli from Andhra Pradesh, Malihabad Dasheri from Uttar Pradesh, Amrapali from Odisha, Lakshman Bhog, Himsagar, Jardalu mango, Langra mangoes, as well as 12 GI-tagged items were on exhibit. The Indian Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union (EU), Santosh Jha, spoke about the occasion and the “immense potential” of the Indian mango in the European market.
10) India likely to be affected by US recession, could impede growth in medium term
•According to economists, the medium-term economic trajectory of India is expected to be hampered by the imminent growth slowdown in the United States. According to the research firm, Nomura India Normalization Index (NINI), the Indian economy is currently returning to above-normal levels and is being driven by broad-based gains in consumption, investment, industry, and the external sector.
