Summits & Meetings - Current Affairs for February, 2016

One day Annual Conference of the State Minorities Commission commenced with the focus on inclusive growth with the motto “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.” The one day Conference focusing on Development of Minorities had two Technical sessions besides the inaugural. Valedictory. Mr. Praveen Davar addressed the Technical I session on “Minority Welfare Schemes of Government of India-An Overview”. Technical II session on “Functioning of State Minorities Commissions-Problems and Challenges” was addressed by Ms. Mabel Rebello. Last year, the themes of the conference were “Capacity building of Minority Educational Institutions in India” and “Corporate Social Responsibility and Development of Minorities in India”.

The projects approved are as follows:

‘I. ’Resilient Agricultural Households through Adaptation to Climate Change in Mahbubnagar district, Telangana’’ is at a total cost of Rs. 25 crore for four years.

II. The project from Mizoram titled “Sustainable agriculture development through expansion, enhancement and modelling in the state of Mizoram” is at a total cost of Rs. 10.95 crore for three years.

III. The project from Jammu & Kashmir titled ‘Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture in Rainfed Farming (Kandi) Areas of Jammu & Kashmir’ involves a total cost of Rs. 23.86 crore for four years.

IV. The project from Meghalaya titled ‘Spring-shed development works for rejuvenation of springs for climate resilient development in the water stressed areas of Meghalaya’ is at a total cost Rs. 23.98 crore for four years.

V. The project from Chhattisgarh titled ‘Climate Adaptation in Wetlands along the Mahanadi River Catchment Area in Chhattisgarh’ submitted by Government of Chhattisgarh is at a total cost of Rs. 24.95 crore for four years.

Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal has launched the Vibrant North-East 2016 Summit and Exhibition at Guwahati on 18th February 2016. NE has lot of potential for the food processing industry and Ministry of Food Processing Industries is pursuing development of North East through its schemes of Mega Food Park, Cold Chain, Abattoir and development of Food Testing Laboratories. The summit also explores the need for creating the required infrastructure for food processing industries in NE regions.

This is the flagship initiative of the Shipping Ministry. It provides an excellent platform for participants to fund business opportunities. The Maritime India Summit will showcase investment opportunities in the maritime sector for different activities such as port modernisation, shipbuilding, ship repair and cycling. The aim is to provide a platform for interacting closely with pioneering international maritime organisations and create awareness about trends and potential for maritime sector in India.

Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shopping, Road Transport and Highways launched a website entitled www.maritimeinvest.in to commemorate the Maritime India Summit within the Make in India Summit. User friendly website will facilitate access to detailed information about the summit including registrations. Maritime India Summit 2016 is a global maiden summit being carried out by the Shipping Ministry in April. For MIS 2016, India’s partner country is the Republic of Korea. More than 50 maritime nations have also been invited to attend the summit.

The conference was addressed by the PM, President and Vice President of India. It concluded on February 10th, 2016. The two day conference had the following agendas:
1. Security- Internal and External with special focus on terrorism and insurgency activities;
2. Creating jobs for youths: special focus on skill development for school dropouts;
3. Implementation of flagship programmes of the Government like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Housing for all by 2022 and Smart Cities;
4. Improving quality of Higher Education;
5. Giving impetus to “Make in India” programme and employability and
6. Act East Policy and development of North Eastern Region.

PM Narendra Modi has announced that India will host the first ever Global Maritime Summit in April 2016 and called for maritime cooperation to build friendship and curb conflict. International maritime stability cannot be preserved by a single nation, according to the PM who also said India will always be a maritime nation.