Summits & Meetings - Current Affairs for February, 2017

The 9^th BRICS Summit’s first Sherpas Meeting took place in Nanjing.

This is the capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province.

The theme of meeting was concentrated on ‘BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future’.

The 2-day meeting saw participation of more than 100 participants, including coordinators from all sides, foreign diplomats, and representatives from the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB).

It covered priority areas of political affairs, economy and culture for BRICS cooperation, especially in the areas.

The Sherpas Meeting is considered as a major channel to push forward BRICS cooperation.

It aimed at political preparation for the leaders’ meeting for the 9th BRICS Summit to be held in Xiamen, China.

Nanjing: Know More

• Nanjing, capital of China’s eastern Jiangsu province, is roughly 300km up the Yangtze River from the city of Shanghai.
• It was the national capital during part of the Ming dynasty.
• It was earlier romanized as Nankin/Nanking.

The Momentum Jharkhand Global Investors’ Summit 2017 was held for two days at Khelgaon, Ranchi.

The summit was inaugurated by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 16 February 2017.

The objective of the summit was to establish Jharkhand as a premier investment destination for foreign and domestic investors in India.

Besides those from India, more than 9,000 delegates attended the summit from four partner countries ( Japan, Czech Republic, Tunisia and Mongolia).

The attendees were also from 28 other nations such as Australia, the US, the UK, Ukraine, Russia, China, Canada, Nepal, Nigeria, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Sudan, Korea, UAE, Italy, Oman, Venezuela and Pakistan among others.

It was a first of its kind initiative of the State government to showcase Jharkhand as an investment destination.

During the summit, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das explained in detail various labour and policy reforms undertaken by the State government to boost State’s Ease of Doing Business ranking.

The Government of Jharkhand, especially the Department of Industries, signed 209 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) during the Momentum Jharkhand Global Investors’ Summit.

The MoUs are expected to attract INR 3 lakh crore worth of investments from domestic and foreign sources into the State.

These agreements would create three lakh new jobs in the State.

The Essar group announced that the company would invest about Rs 10,000 crore in Jharkhand for setting up a 1200 MW power plant at Tori in Latehar district.

The company also announced development of Toskiud North Coal Mine with an estimated investment of about Rs 1100 crore.

Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla announced commitment of Rs 5,000 crore in investment in Jharkhand in various sectors including mining.

Jharkhand: Know More

• Founded: 15 November 2000
• Area: 79,714 km^²
• Capital: Ranchi
• Population: 31.9 million (2012)

The South Asian Speakers Summit 2017 concluded on 20 February 2017 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

The summit was organised for three days by the Parliament of India in association with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

The summit was held as a follow up to the conclusions of the South Asian Speakers’ Summit. The summit was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2016.

The focus of the summit was to evolve appropriate strategies to achieve goals set by the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda (SDA) of the United Nations.

The summit deliberated on chances and challenges that parliaments in South Asia face in making their contribution to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The agenda of the South Asian Speakers Summit embedded the gender perspective to reflect growing inequalities between men and women.

Discussions also focussed on the impact of climate change on economic and social development in the region. The participants of the summit also discussed measures to strengthen cooperation among parliaments to address today’s most pressing challenges.

IPU: Know More

• The IPU is the international organization of parliaments.
• It was established in 1889.
• The union is the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy.
• In October 2011, the IPU adopted its Strategy for 2012-2017 under the overall title – “ Better Parliaments, Stronger Democracy.”
• The IPU is financed primarily by its members out of public funds.

The first Indian Seed Congress - 2017, was held in Kolkata.

The theme of Seed Congress is “Seed of Joy” which is very much in line with vision of this government to bring happiness and prosperity in the lives of farmers by doubling their farm income by 2022.

On account of the strategic measures of this government, there has been enhancement in the availability of certified/quality seeds.

The availability of certified / quality seeds in the country has increased from less than 40 lakh quintal during decade of 60 to 370 lakh quintal in 2015-16.

State Governments aim to prepare variety wise seed rolling plants to meet year wise, season wise requirements of quality seeds.

This seed rolling plant will fulfil the double purpose of improving the Seed replacement rate along with Variety replacement rate so that sustainable agricultural production and productivity could be ensured.

Indian Seed Market is growing fast and during the recent past, hybrid seed market of vegetables and cereals has shown remarkable growth.

Indian Seed Industry can emerge as a prominent industry for supplying seeds in international markets.

India has great potentiality to produce hybrid seeds specially costly vegetable seeds on cheap rates as compared to the seeds of the other countries.

Apart from vegetables, the hybrid seeds of maize, paddy, pearl millet and cotton may be exported to SEI and African countries in magnitude.

Both the mineral and energy sectors today are at a critical juncture. The rapid expansions of both these sectors are necessary for inclusive growth of the country.

At the same time the effects of these growth on the environment, landmass, forest inhabitants, etc. need to be addressed.

With a view to encourage initiative and make the mining and minerals industry more competitive, the Government of India has opened up the sector to private entrepreneurs.

CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad organised the International Conference on "NexGen Technologies for Mining and Fuel Industries" [NxGnMiFu-2017] during February 15-17, 2017.

This was at New Delhi on the occasion of CSIR-Platinum Jubilee Celebration to commemorate 75th year of its foundation.

The conference focuses mainly on issues related to Innovative

• Mining Technologies for Complex Geo-mining Conditions;
• Mine Safety, Monitoring and Risk Management;
• Clean Coal Initiatives; Coal to Liquid, Methanol and Urea;
• Harnessing Coal Bed Methane, Shale Gas and Underground Coal Gasification;
• Technological Developments in Oil and Gas Sectors and Alternate Clean Energy Initiatives.

R&D needs to innovate new techniques, technologies and applications for clean, safe, symbiotic sustenance of society, environment and industries in post-2020 era will also be discussed.

Around 50 delegates from countries like, UK, Australia, China, Republic of Korea, Czech Republic, Germany, USA, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Nigeria etc. have registered as participants in the event.

More than 170 papers will be deliberated in the Conference which includes 9 keynote papers by eminent personalities who have made significant contributions in their respective areas and 141 oral presentations and 21 poster presentations.

Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananthkumar inaugurated the 2nd edition of India Pharma & India Medical Device International Conference in Bengaluru on 12th Feb 2017.

The three day event, with the Vision - ‘For Responsible Healthcare’, is being organized by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) from 11th-13th February, 2017.

The event was called a ‘Pharma and Medical Devices Kumbh.'

The medical industry has achieved a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 15%.

The sector would be worth $55 billion by 2020 from the present $32 billion.

India accounts for around 20% of the World’s generic medicine supply chain, exporting to over 250 countries globally.

Indian Pharma Industry provides over 60% of global vaccines.

Indian Pharma sector has received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) close to $14 billion and has generated employment for over 2.5 million people across India.

The Pharma Ministry also announced from the podium that Bengaluru, being the hub of Information technology and skilled manpower, would prove to be the ideal location to set up a Pharma and Med Tech Zone and hence the Ministry would work with the State Government to establish it soon.

This step would give a boost to domestic manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices in India under the Make in India mission, he added.

This marks the second time Karnataka is hosting this conference on Medical Device & Pharmaceutical sector.

This is giving the State an opportunity to emerge as the desired destination for investments under pharma & medical devices sector and give a boost to Make in India Mission in this sector.

The state pharma industry constitutes 264 manufacturing units that include small-medium, large, public sector and multinational companies.

The State stands 5th in Pharmaceuticals exports with 40% of its Pharma produce being exported overseas.

Pharma and Med Tech zone in Andhra Pradesh has attracted over 30 investment proposals from domestic and international pharma companies which has the potential to reduce the manufacturing cost of drugs and medical devices by around 30% as compared to global prices.

The India Pharma exhibition, being held as part of the event, will cover all the segments of the pharmaceutical industry starting from finished formulations, APIs, bio-pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals & intermediates, natural extracts and excipients.

India Medical Device exhibition will showcase med-tech innovations in India across segments from preventive to therapeutic care.

Leading Pharmaceutical & Medical Device companies will showcase their expertise and products to Indian and International Healthcare community at the exhibition that will result in creating new business opportunities.