* The United States has replaced China to become the India's top trading partner in 2021-22, this is reflecting strong economic ties between the two countries.

* The bilateral trade between two countries stood at $119.42 billion (2021-22) as against $80.51 billion in 2020-21, according to the data of the commerce ministry.

* Other top trading partner: China ($115.42 billion), The UAE ($72.9 billion), Saudi Arabia ($42,85 billion), Iraq ($34.33 billion) and Singapore ($30 billion).

Source : The Hindu Businessline

In a big decision taken on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the Uttarakhand government on Friday(27th May 2022) formed a drafting committee, in which five members have been included, and former judge Ranjana Desai has been made the chairman of the committee.

 

The five people included in the committee are - former Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh, former judge Ranjana Desai who is appointed as the chairman of the committee, former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai, former High Court judge Pramod Kohli, social worker Manu Gaur, and Doon University Vice-Chancellor Surekha Dangwal.

 

This comes as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the state would implement UCC. CM Dhami said, "Uttarakhand is the land of multiple gods and goddesses; the state also heavily contributes in terms of people serving the Armed forces. Thus there is a need for a common law for the people of Uttarakhand. As soon as the new government was formed, we took a decision that UCC will be implemented in the state. Thereby, Uttarakhand will be the second state to rollout UCC after Goa."..

Source : Republic World

Prime Minister "Narendra Modi" on Saturday(28th May 2022) inaugurated the World's first "Nano Urea" Liquid plant by IFFCO at Kalol, Gujarat in an effort to provide farmers the means to boost productivity and help increase their income.

 

The Prime Minister dedicated the Ultramodern Nano Urea Liquid Fertilizer plant to the Nation at a ceremony held at Gandhinagar. Amit Shah, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel and Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya were among those who were present on the occasion. 

 

IFFCO has set up additional manufacturing facilities for production of Nano Fertilisers at Aonla, Phulpur, Kalol (Expansion), Bengaluru and Paradeep, Kandla, Deoghar and Guwahati. All these units shall have design production capacity of 2 lakh bottles per day with a total investment of Rs 3,000 crore of which Rs 720 crore is already committed and will generate employment for thousands of people.

 

U S Awasthi, MD, IFFCO informed about the functioning of the plant and its various technologies with the help of a walkthrough video which was shown live through the launch..

Source : Deccan Herald

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, on Saturday(28th May 2022) organised a ‘National Outreach Meet’ for the second edition of the Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) at the International Centre, Goa.

 

Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) is a flagship programme of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. The programme aims to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance.

 

Continuing on the path to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has launched the ANIC 2.0 programme to proactively collaborate with ministries and the associated industries, and provide a steady stream of innovative products and solutions.

 

Each ANIC winner will be eligible for funding of up to Rs 1 crore. These winners will get mentorship, networking and incubation support by Atal Incubation Centres across the country, NITI Aayog said in a statement.

 

Program Director, AIM, NITI Aayog Pramit Dash interacted with Atal Incubation Centres and startups from Goa present at the event. He highlighted the relevance of ANIC 2.0 in the current innovation landscape and encouraged the stakeholders to champion the program at the national and state levels. He emphasised on supporting 100+ innovations in year 2022-23 through ANIC 2.0, across sectors.

 

The first edition of the ANIC programme received more than 1000 applications for 24 challenges and is currently supporting 30+ startups through grants, partnerships, networking, tech support, mentorship, infrastructure and access to investors, the NITI Aayog said..

Source : The Print

Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur has said that every university in the country can play a big role in the promotion of sports activities by creating a sports campus and providing training to the athletes.

He was speaking after inauguration of the Khashaba Jadhav Sports Complex in the premises of Savitribai Phule University in Pune today(28th May 2022). The Minister recalled how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has motivated athletes from different sports thus creating a sportive atmosphere in the country.

 

The Minister also unveiled a full-sized statue of Olympian wrestler Khashaba Jadhav and Swami Vivekananda inside the Pune University campus. Vice Chancellor of the University Dr. Karbhari Kale, Member of Parliament Girish Bapat and other dignitaries were present on this occasion. The dignitaries also took a round of the sports complex.

 

The sports complex is spread in an area of 27 acres and will feature world class infrastructure for synthetic athletics tracks, football, Austrian turf tennis courts, handball, kho-kho, kabaddi, table tennis, wrestling, badminton, boxing, gymnastics, swimming pool, hockey and more.

 

Mr Anurag Thakur is slated to attend a Dhol Tasha Programme, inauguration of Gulshe Talim SAI Kendra for wrestling and inauguration of Takshashila Sports City built by Pune Municipal Corporation later in the day..

Source : News On Air

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel launched the "Indian Business Portal" in New Delhi last evening. The portal will serve as an international trade hub for Indian exporters and foreign buyers. 

 

The portal is a business to business digital marketplace to empower small medium enterprises exporters, artisans and farmers to identify new markets for their products and grow their sales globally.

 

It is a business-to-business digital/ e-commerce marketplace to empower small medium enterprises exporters, artisans and farmers to identify new markets for their products and grow their sales globally and to help Indian exporters get global visibility.

 

Developed by : Federation of Indian Export Organizations

Source : News On Air

* Union Minister Jitendra Singh has inaugurated North India’s first Industrial Biotech Park at Ghatti, Kathua, Jammu.

* Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS of Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh  today(28th May 2022) said that Kathua is, because of its resource richness with diversity as well as its geographical location, destined to be North India's StartUp destination.

 

* The Union Minister said this after inaugurating North India’s first Industrial Biotech Park Ghatti, Kathua, Jammu along with Shri. Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor, UT of J&K.

 

* Dr. Jitendra Singh also said that this is the historic day for Kathua as the name of Kathua is now listed among those developed regions of India where biotech parks have been established, attracting innovations and research not only from the country but from the whole world..

Source : PIB

Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty has been appointed as the acting Chairperson of Lokpal by President Ram Nath Kovind, after Pinaki Chandra Ghose completed his tenure as the Lokpal Chief.

His tenure is effective from 28th May, till the appointment of new Chairperson.

* Anti-corruption authority or ombudsman body who represents public interest in India

* It consists of Chairperson and 8 members with 5 years tenure

* First Chairperson of Lokpal: Pinaki Chandra Ghose

Source : Hindustan Times

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the National Women Legislators’ Conference-2022 in Thiruvananthapuram today (May 26, 2022). The Conference is being hosted by the Kerala Legislative Assembly as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

 

Addressing the gathering, the President said that it is only appropriate that the National Women Legislators’ Conference is being held when the nation is preparing to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence. 

 

Under ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, we have been holding memorial events for more than a year now. People’s enthusiastic participation in various functions shows their zeal to connect with the past and rediscover for themselves the foundations of our Republic.

 

It was attended by 120 delegates from different states across India.

 

During the conference, Kerala higher education minister R Bindu moved a resolution to make 33% reservation for women in legislative bodies.

Source : PIB

Union Minister "Dr. Jitendra Singh" on Thursday(26th May 2022) inaugurated the country’s first ‘Lavendar festival’ at Jammu’s Bhaderwah where the cultivation of lavender has transformed the economy of the mountainous area.

 

The minister described Bhaderwah in the Doda district as the birthplace of India’s purple revolution, which he said was possible due to the visionary rural upliftment policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

Jitendra Singh accused previous governments of neglecting places like Bhaderwah and said the economy of such areas was now improving because of better connectivity through roads and tunnels created by the Modi government.

 

Lavender has changed the fortunes of farmers in Jammu and Kashmir under the ‘Aroma Mission or Purple Revolution’, an initiative of the Central government towards transforming the lives of UT’s farmers’ community..

Source : The States Man