India

Raisina Dialogue 2020:

Raisina Dialogue 2020

The annual conference “Raisina Dialogue2020” was hosted by the think-tankObserver Research Foundation (ORF) incollaboration with the Ministry ofExternal Affairs in New Delhi from 14 to16 January. The conference is amultilateral conference committed toaddressing challenges facing the globalcommunity, and has, since its inception in2016, emerged as India’s flagshipconference on geopolitics and security. Atthe “Raisina Dialogue 2020”, issues suchas response to climate change,technology and the digital age, and theimportance of democracy andmultilateralism were discussed. The

conference gathered prominentparticipants such as the foreign ministersof Australia, South Africa, CzechRepublic, Hungary, Denmark,Uzbekistan, Estonia, Latvia and theMaldives, as well as seven former headsof state and government of Sweden,Denmark, Canada, New Zealand,Afghanistan, Bhutan and South Korea.

107th Indian Science Congress:

PM Modi at the 107th Indian Science Congress

The 107th Indian Science Congress washeld at the University of AgriculturalSciences, Bengaluru from 3 to 7 Januaryunder the theme “Science & Technology:Rural Development”. In his inauguraladdress on 3 January, Prime Minister ShriNarendra Modi stated that the growthstory of India depended on itsachievements in the science and

__________________________________________________________Embassy of India, Niels Juels gate 30, 0244 Oslo Newsletter for January 2020Tel. 24115923; e-mail. commerce@indemb.no

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Newsletter for the month of January 2020

technology sector, and highlighted that thefour steps of “innovate, patent, produce andprosper” would lead India towards a fasterdevelopment. PM Modi also encouragedyoung scientists to work in the field ofrural development where there wereseveral opportunities for cheaper and betterinnovations.

Republic Day Parade:

Republic Day ParadePhoto: Tripsavvy.com

On 26 January, the Republic Day Paradewas held at the Rajpath Avenue in NewDelhi. The parade showcased the strengthof the three divisions of India’s armedforces (Army, Navy and Air Force), andalso included traditional dance troupes.This year, the Brazilian President JairBolsonaro was the Chief Guest at theRepublic Day Parade.

3rd Khelo India Youth Games 2020:From 10 to 22 January, the 3rd Khelo IndiaYouth Games 2020 were organized by theMinistry of Youth Affairs and Sports, GoI,in partnership with the Indian OlympicAssociation (IOA), School GamesFederation of India (SGFI) & Assam ashost state in Guwahati, Assam. During thegames, more than 6,000 athletes in the agegroups under-17 and under-21 from acrossthe country competed in 20 disciplines.

Indian States / Festivals

Ladakh:

Solar power in LadakhPhoto: Opindia.com

Ladakh is located in Northern India, andbecame a Union Territory (UT) on 31st

October, 2019, after bifurcating the stateJammu & Kashmir into two UTs (J&K andLadakh). The Union Territory consists oftwo districts, Leh and Kargil, which arealso the Territory’s two largest cities.Ladakh is characterized by being amountainous region, and the UnionTerritory is also known as the Land ofHigh Passes, being one of the highestaltitude places globally with averagealtitude at above 12,000 feet (approx. 3650metres). The economy of the UnionTerritory has traditionally been based onsmall-scale agriculture, with both livestockand crops constituting major parts of theeconomy. In recent years, the Governmentof India has initiated a number ofdevelopment projects for Ladakh in theareas of power, solar energy, education andtourism, with an estimated investment ofRs. 50,000 crore. The projects haveincluded the Srinagar-Leh TransmissionLine for electricity, 14 solar projects forLeh and Kargil, two new degree colleges,five new tourist circuits and tracks andsubsidized helicopter services and hospitalupgradation. With regard to thedevelopment requirement of the unionterritory, the government has made aprovision that the budget allocation forLadakh will remain non-lapsable, to enable

__________________________________________________________Embassy of India, Niels Juels gate 30, 0244 Oslo Newsletter for January 2020Tel. 24115923; e-mail. commerce@indemb.no

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local administration to make full use of thefunds. Moreover, the government plans todevelop and complete India’s largest solarproject of 7500 MW in Ladakh by 2023,and the project is expected to bringdevelopment and employmentopportunities in the Ladakh region.

Pangong Lake, LadakhPhoto: Holidify.com

Some of the most famous tourist attractionsin Ladakh are the Leh Palace, a nine multi-storey residence used to be occupied byroyals, various Buddhist monasteries andhistorical monuments like the Shanti Stupa,Thikse Gompa and Tso Gompa, andbeautiful lakes such as the Pangong Lake,Tso-Moriri Lake and Tso-Kar Lake. Othertourist attractions include valleys such asthe Nubra Valley which is also known asthe Orchard of Ladakh, Suru Valley andZanskar Valley, and the Khardung La Passwhich is the world’s highest motorablepass at a height of 18,380 feet (approx.5600 metres) above sea level.

Pongal Festival: The Pongal festival wascelebrated from 14 to 17 January acrosssouthern India. Pongal is a popular harvestand thanksgiving festival which marks thefirst day of the sun’s return to the northernhemisphere. The most important part ofthe festival is cooking on the second day ofthe Pongal dish, consisting of boiled milkand rice. In some parts of India, theharvest festival is also known as MakarSankranti and Lohri.

Pongal FestivalPhoto: Tripsavvy.com

International commercial &business activities in India

3rd Global Potato Conclave 2020: From28-31 January, the 3rd Global PotatoConclave 2020 was organized by theIndian Potato Association (IPA), IndianCouncil of Agricultural Research (ICAR),the ICAR Central Potato Research Instituteand the Peru-based International PotatoCenter (CIP) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Theconference gathered scientists from acrossthe world, potato farmers and otherstakeholders, and issues such as food andnutrition demand, shortage of plantingmaterial, supply chains, post-harvestlosses, enhanced processing and policysupport measures for production and use ofcertified seed, long-distance transport andexport promotion were discussed.Addressing the Conclave through videoconferencing, Prime Minister ShriNarendra Modi stated that his governmentwas taking rapid steps towards the goal ofdoubling the income of farmers by 2022.He also highlighted that the efforts offarmers combined with government policyhad made India among the top threecountries in the world in the production ofseveral food items.

India-Norway:

__________________________________________________________Embassy of India, Niels Juels gate 30, 0244 Oslo Newsletter for January 2020Tel. 24115923; e-mail. commerce@indemb.no

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1st Session of India-Norway Dialogue onTrade & Investment: From 15 to 16January, the 1st Session of India-NorwayDialogue on Trade & Investment (DTI)was held in New Delhi. The session wasbased on the Terms of Reference (ToR)signed between India and Norway inJanuary 2019, and issues such as blueeconomy, shipping & maritime, ICT,renewable energy and fisheries werediscussed. The main session on 16 Januarywas co-chaired by Ms. Nidhi ManiTripathi, Joint Secretary, Department ofCommerce, GoI, and Mr. Erling Rimestad,Director General, Norway’s Ministry ofTrade, Industry and Fisheries. Both sidesnoted that the dynamic nature ofcommercial exchange between the twocountries would result in increasingnumber of companies interested inestablishing and gaining access to themarkets in India and Norway.

Indian Community:

Celebration of the Republic Day ofIndia:

71st Republic Day of India

The Embassy celebrated the 71st RepublicDay on 26th January, 2020 with gaiety andenthusiasm at the Embassy premises. Following the flag-hoisting ceremony at10.00am, Cd’A a.i. Ms. Arundhati Dasread out the Hon’ble President’s Messageto the Nation. A group of Indian Diaspora

sang a number of patriotic songs on theoccasion. The ceremony was attended byover 300 Indian nationals, PIOs and friendsof India representing different walks oflife.

Celebration of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas2020 and Constitution Day of India:

Keynote Speaker Prof. Mads Andenas

Coinciding with celebration of thePravasi Bharatiya Divas 2020, theEmbassy celebrated the Constitution Dayon 10th January, 2020 and organized aTalk on “Constitution Day and Campaignon Citizens’ Duties” at Embassypremises. The Keynote Speaker Prof.Mads Andenas, Chair of the Faculty ofLaw, University of Oslo spoke on theIndian Constitution and its Article 51Awith a special focus on the 1st

Fundamental Duty to abide by theConstitution and respect its ideals andinstitutions, the National Flag and theNational Anthem. During the event, theEmbassy also organized screening of afilm “Mooknayak: Leader of the Silent”.The Guest of Honour Shri HimanshuGulati, Member of Parliament spoke on“Role of Indian Diaspora in strengtheningIndia-Norway Relations” and also sharedhis experiences of attending the YouthPBD 2019 as a Special Guest/PBDConvention 2019.

__________________________________________________________Embassy of India, Niels Juels gate 30, 0244 Oslo Newsletter for January 2020Tel. 24115923; e-mail. commerce@indemb.no

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