The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force conducted an intense 96-hour long and multi-dimensional joint exercise Vayu Prahar to enhance the capability to conduct synergistic operations.
The exercise took place in the second week of March amid the ongoing standoff between India and China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The objective of the joint exercise was to enhance the operational capability of the Army to conduct air strikes in high altitude combat zones and to intensify the system for carrying out contingency operations.
Under this, coordination between various agencies of the army, quick mobilization, transportation and deployment of forces was practiced in a fixed time.
National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is organizing the first Urban Climate Film Festival through CITIIS program under U20 participatory programmes.
The event is being organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union.
A curated selection of 11 films from 9 countries will be screened to create wider awareness of the impact of climate change on life in cities and engage the public in the dialogue on sustainable urban development.
Selected films will be screened at Film Festivals in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. The Urban Climate Film Festival was inaugurated on 24 March at ML Bhartiya Auditorium, New Delhi.
The first Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting under India’s G-20 chairmanship will be held in Mumbai from 28 to 30 March, 2023.
Over 100 delegates from G-20 member states, invitees, regional groupings and international organizations will participate in discussions aimed at accelerating global trade and investment during the three-day meeting.
Barthwal said that on the first day, a seminar on ‘Trade Finance’ will be organized at Ballroom, Taj Lands End, Mumbai.
The role of banks, financial institutions, development finance institutions and export credit agencies in closing the trade finance gap, digitization and fintech solutions to improve trade finance will be discussed. This will be followed by a guided tour of the India Diamond Bourse.
The TIWG meeting on 29 March 2023 will be inaugurated by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India. Thereafter, TIWG priority issues focused on making business work for growth and prosperity and building resilient Global Value Chains (GVCs) will be discussed.
On the concluding day, TIWG priorities on integrating MSMEs into global trade and creating efficient logistics for trade will be discussed in two working sessions.
India is the third largest fish producing country, contributing 8% to global fish production and second in aquaculture production.
Fish production in 2021-22 is pegged at 16.24 million tonnes, including 4.12 million tonnes from marine fish production and 12.12 million tonnes from aquaculture.
Since the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) in the year 2020-21, the total fish production in the country has shown an increasing trend, registering a fish production of 162.48 lakh tonnes in 2021-22, which is higher than the 2019-20, it was 141.64 lakh tonnes.
The annual bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of UK- Konkan 2023 was conducted off the Konkan coast of the Arabian Sea from March 20 to 22, 2023.
Guided Missile Frigate INS Trishul and Type 23 Guided Missile Frigate HMS Lancaster participated in the exercise and carried out a series of sea exercises to enhance interoperability and adopt best practices.
The exercise covered all areas of maritime operations air, surface and sub-surface.
In addition, gunnery shoots on surface inflatable target ‘Killer Tomato’, helicopter operations, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare exercises, visit board search and seizure (VBSS), ship maneuvers and personnel exchanges were also included.
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu presented 3 Padma Vibhushan, 4 Padma Bhushan & 47 Padma Shri Awards for the year 2023 at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 22 March 2023 in the presence of Vice President of India, Prime Minister, Union Minister for Home Affairs and other dignitaries.
The awards are given in various disciplines/fields of activities, such as – arts, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field.
An Inter-Ministerial Delegation from India led by the Department of Commerce participated in the 2nd Indo-Pacific Economic Prosperity Framework (IPEF) Dialogue Round to be held in Bali, Indonesia from 13 to 19 March 2023.
Negotiators from 13 other countries including the US, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam also participated in the round of talks held in Bali.
During the Bali Round, discussions covered all the four pillars of the IPEF: Trade (Pillar I); Supply Chains (Pillar II); Clean Economy (Pillar III); and Fair Economy (Taxation & Anticorruption) – (Pillar IV). India participated in the discussions related to Pillars II to IV.
During the talks, India’s Chief Negotiator reiterated India’s belief that IPEF will further deepen economic cooperation and promote inclusive growth through increased trade and investment in the region. During the talks, the Chief Negotiators and Heads of Pillars also held bilateral meetings with IPEF countries and other relevant stakeholders.
The Income Tax Department has launched a free mobile app called AIS for taxpayers.
It will facilitate taxpayers to view the information available in Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS).
In the app, they can view various information related to TDS, interest, share transactions, tax payments, income tax refunds and GST data.
Taxpayers will also have the option and facility to provide feedback on the information displayed in the app.
To use this mobile app, the taxpayer needs to register on the app by providing the PAN number, OTP sent to the mobile number and authenticate with the e-mail registered on the e-filing portal. After authentication, the taxpayer can simply set a 4 digit PIN to access the mobile app.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has formally invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G-7 Hiroshima Summit.
Earlier on March 20, the two leaders held delegation-level talks in New Delhi, which will strengthen India-Japan relations.
India and Japan have signed two documents during the bilateral talks between The agreements included the renewal of a memorandum of cooperation in the Japanese language, and an exchange of notes on the JICA loan for 300 billion yen on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway project.
Prime Minister Modi emphasized that this year is unique as India and Japan are chairing the G-20 and G-7 respectively. Shri Modi said that the theme of tourism exchange year 2023 between India and Japan is to connect the Himalayas with Mount Fuji.
