7-Sep-2020: Action packed agenda to mark the First World Solar Technology Summit
Curtains go up on the first World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) being organized by the International Solar Alliance (ISA), tomorrow afternoon (8th September, 1630 hours IST). More than 26000 participants from 149 countries have registered to join the virtual Summit which is expected to bring the spotlight on accelerating affordable and sustainable clean green energy by showcasing and deliberating on innovative state of the art next generation technologies in solar power.
Shri R.K. Singh, the President of the ISA Assembly and India’s Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister, and Ms. Barbara Pompili, the Co- President of the ISA Assembly and France’s Minister for Ecological Transition will be joined by the Vice Presidents of ISA from Africa, Asia Pacific and the Latin American and Caribbean Region (LAC) during the inaugural address. Prof K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India will grace the inaugural and set the context for the deliberations.
Ministers from several of ISA’s member countries will be joined by high-Level dignitaries, National Focal Points and senior government functionaries; Representatives of diplomatic missions, ISA Partners, business and industry leaders, solar project developers, solar manufacturers, R&D institutions, academia and think tanks, civil society, international organizations and donors, representatives of non-governmental and community-based organizations, academics, research and training institutes, international media, multilateral and bilateral agencies.
Nobel Laureate, Dr M Stanley Whittingham, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (jointly with John B Goodenough & Akira Yoshino) in 2019 for the revolutionizing discovery of the lithium ion batteries will deliver the key note address in the inaugural. Mr. Bernard Piccard, Founder and Chairman of Solar Impulse Foundation, Switzerland will address the gathering.
India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan will address the inaugural.
The President of the ISA Assembly, Shri R.K. Singh and the Co - President of the Assembly, Ms. Barbara Pompili will present the Presidential and Co Presidential address and set off the deliberations for the power packed session with CEOs and the four technical sessions which will follow. The Commissioner for Energy, European Commission Ms. Kadri Simpson representing the President of the European Commission will deliver a key message at the Summit.
The inaugural will witness the rolling of an action- packed agenda with the conclusion and announcement of three agreements between ISA and International Institute of Refrigeration, a second with Global Green Growth Institute and a third agreement with National Thermal Power Corporation. A tripartite agreement between India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the World Bank and the International Solar Alliance is also set to be inked. ISA’s technology journal, Solar Compass 360 will also be launched during the summit by Dr Dharendra Yogi Goswami, Professor in the University of South Florida and Director of the Clean Energy Research Centre.
The Global CEO’s session which follows the inaugural will see a moderated discussion between the CEOs of the world’s largest corporations that contribute greatly towards the promotion of solar energy integration with other renewables and storage for sustainable energy solutions. Four technical sessions will see a galaxy of renowned academicians, scientists, researchers as well as industry leaders deliberate on the future prospects of the solar PV technology and the vision for solar energy up to 2030 and beyond. Equally interesting sessions have been planned on exploring low cost – electricity (Towards a Decarbonized Grid) followed by intense deliberations on Disruptive Solar Technologies and Solar Beyond the Power Sector.
The valedictory session of the WSTS will be marked by the presence of high -level representatives of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Vice president of ISA representing the Asia Pacific region, Minister from Tonga, Mr. Paosi Mattaele Tei and the Minister from Sudan, Eng Khairy Abdelraman Ahmed will deliver the key note address. Ministers from India, the Railway and Commerce and Industry Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan will deliver the Chief Guest and Valedictory address respectively. The session will also be graced by the Secretary External Affairs Ministry, Mr. Rahul Chhabra; Power Secretary, Mr. S.N. Sahai; New and Renewable Energy Secretary, Mr. Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi. The PM’s Sherpa to the G7 and G20, Mr. Suresh Prabhu will send a message to the Summit.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), as the convenor of ISA Global Leadership Task Force on Innovation, is working with ISA in organizing the summit.
The entire proceedings will be available live in four languages: English, Spanish, French and Arabic. The complete programme will be livestreamed on ISA’s You Tube Channel. It will also be available on the FICCI You Tube Channel
15-Jul-2020: Union FPI Minister highlights champion segments in food processing sector for both countries to benefit mutually
Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal addressed the opening session of Digital Indo- Italian Business Mission on Food Processing' held virtually today. Under the two-day event, digital conferences, trade fair and B2B meetings are being held.
Highlighting the role of food processing sector in current scenario, Union Minister said that with a shift in the industry landscape, many food processing companies are attempting to diversify and expand their product line-up. She added that the versatile equipment that can produce many different product types, allowing companies to increase their output without major changes to their facilities will be the preference. She emphasized that the Italian Food and Equipment related companies therefore have much to look forward to the Indian markets in order to expand their global outreach. She added that India and Italy are natural partners, when it comes to the Food Processing Industry and in European Union, Italy has one of the largest Indian diaspora.
Smt. Badal emphasized on the role of India as a potential market. She stressed upon the new era of opportunities in the food processing sector with various segments emerging as the champion segments such as ready to eat, frozen food, superfood, nutraceuticals etc.
Smt. Badal further shared that countries are looking to re-align their supply chains and, India, also known as the world’s fruit & vegetable basket, offers ample opportunities for sourcing raw material. India also offers one of the fastest growing market for finished processed food products. She said that our experience of handling the pandemic shows that food Processing has emerged as a Champion sector.
Speaking about the Digital Sectorial business Mission, the Minister said that 23 Italian companies that are part of this Digital Mission are having a virtual exhibition of their products & services and would be having Business (B2B) Meetings with the end users and other industry players in India. She added that Meetings and the webinars would be spread across the key areas – Fruits & Vegetables, Cereals, Milk & Dairy processing, Packaging & Bottling and also there would be opportunities for technical collaborations with the units located in the Mega Food Parks. She further said that the engagement of the Associations from both India and Italy will ensure that there is an institutional connect as well.
Union Minister highlighted various opportunities offered by MoFPI in the form of ready infrastructure such as Mega food parks, Agri export zones and industrial parks/estates/clusters/nodes. She further shared details of schemes such as PMKSY, PM FME and the recent announcements made under Aatmanirbhar Bharat package.
The Minister concluded with best wishes to all the participants from India and Italy, and for the successful outcome for the event. She said that India looks forward to partnerships with Italy in the area of food processing, which shall further strengthen and consolidate relations between our two countries.
8-Jul-2020: PM Narendra Modi to deliver the inaugural address at India Global Week 2020
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address on Day 1 of India Global Week 2020. A three - day virtual conference themed ‘Be The Revival : India and a Better New World’, India Global Week 2020 will have 5000 global participants from 30 nations being addressed by 250 global speakers across 75 sessions.
Other high profile speakers participating at the event will include Dr. S. Jaishankar, Union External Affairs Minister, Sh. Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways, and Commerce & Industry, Lt Governor of J&K, GC Murmu, Isha Foundation Founder Sadhguru, Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, along with UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel, US Ambassador to India Ken Juster, and others.
It will also feature a never seen before performance “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” by Madhu Nataraj and a special 100 birth anniversary concert in tribute to the sitar maestro Ravi Shankar by three of his most eminent students.