10-Jul-2019: Second India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue held
The Second India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) was held in New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and Mr. Timur Maksimov, Deputy Minister of the Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
The Second meeting of the IRSED focused on six core areas of cooperation, namely, Development of Transport Infrastructure and Technologies; Development of Agriculture and Agro-Processing sector; Small and Medium Business support; Digital Transformation and Frontier Technologies; Cooperation in Trade, Banking, Finance, and Industry; and Tourism & Connectivity.
The IRSED comes at an opportune moment as India embarks upon ensuring the fruits of development devolve to the grassroots, as every citizen of the country becomes part of the growth & development process, as evidenced by a forward-looking Union Budget. Increased investment and international cooperation is key.
Results of today's discussions will help enhance strategic economic cooperation between our countries. We must discuss and prepare specific proposals for joint action in the future and establish economic relations which reflect the potential of cooperation between the two countries.
The Dialogue included parallel roundtables which discussed areas of cooperation and concrete roadmaps for future negotiations across outlined core areas. Participants included government officials, business leaders and experts, bringing in diverse perspectives for ideation.
The roundtable on Digital transformation and Frontier Transformation focussed on areas of collaboration between India and Russia in the digital space and frontier technologies. Various platforms developed by Russia and how these can be leveraged by India, and vice versa, and potential for future collaborations were discussed across various sectors such as payments platform, joint startup ecosystem, use of digital technology in various areas such as education, construction and skilling.
Development of Transport Infrastructure and Technologies roundtable discussed areas of cooperation across various modes of transport such as speed upgradation, safety and passenger comfort in railways, creation of twin ports between India and Russia, ship building and river navigation, research and development, and ensuring predictability of cost and movement schedules across transport corridors.
For increasing collaboration and cooperation between Small and Medium Businesses in India and Russia, the roundtable recommended setting up of nodal points of interaction between the two countries. Ensuring access to finance, seamless digital banking, access to E-markets and broad-based engagement across sectors were also discussed.
The roundtable on Agriculture and Agro-processing noted the dynamic nature of agriculture, livestock rearing and food processing in both countries and the immense opportunities of cooperation. Recommendations included closer communication between the respective agriculture ministries to streamline collaborative efforts. Reciprocity in terms of acceptance of certification, deployment of AI-backed frontline technologies and software were also under discussion.
The roundtable on Tourism and Connectivity highlighted the need to increase bilateral tourism and exploring natural avenues for economic and commercial partnerships. Expanding visitor itineraries for both countries, and creating more products for tourist interest such as yoga and medical tourism were also considered. Working towards improving regional connectivity and improving government and industry cooperation was also discussed.
The roundtable on Industrial Trade and Cooperation saw participation across industries in energy, finance and industries, which emphasised awareness exchange between the two countries in areas of investment opportunities. Exploring better Business-to-Business communication and collaboration, generating greater investment flows through public and private cooperation in an organised way were also discussed.
The IRSED was established following a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation during the 19th edition of the Annual India-Russia Bilateral Summit, which was held on October 5, 2018, in New Delhi.
The First India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue was held in St. Petersburg between November 25-26, 2018, and was chaired by Mr. Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog.
Actionable framework shall be worked out and included in the joint statement to be released soon.
14-Mar-2019: First Workshop on India Energy Modelling Forum Held
The NITI Aayog and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) organized the first workshop on development of the India Energy Modelling Forum (IEMF), which has been envisaged as a pan-stakeholder platform for debating ideas, scenario-planning & discussing the India's energy future.
The two-day workshop, being held with the support of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), was organized under the Sustainable Growth Pillar of the India-U.S. Strategic Energy Partnership. The inaugural session of the workshop was chaired by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog and Mr. Mark A. White, Mission Director, USAID India.
The IEMF seeks to provide a platform for leading experts and policy makers to study important energy and environmental issues and ensure induction of modelling and analysis in informed decision making process. The Forum aims to improve cooperation and coordination between modeling teams, the Government of India, knowledge partners and think-tanks, build capacity of Indian institutions, and identify issues for joint modeling activities and future areas of research.
The workshop featured eight expert sessions which saw discussions around the various aspects of setting up an India-centric energy modelling platform.
Discussions on energy modelling in India and the world explored how energy modelling can play an important role in decision-making. The panelists particularly laid focus on bridging the rural-urban divide and factoring in energy pressures from the informal economy within models. There was a need expressed to ensure that holistic perspective of energy consumption and ground realities must be inducted to produce practical and feasible energy models, converging land and water use patterns within energy models.
Deliberations included a spotlight on how the impact of the evolving character of India’s cities, industries and especially the transport sector should be included in the any India-centric models. The shift towards electric mobility, an increasing emphasis on mainstreaming of renewable energy options and overarching environmental concerns were also stated as key factors for determining India’s energy future.
The session featuring representatives of key central government ministries laid special emphasis on ensuring social, environmental and economic costs of energy production and consumption are accurately calculated to future-proof decision making and policy planning. The workshop included extensive discussions about the framework of an India Energy Modelling Forum and its institutional, coordination and funding mechanisms.
The workshop was attended by various Central Ministries and Agencies including Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, POSOCO, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Central Electricity Authority and TIFAC; international organizations such as the European Commission, International Institute of Applied System Analysis, GIZ, DFID, EDF etc.; leading Indian research institutions (CEEW, TERI, CSTEP, IRADe, PRAYAS, IIM Ahmedabad, NIT Bhopal etc.) and energy sector experts.
19-Mar-2018: President of India inaugurates festival of innovation and entrepreneurship
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE) and presented the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the vision of a newer and better India calls for meeting certain developmental milestones, some of these as early as 2022 – when we commemorate the 75th anniversary of our Independence. It focuses on building an inclusive and happy society, where every individual has the opportunity to realise his or her potential. An innovation society will be a goal for such an India. And an innovation culture will be a catalyst to help us reach that goal. This calls for revitalising every link in the innovation value chain. We need schools where children tinker rather than memorise and mug. We need work cultures where young talent looks up and questions – rather than looks down and nods. And of course we need the government to provide a facilitative environment.
The President said that innovations by themselves are not enough. We must also build an ecosystem for converting innovations into enterprises. This requires support for start-ups and for incubating young innovators. The concept of FINE brings the two wings of the bird of imagination together. We need to connect all the links of incubating innovations into enterprises by providing financial, mentoring and policy support.
FINE, an initiative to recognise, respect, showcase, reward innovations and to foster a supportive ecosystem for innovators, is being organised by Rashtrapati Bhavan in association with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and the National Innovation Foundation from March 19 to 23, 2018.
Integral to FINE will be an exhibition of innovations that will remain open for public viewing between 1200 hrs. to 1700 hrs. from March 20 to 23, 2018. Visitors can come through Gate number 35 of Rashtrapati Bhavan (near North Avenue).