3-Nov-2017: 7th Asia Ministerial Energy Roundtable held in Bangkok.
The 7th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER7) took place in Bangkok, Thailand from 1-3 November 2017.
The Government of Thailand hosted this prestigious biennial event, which is a key feature of the global energy dialogue promoted under the neutral banner of the International Energy Forum. The Ministerial was co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and was attended by Ministers, Vice Ministers, heads of International Organisations, and Thought Leaders of the industry.
In previous AMER events, IEF Ministers have recognised their interdependence and placed an emphasis on the need for trust and dialogue in building and sustaining partnerships. AMER6 was convened between the adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda (UNSDA) 2030 and the Paris Agreement in 2015 to discuss Asian energy market dynamics. This culminated in the endorsement of a proposal by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to establish an Asian Energy Efficiency Knowledge Sharing Framework under the IEF that has since been adopted by the 2nd G20 Energy Ministers Meeting (Beijing, June 2016) and the IEF15 Ministerial (Algiers, September 2016).
AMER7 built upon these outcomes to strengthen established partnerships and forge new bonds accordingly. This event ultimately underpins the development of the increasingly complex and dynamic relationships between energy producers and consumers in Asia and beyond.
31-Oct-2017: Shri Dharmendra Pradhan to attend 7th Asia Ministerial Energy Roundtable in Bangkok
The Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan will be on an official visit to Bangkok, Thailand from 01-02nd November 2017 to participate in the IEF 7thAsian Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER7). India is the current chair of International Energy Forum (IEF) which is promoting the AMER - a biennial event bringing together Energy Ministers and experts from Asian countries.
At the 7th AMER, Minister will participate in the Ministerial Roundtable and speak on “Natural Gas: Overcoming Market and Policy Hurdles to the Golden Age of Gas” along with Energy Ministers from Ministers Qatar, Brunei and Senior Representatives from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). Energy Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE, Thailand, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Brunei are also participating in the AMER.
In the recent years, India has played a leadership role in Oil and Gas sector. On 18th October 2017, Minister Pradhan participated in the 6th Annual LNG Producers Consumer Conference held in Tokyo, Japan and called for establishing a Liquid, Flexible and Global LNG Market between the countries providing a framework to cooperate in facilitating flexibility in LNG contracts, abolition of Destination Restriction Clause and also explore possibilities of cooperation in establishing reliable LNG spot price indices reflecting true LNG demand and supply. Shri Pradhan, during his meetings and interactions with OPEC Secretary General, has called for replacing the ‘Asian Premium’ with ‘Asian Discount’. He has emphasized the implementation of ‘Responsible and Reasonable Pricing’ by producing countries. In this background, the IEF, whose membership accounts for 90% of global supply and demand for oil and gas, is an important forum to share India’s views on global oil and gas scenario and the changes that are required to balance it better and benefit not only producers, but also consumers. The 7th AMER at Bangkok will be an important IEF event before India hosts the 16th IEF Ministerial meeting.
India is the current Chair of IEF and will host the 16th Ministerial Conference of the IEF in India schedule during April 2018. During his participation in the 7th AMER, Minister Pradhan will invite his counterparts from Asian countries to participate in the prestigious 16th IEF Ministerial Conference in India.
2-Nov-2017: 21st World Congress of mental health
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 21st World Congress of Mental Health being organised by the World Federation for Mental Health in partnership with Caring Foundation and other institutions in New Delhi.
The World Congress of Mental Health is taking place in India for the first time. And it has come here at an appropriate moment. Mental health issues are acquiring a serious magnitude in our country. Our National Mental Health Survey 2016 found that close to 14 per cent of India’s population required active mental health interventions.
Those living in metropolitan cities and those who are young – whether in the productive age group, or children and teenagers – are most vulnerable to mental illnesses. In India, we have a young population, with 65 per cent of our people below the age of 35. And our society is rapidly urbanising. This leaves us staring at a possible mental health epidemic.
The biggest obstacle that mental health patients have to encounter is stigma and denial. This leads to the issue being ignored or simply not discussed. We need to talk about mental health issues and treat ailments such as depression and stress as diseases that can be cured – not as guilty secrets that must be pushed under the carpet. A major gap in combating the mental health challenge is that of human resources. India is a country with 1.25 billion people but just 700,000 doctors – less than one million. In the field of mental health, the scarcity is even more acute. There are only about 5,000 psychiatrists and less than 2,000 clinical psychologists in our country.
India’s National Mental Health Programme is building 22 centres of excellence in the field of mental health. In parallel, the District Mental Health Programme has already covered 517 of the approximately 650 districts in India. It is taking the conversation about mental health to the grassroots of our society.
The World Congress will have sessions on yoga, meditation and traditional approaches to mental health.
30-Nov-2017: Meeting of Asia and Pacific Decade for Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022 in Beijing, China
Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot has headed the country’s delegation to attend the High Level Inter-Governmental Mid-point Review Meeting of Asia and Pacific Decade for Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022 in Beijing from 27th November to 1st December, 2017. The delegation includes Secretary of the Department and other senior officers. This meeting is being organized by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in cooperation with Government of China.
The main objective of the meeting is to review the progress made by the member States during the decade at the mid-point in 2017 with regard to Incheon Strategy ‘to make the right real’ for persons with disabilities in Asia and Pacific. Incheon Strategy has been adopted to achieve the goals mentioned in UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Another objective of the meeting is to discuss the future policy action for building disabilities-inclusive societies in the region, bearing in mind the synergies between the Incheon Strategy and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Union Minister, while making India’s statement at the Mid-Point Review Meeting, stated that India is committed to the principle of unity in diversity and the goal of inclusive development encompassing all segments of society including persons with disabilities. He invoked provisions of Indian Constitution which guarantees freedom, justice and equality to all individuals. He mentioned that India has enacted a new law namely ‘Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016’ in line with the provisions of UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The law guarantees a number of rights and entitlements such as right to equality and non-discrimination, community life, protection from violence and inhuman treatment, access to justice, home and family and reproductive rights. It mandates the provincial Governments to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy their rights equally with others. Some of the important affirmative actions under the said law include four per cent reservation in Government-aided higher educational institutes and five per cent reservation in poverty alleviation schemes and allotment of land for housing, setting up of business at concessional rate of interest, etc.
Shri Gehlot also mentioned that the Prime Minister of India has coined the word “Divyangjan”, i.e., “Persons with Divine Abilities” to address “Persons with Disabilities”. Use of the word “Divyangjan” aims at uplifting societal status, promoting non-discrimination and instilling a positive attitude about their lives and capabilities in the society.
He also spoke about Accessible India Campaign which is a flagship programme launched to create barrier-free environment for persons with disabilities. The campaign targets creation of physical and virtual infrastructure truly accessible to and inclusive of the persons with disabilities, and making public buildings, transport system and information and communication technologies accessible on a wide scale. The Government is pursuing the programme with the States so as to achieve the target within a given timeframe.
The Union Minister stated that India remains committed to building an enabling environment for the persons with disabilities, to enable them to enjoy their rights equally with others, and to realize their full potential. We are open to sharing best practices and international cooperation for empowerment and inclusion of persons with disabilities.
He urged the member States to utilize this opportunity of mid-point review of the Asia Pacific Decade for persons with disabilities and come out with practicable National and Regional action plans to achieve the goal of inclusion of persons with disabilities in the mainstream society. India would stand with the efforts made in this regard.
In conclusion, Shri Gehlot that he is looking forward to finalization of Beijing Declaration which will pave the way for better implementation to achieve empowerment and inclusion of persons with disabilities.