TRILATERAL DIALOGUE AMONG INDIA, FRANCE & AUSTRALIA
A trilateral dialogue was held among India, France, and Australia on February 24, 2021, at the senior officials’ level, with a focus on further enhancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The aim of this trilateral dialogue is to build strong bilateral relation among the three countries and synergies their respective strength to ensure a peaceful, secure, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
It must be remembered that the first India-France-Australia Trilateral Dialogue was held virtually on September 9, 2020, at Foreign Secretary-level, for better coordination in the region.
At the senior official level, the Indian side was led by Joint Secretary (Europe West) in MEA, Sandeep Chakravorty, while the French side was led by Bertrand Lortholary, Director (Asia and Oceania), and the Australian side was led by Mr Gary Cowan, First Assistant Secretary (North and South Asia Division) and Mr John Geering, First Assistant Secretary (Europe and Latin America Division).
IRAKLI GARIBASHVILI SWORN AS NEW PM OF GEORGIA
The Parliament of Georgia confirmed Irakli Garibashvili as Prime Minister along with a vote of confidence in the cabinet Garibashvili put forward.
Garibashvili pledged to create a long-term development strategy for Georgia in his first one hundred days in office.
First, on the agenda, Garibashvili will continue the essential work of the government to ably manage the pandemic and accelerate the focus on rebuilding the economy while continuing to strengthen Georgia’s security and democratic institutions.
- Georgia Capital: Tbilisi
- Currency of Georgia: Georgian lari.
KARNATAKA SET UP NEW ‘FLOWER PROCESSING CENTRE’
The Karnataka State Horticulture Department is setting up a “Flower Processing Centre”, in collaboration with the International Flower Auction Bangalore (IFAB), to convert unsold flowers into various useful products.
The facility will provide support to the flower farmers who suffer huge losses whenever there is a glut or market disruption.
Growers can learn the art of flower processing from the centre.
The incubation centre will process flowers and convert them to value-added products such as natural dyes, floral papers, incense sticks, flower petal powder for cosmetic usage, floral embedded works, floral arts, and silica-stored flowers.
ICICI BANKS LAUNCHED NAMMA CHENNAI SMART CARD
ICICI Bank has announced the launch of a Common Payment Card System (CPCS) in partnership with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL) to provide citizens with a one-stop solution for making various kind of payments.
The prepaid card also facilitates retail payments within Chennai as well as in retail stores and e-commerce websites across the country.
This will offer a common payment card platform to residents for making payments for various services within the city.
The Namma Chennai Smart Card has various features, which residents can manage seamlessly online on a dedicated customer portal*. These include features like card block/unblock, activation, pin-reset, etc.
Additionally, in the coming days, residents will also be able to reload the card digitally through UPI on the customer portal or the iSmart City app.
Customers will also get exciting discount offers on the card around the year, which will be promoted in the coming days on the Bank’s website. Users also have the option to manage the card online through a dedicated customer portal or the iSmart City app.
- ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi.
- ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.
6TH INT. CONFERENCE ON. MEDICAL DEVICE SECTOR
The 6th edition of the International Conference on Pharmaceutical & Medical Device sector was inaugurated by Union Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, and Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Piyush Goyal.
The conference which includes INDIA PHARMA 2021 & INDIA MEDICAL DEVICE 2021 is scheduled to take place from February 25-26, 2021 & March 1-2, 2021.
The objectives of the Conference are to encourage and bring forward the best technology solutions and manufacturing, for the overall growth of the Pharma & Medical Device sector.
The theme of India Pharma 2021: ‘Indian Pharma Industry: “Future is Now”. The theme of India Medical Device 2021 is “India MedTech Future: Innovate & Make in India through Global Alliance”.
The conference is organised every year by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India, along with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
CHANDIGARH LAUNCHED ‘CARBON WATCH’ MOBILE APP
Chandigarh became the first state or Union Territory in India to launch Carbon Watch, a mobile application to assess the carbon footprint of an individual.
Although the app can be accessed by everyone, it has specific options for the residents of Chandigarh to compile a detailed study.
The application can be downloaded through a QR code in Android supported smart cell phones. Carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases-especially carbon dioxide-released into the atmosphere by particular human activity.
As a person downloads the application, they will need to fill details in four parts Water, Energy, Waste Generation and Transport (Vehicular movement).
In the category of Water, the person will be required to inform about the consumption of water. In the Energy category, the details regarding the electricity units consumed every month at the house, monthly bill etc and usage of solar energy will have to be furnished.
In the Waste category, the individual will need to inform about the waste generated on their part and their family. In the transport section, the individual will have to inform them about the mode of transport used by the- four-wheeler, two-wheeler or bicycle.
DUSHYANT CHAUTALA AS PRESIDENT OF TTFI
Dushyant Chautala has been re-elected as the President of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for a period of four years.
He was elected unanimously during the 84th annual meeting of the TTFI, on February 24, 2021. He is also the current Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana.
The 32-year-old was first elected as President of the TTFI in January 2017, becoming the youngest President in the history of TTFI.
Headquarters Table Tennis Federation of India: New Delhi.
Table Tennis Federation of India Founded: 1926.