Union Minister for Tourism, Shri G. Kishan Reddy and Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan co-chaired the 18th Annual General Body Meeting of Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati. The Ministers reviewed the working of the institute and discussed the way forward. A whole of Government approach towards skill development in the North East Region was suggested during the meeting. 

Millets & Organics 2023 – International Trade Fair kicks off in Thripuravasini, Bengaluru on Friday, 20th January. The three-day event was divided in multiple segments including Exhibition, Pavilion, B2B networking and much more. The trade fair is a platform for farmers, farmer groups, domestic and international companies, central and state institutions in organic and millet sector to connect and explore opportunities in agriculture, horticulture, processing, machinery and agri-technology. The first Organics and Millets Fair was held in 2017, the second and third editions in 2018 and 2019 in Bengaluru.

Indian Coast Guard Ships ICGS Shaurya and Rajveer were on a six-day visit to Chattogram, Bangladesh from 13 to 19 January, 2023 to enhance the cooperative engagements and interoperability under the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Indian and Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG). A joint exercise was held at sea with BCG ships to validate the established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in area of environmental protection and Search and Rescue at the end of the visit. 

The first ever joint exercise between the special forces of the Indian Army and the Egyptian Army named “Exercise Cyclone-I” is in progress at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan since 14 January 2023. The exercise aims to bolster defence co-operation between the two nations and focus on sharing professional skills and interoperability of Special Forces in desert terrain. Exercise “Cyclone - I” is the first exercise of its kind bringing the special forces of both the nations on a common platform. 

The Government is organizing a National SC-ST Hub Conclave in Mumbai on 23rd January, 2023. The day-long national conclave is being organized by the Union Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, at World Trade Centre, Mumbai, to promote the culture of entrepreneurship among members of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities and to spread awareness of the National SC-ST Hub (NSSH) and other schemes of the MSME Ministry. The event will be inaugurated by the Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane.  National SC ST Hub is being implemented by the Union Ministry of MSME to provide professional support to SC-ST entrepreneurs and thus promote inclusive growth. 

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, setting annual performance target for the year 2022-23. IREDA has demonstrated exceptional performance by securing 96.54 marks for the MoU of FY 2021-22. The company has supported Renewable Energy capacity addition of 19,502 MW in the country.

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), in collaboration with Government of Maharashtra, is organizing a two-day Regional Conference on the theme “e-Governance” on January 23 – 24, 2023 at Mumbai. More than 500 delegates from Pan India will attend the event in hybrid mode. This Conference is an effort to create a common platform to share experiences in the formulation and implementation of best practices in administrative training, capacity building to facilitate citizen centric governance, improved public service delivery through e-Governance, transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly effective administration.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) offers credit cards against Fixed Deposit to customers who don’t meet the eligibility criteria for regular credit cards. PNB becomes the first public sector bank to launch credit card against fixed deposits digitally. In a bid to attract deposits, PNB has increased the interest rate of fixed deposits across various tenures by 50 basis points. New rates of FDs are effective from January 1, 2023.

Chris Hipkins is set to succeed Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand’s prime minister.   Hipkins, 44, is a talented Politician. Ardern often turned to him to sort out difficult situations, most recently making him Police Minister at a time when concerns about law and order were denting the government’s popularity. The general election will be held on Oct. 14. Hipkins entered parliament in 2008 as the representative for Remutaka, a constituency just north of capital city Wellington.

Praveen Sharma, who was recommended for central deputation by the Ministry of Defence, has been selected for appointment as Director in the National Health Authority (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission) under M/o Health & Family Welfare for a period of five years. National Health Authority (NHA) is the apex body responsible for implementing India’s flagship public health insurance/assurance scheme called “Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana”.