Greetings from the Embassy of India in Washington DC!
Welcome to the June 30, 2021, edition of our newsletter, bringing you important policy and high-impact news about India.
We hope you find it useful.
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Prime Minister Modi: India is a Natural Ally for the G7 |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is a natural ally for the G7 countries in defending the shared values from a host of threats stemming from authoritarianism, terrorism and violent extremism, disinformation and economic coercion. In a virtual address at a session on ‘open societies and open economies’ at the G7 summit, the prime minister highlighted India’s civilizational commitment to democracy, freedom of thought and liberty.
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Prime Minister Modi speaks to Vice President Kamala Harris |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on phone with Her Excellency Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States of America.
Vice President Harris informed Prime Minister about US plans to make vaccines against COVID-19 available to other countries, including India, under its "Strategy for Global Vaccine Sharing". Prime Minister expressed the hope to welcome Vice President Harris in India soon after the normalisation of the global health situation.
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Two-day Bilateral Exercise Between India, US Forces Concludes |
The two-day integrated bilateral exercise between the Indian and US Forces in the Indian Ocean Region concluded. Indian Navy along with Indian Air Force participated with US Navy Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group in the exercise.The exercise has been a key enabler in building interoperability and strengthening the defence coordination between the two nations and witnessed high tempo-naval operations at sea. |
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Prime Minister Modi Addresses United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification |
India is working towards restoring 2.6 crore hectares of degraded land by 2030 and assisting fellow developing countries to develop land-restoration strategies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. |
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External Minister Jaishankar Visits U.S. |
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Last month, Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar traveled to the United States to become the first Cabinet Minister from India to visit the United States after the election of President Joe Biden. During his visit, the External Affairs Minister met with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, held discussion with Congressional Leaders, and interacted with Business Leaders. |
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US, India Expand Research Collaboration on Covid-19 |
A seminar was co- hosted by Embassy of India and US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) on deepening India US Health care Cooperation and fighting pandemic. Among the panelists at the event were U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci; Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Taranjit Singh Sandhu; Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office; and Dr. Renu Swarup, secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
At the event Dr. Fauci Said “we continue to work with India on research related to SARS-COV-2 vaccines. We are also eager to involve Indian investigators and insights in global clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of various COVID-19 therapeutics” “Collaboration brings together our best minds from institutions in both countries”, Ambassador Sandhu said.
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Over 50 Countries Interested in CoWIN, India Ready to Share Open Source Software Free |
About 50 countries have shown interest in having a Co-WIN like system to run their vaccination drive, a senior official said Monday, adding India is ready to share the open source software free of cost. Dr R S Sharma, the chairman of the empowered group for Covid-19 vaccine administration, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed officials to create an open source version of the platform and give it free of cost to any country that wants it. |
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Senator Steve Daines (R-MT): India is the Fastest-Growing FinTech Market in the World |
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Republican Senator Steve Daines said India is the "fastest-growing" FinTech market in the world and far ahead of the US in terms of financial innovation. "India is among the fastest-growing FinTech markets in the world. In fact, India processed nearly 10 billion more real-time payments than China in 2020,” Daines said. |
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India’s Top Universities Recognized in QS World University Rankings 2022 |
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Three Indian Universities achieved a top-200 ranking in QS World University Rankings 2022. IISc Bengaluru was ranked first in the world for research, while IIT Bombay was ranked 177th and IIT Delhi ranked 185th.
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The third rendition of India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index has been launched by NITI Aayog on 3rdJune, 2021. This edition of the index report focuses on the significance of partnerships and is titled “SDG India Index & Dashboard, 2020-21: Partnerships in The Decade of Action”. First launched in December 2018, the index is the most significant tool for assessing progress on the SDGs in the country. The index has also been successful in driving the SDG agenda in the country by encouraging the development of State SDG vision documents and roadmaps, State and District Indicator Frameworks and in the institution of robust review and follow-up systems.
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India - US Vaccine Manufacturing Partnership |
During his discussions with Stanley C Erck, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director at Novavax, Sandhu said the partnership between Novavax and SII is another example of the “robust India-US healthcare cooperation”, especially in the manufacturing of affordable and accessible vaccines and medicines.
Erck briefed the Ambassador on the high efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine as per trials held so far. In January 2020, Novavax announced development of a coronavirus vaccine candidate. Subsequently Novavax and India’s SII had entered into a vaccine manufacture agreement with the Novovax vaccine expected to be distributed as 'Covavax' in India.
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Celebration of the 7th International Day of Yoga in the United States |
Embassy of India, Washington DC celebrated the 7th International Day of Yoga (IDY 2021) on Sunday 20 June 2021 at India House, with the theme “Yoga for Wellness”.
All the five Consulates of India in US namely New York, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and San Francisco also held various programs to mark IDY 2021.
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Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Relief Package of USD 84 Billion to Support Indian Economy in Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic |
Government of India has announced an economic relief and reforms package of around USD 84 billion to fight the impact of second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and also strengthen resilience of Indian economy. The relief package incentivizes investment in medical infrastructure; lends fillip to small entrepreneurs and self-employed persons; offers necessary support to tourism sector; adds to measures that boost production & exports and generate employment. |
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India to Have Over 2 Billion Vaccine doses by December 2021 |
The Indian government is confident that the country will be able to meet an ambitious target of having more than 2 billion coronavirus vaccine doses by the end of the year. The Government expects about 750 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that is being locally produced by the Serum Institute of India. Another 550 million doses of Covaxin, which is developed and produced by Indian company Bharat Biotech is also expected. Russia’s Sputnik vaccine — the third shot to get approved — will contribute about 156 million to the predicted tally. The government also expects 300 million doses of a vaccine candidate developed by local manufacturer Biological-E, 50 million doses from Zydus Cadila’s DNA-based candidate, 60 million doses from Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals’ mRNA-based candidate, 100 million doses of a nasal vaccine candidate from Bharat Biotech that is undergoing clinical trial and 200 million doses of Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine. |
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World Bank Forecasts Rapid Economic Growth for India |
In its latest issue of Global Economic Prospects, the World Bank forecasts 8.3 percent GDP growth in the fiscal year 2021-2022. The World Bank said that rising COVID vaccinations and stimulus will power the “Fastest worldwide expansion in nearly five decades.” The World Bank also noted India will benefit from policy support, including higher spending on infrastructure, rural development, and health. |
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India Commits $600 Million to Solar Energy |
The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, a subdivision of the Ministry of New & renewable Energy, is accepting bids from solar module manufacturers to set up new solar manufacturing units worth up to $600 million. Applicants may utilize either brownfield or greenfield manufacturing facilities with a minimum capacity of 1,000 megawatts. |
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Tap Water Connection for Every North-West Indian Household by 2022 |
Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced the allocation of $1.09 billion to ensure that the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, can provide tap water connections to every rural household by 2022 instead of the general target of 2024 under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The allocation made to these States is four times greater than the allocation made in 2020-21. The Minister also offered full assistance to these States and UTs for making provision of tap water supply in every rural home. Assured supply of potable tap water in every home will improve the lives of more than 50 million people living in villages in this region, especially women and girls. In 2019, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi announced the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to provide safe piped drinking water to every rural household in the country by 2024. Despite the lockdowns and disruptions due to COVID-19 pandemic, 42 million household have been provided tap water connection in the last 21 months. |
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Consular Wing Address:
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