16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit

The 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, attended by 118 member-States, concluded in the Iranian capital of Tehran on August 31, 2012, after the adoption of the outcome documents which lay emphasis on peace. Iranian President Mahmoud  Ahmadinejad, the rotating chairman of the summit, read part of the final documents at the closing ceremony of the event, and said that the participants unanimously expressed their commitments to the principles and objectives of the NAM.

Leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) rejected any foreign military interference in Syria, by approving the Final Declaration of the 16th Summit.

The 688-paragraph text and attached documents also included a condemnation of the US economic blockade against Cuba, support for Argentina’s sovereignty claim over the Falkland Islands, and repudiation of the constitutional coup d’etat in Paraguay.

They also expressed support for Ecuador in its diplomatic argument with Great Britain, following the asylum granted to the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and endorsed Venezuela as the venue for the 17th NAM Summit.

The rejection of terrorism and western double standards on that issue, food security, the fight against poverty, and the impact of diseases and natural phenomena in the economy of developing nations, were also included in the closing document.

The text also called for reform of the United Nations system, particularly of the Security Council, the peaceful settlement of disputes and global peace defence and dialogue among civilizations, religions, and cultural diversity.

Decolonization, the fight against terrorism, promotion of democracy, and North-South and South-South cooperation were all clearly discussed, along with the Palestinian cause and other conflicts taking place in Middle Eastern countries, in addition to the aforementioned conflict in Syria.

Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development concluded in Rio de Janeiro

Rio+20 the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012. The two-day conference was held with an objective to renew political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges. Heads of 172 States and Government marked their presence at the conference.
The themes for Rio+20 Conference were: (1) Green economy in the context of sustainable development poverty eradication
 (2) Institutional framework for sustainable development.
The representatives discussed eight core issues in the course of summit, which comprises decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.
The various stake holders of Rio+20 conference, agreed on seven specific committments. The committments made by the global stake holders in the summit include;
1. Planting 100 million trees by 2017
2. Greening 10000 square km of desert
3. Saving 1 Megawatt-hour of electricity per day
4. Empowering 5000 women entrepreneurs in green economy businesses in Africa
5. Establishing a Masters programme on sustainable development practice
6. Developing an Environmental Purchasing Policy 
7. Waste Minimization & Management strategy
8. Recycling 800000 tons per year of PVC by 2020

Background of the Rio+20 Conference

The conference marked the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro (Since the conference marked 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), it was named Rio+20). The conference also marked 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg and four decades of the 1972 Stockholm Conference or the UN Conference on Human Environment.
The global event on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) was organized in accordance with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 64/236 (A/RES/64/236). The UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Sha Zukang was appointed the UN Secretary-General for the Rio+20 Conference.
The summit provided global leaders with a chance to develop a collective framework to meet their poverty eradication goals while not letting the environment get destructed. The summit, which came after the failure of number of conferences such as Kyoto Summit, Copenhagen Summit, widely focused on the need of sustainable development and green economy by addressing environmental degradation and building a bridge to the future.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on Global Food Security
The United Nations Environment Programme released its food security report Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Basis of Food Security through Sustainable Food Systems during Rio+20 conference. The report noted that food security must be at the top of the priority list of country’s policy if the world has to provide food to its seven billion population - a number expected to cross nine billion mark by 2050.

Seventh G20 Summit held in Los Cabos, Mexico

The seventh G20 summit took place on 18,19 June 2012.Mexico chaired the summit.The summit took place in the city of Los Cabos in Mexico. It is a twenty member brigade, the  summit includes countries, South Africa, Canada, India, Mexico, United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Australia.The objectives and highlights of the summit is as follows :
THE G 20 DECLARATION
•    The leaders of the world's largest economies will help in boosting growth and job creation to repair the wounded global economy because of  the European financial crisis.
•    The statement also included the importance of easing the Spanish Crisis.
•    The Summit declaration also included investment in infrastructure in the developing countries, this decision would help in achieving global growth which was hauled due to the  falling state of the world economy and the Eurozone crisis.
•    All the Euro members of the G 20 will indulge in necessary policy measures to not only safe guard the integrity, but also stabilize the whole area. This would be done only by breaking the feedback loop between the sovereigns and the banks.
•    The summit has also recognized the progress made by China in market-determined exchanged rates.
•    The summit has singled out Saudi Arabia, by bringing in a Saudi pledge to keep the oil prices at bay and low. This is a step to ensure global economic well being.
•    European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy asked markets to focus on a European summit at the end of the month. It would eventually help the continent move deeper and help the economic and political integration to match its single currency.
•    The 14-page statement emphasized the need for growth because this is the only way they will solve the debt problem of the Eurozone.
•    The non-European members of the G20 have sent a message to Europe that it has to find a way that the Eurozone’s finances can be supervised by a triumvirate comprising the European Central Bank, the IMF and the EU.

INDIA'S CONTRIBUTION
•    Owing to the debt loaded 17 nation Euro zone, India on 19 June 2012 announced a $10 Billion contribution to the already existing IMF’s $430 Billion financial money.
•    The announcement was made by Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, India in the Seventh Summit, G 20 , Mexico.
•    The amount was contributed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the bailout fund, that would help them ease off a little burden from the debt scenario.

Seventh G 20 and G 20’s history
•    The seventh G 20 take took place in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos. The seventh summit was headed by  Mexico’s President, Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa.
•    The G 20 comprises the heads of the State or the Government.
•    The G 20 was first proposed by former Prime Minister of Canada, Paul Martin.
•    The next G20 Summit is scheduled in 2013 with Russia as the new chair.

The Group of Twenty, or G20, is the premier forum for international cooperation on the most important aspects of the international economic and financial agenda. It brings together the world’s major advanced and emerging economies.The G20 includes 19 country members and the European Union, which together represent around 90% of global GDP, 80% of global trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.The G 20 started in the year 1999, but it has been regular only since 2008.

Rio+20 summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio+20 summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The heads of 172 states and government marked their presence at the conference. The basic theme of the conference was Green economy in the context of sustainable development poverty eradication and institutional framework for sustainable development. The world famous beaches Copacabana and Ipanema lies in this beautiful city of the world.

G-8 Summit

The G-8 Summit was held on May 18-19, 2012, at Camp David, USA. This is the first G8 summit which the Russian head of state Vladimir Putin did not attend. Dmitry Medvedev, the Prime Minister of Russia attended instead.

The summit was intended as a venue for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement.
Traditionally, the host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda for negotiations, which take place primarily amongst multi-national civil servants known informally as “sherpas”.

The agenda for the 38th G-8 summit included some issues which remain unresolved from previous summits. For example, leaders at the G8 Summit in L’Aquila supported post-2012 plans for accelerating emissions reductions in aviation. Other issues were the effort to tackle a global hunger crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis, particularly following the fall of talks to form a Greek government following an election.

In its declaration the G-8 agreed “that all of our governments need to take actions to boost confidence and nurture recovery including reforms to raise productivity, growth and demand within a sustainable, credible and non-inflationary macroeconomic framework. We commit to fiscal responsibility and, in this context, we support sound and sustainable fiscal consolidation policies that take into account countries' evolving economic conditions and underpin confidence and economic recovery.”

The G-8 leaders also stated in the declaration that they agreed on the importance of a strong and cohesive euro-zone for global stability and recovery, and affirmed their interest in Greece remaining in the euro-zone while respecting its commitments. However, disagreement over economic growth favoured by France’s President François Hollande and fiscal responsibility favoured by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel also reflected in the G-8 summit declaration where the G-8 members stated, “The global economic recovery shows signs of promise, but significant headwinds persist. Against this background, we commit to take all necessary steps to strengthen and reinvigorate our economies and combat financial stresses, recognizing that the right measures are not the same for each of us.”

The G-8 leaders also discussed the nuclear program of Iran, North Korea's nuclear ambitions and the violent internal conflict in Syria. They agreed that Iran must prove that its nuclear programme is peaceful and that North Korea will be further isolated if it “continues down the path of provocation”. There was consensus among the G-8 that the Kofi Annan peace plan for Syria must be fully implemented.

The G8 also discussed the political transition in Burma. In this context President Obama said: “On a brighter note, we had the opportunity to discuss Burma, and all of us are hopeful that the political process and transition and transformation that is beginning to take place there takes root.”

The G-8 States also committed themselves to a New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition with African leaders and the private sector whose target it is to lift 50 million people from poverty within 10 years.

NATO Summit 2012

Leaders from around the world gathered in Chicago on May 20-21, 2012, for the NATO  summit, hosted by President Barack Obama.  This was the first time ever that a NATO summit was held in the United States outside of the nation's capital, Washington.

As NATO countries and those providing transit facilities to supplies for coalition forces in Afghanistan charted the post-2014 course in Chicago, they acknowledged that lasting peace in the strife-torn country would not be possible without the positive engagement of Pakistan.
The summit declaration at the Chicago Conference said: “The countries in the region, particularly Pakistan, have important roles in ensuring enduring peace, stability and security in Afghanistan and in facilitating the completion of the transition process.”

The summit declaration itself reflected the continuing deadlock between NATO and Pakistan over the reopening of the Ground Lines of Communication (GLOC/NATO supply lines).

The failure to arrive at an agreement on the conditions for the transit facility—particularly the cost of moving the shipment from Karachi to Afghanistan through Pakistan—spawned reports in the American media that U.S. President Barack Obama had refused to meet his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari for a bilateral engagement at Chicago.

The NATO countries also reiterated their resolve to remain engaged with Afghanistan after 2014 when the country enters what Mr. Karzai described as the transformational decade. Stating that NATO would continue to provide strong and long-term political and practical support through “our Enduring Partnership with Afghanistan”, the declaration articulates member countries’ willingness to work toward establishing “at the request” of Afghanistan a new “post-2014 mission of a different nature” to train, advise and assist the Afghan National Security Forces, including the Afghan Special Operations Forces.

G-20 Summit 2012 Declaration

The seventh meeting of the G-20 heads of government known as Mexico Summit was held in Los Cabos. The ongoing difficulties posed by the eurozone crisis took centre stage in the G-20 leaders. While other subjects, such as food security and green growth - were also addressed in the final leaders’ declaration. The summit has ended with a declaration against protectionism and for growth. During the summit the Euro Area members of the G20 pledged to take all necessary policy measures to safeguard the integrity and stability of the area, improve the functioning of financial markets and break the feedback loop between sovereigns and banks. Further Euro Area members committed to foster intra Euro Area adjustment through structural reforms to strengthen competitiveness in deficit countries and to promote demand and growth in surplus countries. The European Union members of the G20 are determined to move forward expeditiously on measures to support growth including through completing the European Single Market and making better use of European financial means, such as the European Investment Bank (EIB), pilot project bonds, and structural and cohesion funds, for more targeted investment, employment, growth and competitiveness, while maintaining the firm commitment to implement fiscal consolidation to be assessed on a structural basis. All G20 members pledged to take the necessary actions to strengthen global growth and restore confidence as strong, sustainable and balanced growth leads to higher job creation and increment in the welfare of people across. All G20 members have put forward structural reform commitments to strengthen and sustain global demand, foster job creation, contribute to global rebalancing and increase growth potential. These include product market reforms to increase competition, measures to stabilize the housing sector, labour market reforms to boost competitiveness and employment, as well as steps to strengthen social safety nets in a way that is fiscally responsible, advance tax reform to raise productivity, increase investment in infrastructure, and promote inclusive green growth and sustainable development as appropriate to country circumstances. The members reaffirmed their commitments for appropriate changes in labor market measures to create jobs with labor rights, social security coverage and decent income to enhance social inclusion and reduce poverty. Further the members also committed to intensify efforts to strengthen cooperation in education, skills development and training policies, including internship and on-the-job training, which support a successful school-to-work transition. Recognizing the importance of trade to boost up the economy of the nations, the members firmly committed to open trade and investment, expanding markets and resisting protectionism in all its forms, which are necessary conditions for sustained global economic recovery, jobs and development. Thus pledged to support strengthening process of the WTO by improving the way it conducts its regular business, and its dispute settlement system. The members committed to increase the resources of IMF which will enhance the IMF’s role in crisis prevention and resolution. These resources will be available for the whole membership of the IMF, and not earmarked for any particular region. These resources, which qualify as reserve assets, would be channeled through bilateral loans and investments such as note purchase agreements to the IMF’s General Resources Account under the modalities which have been approved by the IMF Executive Board. The Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture adopted by the Ministers of Agriculture in 2011 underlined that to feed a world population expected to exceed 9.3 billion by 2050; agricultural production will have to increase between 50 and 70 percent, and by almost 100 percent in developing countries. Thus to fight hunger, members committed to continue r initiatives such as the Tropical Agriculture Platform, the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management, the GEO Global Agriculture Monitoring, research initiatives for wheat, rice and corn, the Rapid Response Forum, regional emergency food reserves, the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program and support for the Principles of Responsible Agriculture Investment. Further they committed to remove export restrictions and extraordinary taxes on food purchased for non-commercial humanitarian purposes by the World Food Programme (WFP). The members also committed to take steps to deal with the growing problem of corruption and money laundering.

Second Geoscience Advisory Council (GAC) meeting

The second meeting of the Geoscience Advisory Council (GAC) held under the chairmanship of  Dinsha J.Patel, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Mines here today. While addressing the meeting the Minister stressed the importance of mineral resources that play a key role for economic development. The Minister expressed his concern about the scarcity of water which is vital for the well being of the society. He said that Geoscience community should address to the additional availability of water resource.

The Minister also urged scientific community for exploring deep-seated mineral deposits. He desired the members of the council to deliberate on the terms of references of the council and come up with innovative suggestions to guide the Geosciences activities of the country.

The Secretary Shri Vishwapati Trivedi in his address stressed on the relevance of a common forum to bring together the scientific institutions engaged in varied geoscientific activities for the advancement of geosciences for the benefit of humankind. He said that one of the foremost objectives of the GAC is to explore opportunities for long term strategic partnerships or cooperative arrangements with Central and State Ministries, Institutions, Universities and Private sector. In his address, the Secretary also emphasized the issues of exploring new areas of R&D, data management and sharing, environment, augmentation of natural resources and popularizing geosciences among the masses.

The Geoscience Advisory Council (GAC) is the highest policy planning forum to advise the Ministry of Mines and the Geological Survey of India in the matters of Earth Sciences. The Council comprises of Secretary level officials of the Govt. of India and Head of Departments of Governmental organizations and nominated experts who have long standing experience in various disciplines of Earth Sciences. The Council is expected to provide direction for framing concrete policies and appropriate road map for implementing the same.

Various GAC members like Dr.A.K.Singhvi, Prof.Mihir Deb, Prof. S.K.Tandon, Dr.Anupendu Gupta and representatives from different Ministries and Departments expressed their expert opinion on the lines of the Terms of References of the GAC for taking further crystallizing the mandate of GAC.

SUMMITS HELD ON 2012

1. 20th ASEAN Summit - Phnom Penh (Cambodia)
2. 4th BRICS summit - New Delhi
3. 10th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change - New Delhi
4. Arab summit 2012 - Baghdad (Iraq)
5. Nuclear security summit 2012 – Seoul (South Korea)
6. 12th Annual summit of European Union and India - New Delhi
7. G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting - Mexico City
8. Friends of Syria Meeting – Istanbul (Turkey)
9. 5th Ministerial level India-UK Economic Financial Dialogue – New Delhi
10. United Nation Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 – Rio de janeiro (Brazil)
11. 17th National youth Festival – Mangalore (Karnataka)
12. World Economic Forum – Davos (Switzerland)
13. World Polio Summit 2012 - New Delhi

India- UK Conference on Innovation and Skill Development

The India-UK Round Table Conference on Innovation and Skill Development was held on 20th April 2012 at New Delhi.

The Innovation round table discussions were focused on roadmap of India and UK on Innovation in education, framework for India-UK Partnerships, University Innovation clusters, Business University linkages, Centres of excellence and multi-partner collaborations, University incubation programmes and sandwich degrees/post doctoral research. The focused areas of discussion in the skills sector included strategy and roadmap on skills in India and UK; Qualification Framework, Leadership and Professional development and vocationalisation of secondary education. Both countries agreed for cooperation in all the above discussed areas.

Both countries agreed to collaborate in institutionalizing the process for improving the interface between institutions of higher learning and business in both the Innovation and Skill sectors by knowledge sharing, capacity building and developing pathways for commercialization and engaging the skilled manpower.

20 th ASEAN Summit

The ASEAN Heads of Government/State and the Secretary-General of ASEAN gathered at the Peace Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 3, 2012, for the 20th ASEAN Summit. Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia and the Chairman of the 20th ASEAN Summit, presided over the Plenary Session.

The ASEAN leaders discussed the progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Charter and Roadmap for an ASEAN Community, the progress of the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC), the Phnom Penh Agenda on ASEAN Community Building, the Phnom Penh Declaration on “ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny,” the Declaration on Drug-Free ASEAN 2015, the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM), G-20, Exchange of Views on Regional and International Issues, Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the ASEAN Global Dialogue.

Naval Commanders Conference - 2012

The Naval Commander’s Conference was conducted at New Delhi from 08-10 May 12. The Hon’ble Raksha Mantri inaugurated the conference and complimented the Indian Navy on its all round performance.

The Naval Commander’s discussed several important issues during the conference, including Operational Readiness, Coastal Security, Infrastructure Development, Information & Cyber Security as also Foreign Cooperation initiatives.

The necessity for the Indian Navy to incorporate quantum enhancement in technology, ranging from nuclear propulsion to advanced weapon platforms and networked systems, was highlighted by the CNS, especially in view of the recent induction of INS Chakra, the impending arrival of INS Vikramaditya and the P8-I Long Range Maritime Surveillance aircraft.

The CNS expressed satisfaction at the modernisation and capability enhancement of the Indian Navy, which was proceeding as per the Maritime Capability Perspective Plan. The CNS highlighted the fact, that 4-5 major warships and submarines were likely to be commissioned every year over the next five years and that Naval Aviation was poised for major growth in the years ahead.

Considering the ongoing expansion programme of the Indian Navy, a new ‘Safety Organisation’ to enhance safe operations of ships, submarines and aircraft was also discussed.

As 2012 is being observed as the ‘Year of the Ex-Serviceman’, several measures for enhancing the welfare of naval veterans and their widows were discussed for implementation. These include ‘Pension Adalats’ across the country, especially in rural areas and strengthening the delivery of the Ex-servicemen’s Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS).

The CNS concluded the conference by complimenting all personnel of the Indian Navy for their professionalism and patriotism, and exhorted them to continue to meet the maritime security challenges being faced by the nation.

International Sugar Council meets at Delhi to discuss Sugar Scenario

India is hosting the 41st Session of the International Sugar Council from 24th to 26th April 2012 at New Delhi. Briefing the media persons about the significance of the meet, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Prof. K.V. Thomas said that the meet will provide an opportunity to Indian Sugar sector to apprise itself of the latest developments in sugar industry across the world. It will also be an occasion to showcase the Indian sugar sector before the world.

Delegates from 32 countries and EU have confirmed their participation at the session being held under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.C. Gupta, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.

Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance, Shri Sharad Pawar, Minister for Agriculture & Cooperation and Food Processing Industry and Shri K.V. Thomas, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution will address the opening session on the morning of the 24th of April 2012. The first day of the three-day session will be devoted to a workshop with the theme “India-Key player in the world sugar economy”. The scientific advances in sugarcane development and utilization, cooperatives as a model for the sugar industry and new trends in the global market will be discussed. A panel of discussion on key improvements/ innovations undertaken in the Indian sugar industry has also been planned.

Addressing the media person Executive Director of ISO, Dr. Peter Baron said that India by its sheer size the Indian sugar industry is one of the powers in the world sugar economy. Over the last ten years Indian was on average the world’s biggest consumer of sugar and the second largest single producer. He said that due to significant India is at the same time is a market maker.

Reports of the Market Evaluation, Consumption and Statistics Committee (MECAS) of the ISO covering Alternative Sweeteners, Outlook for Sugar and Ethanol Production in Brazil and Sugar Market Development and Drivers in the Former Soviet Union States are scheduled to be presented on the 2nd day of the session.

The first day of the session is also open to participants from the Indian sugar industry. The members from the Indian Sugar Mills Association and National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories shall be present for the day-long workshop.

World it Forum Conference to Focus on ICT for Sustainable Development

India is all set to host World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) 2012 tomorrow in Vigyan Bhawan,New Delhi . The fifth edition of the coveted event is being organised by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), in partnership with the Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DEITy), Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India.

The Forum opens tomorrow with the inaugural address by Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communications and IT & HRD, Government of India. Other key speakers at the inaugural function are Mr. Janis Karklins, Assistant Director General, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO, Shri Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for Communications and IT, Government of India, Mr Leon Strous, President, IFIP and Shri J Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India

WITFOR will focus, on use of ICT in agriculture, education, health and e-Governance, within the overall theme of ‘ICT for Sustainable Human Development’. Representatives from over 30 countries will share their knowledge, views and best practices in the use of IT for governance and delivery of key public services, brought together on a common platform that will allow them to showcase successful, working models of the use of ICT for development.

WITFOR was born out of the need for emerging economies and developed countries to collaborate and harness the potential for digital technologies for sustainable development. Since its inception in 2003, World IT Forums have been held four times–in Vietnam (2009), Ethiopia (2007), Botswana (2005) and Lithuania (2003). The activities of the Forum are broadly guided by the World Summit on the Information Society`s (WSIS) Plan of Action, in order to help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The participation in WITFOR has risen from 600 to 1,500 in six years, bearing testimony to its robust content and the diversity of attendees. The WITFOR conferences help bring together a variety of stakeholders to discuss, debate and analyse ways in which ICT is powering the engine of growth and development in the emerging economies for policymakers and practitioners to share knowledge on ‘ICT for development’ with their international counterparts who are facing similar challenges in their countries.

With over 80 speakers from around the world, WITFOR 2012 aims to bring together a unique mix of policymakers and political leaders, social entrepreneurs, academic researchers, practitioners and executives, both from the private and public sector. Leaders from multilateral organisations like UNESCO, UNDP, the World Bank and from regional bodies like the West African Health Organisation will share their experiences in meeting the challenges of globalisation and sustainable development.

Other attendees include high-level dignitaries from the governments of Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Moldova, Paraguay, as well as senior members of academia and from across South Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa. The Forum, aimed primarily at fostering an informed debate among policymakers, will also bring together senior bureaucrats and technologists from South Korea, Canada, Nigeria, Kenya, Malaysia, Estonia, Moldova and Secretaries to the Government of India – both from the Centre and the states.

WITFOR is an important international event that places the host country on an international platform to showcase its achievements. So far, India has hosted only regional ICT/e-Governance international events and partnering in WITFOR 2012 will give Indian Policy Makers as well as Industry and opportunity not only to learn from other countries but will also open avenues for further cooperation and business development especially for innovative products such as Aakash and value added services delivered on Mobile Platforms. Also, WITFOR 2012 will give Indian States an opportunity to showcase their premier e-Governance projects and give international delegates an opportunity to visit such projects across India

The Forum will discuss the role of IT interventions in bringing about greater transparency in governance, issues of privacy and security while dealing with public databases, financial inclusion and ways of leveraging wireless technologies. It will also debate challenges related to the training of health workers, capacity building, evidence-based decision making to improve health outcomes, the role of government in primary healthcare, and the role of ICT in creating digital content, bridging the skills gap and the digital divide, as well as improving productivity, food security, knowledge transfer in the agriculture sector.

As a country with enormous ICT capabilities and equally immense socio-economic development challenges, India attracts significant international attention for its efforts to exploit the developmental potential of ICT. At the same time, Indian policymakers and practitioners can learn from the experiences of other countries. WITFOR 2012 will provide a unique opportunity for sharing knowledge on mobilising ICT for development, among a diverse range of professionals engaging in this effort in many countries with a variety of development challenges. WITFOR 2012 will provide a valuable forum for understanding how the power of ICT can be harnessed for sustainable development.

With nearly 1200 registrations , delegates are drawn from the public and private sectors across India, as well as from Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia, including participants from Greece, Poland, Finland, Croatia, Paraguay, South Korea, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. Indian delegates include senior government officials from various states, public enterprises, private sector and academia, from all across the country, as well as independent researchers, ICT enthusiasts, students, entrepreneurs and members of the academia and development practitioners.
WITFOR 2013 will be held in Paraguay.

Fourth BRICS (BRAZIL, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit was held in New Delhi

The Fourth BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi on 29 March 2012. The theme of the Summit was BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity. At the Summit, the Leaders of the BRICS countries discussed political, economic and social issues of mutual and international interest.
The Summit took forward the continuing efforts towards strengthening cooperation, consultation and coordination among the BRICS countries for the benefit of their peoples and of the international community.

Seoul Nuclear Security Summit

Seoul nuclear security summit was held on 26-27 March 2012 in South Korea. It was the second nuclear security summit. 53 heads of state and government, as well as representatives of the United Nations (UN), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), European Union (EU) and INTERPOL, attended the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit.

Compared to the 2010 Washington Summit, there were seven new participants: Azerbaijan, Denmark, Gabon, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and INTERPOL. The EU was represented by both the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, making the number of participating leaders 58 in total.

The next Nuclear Security Summit will be held in 2014 in the Netherlands. The first nuclear security summit was held in Washington, USA in April 2010.

12th Assembly of ASOSAI

The 12th meeting of the Assembly of Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), a regional group of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), will be inaugurated by the Governor of Rajasthan, Shri Shiv Raj Patil at Jaipur on February 29. Chief Minster of Rajasthan  Ashok Gehlot will release the Assembly logo. This will be addressed by C&AG of India Vinod Rai, Chairman INTOSAI, Secretary General INTOSAI and Chairman ASOSAI.

The ASOSAI aims to promote understanding and cooperation among member institutions through exchange of ideas and experiences in the field of public audit. It encourages, promotes and undertakes publication of research papers and professional articles in auditing and related fields. Established in 1979 with 11 members, the ASOSAI has now grown to 45 SAIs.

Prior to this, the 4th three day meeting of INTOSAI-Donor Steering Committee concluded on 25th February 2012. This meeting assumed significance as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was seen as a major supplier of capacity to the Supreme Audit Institutions which were looking for support in this area. The delegates to this meeting got a glimpse of the capacity building potential of Comptroller and Auditor General of India through a presentation on its training infrastructure and the various capacity building projects executed bilaterally by SAI India in developing SAIs.

NIOS Organises International Conference

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is organising a three day International conference on ‘Integration of Academic Courses with Vocational Education in Secondary Schools’, which was inaugurated February 17,  at New Delhi . Smt. Anshu Vaish, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy,

Vocational Education & Training (VET) being one of the key elements of the nation’s education initiative needs to be redefined to make it flexible, relevant, inclusive and sustainable. It is in this context that the NIOS is organising this conference to deliberate upon the impending challenges and issues and develop a framework to establish linkages of skill training through vocational education at secondary school level with emphasis on knowledge base through academic subjects.

The various sessions of the conference centre on the sub-themes of vocational skills and training to empower citizens; designing the curriculum and quality framework to strengthen the impact of vocational courses, use of technology in providing education; developing framework for the Recognition of Prior Learning and development of Assessment and Certification Framework.

Representatives from the Trade and Industry Associations, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Vocational Education Institutes, Educational planners and administrators and international experts in open learning are expected to participate in this conference.

Key Recommendations of 44th Session of Indian Labour Conference

Union Labour & Employment Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge today detailed about the recommendations made during the 44^th  Indian Labour Conference concluded at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Addressing the media persons he said this Session of the Indian Labour Conference had elaborate discussions on three agenda items - (i) Minimum Wages (ii) Social Security and (iii) Employability and Employment.

 

The Conference was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.   The Conference was attended by Labour Ministers from 14 State Governments. All the major 12 Central Trade Union Organisations and 6 major employers’ organisation participated in the Conference.  Besides, senior officials from 23 Central Ministries and all State Governments/UTs attended the Conference.  The International Labour Organisation Experts based at Delhi were also present. 

Shri Kharge referred the Prime Minister inaugural address in which he emphasized the great importance that the UPA Government attaches to the promotion of healthy industrial relations and well being of our workforce.  

Shri Kharge said   our huge unorganized sector poses great challenges in ensuring quality employment and extension social security coverage.  Minimum Wages are an important means of protecting the interest of the workers were not in the formal sector.  Our flagship health insurance scheme “Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana” has covered 2.5 crore Below Poverty Line families and this Scheme is being extended to cover other category of workers.

                                                                                  

According to the minister the Conference Committee on “Minimum Wages” recommended that the Minimum Wages Act should cover all employments and thus facilitate India’s ratification of ILO’s Convention No.131.  There was convergence of views towards making National Minimum Wages and make it applicable to any employment irrespective of the number of workers engaged.  Objective suggestions were made for linking minimum wages with NSSO Consumer Expenditure Survey and inflation.

Also the Conference Committee on “Social Security” had very focused discussion and came out with specific recommendations in the areas of raising the wage ceiling in the Employees Provident Fund, enhancement of pension under Employees Pension Scheme 95, portability of PF Account, reduction in the requirement of minimum continuous service, etc.   The Committee addressed the gender issues by recommending enhancement of maternity leave.  The MSME Sector and unorganized sector workers received special attention of the committee members.  Our Ministry’s RSBY Scheme has achieved a lot of success and various recommendations were received for bringing other category of workers under its coverage and adding other type of benefits in addition to the existing ones. 

Moreover, the Conference Committee on “Employability and Employment” recommendations laid stress on matching the large scale skilling targets with creating similar number of openings in the area of employment.  Labour intensive industries need to be promoted and protected.  The forthcoming National Employment Policy should be able to provide enabling framework for facilitating employment generation and decent work in the unorganized sector.  The Labour Market Information System should give real time information about skill requirements and skill availability. Other innovative suggestion were bringing the traditional skills under the certification system and involving MSMEs in skill development.  The road map for skilling 500 million persons by 2022 should be finalized in consultation with the tripartite partners. 

Shri Kharge said, this Session of the Conference carried forward the rich tradition of healthy social dialogue, spirit of accommodation and keeping interest of our workforce as the top most priority.   The tripartite partners have shown full concern to the important responsibility we have towards our country’s growth and safeguarding the basic interest of our workers.  We will be very closely following up with the implementation of policy solutions arrived at the Conference and the same will be reviewed in the meeting of the next Standing Labour Committee.

                The Recommendations of the Conference Committee on Employability and Employment are:

1.       Employment generation and Employability should be top agenda of the Govt.

2.       Though lot of focus  is  being laid on training of 500 million persons by 2022, there is a need to take appropriate measures for creation of employment opportunities to offer the matching employment.

3.       There is an urgent need to declare the National Employment  Policy in order to provide enabling framework for facilitating employment generation and decent working conditions for all.

4.       Investment in labour intensive industries should be promoted and incentivised.

5.       Labour Market Information System should be established to get skill requirement from the industry and available skills from the institutes. In this regard, employment exchanges may be modernized for providing virtual job market on real time basis.

6.       Skill mapping should be done at the local level  and inventory of skill assets should be created.

7.       ITIs should also focus on sectors beyond manufacturing and should concentrate on service sector. There is urgent need for quality assurance measures in training of ITIs and instructors.

8.       Emphasis should be laid on development of infrastructure including storage, processing and marketing in rural areas and agro-based industries.

9.       ITIs should focus more on popular trades keeping in view the requirement of the local industries.

10.    Institutional arrangements  for providing training in traditional skills should be encouraged and may  brought under certification system.

11.    Public awareness programme should be taken up, particularly in rural areas regarding the importance of skill development and certification of traditional skills.

12.    There should be functional and spatial integration of State and Central infrastructure and other available resources for optimal utilization of resources.

13.    MSMEs should be encouraged and supported to participate in the skill development efforts.

14.    Stipend of apprentices under the Apprentices Act should be enhanced.

15.    Existing and new Centres of Excellence/Clusters in traditional crafts should be strengthened and provided support in terms of marketing, credit, new technology, etc. to promote self-employment.

16.    Barriers should be removed from skilling and certification of illiterate and uneducated workers.

17.    Entrepreneurship and self-employment should be encouraged by providing necessary support.

18.    Existing employment in the unorganized sector should be safeguarded by assuring access to natural resources for those sectors dependent on them.  In order to increase their productivity, appropriate advanced tools and technology for traditional producers should be developed.

19.    Skill development should be promoted among the women and differently-abled persons.  To increase participation of women in skill development, special measures should be taken.

20.    Centres of Excellence should be established at the national and State levels  which  will produce world-class technicians.

21.    National level consultation with all the stakeholders should be held immediately to finalize the road-map for preparing skill development plan leading to skilled force of 500 million persons by 2022.

22.    Comprehensive steps should be taken to create environment for employment generation and protection.

23.    Trainers should be trained in large numbers to meet growing requirement.

                During the Conference a Committee was constituted to discuss Agenda Item No.(i) concerning Minimum Wages  and related issues. These issues, inter alia, include norms for fixation/revision of minimum rates of wages, Variable Dearness Allowance(VDA),  National Floor Level Minimum Wages etc. On the basis of detailed discussion, the following points emerged.

1.  There was consensus that the Government may fix minimum wages as per the norms/ criteria recommended by the 15^th ILC (1957) and the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court (Repttakos Co. Vs Workers’ Union) 1992.  The Government may take necessary steps accordingly.

2. There was a broad consensus that the Minimum Wages Act should cover all   employments and the existing restriction for its applicability on the scheduled employments only should be deleted. This will also help India ratify ILO Convention No.131.

3.  It was broadly agreed that there should be national minimum wages applicable to all employments throughout the country.

 4.There was broad agreement on the amendment proposals as listed out in Para 5(iv,  v & x).

    5.  In respect of 5 (iv), it was pointed out that the payment  to the apprentices should   be treated differently from the other categories.

    6.The Committee noted that at present there are 12 States/UTs who have not adopted  VDA. There was a broad consensus that all States/Uts should adopt VDA.

    7. It was also recommended that the payment of minimum wages should be done through Banks/Post Offices etc.

    8. As regards 5(vi), it was felt that the enforcing agencies should not be given the power of adjudication and, therefore, this proposal should be re-examined.

    9. The proposal of paying different minimum wages in respect of same employment    either in the Centre or in the State should be done away with.

  

          A Conference Committee was also constituted to discuss the agenda item No. (iii) i.e. “Social Security”.  On the basis of detailed discussions, the following points emerged :-

(i)                      There was a broad-based consensus that the wage ceiling for the application of EPF Act be increased from the present level of Rs.6,500/- to Rs.10,000/- or Rs.15,000/- as already applicable for the ESI Corporation.  Similarly, the ceiling for workers covered under EPF Act be reduced from 20 to 10.  However, Laghu Udyog Bharati was not agreeable to this reduction in ceiling of number of workers.

(ii)                    Minimum pension under the EPS 95 be increased to some floor level, which should not be less than Rs.1,000/-,  since a large number of workers receive pension which is less than that provided by the State Governments for elderly people which is normally in the range of Rs.400/- to Rs.1000/-. 

(iii)                  The PF Accounts be computerized urgently so that the workers are able to avail the facility of PF transfer and settlement immediately. Smart Cards like RSBY be issued to PF account holders.

(iv)                   Minimum ceiling of 5 years of continuous service be reduced in case of gratuity and gratuity be made transferable in case of change of job by the employee. 

(v)                     The maternity leave under the Maternity Benefit Act be increased from the present level of 12 weeks to 24 weeks.  This increased maternity benefits be made available only upto two children, while the lower limit  be continued for more than two children.

(vi)                   Accountability on the part of organizations implementing the social security schemes be fixed in order to ensure that the beneficiaries receive the deliverables in time.  Citizen Charters for these organizations be finalized early.

15th National Conference on e-Governance

The 15th National Conference on e-Governance held at KIIT Auditorium, KIIT University Campus, Bhubaneswar, Odisha on 9th-10th February 2012 under the joint auspices of the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances and Department of Information Technology, Government of India along with Department of Information Technology, Government of Odisha. At a time when many key technology and management strategies are transforming the way government gathers, shares and gleans knowledge from the explosion of information available to policy makers and practitioners, the 15th National Conference on e-Governance based on the theme " Towards Effective Electronic Service Delivery", provides a forum for intensive deliberations on critical issues by the e-Governance community of the country. It would explore how government departments will work collectively to simplify access to public information for accessible anywhere, anytime, and to everybody, ensure the accuracy and privacy of the information they share and analyze large data repositories to support actionable decision-making especially at the lowest level of governance in Gram Panchayats and Municipalities. Also understanding, measuring, reporting, most importantly improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the local governance and capacity required for successful and sustainable implementation would also be discussed.