Author: Deepika chandrasekar

On September 17, 2024, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 74th birthday, the Indian government released a report card celebrating its first 100 days. The document, titled “Modi 3.0 100 Days,” emphasized PM Modi’s significant foreign policy endeavors, including crucial visits to Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. During these 100 days, PM Modi’s foreign engagements were highlighted, such as his visit to Russia on July 8-9, where President Vladimir Putin awarded him the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle for his contributions to the India-Russia partnership. This visit underscored the deepening of the strategic relationship between the two nations. The report…

On September 16, 2024, Montevideo hosted the 6th round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and Uruguay. The Indian delegation was headed by Mr. Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) of the Ministry of External Affairs, while Mr. Nicolas Albertoni, Vice Foreign Minister of Uruguay, led the Uruguayan team. The previous meeting took place in New Delhi in March 2023, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. This round of discussions focused on assessing the progress of bilateral relations and exploring potential new areas for collaboration. The talks covered a wide range of sectors, including Trade and Investment, Information & Communication…

During the inauguration of a digital tower at Ramdeobaba University in Nagpur, Vice President of India, Mr. Jagdeep Dhankhar, delivered a powerful speech outlining a bold vision for the country’s future. He proclaimed that India is no longer a “sleeping giant” but is now on an unstoppable path of progress, firmly anchored in the values of democracy and education. He stressed the critical importance of education as a societal service rather than a commercial endeavor, asserting that “the quality of education defines democracy.” This viewpoint highlights the essential role of education in empowering citizens with knowledge and skills, which are…

Last Saturday, hundreds of Hindu youths from across the nation assembled for the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha Youth Summit. Held at the Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud Dharmic Sanskritik Kendra in Prashad Nagar, Georgetown, this two-day event carried the theme “Empowering Hindu Youth Leadership: Leveraging Hindu Wisdom and Cultural Expression for Positive Social Change.” Celebrating GHDS’s 50th anniversary, the summit aimed to bolster Hindu youth leadership and promote cultural expression for social betterment. The event featured engaging discussions, informative sessions, and networking opportunities to inspire dialogue and drive impactful change. Dr. Amit Telang, High Commissioner of India, inaugurated the summit by…

At Apple’s recent iPhone 16 launch event at Cupertino Park, three engineers of Indian origin took the spotlight with their groundbreaking contributions to the company’s latest technological marvel. The iPhone 16, Apple’s first smartphone with integrated artificial intelligence, owes much of its innovative edge to the efforts of these engineers, from advancements in camera technology to breakthroughs in chip design. During the keynote, attention was centred on three key figures: product manager Piyush Pratik, camera hardware engineering manager Paulom Shah, and Sribalan Santhanam, vice-president of Apple’s silicon engineering group. Each of them played a critical role in the development of…

India is set to play a pivotal role in global economic growth over the next decade, contributing 20% of the world’s economic expansion as it moves towards becoming the third-largest economy globally, according to G20 Sherpa Mr. Amitabh Kant. Speaking at the AIMA convention, Mr. Kant underscored that India is not only the fastest-growing major economy but is also positioned as the fifth largest at present. He confidently predicted that within the next three years, India will surpass both Japan and Germany, securing its place as the third-largest economy in the world. Mr. Kant described India as a significant outlier…

At the second Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in New Delhi, India’s Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. K. Rammohan Naidu, emphasised the nation’s ambitions to become a global aviation hub and kickstart domestic aircraft manufacturing. He emphasised the importance of infrastructure, integration, and innovation in achieving sustainable growth in the sector. India’s civil aviation market, one of the fastest-growing globally, has seen a significant expansion in fleet size, domestic passengers, and operational airports since 2014. Mr. Naidu also outlined plans to increase the number of airports from the current 157 to 350-400 by 2047, positioning India as a…

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah announced a major new initiative to enhance India’s cybersecurity. Over the next five years, the Centre plans to train 5,000 ‘Cyber Commandos’ to tackle the increasing threat of cybercrime. This announcement was made during the first foundation day of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), where Shah also launched the ‘Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre’ (CFMC). Shah highlighted the importance of collaboration among stakeholders to address the borderless nature of cybercrime, stating, “The country’s progress is not possible without cybersecurity.” The new ‘Cyber Commandos’ program will create a specialized unit across…

Amway has set its sights on making India one of its top three global markets within the next five years, according to Rajneesh Chopra, Managing Director of Amway India. The company has invested $4 million (around Rs 35 crore) to establish four new research and development centres across India in Gurugram, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Dindigul (Tamil Nadu). This investment aims to enhance Amway’s product development capabilities, particularly in nutrition, beauty, and personal care. Chopra noted that Amway currently operates with around 550,000 active distributors and over 2 million customers in India. The company’s goal is to expand its customer base…

During a Q&A session at the Economic Club of New York, Donald Trump faced criticism for dodging a question on his childcare plan, including from the woman who posed the question, Reshma Saujani, an Indian American trustee of the club. Saujani, founder of Moms First and Girls Who Code, expressed her frustration on social media platform X, calling Trump’s response “incomprehensible at best, and at worst, outrageously offensive to the millions of families drowning in costs.” Saujani had raised the critical issue of childcare costs, explaining how they burden the U.S. economy by over $142 billion annually, outpacing inflation. She…