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India needs to work with New Zealand in agriculture sector, says Kant

Amitabh Kant noted that the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) should work with New Zealand in diary sector…reports Asian Lite News

Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Tuesday said that India and New Zealand need to openly work in agriculture sector. He stressed that New Zealand has great expertise in the agriculture productivities sector.

While speaking at the event on “Partnership Pathway: New Zealand India Economic Relations alongside New Zealand’s Minister for Trade Todd McClay, he said, “I’m a great believer that it will greatly benefit India if you were to use New Zealand’s great expertise in the field of agriculture productivities. It’s a phenomenal destination as far as agriculture product productivity is concerned.”

“It does a lot of high-value production and India is an agrarian country. Almost 40 percent of Indians are in agriculture, but we need to increase earnings from the agriculture sector in a very big way and to my mind the real linkage movement between production to the end consumer through value-added production really holds just a key to that and there’s no better destination than learning the art from New Zealand. We need to openly work with New Zealand in this area,” he added.

Amitabh Kant noted that the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) should work with New Zealand in diary sector. He said, “You know we feel very protective about our farmers as far as the dairy sector is concerned and I am very clear about this that Fonterra etc are top class company giving massive amount of value added in milk. Now, we should not feel very threatened about it.

“We should get NDDB [National Dairy Development Board] to work with them. As you know it could be a strategic partnership so that Indian companies should gain from that and that will help us to get into a range of value of production in dairy sector. Their dairy sector is the most advanced in the world and I think there’s plenty to put India to get on that,” he added.

He said that India can greatly benefit from New Zealand’s technological expertise and knowledge of kiwis. He spoke about eating fine kiwis in Arunachal Pradesh which he said were there due to a New Zealand working in partnership with Arunachal to produce kiwis.

“I’m a great believer that you know I went to Arunachal and some the really fine kiwis that I had were in Arunachal which was thanks to a New Zealand working in partnership with the state of Arunachal to produce kiwis that were climatically very well suited and I think my personal view is Minister that don’t restrict to just one state spread across the Northeast and India, I can assure you will greatly benefit from your technical expertise and knowledge of kiwis. We are a very large country. We are bigger than 24 countries of Europe +30 thousand kilometres. So one region of India will be able to benefit radically in terms of productivity,” he said.

Hailing India’s growth in the digital sector, he said every Indian has a digital identity. He stated that all Indians have bank accounts have been linked with digital identity and mobile number.

He said, “The other area which is to my mind very important is that India is very digitally advanced. Every Indian has a digital identity. All Indians have bank accounts and we have linked it up with the digital identity and the mobile number. We do 48 percent of the fast payments in the world. We do 11x of what USA and Europe do. We do four x more fast savings than what China does.”

Amitabh Kant said that people in India do paperless and cashless lending. He said that India and New Zealand must collaborate in digital sector. He said India is more advanced in digital sector than any other country in the world.

Speaking India doing cashless transactions, he said, “we now do paperless, cashless lending. We do paperless, cashless insurance on the go in one minute. Now these are things on which India and New Zealand must collaborate. I think that can be a Winwin. I think we are more advanced than any country in the world, and yet the digital we built up a techno economic solution where the power of data remains with the citizen.”

“It gives access to it technologically on the go, and therefore it’s a very different model from the Big Tech, a model of Google and Facebook and Meta and Apple and Amazon in US and Tencent and Alibaba in China. And that’s some model from which I think New Zealand can greatly benefit as far as technological rerum in that area is concerned,” he added.

He said that India and New Zealand can also collaborate in the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME). He noted that there are a vast opportunities across a numbr of areas.

He noted, “There are several MSMEs which collaborate with New Zealand companies and I think that opportunity is massive, it’s huge and I think we need to provide greater impetus to it so that we can benefit from the technical experities and knowledge of New Zealand and we can greatly benefit from each other’s expertise in several areas in the MSME sector.”

Praising the scenic beauty of New Zealand, he said that bollywood films can be shot in New Zealand. He further said that post-production work can also be done in New Zealand which he stressed will be beneficial for both the nations.

He said, The other area which I really feel is a great opportunity is that you know with I’ve seen a lot of the rings and I’ve seen the studio in New Zealand land where it was actually the post-production work is done. It is really top class and I really wondered as why New Zealand has not been able to attract many more bollywood films to be shot in New Zealand…..So I really feel that all these top of the line films should be shot in New Zealand and I really feel that a lot of post-production work can also be done in New Zealand which can be of great benefit to both the countries.”

He also called for collaboration between the two nations in the education sector. Kant said that New Zealand should collaborate with several Indian universities and give joint collaborative degrees. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Films reflect India’s soft power: Amitabh Kant

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India focused on economic development, says Kant

Kant further said as G20 President, the job of India is to bring consensus on a vast range of issues, including economic and developmental issues, which are impacting the emerging markets of the world…reports Asian Lite News

India’s G20 Presidency will remain focused on economic development issues and endeavour to bring all the member countries, including Russia and China, on board amid the ongoing geo-political uncertainties, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Thursday. Addressing ‘Times Network India Economic Conclave’, Kant further said that during the G20 Summit here in September, there is a need to remain focused on objectives of economic development and leave politics to the United Nations (UN) and United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

“We are living in the world of politics, but we should be clear of our objectives… We remain focused on economic development and economic growth that is India’s priority,” he said while responding to a question on forging consensus at the G20 Summit.

India assumed the presidency of G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to November 31, 2023. The G20 Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10.

“So, we will bring everyone around…We are very hopeful. Our objective is to really bring all the 20 countries, including Russia and China, on board and find a way out,” Kant said. He also said that for the first time, India is setting the agenda for G20, and the whole world is responding to its positive and constructive initiatives.

Kant further said as G20 President, the job of India is to bring consensus on a vast range of issues, including economic and developmental issues, which are impacting the emerging markets of the world.

“If you look back over the years, in the last five or six decades, we have actually responded to an agenda set by the developed world always. “This is the first time that India is setting an agenda for G20, which accounts for about 85 per cent of the global GDP,” he said.

The Group of Twenty (G20) is an intergovernmental forum, comprising 19 countries and the European Union. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the US and the UK are among other members.

“So, we are setting the agenda, and the world is responding to that agenda. And therefore, we picked up a very positive, very constructive development agenda, which takes care of emerging markets, which takes care of the global south and takes care of very human-centric, global development,” the former Niti Aayog CEO said.

Responding to a question on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Mr Kant said the war is an important issue for Europe. He pointed out that Covid-19 has left 200 million people below the poverty line, 100 million people have lost their jobs, 75 countries in the world are facing a global debt crisis, and 1/3 of the world is in recession.

Kant further said the world is facing a crisis of climate action and climate finance. “These are very important issues for emerging markets and developing countries. These issues need to be brought to the centre stage, not just the issue,” he emphasised.

Responding to criticism that India is not on the right side of history as it has not directly condemned Russia, Kant said India looks at the world as a whole. “We should not end up getting caught in just one issue. It’s very important to look beyond this issue to understand what the citizens of the world are confronted with and find a solution to the challenges.” Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The Russian action has been widely condemned by the US-led West.

“If we get just caught up in that one issue, we will be forgetting all the other challenges, which both emerging and developing countries are confronted with,” he said, adding that it is very important to focus on all these issues.

ALSO READ-New Projects, Tourism Transform Naya Kashmir

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G20 meeting in Kashmir will spread message of peace, says Kant

Abhijeet Patil, Chairman of Raja Rani Travels called connecting film tourism with Kashmir a “masterstroke” and added that “there will definitely be some takeaway in the future.”…reports Asian Lite News

India G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Monday said that the G20 Tourism Group meeting in Kashmir will spread the message of progress, prosperity and tourism.

He called tourism a “big employment creator” and stressed that it has a “huge multiplier impact.” Speaking to ANI, Amitabh Kant said, “All the guests who have come from different parts of the world. All the countries which are represented here are very, very happy. They have got a lot of warmth, affection, great Kashmiri hospitality. They are enjoying the beauty and charm of Kashmir. Now, tourism is a big employment creator. It has a huge multiplier impact. It is the biggest job creator. And this meeting will spread the message of peace, of progress, of prosperity, of tourism being a very key driver, particularly for culture, particularly for filmmaking, it will help us to have a huge job creation.”

Amitabh Kant said that the essential aspect of the G20 meeting will lead to greater job creation in Kashmir. He said that it will help to promote Kashmir’s handloom, handicrafts, walnut fruit and pashmina.

“The essential aspect of this G20 will lead to greater and greater and greater job creation in Kashmir. That is what our objective is through travel and tourism. It will help us to promote handloom. It will help us to promote the handicrafts of Kashmir which are very good. It’ll help us to promote the cricket bat, the walnut fruit, the pashmina of Kashmir. All these products will promote in a very big way,” Amitabh Kant said.

Responding to a question regarding how much more tourism will grow in Kashmir with this event, he said, “I think Kashmir will be packed for years to come. Kashmir in the years to come will see huge buoyant growth of travel and tourism. You will get very good high-value tourists coming here. This will help us to promote and market Kashmir as a destination all over the world.”

Abhijeet Patil, Chairman of Raja Rani Travels called connecting film tourism with Kashmir a “masterstroke” and added that “there will definitely be some takeaway in the future.”

Srinagar ready to welcome the G20 delegates for the 3rd tourism working group Summit. Delegates from different countries will arrive in the city to attend the summit between May 22 and 25th at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convocation Centre (SKICC) on the banks of Dal Lake Srinagar. 
Srinagar ready to welcome the G20 delegates for the 3rd tourism working group Summit. Delegates from different countries will arrive in the city to attend the summit between May 22 and 25th at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convocation Centre (SKICC) on the banks of Dal Lake Srinagar. 
Srinagar ready to welcome the G20 delegates for the 3rd tourism working group Summit. Delegates from different countries will arrive in the city to attend the summit between May 22 and 25th at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convocation Centre (SKICC) on the banks of Dal Lake Srinagar. 

While speaking on the third G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting in J-K’s Srinagar, Abhijeet Patil said, “With the hosting of the G20 meeting in Kashmir, people here are feeling a sense of inclusiveness at the grass root level. With this event, a message will go out that Kashmir is a safe destination for shooting films. The whole world has witnessed how Bollywood has increased tourism.”

Mushtaq Chaya, a prominent hotelier in Srinagar on the third G20 Tourism Working Group said,

“It’s a great day as people from all over the world have come to Kashmir today. What can be better for tourism than this?”

The 3rd Tourism Working Group meeting is being held at Srinagar from May 22-24. The G20 delegations were welcomed by Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, along with Amitabh Kant G20 Sherpa at Srinagar Airport. An ethnic and magnificent display of traditional dance forms by local Artists, showcasing Jammu and Kashmir’s cultural heritage, was also done.

The Ministry of Tourism in the press release said, “This G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar aims to strengthen economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, and promote sustainable development of the region.” (ANI)

ALSO READ-Kashmir G20 meet catches global attention

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Kant showcases India’s Digital Public Infra

India’s G20 Sherpa said open standards, open API, and interoperability are the hallmarks of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure…reports Asian Lite News

Speaking at the first day of the second G20 Sherpa Meeting, Kant emphasised the achievements and huge strides India has made in the past few years in the digital domain and highlighted the potential benefit of adoption of DPIs globally, especially in developing countries and the Least Developed Countries.

Kant, along with NASSCOM President Debjani Ghosh, inaugurated the DPI Experience Zone in the presence of sherpas and delegates from G20 members, invited countries and international organisations.

Demonstrating India’s DPI success story, the immersive Digital India Experience zone highlighted key DPIs developed by India for addressing crucial issues such as digital identity, financial inclusion, and equitable access to education and health.

Various population-scale DPIs of India stack such as Aadhar, Co-Win, UPI, DigiLocker, BHASHINI and others were showcased in the experience zone. The experience zone also saw the presence of private sector enterprises such as Google, Microsoft, PayTM, Fractaboo, AWS and TCS, which showcased the innovation potential of DPI.

The special session, ‘Why DPI?’ started with virtual messages from eminent global leaders Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder and Chairman, Infosys; and Thierry Bretton, Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union, who addressed the participants on the utility of DPIs and India’s ambitious DPI agenda during its G20 presidency.

The special address included a joint presentation by Priya Vohra, Managing Director of Digital Impact Alliance, Washington, D.C., and Pramod Varma, ex-chief architect of Aadhaar and India Stack, CTO EkStep Foundation, who explained to the audience the transformational role of DPIs in diverse sectors and its architectural and economic aspects.

The day-long session ended with a closing by Joint Secretary G20 Nagaraj Naidu, who highlighted the tremendous promise that DPI holds in accelerating the achievement of the sustainable development goals — from cash transfers and food distribution to e-commerce and innovative models of education and healthcare delivery.

‘Ukraine war won’t affect G20 business’

India on Thursday said the Russia-Ukraine issue cannot hold other key topics back in the ongoing meetings being held under its G20 presidency. Quoting the statement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier, the Sherpa of the country, Amitabh Kant, however, reiterated that this is the era of diplomacy and not an era of war.

After holding an hour-long bilateral meeting with Russia on the sidelines of the second Sherpa meeting underway in this scenic village in Kottayam district, Kant said the world was facing many challenges post COVID-19 pandemic and G20 is responsible for addressing them.

“There is a challenge of the post COVID impact of 200 million people going below the poverty line, there is a challenge of 100 million people having lost their jobs, there is a challenge of global debts, there is a challenge of climate action; there is a challenge of recession in one-third of the economy; and there is a challenge of global debt impacting 75 countries in the world,” he said.

Kant said these are far more important issues impacting the rest of the world, and “we work with every single country” to address them.

“Afterall, the one issue, the Russia-Ukraine issue, cannot hold many other issues back”, he said.

Replying to questions on the Russia-Ukraine war and its impact on G20 business, Kant said, “We are friends with every single country that is a member of the G20.” “We openly raise our issues. They raise their concerns, and we decide to discuss them further and take things forward.

“We are still in the discussion stage with them. We have raised concerns of emerging markets, we have raised concerns about the developing world,” he said.

The Sherpa of India also said the war may have impacted a part of the world but there are many other issues for the rest of the world.

Kant expressed hope that Kumarakom meetings will provide “peace and serenity to all delegates ” attending them.

He also hoped that the “Kumarakom backwaters will enable” the member nations to take the challenges of the world forward.

ALSO READ-Second G20 Sherpa meeting to discuss key issues