In recent news, the Prime Minister of India made a notable appearance at India Global Week 2020’s inaugural session. This three-day virtual conference was organised in London, United Kingdom by India Inc. This year’s event also commemorates the centennial of Pandit Ravi Shankar’s birth, an illustrious Indian musician known for his mastery of the sitar, composition and singing.
The Importance of India Global Week
The annual event, hosted by London-based media house India Inc., is aimed at reigniting global optimism and fostering action-oriented discussions. The forum covers a wide range of topics, from geopolitics to art and culture, emerging technologies, banking and finance, pharma, defence and security, social impact, and the diaspora dividend. In addition to organising this event, India Inc. develops insightful content and events related to India’s ever-evolving economic and strategic agenda. Their flagship publication is India Global Business and they also run a diaspora news network, iGlobal.
Key Points of the Conference
This year’s theme is ‘Be The Revival: India and a Better New World’. Its objective is to explore business, cultural, and strategic avenues, comprehend challenges, and help the audience make informed decisions considering the brighter, post-Covid-19 future. This occasion holds significant value for India as it aids in the global revival and popularises India’s ancient culture (AYUSH), universal peaceful ethos, and classical music.
Implications for Trade and Investment
Moreover, the event provides a platform to showcase investment opportunities in India to a global audience, thus strengthening ties between India and the UK. The focus this year is on India’s ongoing reforms, such as encouraging private investment in the space sector and the agricultural sector, which presents opportunities to invest in storage and logistics. This is likely to bolster the Invest India Programme as well, a scheme that is currently scrutinising 50 investment proposals from China under its new screening policy as per the rules introduced in April 2020.
New Investment Rules
Under these new rules, investments made by entities based in neighbouring countries would need to be approved by the Indian Government. This regulation was implemented as a measure to prevent opportunistic takeovers during the Covid-19 crisis.
India’s Battle Against Covid-19
As India is actively combating the global pandemic, the event will also acknowledge India’s efforts towards a revival marked by care, compassion and sustainability – Both for the environment and the economy. Major initiatives to fight Covid-19 include the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Initiative, aimed at making the country self-sustaining and self-generating, merging domestic production and consumption with global supply chains. The government has also announced economic relief packages to aid the poorest segments of the population, offering free cooking gas, cash transfers, and food grains to millions.
