HIGH COMMISSIONER MEETS TOP LEADERSHIP OF MALAWI GOVERNMENT High Commissioner, Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan met the Vice President of Malawi (on 3 June 2021) and discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen the ongoing partnership between India and Malawi. He also briefed the VP on India’s development assistance to Malawi and reiterated India’s commitment to continue the development partnership with Malawi. High Commissioner also met Minister of Lands, Hon’ble Kezzie Kasambala Msukwa, M.P (on 22 April 2021); Minister of Energy, Hon’ble Newton Kambala (on 23 April 2021); Minister of Mining, Hon’ble Rashid Abdul Gaffar (on 27 April 2021), Minister of Trade, Hon’ble Sosten Alfrd Gwengwe, M.P. (on 28 April 2021,  Minister of Homeland Security, Hon’ble Richard Chimwendo Banda, M.P. (21 May 2021) and discussed bilateral relations including possible cooperation in the field of energy, mining, trade and security respectively.

LAUNCH OF LITTLE GURU A SANSKRIT LEARNING APP High Commissioner S. Gopalakrishnan launched Little Guru App - a specialized app for learning Sanskrit, developed by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at its premises on 8 April 2021. The event was attended by prominent Indian Community Leaders and members of Indian Associations. During the launch, High Commissioner briefed on the importance and utility of Application which was well received by the present guests. The launch of this App is to promote Sanskrit language among students, religious scholars, indologists, historians across the world through an interactive platform which will make Sanskrit learning easy, entertaining and fun. 'Little Guru' is a platform to popularize Sanskrit language and help create awareness not only about language but also open the doors for people to access the rich cultural heritage of India.

TELEPHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN MINISTER OF STATE AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS In a telephone conversation on 7 May 2021, Hon’ble V. Muraleedharan, Minister of States for External Affairs, discussed bilateral cooperation with Hon’ble Eisenhowever Nduwa Mkaka, M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs including  cooperation in the areas of agriculture, mining, capacity building and development partnership. Both Ministers affirmed to work together to make the ties closer still.

INDIA & MALAWI SIGNED MOU FOR EXPORT OF TUR (PIGEON PEAS) India and Malawi signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the field of Trade of Tur (Arhar Dal or Pigeon Peas) on 16 June 2021. The MoU was signed by the High Commissioner of India on behalf of Government of India and Mr. Sosten Alfred Gwengwe, Minister of Trade on behalf of Government of Malawi. The MoU facilitates export of 50,000 MTs of Pigeon Peas from Malawi to India annually for next five years through private trade.

7TH INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA 2021 The 7th International Day of Yoga (IDY) held on 20 June 2021 at India House with the theme “Yoga for Wellness”. Participants, including diplomats, yoga practitioners and Prominent community leaders, took part in the Common Yoga Protocol session, while a large number of people across Malawi joined virtually through High Commission’s social media handle. The Mission also held IDY curtain-raiser event at Salima.

CELEBRATION OF AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV High Commission organized various activities i.e.  promotion of Indian cultural, commercial, linguistic and the like, activities in Malawi under “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebration. These activities included organization of online quiz on Yoga, International Day of Yoga, promotion of India tourism, Essay Writing completion on India’s Freedom Fighters, Quiz on rendering of Patriotic Song, promotion of Indian cuisines, etc. “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” is an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of it’s people, culture and achievements.

INDIA RELEASES THIRD EDITION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS INDEX The third rendition of India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index has been launched by NITI Aayog on 3rd June, 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. READ MORE

GOVERNMENT APPROVES EXTENSION OF PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN ANNA YOJANA FROM JULY 2021 UP TO NOVEMBER 2021 Last year, Government had announced PM-GKAY for all beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) for the period April-November, 2020. Around 80 Crore NFSA beneficiaries were allocated additional 5 kg of foodgrains, free of cost for a period of 8 months. In 2021, PM-GKAY was announced for a period of two months (May and June) with an estimated expenditure of Rs. 26,602 Crore. Hon’ble Prime Minister, in his address to the nation on 7th June 2021, announced the extension of the PM-GKAY Scheme for a further period of five months till Diwali in November, 2021. An additional 204 LMT of foodgrains for a period of further 5 months will be provided to around 80 Crore NFSA beneficiaries with an estimated financial implication of up to Rs. 67,266 Crore. This additional free of cost allocation of food grains will be over and above the regular monthly food grains allocated for beneficiaries covered under the NFSA Entire cost of this additional allocation will be borne by Govt. of India. READ MORE

G7 SUMMIT Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated virtually in the Outreach Sessions of the G7 Summit on 12-13 June 2021. PM also addressed the UN High-level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought and emphasised the special responsibility of democratic and transparent societies to deal with COVID-19. He also urged for adopting “one earth, one health” approach to deal with COVID-19 pandemic effectively. READ MORE

PASSPORT SEVA DIWAS 2021 The Ministry of External Affairs held a special event on a virtual platform to mark the Passport Seva Divas on 24 June 2021 in commemoration of the enactment of the Passports Act on 24 June 1967.The External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, and the Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri V. Muraleedharan, addressed the Passport Officers through video conferencing. In his Keynote Address, External Affairs Minister noted and commended the dedication and determination of all Passport Offices in rendering the passport and passport-related services, even in the face of adversity. The Minister noted that the Passport Offices should make the citizen-centric services even more citizen-friendly and introduce further simplification of the passport rules and processes by minimizing the compliance burden on the citizens. He noted that the Ministry, in close collaboration with the Department of Posts, has strengthened the outreach of Passport services to the citizens by establishing Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) all across the country. Currently , there is a network of 555 Passport Kendras in India, including 36 Passport Offices, 93 Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) and 426 Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK). He further noted that the Ministry has extended its global outreach and integrated 174 Indian Missions and Posts abroad into the Passport Seva Programme enabling a centralized passport issuance system for citizens in India and Diaspora abroad.

INDIA VACCINATES RECORD 88.09 LAKH PEOPLE ON DAY 1 On Day One of India’s new COVID-19 vaccination policy roll-out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday's record-breaking vaccination numbers are "gladdening." 88.09 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered across the country on 21st June 2021, the highest single-day coverage till now. The last time India's single-day vaccine coverage was the highest was on April 2 when 42,65,157 doses were administered.

IMMUNITY THE NATUREAL WAY The human body to a great extent is a self-regulating, preserving, repairing and maintaining entity. Nature has designed the human body with an inherent capability to heal and provided the natural laws of healing and allowed to operate, our health is in its entirety, a natural outcome of all the encounters we have in life. READ MORE