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Greetings from the Embassy of India in Washington DC!
Welcome to the January 23, 2021, edition of our newsletter, bringing you important policy and high-impact news about India.
I hope you find it useful.
High Impact News
Prime Minister Congratulates President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on assumption of Office
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated Mr. Joe Biden on assumption of office as President of the United States of America.

The Prime Minister also congratulated Ms. Kamala Harris on assumption of office as Vice President of the United States of America.
India Starts World's Largest COVID-19 Vaccination Drive
Prime Minister Launched pan India rollout of COVID-19 vaccination drive

PM said that Indian response to corona is one of self-confidence and self-reliance.
India steps up for neighbors
India has begun exporting Covid-19 vaccines to neighboring countries with the first batches being shipped Wednesday to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles, the foreign ministry said.

“India is deeply honoured to be a long-trusted partner in meeting the healthcare needs of the global community,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted Tuesday as he announced the first shipments would be sent today.
India’s Vaccine Colossus Is a Model for the World to Follow
India has authorized two Covid-19 vaccines for use, putting its enormous vaccine-manufacturing capacity in the spotlight. Large parts of the rich world may have something valuable to learn. Countries could take a leaf from India’s book when it comes to manufacturing crucial items that might encounter massive demand surges, and where national priorities come to the fore.
Accomplished Indian Americans Honored with 2021 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award
The Federation of Indian Associations of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut (FIA-Tri-state) and four Indian Americans received the coveted Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award Jan. 9, India’s highest honor for a non-resident Indian.

India’s President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the awards during the 16th edition of the annual Pravasi Bhartiya Divas convention, which was held virtually this year.
India-US Startup Partnership
A mentoring program for Indian National Startup Awards 2020 finalists was co-hosted by Embassy of India, Washington DC in partnership with Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) on 5 January 2021. The program is first in series of startup activities that will be organized in partnership with DPIIT and USISPF.

Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Mr Anil Agrawal addressed the inaugural session. Giving an overview of India's entrepreneurial eco system, Ambassador said "today India is the third largest, startup ecosystem in the world and is home to 21 unicorns valued at USD 73.2 billion. By some estimates, more than 50 'soonicorn' startups might join the unicorn club as early as 2022." He highlighted the long standing relationship between India and Bay Area-Silicon Valley, adding that Prime Minister Modi's visit to Silicon Valley in 2015 signified the importance of this entrepreneurial bridge and partnership.

Tesla Prepares to Enter India
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said American electric car major Tesla is set to start its operations in India next year and would also look at setting up of a manufacturing unit based on demand.

“American auto major Tesla will have its distribution facility (sale centres) for its cars in India from next year and considering the demand it would look into setting up of manufacturing here. India has the potential to become the largest EV (electric vehicle) producer in the world in the next five years,” said Gadkari 
National Infrastructure Pipeline Shows Substantial Progress Despite COVID-19
Despite the pandemic, the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) has managed to achieve substantial progress and has now expanded to 7,300 projects from the initial 6,835 projects at launch. Taking keen interest in infrastructure development under NIP, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman held a second review meeting with Secretaries of the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. 24 projects worth USD 10.8 billion (INR 80,915 crore) under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and 10 large projects worth USD 37.3 Billion (INR 2,79,604 crore) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti were reviewed in detail. During the meeting, Finance Minister Sitharaman said that the NIP is part of the Government of India’s initiatives to provide world class infrastructure to its citizens and enhance the ease of living. 
Prime Minister Modi Unveils Section of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor and the World’s First Double Stack Long Haul 1.5 Km Long Container Train Hauled by Electric Traction
Prime Minister Narendra Modi officiated the opening of the 306 Km Rewari - Madar Section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) situated in Haryana and Rajasthan on 7th January 2021 via video conference. It consists of nine newly built DFC stations. The opening of this stretch will benefit industries in Rajasthan & Haryana while also enabling better usage of the container depot of CONCOR at Kathuwas. This section will also ensure seamless connectivity with the western ports of Kandla, Pipavav, Mundhra, and Dahej situated in Gujarat. With the inauguration of this section, seamless connectivity between the WDFC and EDFC will be achieved. Earlier the 351-km New Bhaupur- New Khurja section of the EDFC was unveiled by the Prime Minister on 29th December 2020.
Celebrating Six Years of Energy Efficient Lighting
The Government of India’s zero subsidy UnnatJyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and the Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) have both run successfully for six years. Both the programmes are implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), which has distributed over 366 million LED bulbs across India as part of the UJALA program. This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 47.65 billion kWh per year with avoided peak demand of 9,540 MW and estimated GHG emission reduction of 38.59 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Additionally, over 7.2 million LED tube lights and over 2.3 million energy efficient fans have also been distributed at affordable prices under this program. With the SLNP program, EESL has installed about 11.4 million LED streetlights across India. This has resulted in an estimated energy savings of 7.67 billion kWh per year.
40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica Launched
India has launched its 40th scientific expedition to Antarctica, marking four decades of the country’s scientific endeavor to explore the southern continent. The chartered ice-class vessel MV Vasiliy Golovnin departed from Goa on January 5, 2021, with 43 members onboard. As of today, India has two operational research stations in Antarctica, named Maitri and Bharati. The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa manages the entire Indian Antarctic program. The previous Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica in 2019 mounted 27 scientific projects, focusing on climate processes and its linkages with climate change, crustal evolution, environmental processes and conservation, the ecosystem of terrestrial and near shore regions, observational research, and polar technology. The focus of the 40th expedition is to support ongoing scientific projects on climate change, geology, ocean observations, electric and magnetic flux measurements, and environmental monitoring, among others. 
USD 3.7 billion package to boost Industries in Jammu & Kashmir
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the proposal for a New Industrial Development Scheme for Jammu & Kashmir, worth USD 3.7 billion up to 2037. After the historic reorganization of Jammu & Kashmir that went into effect in October of 2019 into UT of Jammu & Kashmir under the 2019 J&K Reorganisation Act, there is recognition that emphasis is needed on job creation, workforce skill improvement, and sustainable development to attract new investment and support existing investments. In a first for Industrial Incentive Schemes in India, this program aims to scale industrial development to the block level in UT of J&K. The incentives available under the scheme include; Capital Investment Incentive on investments made in Plant & Machinery or construction; Capital Interest subvention at an annual rate of 6% for a maximum of 7 years for investments in plant and machinery or construction and all other durable physical assets; GST Linked Incentive of up to 300% of the eligible value of actual investment made in plant and machinery or construction and all other durable physical assets for 10 years; and a Working Capital Interest Incentive at an annual rate of 5% for a maximum of 5 years.
Amazon India Launches Online Academy To Coach Future Engineers
Amazon.com Inc has launched an online academy to train students for one of India’s most competitive college entrance tests, as it taps a boom in virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Amazon Academy”, available as a website and an Android smartphone app, will offer learning material, live lectures and assessments to help students prepare for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), which allows entry into top engineering schools across India.
Key Policy Decisions
5th National Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy Positions India Among Top 3 Scientific Superpowers
The 5th National Science Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy has been finalized with the broad vision of achieving technological self-reliance and positioning India among the top three scientific superpowers in the decade to come. It aims to attract, nurture, strengthen and retain critical human capital through a ‘people-centric’ science, technology, and innovation ecosystem. The objective of the draft policy is to identify and address the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian STI ecosystem to catalyse the socio-economic development of the country and also to make the Indian STI ecosystem globally competitive. It aims to foster, develop, and nurture a robust system for evidence and stakeholder-driven STI planning, information, evaluation, and policy research in India.
"One Stop - Single Window" Online Portal for Freight Customers Introduced 
Indian Railways has embraced a “Freight on Priority” policy by pushing for an aggressive customer-centric approach to expand freight carried – not only from the traditional segments, but also by attracting new customers to its fold. In its commitment to take customer service to new heights, Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister for Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution has launched a Freight Business Development Portal as a one-stop solution for all the needs of freight customers. The new portal will ensure that all operations stay customer centric, reduce the costs for logistics providers, provide online tracking facility for suppliers and simplify the process of goods transportation, increasing the ease of business with the Railways. The Freight Business Development portal has been designed to replace physical processes with online ones to minimize the need of human to human interaction.  
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