Canadian Trade Minister Calls Nirmala Sitharaman

Mr. Ed Fast, Canadian Minister for International Trade today called Minister of State (Independent Charge) Commerce & Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman to greet her on assumption of the Office of Commerce & Industry Minister. In the telephonic conversation, both the Ministers reviewed the bilateral trade issues between India and Canada. Smt. Sitharaman conveyed India’s desire to engage with Canada in sectors of mutual importance.

Pointing the anomaly of less Canadian investments in India, the Indian Minister said “we will be keen on ascertaining areas of interest and work out strategies to promote Canadian investments in India.” 

Both the sides evinced interest in taking the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations forward. The Canadian Minister said that its country can fill up the gaps in areas of food processing, energy and education. Mr. Fast also noted “the emerging pro-business attitude and zeal for creation of jobs under India’s new Prime Minister.” 

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad assumes charge of the Law & Justice Ministry

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad assumed charge of the Ministry of Law & Justice today. After assuming charge, he interacted with the officials of the Ministry. The Deptt. of Legal Affairs, Legislative Deptt. and the Deptt. of Justice gave detailed PowerPoint presentations regarding the achievements and the future plans for the Ministry. 

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad (born 30 August 1954) is an Indian lawyer and politician and represents Bihar in the Rajya Sabha. He is a distinguished senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India. Shri Prasad holds BA Hons, MA (Political Science) and LLB degrees from Patna University. He held the position of Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal and Mines, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting during the National Democratic Alliance government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Shri Prasad has held several national-level assignments in the youth wing and the main party organisation of the BJP. A member of the BJP national executive since 1995, he became a national spokesperson of the BJP in 2006. In 2012, he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar for a consecutive third term. 

Annual Conference of Relief Commissioners/ Secretaries of States/UTs on Monsoon Preparedness

Ministry of Home Affairs has organized the Annual Conference of Relief Commissioners/ Secretaries, Department of Disaster Management of States/UTs to review the status of preparedness of dealing with crisis situation resulting from the South West Monsoon-2014 on May 27, 2014. 

The Annual Conference has been organized at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi to discuss other Disaster Management related issues also in addition to South West Monsoon-2014. 

The representatives of different Ministries/Departments/Organizations such as National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Central Water Commission (CWC), Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Ministry of Defence are participating in this Conference.