Asia
Over 50 Indian IT companies showcase products at Dubai trade show
Over 50 Indian electronics and computer software companies are showcasing their products and services at Gitex Global, the annual trade show, exhibition and conference.
Gitex Global, dubbed as the world's biggest technology show, is being organised from October 17 to 21 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
“Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) has been facilitating regular Indian participation at Gites to take advantage of the booming IT market in the Gulf,” said Kamal Vachani, Regional Director, Middle East at ESC.
Gitex is continuing to emerge as the largest and the most impressive Information and Communications Technology (ICT) event of its kind in the Middle East.
“India has a great stake in the booming Middle East, Africa, Asia (WANA Region) and European markets for which Dubai is the Gateway.
READ: Dubai's Expo 2020 reveals 3 worker deaths from COVID-19
“Thus, the event provides the participating Indian ICT companies opportunities for scouting the expanding Middle East market,” said Gurmeet Singh, Executive Director at ESC.
The ESC has been participating at the Gites consistently for several years and the participating Indian companies under its banner have reported bagging significant businesses, forged joint ventures, marketing tie ups among othes with the buyers visiting the exhibition.
The Middle East was the top export destination for electronics during 2019-20 with an estimated value of USD 3 billion.
Among the countries in the region, the UAE is the top destination for India's electronics export, says Sandeep Narula, Chairman of ESC.
READ: Biman to run additional flights to Dubai Wednesday
India's total export of electronics hardware during 2020-21 is estimated to be USD 11 billion and that of computer software and services is estimated to be USD 146 billion.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of UNB.
Floods, landslides kill at least 28 people in southern India
Officials predicted more rain as the death toll from floods and landslides in the southern Indian state of Kerala rose to 28 on Monday.
Since the ferocious downpours began last week, swollen rivers have decimated bridges, and vehicles and homes have been swept away. Several dams were nearing full capacity.
K.J. Ramesh, one of India’s top meteorologists and the former chief of the weather agency, said the increased rainfall was linked to climate change and warmer oceans.
“This is definitely a sign of things to come,” he said.
Also read: 21 dead in India floods & landslides
At least 23 people died in Kottayam and Idukki districts, among the worst hit. More than 9,000 people have taken shelter in over 200 camps across the state, officials said.
The heavy rainfall resulted from a low-pressure area that formed over the southeastern Arabian sea and Kerala. It was expected to ease Monday, but the Meteorological Department warned that new rain-bearing winds would hit the region starting Wednesday, bringing more precipitation.
Heavy rainfall is also predicted across several northern and eastern Indian states.
Also read: Heavy rains, landslides leave 18 dead in south India
The National Disaster Response Force and the Indian army deployed teams in Kerala to help rescue efforts.
“I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.
'Umblical cord': In Israel, Jaishankar hails contribution of Indian Jewish community
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Sunday interacted with the Indian Jewish community in Israel where he hailed the huge impact it has made in Israel. Jaishankar said that the community has been, in many ways, "an umbilical cord" that has nourished the ties between India and Israel.
The foreign minister said that the Indian Jewish community carried some flavours of India with it to Israel which they have retained, or assimilated in some form. "I am told, for example, that the distinctive Malida thali made by the Bene Israelis - and Malida is now officially incorporated in the local calendar here. Likewise, the influence of the mangalsutra and the mehendi among Bene Israelis, the practice of baat pukka for formalizing marriages among Baghdadi Jews, and symbolic adorning of the Torah arks with jasmine garlands and the use of manara by the Cochini Jews," said Jaishankar.
READ: India willing to stand by Afghan people as it did in the past: Jaishankar
"You also adopted that very Indian tradition of removing shoes before entering the synagogue. And you all still remember our way of life, our languages, our festivals, and, I am told about the Maiboli journal in Marathi," he added.
Talking about the festivals, Jaishankar said Onam, Holi and Diwali are celebrated in Israel along with Purim and Hanukkah.
Citing ancient connections between the two civilizations - both cultural and religious, Jaishankar applauded the contribution of Indian Jews in the nation building process of India, describing them as "one of us".
"India’s connections with Jerusalem goes back 800 years in time. One of our revered Sufi saints, Baba Farid, meditated in a cave inside the city walls in Jerusalem. And this place later has become a shrine and a pilgrim lodge for travelers from India," said Jaishankar.
Jaishankar also highlighted the community's contributions in enriching India's literature and arts with the likes of Nissim Ezekiel who was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi award.
Later, he posted about the interaction on Twitter and said he is confident that the Indian Jewish community will bring the two countries closer.
"Very pleased to meet the Indian Jewish community in Israel. Valued their manifold contribution to India-Israel ties. Confident that they will bring us even closer together in the coming years," said Jaishankar.
Jaishankar started his three-day visit to Israel on Sunday during which he will meet President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and foreign minister Yair Lapid.
The basic purpose of the visit is to engage the new coalition government and provide a fresh impetus to bilateral ties with Tel Aviv. India has very close security relationship with Israel that ranges from top-of-the-line drones, loitering ammunition, radars, state-of-the-art missiles and border sensors.
READ: Jaishankar, Shringla hold separate meetings with Hasan Mahmud
Both the countries elevated bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in July 2017.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of UNB.
China's economic growth weakens amid construction slowdown
China’s economic growth is sinking under pressure from a construction slowdown and power shortages, prompting warnings about a possible shock to its trading partners and global financial markets.
The world’s second-largest economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 4.9% over a year ago in the three months ending in September, down from the previous quarter’s 7.9%, government data showed Monday. Factory output, retail sales and investment in construction and other fixed assets all weakened.
Manufacturing has been hampered by official curbs on energy use and shortages of processor chips and other components due to the coronavirus pandemic. Construction, an industry that supports millions of jobs, is slowing as regulators force developers to cut reliance on debt that Chinese leaders worry is dangerously high.
“Ripple effects to the rest of the world could be significant" due to weaker Chinese demand for raw materials, said Mo Ji of Fidelity International in a report. “Even developed markets, including the U.S., would not be immune to a significant tightening in global financial conditions as a result of a negative China growth shock accompanied by financial stress.”
Read: China to commit 1.5 bln yuan to initiate Kunming Biodiversity Fund: Xi
Compared with the previous quarter, the way other major economies are measured, output barely grew in the July-September period, expanding by just 0.2%. That was down from 1.2% in the April-June period and one of the past decade’s weakest quarters.
The slowdown adds to pressure on Beijing to prop up activity by easing borrowing controls and spending more on building public works. But forecasters said even if that happens, activity will weaken before policy changes take effect.
“Growth will slow further,” Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics said in a report.
Chinese leaders are trying to steer the economy to more sustainable growth based on domestic consumption instead of exports and investment and to reduce financial risk.
Construction and housing sales, an important source of demand for steel, copper and other industrial imports, have slowed since regulators ordered developers to reduce their debt levels.
One of the biggest, Evergrande Group, is struggling to avoid defaulting on $310 billion owed to banks and bondholders. That has fueled fears about other developers, though economists say the threat to global financial markets is small.
Read:China's Shanxi downgrades flood-control emergency response
Factories in some provinces were ordered to shut down in mid-September to avoid exceeding official goals for energy use and energy intensity, or the amount used per unit of output. Some warned deliveries of goods might be delayed, raising the possibility of shortages of smartphones and other consumer products ahead of the Christmas shopping season.
Factory output barely grew in September, expanding by only 0.05% compared with August. That was down from the 7.3% growth for the first nine months of the year.
Private sector forecasters have cut their growth outlook this year for China, though they still expect about 8%, which would be among the world’s strongest. The ruling Communist Party’s official target is “more than 6%,” which leaves Beijing room to keep its controls in place.
The near-term outlook “remains difficult," said Rajiv Biswas of IHS Market in a report. Real estate also is suffering from “fears of contagion to some other property developers.”
This year’s economic figures have been exaggerated due to comparison with 2020, when factories and stores were closed to fight the coronavirus.
Read: French senators arrive in Taiwan amid tensions with China
Output grew by a record 18.3% in the first quarter of 2021, but forecasters said the rebound already was leveling off.
In September, growth in retail spending weakened to 4.4% over a year earlier, down from 16.4% in the first nine months.
Investment in real estate, factories, housing and other fixed assets rose 0.17% in September, down from 7.3% for the first nine months.
The latest figures indicate “the property sector fallout will be a significant drag on growth in the coming quarters,” said Fidelity’s Mo. “Even significant policy easing now, which is still unlikely in our view, will take time to propagate into the real economy.”
Auto sales in the global industry’s biggest market fell 16.5% in September from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The group said production was disrupted by shortages of processor chips.
Imports, an indicator of Chinese domestic demand, rose 17.6% in September over a year earlier, but that was about half the previous month’s 33% growth.
Vaccines, masks? Japan puzzling over sudden virus success
Almost overnight, Japan has become a stunning, and somewhat mysterious, coronavirus success story.
Daily new COVID-19 cases have plummeted from a mid-August peak of nearly 6,000 in Tokyo, with caseloads in the densely populated capital now routinely below 100, an 11-month low.
The bars are packed, the trains are crowded, and the mood is celebratory, despite a general bafflement over what, exactly, is behind the sharp drop.
Japan, unlike other places in Europe and Asia, has never had anything close to a lockdown, just a series of relatively toothless states of emergency.
Some possible factors in Japan's success include a belated but remarkably rapid vaccination campaign, an emptying out of many nightlife areas as fears spread during the recent surge in cases, a widespread practice, well before the pandemic, of wearing masks and bad weather in late August that kept people home.
But with vaccine efficacy gradually waning and winter approaching, experts worry that without knowing what exactly why cases have dropped so drastically, Japan could face another wave like this summer, when hospitals overflowed with serious cases and deaths soared — though the numbers were lower than pre-vaccination levels.
Read: Japan's Kishida sends offering to controversial Tokyo shrine
Many credit the vaccination campaign, especially among younger people, for bringing infections down. Nearly 70 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.
“Rapid and intensive vaccinations in Japan among those younger than 64 might have created a temporary condition similar to herd-immunity,” said Dr. Kazuhiro Tateda, a Toho University professor of virology.
Tateda noted that vaccination rates surged in July to September, just as the more infectious delta variant was spreading fast.
He cautioned, however, that breakthrough infections in the U.S., Britain and other places where inoculations began months earlier than in Japan show that vaccines alone are not perfect and efficacy gradually wears off.
Japan’s vaccinations started in mid-February, with health workers and the elderly first in line. Shortages of imported vaccines kept progress slow until late May, when the supply stabilized and daily inoculation targets were raised to above 1 million doses to maximize protection before the July 23-Aug. 8 Olympics.
The number of daily shots rose to about 1.5 million in July, pushing vaccination rates from 15% in early July to 65% by early October, exceeding the 57% of the United States.
Daily new cases surged just weeks ahead of the Olympics, forcing Japan to hold the Games with daily caseloads of more than 5,000 in Tokyo and around 20,000 nationwide in early August. Tokyo reported 40 cases Sunday, below 100 for the ninth straight day and lowest this year. Nationwide, Japan reported 429 cases Sunday for an accumulated total of about 1.71 million and 18,000 deaths since the pandemic began early last year.
So why the drop?
“It’s a tough question, and we have to consider the effect of the vaccinations progress, which is extremely big,” said Disease Control and Prevention Center Director Norio Ohmagari. “At the same time, people who gather in high-risk environments, such as crowded and less-ventilated places, may have been already infected and acquired natural immunity by now.”
Read:Kishida vows to lead with 'trust and empathy' to fix Japan
Though some speculated that the drop in cases might be due to less testing, Tokyo metropolitan government data showed the positivity rate fell from 25% in late August to 1% in mid-October, while the number of tests fell by one-third. Masataka Inokuchi, the Tokyo Medical Association deputy chief, said falling positivity rates show infections have slowed.
Japan's state of emergency measures were not lockdowns but requests that focused mainly on bars and eateries, which were asked to close early and not serve alcohol. Many people continued to commute on crowded trains, and attended sports and cultural events at stadiums with some social distancing controls.
The emergency requests have ended and the government is gradually expanding social and economic activity while allowing athletic events and package tours on a trial basis using vaccination certificates and increased testing.
To speed up inoculations, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who left office recently, expanded the number of health workers legally eligible to give shots, opened large-scale vaccination centers and promoted workplace vaccinations beginning in late June.
Kyoto University professor Hiroshi Nishiura told a recent government advisory board meeting that he estimates vaccinations helped some 650,000 people avoid infection and saved more than 7,200 lives between March and September.
Many experts initially blamed younger people, seen drinking on the streets and in parks when the bars were closed, for spreading the virus, but said data showed many in their 40s and 50s also frequented nightlife districts. Most serious cases and deaths were among unvaccinated people in their 50s or younger.
Takaji Wakita, director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, told reporters recently he is worried people have already resumed partying in nightlife districts, noting that the slowing of infections may have already hit bottom.
"Looking ahead, it is important to further push down the caseloads in case of a future resurgence of infections," Wakita said Thursday.
On Friday, new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said a preparedness plan to be compiled by early November would include tougher limits on activities and require hospitals to provide more beds and staff for COVID-19 treatment in case infections soar in a “worst-case scenario.”
He did not elaborate on details.
Many people are cautious about letting down their guard, regardless of the numbers.
Read: Trains packed with commuters as Japan fully ends emergency
Mask-wearing “has become so normal," said university student Mizuki Kawano. “I’m still worried about the virus,” she said.
“I don’t want to get close to those who don’t wear masks,” said her friend, Alice Kawaguchi.
Public health experts want a comprehensive investigation into why infections have dropped off.
An analysis of GPS data showed that people’s movements in major downtown entertainment districts fell during the most recent, third state of emergency, which ended Sept. 30.
“I believe the decrease of people visiting entertainment districts, along with the vaccination progress, has contributed to the decline of infections,” said Atsushi Nishida, the director of the Research Center for Social Science & Medicine Sciences at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science.
But people headed back to entertainment districts as soon as the recent emergency ended, he said, and that may “affect the infection situation in coming weeks.”
21 dead in India floods & landslides
At least 21 people have been killed and more than a dozen others missing in flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy post-monsoon showers in the southern Indian state of Kerala, officials said Sunday.
The deaths occurred mostly in Kottayam and Idukki districts, where several houses were swept away following flooding and landslides Saturday, rendering hundreds of people homeless.
Indian armed forces have been carrying out rescue operations alongside the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the local police, since Saturday afternoon.
"So far, 21 bodies have been recovered from under the debris but over a dozen people are still missing. Though the showers have subsided, bad weather is hampering rescue operations in some areas," a senior state government official told the local media.
Read: Bangkok braces for possible flooding as rains continue
Kerala's Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan held a high-level meeting on Saturday itself and asked officials of the two districts to ensure that all the displaced people were shifted to makeshift camps.
"Masks, sanitisers, drinking water, medicines should be made available in camps," local media quoted the Chief Minister as telling the officials.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Moditook to social media to condole the deaths. "It is saddening that some people have lost their lives due to heavy rains and landslides in Kerala. Condolences to the bereaved families," he tweeted Sunday.
The country's main opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is a lawmaker from the state of Kerala, also tweeted his condolences to the families of those killed in the deluge.
Read: Faridpur flood: Over 2000ha cropland submerged for nearly four weeks
"My thoughts are with the people of Kerala. Please stay safe and follow all safety precautions," Gandhi tweeted.
Kerala and the western Indian state of Maharashtra witnessed the heaviest monsoon rains this year. In Maharashtra, over 100 people died in landslides in July.
Three years ago, in August 2018, over 400 people died in Kerala in what was touted as the state's worst flooding in a century.
Heavy rains, landslides leave 18 dead in south India
At least 18 people have died a day after torrential rains swept through villages and flooded roads in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Officials said rescuers recovered the bodies in two of the worst-hit districts, Kottayam and Idukki, where the heavy downpours triggered massive landslides, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.
The National Disaster Response Force and the Indian Army deployed teams to help with rescue efforts as several are still feared to be missing.
Also read: 9 dead as rains trigger landslides in India
On Saturday, when the heavy rains began, television reports showed people wading through chest-deep waters to rescue passengers from a bus that was nearly submerged by the torrents flooding the roads.
The state chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, urged residents on Sunday to exercise extreme caution even though the intense rainfall has since subsided. Over a 100 relief camps have been set up, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke to the chief minister and added that authorities were working to rescue those affected. “I pray for everyone's safety and well-being,” he said in a tweet.
Also read: Bangkok braces for possible flooding as rains continue
In 2018, Kerala suffered catastrophic floods when heavy downpours amid the monsoon season killed 223 people and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.
India, UAE re-elected to UN Human Rights Council for new term
India was re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2022-24 term on Thursday with an overwhelming majority in the General Assembly, with New Delhi’s envoy describing the election as a "robust endorsement" of the country's strong roots in democracy, pluralism and fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
According to The Saudi Gazette, the 76th UN General Assembly held elections on Thursday for 18 new members of the UN Human Rights Council who will serve for a period of three years, starting in January 2022.
India on being re-elected to the UNHRC for the 2022-24 term vowed to continue to work for the promotion and protection of human rights through “Samman, Samvad and Sahyog".
Read: India introduces draft resolution in UN over observer status for international solar alliance
“India gets re-elected to the @UN_HRC (2022-24) for a 6th term with overwhelming majority. Heartfelt gratitude to the @UN membership for reposing its faith in India," India’s Permanent Mission to the UN tweeted.
"We will continue to work for promotion and protection of Human Rights through #Samman #Samvad #Sahyog #Samman #Samvad #Sahyog," it added.
India got 184 votes in the 193-member assembly, while the required majority was 97.
"I am truly delighted at this overwhelming support for India in elections to Human Rights Council. It’s a robust endorsement of our strong roots in democracy, pluralism and fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution.
“We thank all UN member states for giving us a strong mandate,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti told PTI.
India’s current term was set to end on Dec. 31 2021. For election for the term 2022-2024, there were five vacant seats in the Asia-Pacific States category — India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
Read: 9 dead as rains trigger landslides in India
The 193-member General Assembly elected by secret ballot Argentina, Benin, Cameroon, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Montenegro, Paraguay, Qatar, Somalia, UAE and the USA for the 2022-2024 term on the Council.
The US joined the cohort more than three years after the Trump administration quit the 47-member body over what it called chronic bias against Israel and a lack of reform.
The United States, which was unopposed, received 168 votes in the secret ballot by the 193-member General Assembly. It begins a three-year term on Jan. 1 — pitting Washington against Beijing and Moscow, who began council terms this year.
China and some of its allies including Belarus and Venezuela have taken advantage of the US absence from the council to push through joint statements supporting Beijing's actions in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, and denouncing "human rights violations" in Western countries, including against indigenous Canadians.
For Thursday's vote, non-governmental organizations accused regional groups of stitching up a "legitimizing facade" rather than a genuine contest at the council, by presenting the same number of candidates as vacant seats.
India’s mission congratulated other UN member states for their election to the Human Rights Council, which consists of 47 Member States elected directly and individually by secret ballot by the majority of the members of the General Assembly.
Read: Made in India virus kits boost testing, and local industry
The membership is based on equitable geographical distribution, and seats are distributed among regional groups Group of African States (13), Group of Asia-Pacific States (13), Group of Eastern European States (6), Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (8) and Group of Western European and other States (7).
As of January 2021, 119 of the 193 UN member states will have served as a member of the HRC. "This broad membership not only reflects the UN’s diversity, but it gives the Council legitimacy when speaking out on human rights violations in all countries,” the UN said.
US Ambassador at UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington’s election to the Council has “fulfilled President Biden’s campaign pledge to rejoin the Human Rights Council” and the US will “work to ensure this body lives up to these principles.”
India introduces draft resolution in UN over observer status for international solar alliance
Underlining that the International Solar Alliance will usher in a new era of "green energy diplomacy", India introduced a draft resolution in the UN General Assembly for granting Observer Status for the global initiative that would help provide for regular cooperation between ISA and the United Nations, benefiting global energy growth and development, reports NDTV.
The International Solar Alliance or ISA was jointly launched by India and France in 2015 at the 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) held in Paris.
"It is my honour to introduce the draft resolution...for granting Observer Status for the International Solar Alliance on behalf of India and France" and about 80 co-sponsors, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti said on Friday.
"The International Solar Alliance through its efforts to bring about just and equitable energy solutions through the deployment of solar energy is expected to usher in a new era of green energy diplomacy," Ambassador Tirumurti said in the General Assembly as he introduced the draft resolution in the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly that deals with legal questions.
Read:9 dead as rains trigger landslides in India
The granting of Observer Status to International Solar Alliance in the General Assembly would help provide for a regular and well-defined cooperation between the Alliance and the United Nations that would benefit global energy growth and development, he said.
The co-sponsors include Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.
"Another milestone for (the) International Solar Alliance. India introduces draft resolution in #UNGA for granting Observer Status to @isolaralliance (ISA). I said that ISA, through its efforts towards just & equitable energy solutions, will usher in (a) new era of "Green Energy Diplomacy"," Ambassador Tirumurti tweeted.
He underlined that granting ISA observer status in UNGA would enable the organisation to provide targeted inputs to current and future United Nations processes, based on grass-root level experiences from its country programmes, its research and public-private cooperation activities and its global knowledge-sharing activities.
ISA is also taking a big step towards addressing some of the questions like "technological transfer", "storage of solar energy" and even financial assistance to member countries, along with project layout and project planning, Mr Tirumurti said.
The United Nations General Assembly may grant Permanent Observer Status to non-member states, international organisations and other entities.
Read: Made in India virus kits boost testing, and local industry
As per information on the UN website, the General Assembly decided that "observer status would be confined to states and intergovernmental organisations whose activities cover matters of interest to the Assembly".
The Sixth Committee of the General Assembly considers all applications for observer status before they are considered in the plenary session. Permanent Observers may participate in the sessions and workings of the General Assembly and maintain missions at the UN headquarters, the website said.
Intergovernmental Organisations having received a standing invitation to participate as Observers in the sessions and the work of the UNGA include European Union, INTERPOL, International Renewable Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Asian Development Bank, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Commonwealth of Independent States, European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Indian Ocean Rim Association, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, International Committee of the Red Cross and International Olympic Committee.
Mr Tirumurti stressed that the Framework Agreement of ISA explicitly designates the UN, including its organs, as strategic partners of the Alliance.
"Observer status will greatly enhance the Alliance's ability to achieve its goals," he said, adding that ISA will be able to follow closely the deliberations in the General Assembly, cooperate with the UN organs, agencies and programmes in implementation of its programmes and activities and benefit from the UN network of field offices, its experience in programme cooperation with governments and its wide resources in the development process.
The International Solar Alliance was opened for signature as an international treaty-based organisation in November 2016 and the agreement entered into force on December 6, 2017.
Read:India lifts travel curbs on those arriving from UK
Mr Tirumurti said the Alliance of solar-resource rich countries with its membership was open to those 121 UN member states that lie fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. This was further amended at the First Assembly of the ISA, to expand the scope of ISA membership to all UN member states.
He said the Paris Declaration on the launch of International Solar Alliance expounded the shared vision of bringing clean, affordable, and renewable energy within reach of all.
Noting that International Solar Alliance is dedicated to contributing to the successful outcome of the UN process on sustainable development and the attainment of internationally agreed development goals, Mr Tirumurti said, "We seek your support for the draft resolution."
"Since its establishment, International Solar Alliance has strived to achieve its objectives by initiating thematic programmes dedicated to the deployment of cross-cutting solar energy applications across multiple sectors including, but not limited to, agriculture, health, and electricity. ISA has played an important role internationally in supporting the implementation of United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change and the global climate agenda in general," he said.
Mr Tirumurti added that participation in major international meetings involving these issues is often critical for International Solar Alliance to carry out its work and mandate. In addition, ISA has wide resources and the expertise to make a significant contribution to all such meetings, dialogues and decisions, by helping to shape the global policy dialogue.
Japan's Kishida sends offering to controversial Tokyo shrine
Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida donated ritual offerings Sunday to a Tokyo shrine viewed by Chinese and Koreans as a symbol of Japanese wartime aggression, though he did not make a visit in person.
Kishida donated “masakaki” religious ornaments to mark Yasukuni Shrine's autumn festival. It was the first such observance by Kishida since he took office on Oct. 4.
Read: Japan PM dissolves lower house for Oct. 31 national election
Victims of Japanese aggression during the first half of the 20th century, especially Chinese and Koreans, see the shrine as a symbol of Japan’s militarism because it honors convicted World War II criminals among about 2.5 million war dead.
Such observances are seen by critics as a sign of a lack of remorse over the country's wartime atrocities.
Kishida was visiting the 2011 tsunami-hit areas in northern Japan over the weekend and stayed away from the shrine.
His predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, also only made offerings during his one-year leadership. He stepped down in September and visited the shrine on Sunday, dressed in a formal morning coat.
Read: Kishida vows to lead with 'trust and empathy' to fix Japan
Suga told reporters that he visited as a former prime minister to “offer my respect to the sacred spirits of those who sacrificed their precious lives for the country and to pray that their souls may rest in peace.”
After China and the Koreas reacted with outrage to a visit to Yasukuni by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013, Japanese leaders have avoided visiting the shrine while in office.
Many South Koreans deeply resent Japan for its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have soured in recent years amid disputes over compensation for Korean wartime laborers and over the systematic abuses of “comfort women” used for sex by the Japanese military before its World War II defeat in 1945.