A delegation of over 35 Indian companies were in Malawi to explore the trade and investment potential. The delegation was organised by the India Economic Trade Organisation (IETO) in association with the High Commission of India. On May 6, 2024, the Indian investors met the Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale in Lilongwe. Malawi Investment Trade Centre (MITC) briefed the delegation on topics related with foreign trade in Malawi. The High Commissioner H.E Shri. S. Gopalakrishnan hosted a reception for the delegation at India House on May 7, 2024. The investors interacted with Malawian Businesspersons during the reception. This was the first time a big delegation of Indian investors to visit Malawi as one group. During the visit, the delegation signed as many as 12 Expression of Interest with Malawian companies. His Excellence Dr. Lazarus McCarthy  Chakwera, President of Malawi met the delegation in Lilongwe on May 13, 2024. Speaking during the meeting President Chakwera also reiterated the need for Malawi and India to diversify trade beyond traditional exports like Soya beans and Pegion peas. President Chakwera also assured the investors that Malawi has laws which guarantee investors and their investments’ protection. The delegation also presented a State-of-the-art Swayam Diagnostic Medical Machine to President Chakwera. He also thanked the High Commissioner for India’s continued support to Malawi and mentioned that the bunker for Bhabhaton Machine gifted by India as almost complete. While in Malawi, the Indian Investors attended the India-Malawi business dialogue, interacted with officials from Government, trade organisations.

High Commission of India in partnership with Indian Sports Club, Limbe organised “Flavours of India" a Food Festival at ISC ground, Limbe on 05.05.2024. Popular dishes from North, South, East and West India were served at the food festival. Over 700 people visited and savoured various regional cuisines of India at the festival.

The High Commission of India organized Graduation Ceremony for 110 Malawian students who had completed their Graduation / Post-Graduation / Diploma in various subjects under e-Vidya Bharati and e-Arogaya Bharati (e-VBAB) on 16 May 2024 in Lilongwe. All 110 students belonged to Amity University Online. Hon’ble Ms. Nancy Chaola Mdooko , M.P., Deputy Minister of Education who was the Guest of Honour handed over the certificates to the students. Dr. Abhinash Kumar, Director, Amity Online was also present at the Graduation Ceremony. In his remarks, High Commissioner S. Gopalakrishnan mentioned that capacity building is one of the important pillars of India-Malawi development partnership. He further mentioned that India’s development co-operation with our partners flows from our philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ which means the ‘World is one Family’. He also stated that Malawi is one of the important partners of India under e-VBAB scholarship program and Malawi is one of the largest beneficiaries under e-VBAB with over 1,900 enrolment in various courses. In her remarks, Minister Nancy Chaola Mdooko thanked India for supporting Malawi’s development agenda through providing human resource development particularly by offering scholarships to Malawian students under e-VBAB and further mentioned that Malawian students have greatly benefited under this unique project. Through e-VBAB Project, the Government of India offers scholarships to students from 22 African countries, including Malawi to pursue Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Diploma and Certificate programmes ONLINE from various premier Indian Universities / Institutes in various disciplines, including computer application, business administration and commerce, healthcare, tourism, humanities and arts etc. The enrolled students pursue their programmes / courses in ONLINE mode at their own comfort, anytime, anywhere using laptop / tablet / mobile with internet connection. Government of India has also set up a state of art interactive classroom and a computer lab with 30 computers with high speed internet at NACIT, Blantyre Campus. 

High Commission of India celebrated the 10th International Day of Yoga on 23rd June 2024 at the Indian Country Club, Lilongwe. The theme of this year International Day of Yoga was Yoga for Self and Society. The event was attended by large number of people including diplomats, school children, friends of India, members of Indian community among others. The program started with observation of one minute silence in the memory of late Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, Vice President of the Republic of Malawi. In his remarks, High Commissioner H.E. S. Gopalakrishnan emphasised on various health benefits of yoga for self and the Society.

NEWS FROM INDIA

Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi took oath on June10, 2024 for a third straight term. Mr. Modi, 73, equalled the feat of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who won in the 1952, 1957 and 1962 general elections. After Mr. Modi, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari were among 35 other Cabinet Ministers who took oath on June 10, 2024. 36 Ministers of State, and five Ministers of State (independent charge) also took oath of office. Rewarding the BJP’s coalition partners, Mr. Modi has inducted several MPs from the NDA partners. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 24, 2024 called for investing in disaster-resilient infrastructure at the 6th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI). The two-day international conference held at New Delhi's Bharat Mandapam and was inaugurated virtually by the prime minister as he emphasised the urgent need for resilient infrastructure to mitigate the devastating impacts of natural disasters. Addressing the assembly via video message, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, noting that while financial assessments often quantify damages in dollars, the real toll is borne by the affected communities. Read more 

The Neurosurgery Department at Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) has acquired an advanced intraoperative Ultrasound (iUS) machine from Wipro GE Healthcare South Asia. This is the first installation of the state-of-the-art iUS system in the country, a PIB press release stated. The iUS machine is used for performing complex brain tumour surgeries. The system is cost-effective and can easily be used by neurosurgeons. This is making it possible to remove tumour remnants even if they are located near critical functioning brain regions. Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Group of Seven (G7) Outreach Session on Artificial Intelligence, energy, Africa and the Mediterranean being held in Italy's Apulia on June 14, 2024. The session was also addressed by President Emmanuel Macron of France. In his address, Macron praised PM Modi's initiative on AI and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as G20 chair.  Upon reaching the venue of the summit, PM Modi met Pope Francis. He was welcomed by Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni as India participated as an 'Outreach Nation' in the G7 Summit. Visuals from the session showed PM Modi sharing a hug with Pope Francis. Read more 

During his first overseas trip after starting his third term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the G7 Summit for the fifth consecutive time at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Before attending the G7 Outreach session, PM met several world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss bilateral relations. UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations, strengthening Indo-French defence cooperation and support for a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war — these were all a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s morning bilateral meetings with his respective counterparts on the sidelines of the G7 Read more 

The number of startups in India in the space sector has jumped 200 times in the last two years, and the country is now eyeing a 4X growth in its share in the global space economy by 2030, said Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Space & Technology. This quantum jump has been possible due to the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open up the space sector to the private sector and allow public-private participation, the minister said on Thursday, while chairing a meeting to review the 100-day action plan of the Department of Space. Notably, the government had rolled out the Indian Space Policy on April 20, 2023, that allowed private companies to enter the space sector to offer services such as communication, internet, navigation and remote sensing. There was only one space startup in India in 2022, and the number jumped to nearly 200 in 2024, Singh was reported as saying by the Press Information Bureau (PIB). Read more  

Thousands of people across the world have participated in the 10th International Day of Yoga in mass sessions practising the ancient physical, mental and spiritual discipline that originated in India. The United Nations declared June 21 as an International Day of Yoga in December 2014, to raise awareness globally of the benefits of practising yoga. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led hundreds of people performed yoga in Kashmir. Thousands of government employees, teachers and students from all over Kashmir were brought in for the event, although rain forced PM Modi’s performance indoors. In other parts of the world, people got together to attempt various yoga poses, meditate and practise breathing exercises. The theme this year was “Yoga for Self and Society”, focusing on the harmony of mind and body with a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

Global economic growth was estimated at 3.2% in 2023 and is projected to continue at the same pace in 2024 and 2025, as per the latest World Economic Outlook 2024 report, published in April 2024. It predicts an increase in developed economy growth from 1.6% in 2023 to 1.7% in 2024 and 1.8% in 2025. Emerging markets and developing countries, on the contrary, are predicted to decelerate somewhat, from 4.3% in 2023 to 4.2% in 2024 and 2025. It is interesting to note that a developing nation like India rises to the fifth largest economy, with the IMF indicating that it will continue to grow faster than China, the second largest economy, as the Chinese mainland struggles with the collapse of its real estate market, low consumer and business confidence, and rising trade tensions with other major countries. As gross domestic product (GDP) remains a popular criterion for determining the size and strength of a country’s economy, below is a list of the top ten largest economies in the world as of April 2024. Read more

India won the men’s Cricket World Cup on June 29, 2024, defeating South Africa to end a dry spell in tournament victories that had lasted over a decade, even as the nation was dominating the sport globally in other measures like talent, cash and influence. The tournament was played across several Caribbean islands, with a few of the matches hosted in the United States, including at a pop-up stadium in New York. When the final, in Barbados, ended with India declared the champion, it was close to midnight back home, where joyful crowds poured into the streets across several cities. Read more 

High Commission of India, Lilongwe, Malawi

Area  9, Plot 55, Lilongwe