27^th International Congress on Glass (ICG)

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India is hosting the 27th International Congress on Glass (ICG) in Kolkata, India.

27th International Congress on Glass

The ICG 2025 is being organised from January 20-24, 2025 by CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI), Kolkata.

• The year 2025 marks the 7^5th anniversary of the foundation of CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata (CSIR-CGCRI).

The theme of the ICG 2025 Congress is “Glass: A Smart and Indispensable Material for Sustainable Society.”

The last International Congress on Glass Congress (14th ICG) held in India was in 1986 (New Delhi).

The ICG 2025 will host over 550 delegates, including 150 international participants.

ICG Glass Congress is a triennial event organised at different parts of the globe under the aegis of the International Commission on Glass (ICG).

International Commission on Glass (ICG)

• It was founded in 1933 as a non-profit international Society for the National Scientific and Technical Organization.
• Currently, ICG has 37 member organisations which includes the world’s most respected universities, scientific institutions, companies of the glass industry and allied organisations.
• ICG aims to promote and stimulate understanding and cooperation between glass experts in the fields of science and technology. 

India has become the Seventh-largest coffee producer

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As per the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry, India is now the seventh-largest coffee producer in the world.

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• India’s exports reached $1.29 billion in FY 2023-24, which is almost double the $719.42 million in 2020-21.
• Top buyers are: - Italy, Belgium, and Russia. 
• Domestic consumption has also increased from 84,000 tonnes in 2012 to 91,000 tonnes in 2023. 
• Approximately three-fourths of India’s coffee production consists of Arabica and Robusta beans.
• India’s coffee is primarily grown in the ecologically rich Western and Eastern Ghats.

Coffee Cultivation conditions

• Temperatures of Arabica (15-25 °C) and Robusta (20-30 °C).
• Rainfall of 60 to 80 inches (1,500 to 2,000 mm) per year is required along with a dry period of two to three months for the Arabica.
• Optimal coffee-growing conditions include cool to warm tropical climates and rich soils.
• The world’s Coffee Belt spans the globe along the equator, with cultivation in North, Central, and South America; the Caribbean; Africa; the Middle East; and Asia. 

• Brazil is the world’s largest coffee-producing country.
• India’s journey with coffee began when the holy saint Baba Budan brought seven Mocha seeds to the hills of Karnataka in the 1600s.

Coffee Board of India:

• It is an autonomous organization that promotes coffee production in India. 
• It was established in 1942 as a statutory organization under the Coffee Act, 1942. 
• The Coffee Board is managed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, and its head office is in Bangalore.

Outward foreign direct investment rises by 17%

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Reserve Bank Data reveals that Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by domestic firms has risen by nearly 17 per cent in 2024.

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• The OFDI stood at $37.68 billion in 2024 which was $32.29 billion in 2023.
• OFDI by local companies in the form of equity stood at $12.69 billion in 2024, a rise of 40 per cent over the $9.08 billion invested in 2023.
• OFDI by Indian companies in the loans category was $8.7 billion in 2024, compared to $4.76 billion in 2023. 
• The guarantee issued by domestic firms declined to $16.29 billion in 2024, as against $18.44 billion in 2023.
• The sectors where Indian companies invest in overseas markets include hotels, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, mining and services. 
•  he countries that have seen total financial commitment by way of OFDI are Singapore, US, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Malaysia, among others.

Outward foreign direct investment

• FDI net outflows are the value of outward direct investment made by the residents of the reporting economy to external economies, including reinvested earnings and intracompany loans, net of receipts from the repatriation of capital and repayment of loans.
• OFDI has three components — Equity, Loans and Guarantee issued.

Entity Locker Tool

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Recently, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (Meity) introduced the Entity Locker Tool to tap the critical Government-to-Business (G2B) domain.

Entity Locker Tool

• It is a secure, cloud-based solution that simplifies the storage, sharing, and verification of documents for a wide range of entities including large organisations, corporations, micro, small, and medium Enterprises (MSMEs), trusts, startups and societies.

• Developed by: National eGovernance Division (NeGD), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). 
• The platform is critical for India’s Digital Public Infrastructure, aligning with the vision of the Union Budget 2024-25.
• Individuals cannot directly access the Entity Locker. However, they can link their personal DigiLocker accounts to their organization's Entity Locker accounts to access and manage digital documents.

• Real-time access and verification of documents through integration with government databases.
• Consent-based mechanisms for secure sharing of sensitive information.
• Aadhaar-authenticated role-based access management to ensure accountability.
• 10 GB of encrypted cloud storage for secure document management.
• Legally valid digital signatures for authenticating documents.

Entity Locker Benefits:

• Streamlines document sharing and access with partners and stakeholders
• Built-in features simplify adherence to regulations and reporting requirements
• Ensures accountability by tracking all document-related activities
• Consolidates storage and security to reduce administrative overhead
• Minimizes document processing times and operational bottlenecks

Gates-Cambridge Impact Prize 2025

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Professor Urbasi Sinha, the Raman Research Institute (RRI) faculty, in Light and Matter Physics, is honored with the Gates-Cambridge Impact Prize 2025.

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• Prof. Sinha is among the eight winners of Gates-Cambridge's Impact Prize to celebrate its 25th anniversary. 
• She is a researcher in quantum fundamentals and technologies.
• She was awarded the prestigious Rashtriya Vigyan Yuva Puraskar by the Government of India.
• She has played a leading role in the creation of the Open Quantum Institute (OQI), first of its first-of-its-kind multi-stakeholder institution, launched at CERN in March 2024.

About Gates-Cambridge Impact Prize:

• The Gates-Cambridge Impact Prize is an award given by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at the University of Cambridge, UK.   
• Purpose: To recognize and celebrate the impactful work of scholars within the Gates Cambridge community.   
• The prize defines impact as a demonstrable contribution to change in various fields, including the economy, society, culture, the environment, public policy, health and quality of life. 
• The work recognized should be innovative, transformative and sustainable. 
• It must also respect fundamental values such as human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law.