Water scarcity and erratic rainfall patterns continue to challenge agricultural productivity across the Global South. Efficient water management is essential to ensure climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable food security. Recognizing this need, India has successfully implemented the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY-Prime Minister's Agricultural Irrigation Scheme) since 2015-16. This initiative promotes micro-irrigation technologies such as drip and sprinkler irrigation which enhance water-use efficiency, optimize farm productivity, and ensure long-term sustainability in water-scarce regions.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary S Krishnan said that India is seen as the leader of the Global South because of the country's immense digital transformation, particularly in the digital public infrastructure space. "India is seen as the leader of the Global South in the overall space of digital transformation, and DPIs are an important space through which that has been enabled," the secretary told ANI, on the sidelines of Carnegie Global Technology Summit. Taking the argument forward, the Secretary said AI is an advancement in technology, which needs to be harnessed for the public good.
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, represented India at the 3rd BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministerial Meeting (BAMM) held in Kathmandu. During this meeting, he proposed the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Agricultural Cooperation. Agriculture ministers and senior agriculture officials from the BIMSTEC countries - India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka - gathered for the third time to discuss strategies for boosting the BIMSTEC agriculture sector, including cooperation in fisheries and livestock.
The Africa India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) 2025 was inaugurated on 13 Apr 25 in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, marking a significant step in strengthening maritime cooperation between India and African nations. The ceremony was graced by the presence of Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax, Minister of Defence and National Service of Tanzania, Shri Sanjay Seth, India's Raksha Rajya Mantri (RRM) and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi. The event also saw the attendance of distinguished military leaders, including the Chief of Defence Force of the Tanzania Peoples' Defence Force (TPDF).
Government of India has gifted a fleet of 6 school buses to the Government of Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe. In a ceremony held in Sao Tome on April 10, 2025, these buses were handed over to H.E. Ms. Isabel Maria Correia Viegas de Abreu, Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Higher Education of Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe by Shri Deepak Miglani, Ambassador of India to the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.
UN Tourism has taken another major step towards advancing South-South cooperation in tourism development with the successful hosting of the 2nd UN Tourism Africa & The Americas Summit in Livingstone, Zambia. Building on the foundation laid in Punta Cana last year, this year’s summit outlined concrete strategies to implement the Punta Cana Declaration, focusing on innovation, technical cooperation, connectivity, investment, and enhancing tourist confidence and safety.
The project, launched with support from the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, represents a significant investment in the health of Caribbean mothers and children. This timely initiative comes amid a troubling resurgence of syphilis and congenital syphilis in the Region of the Americas. According to the data reported to PAHO, cases of congenital syphilis increased by 40% between 2016 and 2022 reaching more than 36,000 cases in 2022. Nineteen of the 26 reporting countries noted increases in syphilis among pregnant women between 2015 and 2022.
On the sidelines of the 3rd BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministerial level meeting on Wednesday, India’s Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Union Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development of Nepal, Ram Nath Adhikari, signed an MoU on ‘Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture between India and Nepal’. The ministers reviewed bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture and discussed ways to further enhance collaboration for mutual benefit. This agreement aims to strengthen the ongoing collaboration between the two nations.
India and Chile have agreed to hold discussions toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to expand trade and investment. MEA Secretary (East) Periasamy Kumaran made these remarks while briefing the media on the visit of Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font to India in New Delhi this afternoon. He noted that the two countries currently have a partial trade agreement, with the aim of expanding it into a comprehensive Foreign Trade Agreement (FTA). The two leaders comprehensively reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations spanning a wide range of sectors.
Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) conducted an official mission to Morocco and Egypt to deepen sanitary discussions and expand technical cooperation in the region. The mission was led by Mapa’s Deputy Secretary for Trade and International Relations, Marcel Moreira, with support from Brazil’s agricultural attachés in both countries: Ellen Laurindo in Morocco and Rafael Mohana in Egypt. In Morocco, the focus was on strengthening institutional ties with local sanitary authorities and promoting Brazilian agricultural products.
In a move poised to strengthen agricultural trade and empower farmers, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) is funding a EUR 3.5 million, Zimbabwe Mozambique Agricultural Value Chain and Trade Development Project (Zim-Moza ATDP), Zimbabwe will receive EUR 1.166 million of the total budget. The project’s core mission is to accelerate the agrifood transformation process within and between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The project will focus on assisting value chain actors, in both the public and private sectors, in implementing sound and favourable trade policies.
Dubai Health has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the five founding trustees of the UAE-India Friendship Hospital, four of whom are also founding members of the UAE India Business Council – UAE Chapter (UIBC-UC). This strategic partnership marks a key milestone in the joint commitment of the UAE and India to advance equitable healthcare access in the emirate and underscores a shared commitment to expanding access to quality healthcare services. The UAE-India Friendship Hospital is a joint philanthropic initiative endorsed at the leadership level.
Minister for Health and Population Pradip Paudel has said that Nepal must work continuously with the aim of reducing maternal and child mortality rates to zero. Speaking at the inauguration of a new maternal and neonatal simulation lab at the Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital’s Kupondole branch, Paudel highlighted the country’s progress in reducing such mortality rates and vowed that the upcoming national budget would give maternity care top priority.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has officially released the draft Technical Standards for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and is calling on the public to participate in the consultation process by reviewing and submitting feedback on the proposed framework. This development marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda and the government’s drive to build an inclusive, secure, and interoperable digital ecosystem.
Ecuador's telecommunications ministry (Mintel) published a new public policy on digital transformation last week, aimed at promoting digital transformation over the next five years. The policy outlines a reference budget of US$92.8mn, of which US$36mn is allocated to digital culture and inclusion, and US$34.5mn to interoperability and data processing projects. An estimated US$10mn is earmarked for cybersecurity, with the remainder directed to digital infrastructure, the digital economy, emerging technologies for sustainable development and digital government.
Sri Lanka is likely to design unique business models for its digital infrastructure and sell it to investors as public-private partnerships, a top official said. Sri Lanka is focusing on developing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), which is the foundational digital service for a digital economy. This contains digital identity, payment systems, and data infrastructure. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be used to rally investments and expertise, warranting DPI remains innovative and scalable, Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy Dr. Hans Wijesuriya said at a recent forum in Colombo.
DAKSHIN and the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), Dominican Republic celebrated the Letter of Association (LoA) signing ceremony on 8 April 2025. This is
DAKSHIN - Global South Centre of Excellence organized an online workshop on April 11, 2025, titled "Enabling Circular Economy for a Sustainable Global South," in association with the International Council for Circular Economy (ICCE), India. This event, the tenth in the DAKSHIN workshop series, focused on the critical role of circular economy practices in advancing sustainability within the Global South. Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Director-General of RIS, inaugurated the session by stressing the need for stronger South-South collaboration in light of rising barriers to technology transfer and financing, which hinder progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
