Tag: 21st Century

India-U.S. partnership is the defining moment of the 21st century

 Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Textiles and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal said that the India-U.S. partnership is the defining moment of the 21st century and reiterated the “ChaleinSaathSaath: Forward Together We Go” motto underscoring the depth of the partnership. During his Inaugural Address on ‘US-India Partnership: Forging Ahead’ at American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM) India’s 31st Annual General Meeting today in New Delhi, he talked about diversifying and deepening India-U.S. trade and investment ties for mutual growth and prosperity.

The Minister emphasised that the leaders of both the countries, Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi and President of the United States of America, Mr. Joe Biden, understand each other and work smoothly together to find solutions to complex geopolitical problems around the world. Shri Goyal mentioned the 5Ts-Talent, Technology, Tradition, Trade and Trusteeship- identified by the Prime Minister as the vision for the India-U.S. relationship.

The Minister noted that the bilateral trade between India and U.S. has been the highest in the last couple of years and said that it is aimed to increase multifold in the coming years. He said that the target of US$2 trillion exports by the year 2030 is doable with the increasing eminence and recognition of India across the world and with strengthening partnerships with like minded countries having shared values like the U.S.

Shri Piyush Goyal cited the examples of many Indian companies operating in the U.S. and vice versa and highlighted how significantly they are contributing to each other’s economy. The Minister said that these business relations are deepening the partnership between the two countries. He expressed hope that more and more U.S. based corporations will work together with Indian companies in the near future.

The Minister encouraged companies from the U.S. to establish their base in India and expand to newer frontiers like the markets of Africa and South-East Asia. He said that India offers assured prosperity and growth to the U.S. companies with the recent policy reforms undertaken with focus on the fundamental  macroeconomic parameters, affordable labour costs, inclusive and sustainable development and increasing ease of doing business.

The Minister said that the businesses in both countries can work together to expand to the next level in many sectors like defence manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering products, auto components, electrical products, agricultural products, etc. on the merchandise side while IT, accounting, business processes outsourcing, research & development, tourism, etc. on the services side. He said that the bilateral trade between both the countries is growing rapidly and has tremendous potential to scale further heights. He said that the technical and managerial talent offered by India to businesses around the world cements India’s relationship with the world; he cited the example of many U.S. corporations having Indian or Indian-origin CEOs.

The Minister said that Amrit Kaal is the defining period for India in which the demographic dividend is contributing to the growth of the economy bringing prosperity & future for the country. He said that the reform processes undertaken by the government in the last 9 years will turn India into a global manufacturing hub. He said that the efforts of the government towards improving logistics infrastructure like connectivity, power, etc. is leading to better quality of life for the people of India and enabling the aspirational youth to contribute to the rapid development of India. Shri Goyal stressed that it is important for the industry to stand on its own feet with delivery of high quality products and services with government interference in business to the minimum.

The Minister said that there is multifarious interaction between India and the U.S. at various platforms like the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), U.S.-India CEO Forum, Quad, etc. He said that the comprehensive & strategic partnership between India and the U.S. is based on the strong foundation of shared values, commitment to the rule of law, transparency, freedom of business, freedom of media, independent judiciary, etc. The Minister said that there is complementarity between the India-U.S. economy and both countries collaborate to make prosperous and rational decisions.

He mentioned the significance of the recent visit of United States Secretary of Commerce, Ms. Gina Raimondo to India for the strengthening and deepening of the India-U.S. Partnership. He said that during her visit, Ms. Raimondo met the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi and praised his visionary leadership in transforming India. He said that Ms. Raimondo noted the efforts of the Government in eliminating poverty and improving the lives of the people of India through the efficient use of technology and effective policy formulations.

The Minister said that India is committed to the fight against climate change and praised the performance of India as it performed better than the commitments it had made with being among the top 5 countries in performance on climate action. He said that India is consistent in the fight against climate change under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi who brought less developed, developing and developed countries together for the signing of the Paris Agreement.

The Minister appreciated the important role played by AMCHAM and the impetus provided by it for the India-U.S. partnership. He said that the collective effort between the leadership of both countries, warmth between people, etc. enables both the countries to partner in uncharted territories for mutual growth and development. The Minister also released two reports at the event: 1. The India edge – US Industries catalysing the growth trajectory and 2. Future of Urban Mobility- Integration of Platforms.

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Technologies that have gone obsolete. 

This is an image about Technologies that have gone obsolete.

With rapid technological advancements, we witness several unique and innovative technologies that take the market by storm! They become the talk of the town, sometimes go out of stock, and build a foundation for newer and better technological ideas to formulate. Finally, no matter how advanced these technologies are, it goes obsolete as it paves way for newer technologies to storm the market. 

We have had the privilege of witnessing several such technologies that completely blew our minds. But sadly, some are no longer in use or have gone obsolete. 

Here is a list of some of the technologies that have gone obsolete. 

So let us reminisce about the past!

1.Telephones and wired landlines

This is an image of telephones and wireless landlines.

I am reminded of the classic monotonous ringtone of a telephone as I write about this! Although not often used today, telephones and landlines have had a long run as it’s origins can be traced back to the 1840s. It has gone through several advancements and iterations, such as the rotary dial phones and wired landlines. 

Rotary dial phones have gone obsolete and the wired landlines are waiting to be one as portable and handheld solutions are multiplying across the world. However, we would never forget the long conversations we have had while sitting close to a telephone and holding on to the receiver. 

2. Phone booths

This is an image of phone booths


Gone are the times when people queued up outside a phone booth to make a call. Now you might see people queuing up to buy the latest I-Phone before it goes out of stock for a while! With handheld devices and network services being made available and affordable, phone booths no longer serve the purpose for which it was originally intended. 

There have been rumours about Google planning to develop these telephone booths into Wifi spots. For now, it stands as a reminder of the telephone’s long history. 

3. Pagers and beeper

Pagers and beepers were used in the 1980s as portable alternatives to landline telephones. They were mainly used by emergency service workers and doctors for people to reach out and connect with them, even when they were away from a landline telephone. Users could send and receive messages with these pagers and beepers. 

The early 2000s witnessed it’s decline as smartphones emerged into the market. But due to their durability and better network coverage, they are still in use by a few numbers. However, among the vast majority, this technology has gone obsolete. 

4. DVD a.k.a Digital Versatile Disc

This is an image of DVD


DVD is an evolutionary and a very familiar video format for many of us. We all have had the pleasure of inserting the DVDs into our DVD Players to enjoy audio and video content. It had several advantages over its predecessors as it had more storage space and was more durable. 

Today, video streaming platforms and high speed internet have replaced the DVDs to become the most sought after medium of entertainment. 

5. Floppy disc

This is an image of a Floppy disc

In the modern ages, Floppy disc is the universal computer icon that indicates the function of saving files. However, with the auto-saving options made available in many softwares, these are disappearing even as an icon. Floppy discs were mainly in use during the 1970s. The initial ones were capable of storing upto 80 kilobytes of data. With further developments made to the floppy discs, it’s storage capacity was increased to hold upto 144MB of data. 

Due to low durability and vulnerability to corruption, it was soon replaced by CD-ROMs. Today, one can say that this technology has gone obsolete. 

Which of these inventions do you remember using and which are the ones that I have missed out? I am sure there are many. Put them in the comments below!