8 JULY2023INFOCUSINFOCUSAlvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met on Thursday to discuss on the mutual interests of emerging Global Challenges.The finance minister emphasized during the meeting that multilateral institutions should make significant investments in food processing, storage, and small-scale farming to ensure food security.In addition to this, the institutions should also concentrate on ensuring the involvement of developing and emerging economies and dealing with contemporary global issues like food security, debt distress, and climate change.FM Nirmala Sitharaman also stated the necessity for the multilateral development banks (MDBs) to conduct a fresh, fair review to address the new issues. The President of IFAD appreciated India's leadership taken on the G20 presidency, he even addressed on how IFAD brought climate change to the center stage of the institution. DISCUSSION HELD ON EMERGING GLOBAL CHALLENGES BY FM NIRMALA SITHARAMANLALITHA NATARAJAN, SUPPORTER OF CHILDREN'S RIGHTS RECEIVES THE 2023 IQBAL MASIH AWARDThe 2023 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labour has been presented to Lalitha Natarajan by the US Department of Labour. Lalitha Natarajan is an activist and lawyer based in Chennai. At a ceremony on May 30 at the US Consulate General in Chennai, Lalitha received the award from Consul General Judith Ravin.She is a pioneer in the fight to end child labour that is increasingly exploited in the southern part of India. She specifically identifies those children who have been forced into bonded labour and helps them to live an independent life in society at the US Consulate in Chennai.In addition to this, Lalitha makes sure that the victims receive compensation under the Child Labour Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. As a member of the Child Welfare Committee (North Zone), under the Department of Social Defence, Tamil Nadu she not only campaigns against child labour but also helps those people who have experienced domestic violence and sexual assault with legal and counselling services.
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