Events of National & International Importance
PM leaves for Nepal to attend SAARC summit
1.
The Prime Minister is left to attend
the 18th South Asian Association of Regional Countries.
2.
SAARC, Summit on 26th and 27th. Mr Narendra Modi's delegation consists of
the External Affairs Minister Mrs Sushma Swaraj, National Security Advisor Mr
Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Mrs Sujatha Singh.
3.
The Summit will focus on enhancement of connectivity and people to people
contacts.
4.
During the two-day Summit, all the heads of the States will make their
policy statements.
5. Agreements on transport, energy
and electricity sector are also expected to be signed.
World Chess Championship: Carlsen retains title against Anand
1. Magnus
Carlsen of Norway has retained his World Chess Championship title.
2. He
defeated Indian challenger and five-time champion Viswanathan Anand in the
Eleventh game at Sochi, Russia.
3. By
earning one point, in the penultimate game, the Norwegian world champion closed
the 12-game match with Six-and-a-half points to Four-and-a-half point’s shoreline.
Iran
nuclear talks
1. Elements
are falling into place for an agreement to allow talks on Iran’s nuclear
program to continue another seven months.
2. According
to the deal, a broad agreement should be completed by March 1, with the final
details worked out by July 1.
3. U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
agreed on Sunday to start discussion on the extension as it became clear that
it would be hard to bridge the differences between them in the time before the
deadline.
4. International
negotiators are worried that Iran is using its nuclear development program as a
cover for developing nuclear weapons, and they have imposed economic sanctions
on Tehran.
Economic Development
Govt plans to offer interest subsidy on housing loans for
lower income group
1.
Government is considering offering interest subsidy on
housing loans to help economically weaker section and lower income group people.
2.
Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Venkaiah
Naidu said, the interest subvention scheme will be a part of the new housing
policy.
India can build $10 tn economy by 2034: PwC
1.
Launching a report on transformational change in India,
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Monday said India has an opportunity to build a
$10 trillion economy by 2034 with a growth rate of 9 per cent per annum.
2.
Titled “Future of India: The Winning Leap”, the report
“builds an aspirational model prepared after meeting business leaders and
social thinkers and identifies winning strategies needed for this aspirational
transformation.
3.
It said that for India to take that “winning leap” and grow
its GDP by 9 per cent per year, it would require the corporate sector to come
together with the entrepreneur class to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem in
constructive partnership with the government.
4.
Corporations alone can’t fuel growth and innovation needed
to power India’s winning leap, so the entrepreneurial sector must also play a
major role.
5.
The government also needs to extend support by creating
national platform.
6.
The report says that up to 40 per cent of India’s $10
trillion economy of 2034 could be derived from new solutions.
7.
The report investigates 10 sectors — education, healthcare,
agriculture, retail, power, manufacturing, financial services, urbanisation and
the enabling sectors of digital and physical connectivity.
Environment & Ecology
Chinese
hydropower dam on Brahmaputra
1. China announced that the first generating unit
of the 9.6 billion yuan (US $1.5 billion) Zangmu Hydropower Station on the
Yarlung Zangbo river (called the Brahmaputra in India) in Tibet has become
operational.
2.
The hydropower station, Tibet's
largest, is positioned 3,300 metres above sea level on the Tibetan Plateau.
Flood threat for India
1. The commissioning of Zangmu is bound to raise alarm bells downstream
in India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and Bangladesh, which form the lower riparian of the Brahmaputra.
2.
In the past, India has
repeatedly expressed concern about the dangers of damming the Brahmaputra in
Tibet.
3.
China
has routinely responded saying its plans were restricted to run-off-the-river
dams focussed on generating electricity, which posed little danger.
Biodiversity & Climate change
Montreal
Protocol recent updates
1.
The 26th Meeting of Parties
(MOP) to the Montreal Protocol closed amid high drama.
2. Earlier, towards the end of Wednesday, it seemed like there would be
some sort of consensus on formation of a formal contact group that would
discuss hydroflourocarbons (HFCs).
3.
There was no clarity if discussions of phase-down of HFCs will
discussed under Montreal Protocol after India, Pakistan and other countries did not agree to the formation of a
contact group while reiterating old concerns.
4.
India had not initially
disclosed whether it was in favour of HFCs (used in refrigerants) being
discussed under Montreal Protocol on ozone depleting substances.
5.
After staying tight lipped for
the first couple of days, the Indian delegation finally made its position clear.
6.
The Technological and
Scientific Assessment Panel (TEAP) should submit reports that give conclusive
data (not estimates), and a demonstration project on alternatives to HFCs in
every state in India that bears in mind the energy efficiency aspect of HFCs
and their affordability.
Editorial
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