1.National Affairs
India Energy Forum inaugurated
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Energy Forum.
This is the 4th edition of India Energy Forum.
The theme of India Energy Forum is “India’s Energy Future in a World of Change”.
India’s Energy Plan aims to ensure energy justice while fully following India’s global commitments for sustainable growth.
2.National Affairs
Kerala: First state to fix floor price for vegetables
Kerala has become the first state in the country to fix the floor price for vegetables.
The floor price has been fixed at 20 per cent above the production cost of the vegetable.
If the market price goes below the floor price, the product will still be procured at the floor price from the farmers.
A total of sixteen varieties of vegetables would be covered in the first phase and there is a provision to revise the floor price on a regular basis.
3.Person in News
Dr Satish Mishra awarded the Dr Tulsi Das Chugh Award-2020
Dr Satish Mishra has bagged the Dr Tulsi Das Chugh Award-2020
He is the Principal Scientist in the Division of Molecular Parasitology and Immunology at CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow.
He was selected by the National Academy of Medical Sciences (India).
His most outstanding work is focused on “Secreted Protein with Altered Thrombospondin Repeat (SPATR) which is Essential for Asexual Blood Stages but not Required for Hepatocyte Invasion by the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium Berghei”.
4.Defence and Security
F-18 Fighter Jets offered by US for Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers
The United States of America has offered its F-18 naval fighter jets for Indian Navy aircraft carriers so as to strenghten its ties with India.
The announcement came after the 2+2 ministerial-level talks that was held on October 27, 2020.
The combat jets would be operated from its aircraft carriers called INS Vikramaditya.
US has also offered its unmanned aircraft called Sea Guardian to the Indian Navy.
Quick Fact: The F-18 fighter jet is a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat jet.
UN award for efforts to fight climate change won by Global Himalayan Expedition
5.International Affairs
The Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) won the prestigious UN award for its efforts in combating climate change amidi the Covid-19 pandemic.
The organisation is one of the winners of the 2020 UN Global Climate Action Award.
GHE is an Indian organisation that opens up the tourism and technology in order to help remote communities’ access to solar energy.
The organization conducts Impact Expeditions that help the remote Himalayan villages.
Quick Fact: Global Himalayan Expedition is world’s first organisations that is using tourism and technology to bring solar energy to remote communities as recognised by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
6.Business and Finance
$1 billion loan agreement signed between SBI and JBIC
State Bank of India (SBI) signed a loan agreement of up to $1 billion with The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
The loan will help in facilitating the operations of Japanese car companies in India.
Of the $1 billion loan, $600 million will be financed by JBIC, the rest will come from other participating lenders which include the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, MUFG Bank, , Mizuho Bank, Shizuoka Bank and Bank of Yokohama.
The financing will help with the Indian government’s Make in India Initiative.
Quick Fact: The President & CEO of Japan Bank for International Cooperation is Tadashi Maeda.
7.National Affairs
Parampara Series 2020 launched by Vice President
Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu launched the virtual festival of Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance.
The Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance” was organised by Natya Tarangini in partnership with the United Nations.
The festival has been organised since the last 23 years.
Quick Fact: The festival coincides with the World Day for Audio-visual Heritage.
8.India and the World
USD 1 bn credit line offered by India to central Asian countries for priority projects
India has announced USD 1 billion line of credit for priority developmental projects in central Asian countries.
India also decided to further expand cooperation with the resource-rich region including confrontation of the common challenges of terrorism and extremism.
The announcement was made during the second meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue.
The virtual meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the External Affairs Ministers from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
