NATIONAL NEWS

National Conference on Energy Transition in India

· Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy Shri R.K. Singh inaugurated a two-day National Conference on “Energy Transition in India - Road Travelled and Opportunities Ahead” in Gandhinagar.

· Organized as a part of the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024, the event is being attended by more than 250 Indian and foreign representatives of power and renewable energy sector.

· The two-day conference will focus on scaling up renewable energy, generation and consumption by considering challenges related to grid integration, financing tools and developing supporting infrastructure.

· The main objective of this conference is to move forward with an ambitious vision of promoting clean energy and facilitating the energy transition.

· India is committed to reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030 compare to 2005 level.

· Gujarat is also the first state in the country to issue policies on renewable energy providing incentives for the development of renewable energy.

Uttar Pradesh Government Signs MoU with CSIR and DRDO

· Uttar Pradesh is focusing on connecting the proposed Bulk Drugs Park in Lalitpur with technology along with research and innovation to provide high-quality and affordable medicines and medical devices.

· The Uttar Pradesh government has given approval for the establishment of the state's first Pharma Park in Lalitpur district, located in Bundelkhand.

· For this, the government has linked big institutions of the Government of India like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) with the Bulk Drug Park and made them its knowledge partners.

· The Bulk Drugs Park in Lalitpur is being developed according to international standards, aligning with Chief Minister Yogi's vision.

· The government has allocated a budget of Rs 1560 crore for the development and provision of necessary facilities to investors in Lalitpur Pharma Park.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India Re-Elected To The IMO Council

· India was re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) with the highest number of votes in the elections held in London for the 2024-25 biennium session.

· The 33rd Assembly of the IMO Council is being held from 27 November to 6 December 2023 at the IMO Headquarters in London.

· The Council is an executive body of the IMO and is responsible for monitoring the work of the organization.

· India comes in the category of ten countries with the greatest interest in international maritime trade.

 

BANKING

LIC Launches New Whole Life Insurance Policy 'Jeevan Utsav

· Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has launched a new individual, savings, and Whole Life Insurance plan called Jeevan Utsav.

· This plan is available for age starting from 90 days to 65 years.

· It gives guaranteed lifelong income and lifelong risk cover.

· The minimum premium paying term is 5 years and the maximum premium paying term is 16 years.

· For each policy year for which premium is paid, the Guaranteed Additions at Rs 40 per thousand Basic Sum Assured shall accrue at the end of each policy year during the premium paying term.

· The Plan is a Non-Linked, Non-Participating Plan.

· This is a comprehensive form of life insurance providing lifetime coverage.

ADB Approves $500 Million Loan to Maharashtra

· The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan package worth USD 500 million to improve access to quality and affordable tertiary health care and medical education in Maharashtra, India.

· ADB has been working with the state government of Maharashtra to achieve its vision of providing affordable and accessible tertiary health care to all by 2030 and strengthening quality and professional medical practitioners.

· The programme will initiate pivotal policy reforms to bolster tertiary healthcare services and expand medical education, particularly in underserved regions.

· The Maharashtra Tertiary Care and Medical Education Sector Development Programme, financed by the ADB loan, aims to construct 4 new medical colleges with tertiary care hospitals, which will include features that are resilient to climate and disasters, gender-sensitive, and socially inclusive.

· The programme also plans to augment bed capacity in state hospitals and recruit at least 500 doctors for these new institutions.

ADB Commits USD 170 Million to Transform Kochi's Water Landscape

· The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a significant loan of USD 170 million for the modernization of water supply services in Kochi, Kerala.

· Objective of the loan is to modernize water supply services, elevate urban living standards, ensure access to clean water, and enhance climate resilience in Kochi.

· The project will rehabilitate and upgrade five existing water treatment plants that have a cumulative production capacity of 325 million litres per day (MLD), as well as build a new plant with 190 MLD capacity.

· To reduce loss of treated water during distribution, around 700 kilometres of pipes will be replaced and a real-time monitoring system will be introduced.

· About 146,000 water metres will be replaced with high-quality and reliable metres.

· The project will also improve the capacity of the service provider, including through training to improve female employment in the construction, operation, and maintenance of water supply systems.

 

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

World Digital Competitiveness Ranking-2023

· India has been ranked 49th out of 64 economies in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (WDCR) released by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

· According to IMD's study, India has made significant in terms of cybersecurity knowledge but lacks on fronts like technology and future preparedness.

· The United States has topped in the report.

· The Netherlands took second place in the ranking, while Singapore, the leader in the technology factor, took third place.

· The WDCR is a comprehensive assessment that provides insight into how nations are navigating the digital landscape amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

· The ranking, prepared by the IMD World Competitiveness Centre, measures the capacity and readiness of all 64 countries to adopt and explore digital technologies as a key driver for economic transformation in business, government and broader society.

 

SPORTS

84th Grandmaster of India

· Chennai's Vaishali Rameshbabu has become India's 84th Grandmaster after crossing the coveted 2500 Elo rating during the 2023 IV Elllobregate Open in Barcelona, Spain.

· Vaishali has become the third woman Grandmaster of India after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli.

· Vaishali achieved this feat by defeating Turkish FM Tamer Tarik Celebes

· She is currently ranked world number 11 in the women's rankings and number two in India with a live rating of 2501.5.

 

AWARDS & PRIZES

UNHR Award- Nansen Award

· Abdullahi Mire of somalia has been named the winner of the UNHRC’s prestigious Nansen Award.

· Abdullahi Mire has received the award for giving 1,00,000 books to the hands of children in Kenya’s crowded Dadaab refugee camps.

· Abdullahi Mire is a journalist and former refugee from Somalia.

· Abdullahi Mire set up the Refugee Youth Education Hub to raise awareness about the refugees’ educational needs and promote book donations.

· This organization has distributed more than 1 lakh books in the camps and has opened three libraries.

· This award honours individuals, groups and organizations who protect refugees as well as internally displaced and stateless people.

WISE Prize for Education

· The prestigious WISE Award was honoured to Safina Hussain at the WISE 11 Summit (World Innovation Summit for Education).

· The WISE Prize for Education is the first global award of its kind that honours an individual for outstanding contributions to education.

· Working in partnership with government and communities, Educate Girls reintegrates them into the formal education system.

· Educate Girls has mobilized over 14 lakh girls to enroll and provided remedial education to over 19 lakh students since its inception through this comprehensive approach in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar.

· The WISE prize was established in 2009 by the Qatar Foundation.

 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Chairman of Fino Payments Bank

· Mumbai-based Fino Payments Bank has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the appointment of former managing director of Xerox India and Walt Disney India, Rajat Kumar Jain, as its part-time chairman.

· Rajat Kumar Jain, an alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, is an accomplished corporate executive turned entrepreneur, business mentor/angel investor and serves as a non-executive director on various Boards including group companies of Aditya Birla and Mahindra conglomerates.

Jain brings over three decades of strategic leadership experience across the Consumer, Telecom, Media, and Technology sectors.

 

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Pollution Control Day

· National Pollution Control Day 2023 is observed every year on 02 December.

· The day is observed to create awareness about pollution which is causing harm to our environment and living beings.

· It is nationally observed for the remembrance of an Industrial accident that took place in Bhopal which took thousands of lives in 1984.

· The Bhopal gas tragedy happened on the night of 2nd and 3rd December in the year 1984 because of the unintentional discharge of the poisonous chemical known as Methyl Isocyanate (also called MIC) as well as some other chemicals released from the Union Carbide Chemical Plant positioned in the city.

· Nearly 25000 people died due to the release of Poisonous gas and it is reported as one of the biggest Industrial Pollution disasters that took place in history.

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

· International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2023 is observed every year on 02 2023.

· The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery focuses on eradicating modern forms of slavery like trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour, forced marriage, and forced recruitment of children into armed conflict.

· The International Labor Organization puts the number of victims of modern slavery at 40 million worldwide.

· From past times to the present, slavery has spanned various nations, civilizations, and religions.

· Similarly, victims of slavery hailed from a wide range of races and religious backgrounds.

· ILO has adopted a legally binding Protocol designed to strengthen global efforts to eliminate forced labor, which entered into force in November 2016.

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