1) TERI’s World Sustainable Development Summit begins
•The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has delivered the inaugural address at The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) World Sustainable Development Summit. Mr Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Ms Amina J Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations and Union Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav were among those present on the occasion. The 21st edition of WSDS is scheduled from 16th-18th February 2022.
•The theme for this year’s summit is Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future.
2) World Health Organisation launches Quit Tobacco App
•World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region (SEAR) has launched a ‘Quit Tobacco App’. This application helps people to give up the use of tobacco in all forms, including smokeless and other newer products. The App was launched by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO-SEAR, during WHO’s year-long ‘Commit to quit’ campaign, is the latest tobacco control initiative by the WHO South-East Asia Region.
•The app, the first such by WHO, and the first that targets all forms of tobacco, helps users to identify the triggers, set their targets, manage cravings, and stay focused to quit tobacco. Tobacco is the world’s leading cause of preventable death and kills nearly 8 million persons every year. It claims 1.6 million lives in the WHO South-East Asia Region which is amongst the largest producers and consumers of tobacco products.
3) Union Minister RK Singh co-chairs 4th India-Australia Energy Dialogue
•The 4th India-Australia Energy Dialogue was co-chaired by Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, RK Singh and Australian Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor. Energy Transition was a major area of discussion in the dialogue and both the Energy Ministers. Energy Transition activities in their respective countries with a focus on renewables, energy efficiency, storage, EVs, critical minerals, mining etc.
•The need of Climate Finance was also highlighted by India for meeting the Energy Transition goals of developing countries. Both the countries signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for working towards reducing the cost of new and renewable energy technologies and scaling up their deployment to reduce global emissions.
•Apart from the power sector, there are many desirable areas of cooperation agreed under the other JWGs like reducing costs of Green Hydrogen; cooperation in the sphere of coal-based energy security and resource deployment; investment opportunities in the minerals sector; exploring the potential for an LNG Partnership, among other areas.
4) GoI forms G20 Secretariat in view India’s G20 Presidency
India will hold the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023 and the G20 Summit will be held in India in 2023 (18th edition). For its preparation, the government has approved the setting up of a G20 Secretariat and its reporting structures. The G20 Secretariat will be guided by an Apex Committee headed by Prime Minister and it will have the following members:
•Finance Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman,
•Home Minister: Amit Shah,
•External Affairs Minister: S. Jaishankar, and
•G20 Sherpa: Piyush Goyal
What is the responsibility of the G20 secretariat?
•The G20 secretariat will be responsible for the implementation of overall policy decisions and arrangements needed for steering India’s forthcoming G20 Presidency. In 2021, the G20 summits was held in Rome, Italy. In 2022 the G20 summit will be held in Bali, Indonesia while in 2023 it will be held in New Delhi, India.
5) Social Justice Ministry launches Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs
•Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr Virendra Kumar has launched a central sector scheme named the Scheme for Economic Empowerment for DNTs, (SEED) at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. The total financial outlay for SEED Scheme is approximately Rs 200 crore to be spent over a period of 5 years starting Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
•The objective of SEED is the welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic tribal Communities (DNT/NT/SNT), which are the most neglected, marginalized and economically and socially deprived communities.
6) SIDBI launches ‘waste to wealth creation’ programme 2022
•Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched the ‘Waste to Wealth Creation’ programme for women in the Sundarbans in West Bengal. In this, the women will make ornaments and showpieces from the fish scales. SIDBI will extend benefits to 50 women indirectly generating revenues from alternate livelihoods.
•Under this programme, Later, these women are expected to become a trainer for replicating and disseminating the knowledge among other aspirants. This is a part of mission Swavalamban of SIDBI that aims to support artisans to become sustainable.
7) Yes Bank launches ‘Agri Infinity’ programme
•Private sector lender, Yes Bank has launched an ‘Agri Infinity’ programme for digital financing solutions in the food and agriculture sector ecosystem by mentoring entrepreneurial ventures in this field. Agri-fintech start-ups working on financial innovations across the food and agriculture value chain are eligible to apply under this programme and can work with Yes Bank for digital solutions.
•Through the initiative, a select cohort of startups will not only receive mentoring by veteran bankers for experiential co-development but also get access to YES BANK’s digital banking infrastructure and network, collaborative opportunities to pilot new solutions and fundraising advisory. Those involved in originations, farmer on-boarding, farmer KYC, credit scoring, risk assessment, monitoring and mitigation, disbursement and recovery solutions and cash management system, among others, can apply.
8) A book titled ‘Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War’ released
•A new book titled “Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War” authored by Samuel Moyn was released. Samuel Moyn is the Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale Law School and a professor of History at Yale University. This provocative book argues about the endless wars the USA created in the past including Vietnam War (1955-1975), Korean War (1950-1953), World War II (1939-1945) etc and this development might not represent progress at all.
•The book highlights the United States of America (USA) strategy on fighting wars and how armed combat was transformed from an imperfect tool for resolving disputes into an integral component of the modern condition.
9) India’s wholesale inflation declines to 12.96% in January
•India’s wholesale inflation has eased to 12.96 % in January from 13.56 % in the previous month. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation has declined consistently in recent months. It fell from 14.87 % in November 2021 to 13.56 % in December 2021 and further to 12.96 % in January 2022. However, inflation still remains at an elevated level and is a matter of concern for economic policymakers.
10) Narcotics Control Bureau organises “Darkathon-2022”
•The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is organising a “Darkathon-2022” to find solutions to counter drug trafficking through the darknet. The initiative aims at involving students, youth and technical experts to find effective solutions to unravel the anonymity of darknet markets. The agency recently smashed three groups of drug peddlers that were operating on the network that is accessed through encryption software which enables anonymity of users.
•The prize money for the first winner is Rs 2.50 lakh, the runner-up would get Rs 2 lakh and the third winner Rs 1.50 lakh. The consolation prize for the 4th and 5th place is Rs 25,000 each. The online registration will continue till March 31 through https://ncb.cyberchallenge.in.
11) Bihar ropes in Manoj Tiwari as brand ambassador for Khadi
•Bhojpuri singer and BJP MP, Manoj Tiwari will be the brand ambassador of Khadi and other handicrafts of Bihar. He will be the “brand ambassador” for Khadi and other handicrafts of Bihar, state minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain announced. Manoj Tiwari will promote the use of Khadi fabric, which was popularized by Mahatma Gandhi during India’s Independence movement. Tiwari, who has lent his voice to innumerable foot-tapping numbers, including the “Gangs of Wasseypur” chartbuster “Jiya ho Bihar ke lala”.
