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By admin: Nov. 29, 2022

NITI Aayog releases study report on ‘Carbon Capture to achieve net zero emission target by 2070

Tags: Reports Environment

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has released a report titled ‘Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India’ on 29 November 2022. 

The report explores the importance of Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage as an emission reduction strategy to meet the Net Zero target of India by 2070. The report outlines broad level policy interventions needed across various sectors for its application.

India’s  has committed  through its updated nationally determined contributions (NDC)  to achieve 50% of its total installed capacity from non-fossil-based energy sources, 45% reduction in emission intensity by 2030 and taking steps towards achieving Net Zero by 2070,

It means India has to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. However the recent study suggests that India’s reliance on fossil fuel especially coal for power generation is likely to increase rather than reduce. 

According to the Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery, the Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) can enable the production of clean products while still utilizing our rich endowments of coal.

Possible benefits of the CCUS

The report indicates that CCUS can provide a wide variety of opportunities to convert the captured CO2 to different value-added products like green urea, food and beverage form application, building materials (concrete and aggregates), chemicals (methanol and ethanol), polymers (including bio-plastics).

CCUS projects will also lead to a significant employment generation. It estimates that about 750 Million tonnes per annum of carbon capture by 2050 can create employment opportunities of about 8-10 million on full time equivalent (FTE) basis in a phased manner

Carbon Capture and Storage and Utilisation 

Carbon Capture and Storage is the process of capturing the carbon dioxide which is released due to industrial activities/power generation using fossil fuels, before it is released in the atmosphere. 

• The captured carbon- dioxide can be used to make commercially marketable products. This is called Capture Storage and Utilisation (CCSU). Normally it is used in enhanced oil extraction where carbon dioxide is injected in oil fields to increase their extraction efficiency.
• The first large-scale CCSU project began operating at Sleipnerin Norway in 1996.

Other Initiatives of the government in the field of CCSU

The Government of India is setting up two National Centres of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilisation for long-term research, design development, collaborative and capacity-building hubs for state-of-the-art research and application-oriented initiatives in the field of Carbon capture.

The two centres are: 

• National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (NCoE-CCU) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay,
• ational Centre in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (NCCCU) at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru .

India provides $100 million financial assistance to Maldives

Tags: Economy/Finance International News

The Union External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar virtually handed over the assistance amount of $100 million to Maldives in a ceremony held on 29 November 2022.

The Indian government assistance is in the form of budgetary support to help Maldives deal with its economic problems. Maldivian economy which is heavily dependent on tourism is facing severe economic crisis as covid related restriction has badly affected its economy.

The assistance being extended to Maldives is without any terms and conditions and Maldives is free to use it in its economic recovery. 

India and Maldives have a close political relationship. During the visit of the Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in August this year the Prime Minister had announced an additional $100 million loan to Maldives for construction of 2000 new social housing units there.

India has also provided $ 500 million loan to Maldives for the Greater Male Connectivity Project. 

Republic of Maldives 

Maldives is an archipelago consisting of around 1200 coral islands and atolls. It is part of South Asia and is situated in Indian Ocean 

The 8 degree channel separates Maldives from India.

Capital: Male 

Currency: Rufiyaa

President: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

Vistara to merge with Air India by 2024

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Tata Sons Company has announced on 29 November 2022 that Vistara Airlines will be merged with Air India by March 2024. Earlier in the day the Singapore Airlines had made the same announcement. Tata sons is the owner of Air India.

Vistara Airlines is a joint venture of the Tata Sons and the Singapore Airlines which started its operation in 2015.  Tata group owns a 51 percent stake in Vistara, and the remaining 49 percent shareholding is with Singapore Airlines (SIA).

After the merger of both the Airlines the Singapore Airlines stake in Air India will be25.1%.The Vistara brand will be scrapped and Singapore Airlines will also invest Rs 2058.50 crore in Air India. Similar amount will be invested by Tata’s in Air India.

The Tata group also plans to merge its Air India Express and AirAsia India with Air India by 2024.

Air India was founded by JRD Tata in 1932 which was nationalized by the Government in 1953. However, the government sold back the company back to Tata Group for Rs 18,000 cores and handed the management of Air India to the Tata’s in January 2022.

Air India will become the largest international carrier of India and second largest domestic airline when the merger is completed .InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. with the brand name IndiGo is the largest domestic airline in the country. 

Air India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer: Campbell Wilson

Headquarters of Air India: New Delhi

External Affairs Ministry to organize the International Lusophone Festival in Goa from 03-06 December 2022

Tags: Festivals place in news State News

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in partnership with Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Government of Goa is organizing the International Lusophone Festival in Goa from 03-06 December 2022. 

The International Lusophone Festival will be inaugurated on 03 December 2022 by Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa and Smt Meenakashi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Minister of State for Culture would be the Guest of Honour.

What is Lusophone World? 

The Lusophone world are countries that speak Portuguese as their official language and were colonized by Portugal. With 300 million speakers, Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language on the planet.

The Portuguese speaking countries set up the ‘Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP)’, in 1996. 

The member countries of the CPLP are Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, Timor Leste  and Equatorial Guinea.

India joined CPLP as an associate observer in July 2021. As part of India’s engagement with CPLP, the Ministry of External Affairs celebrated the World Portuguese Language Day in Delhi on 05 May 2022, soon after joining CPLP. 

Goa was also a colony of Portugal and it was liberated by the Indian government in 1961 through an action of the armed forces code named Operation Vijay.

WHO has changed the name of Monkeypox disease to mpox

Tags: Science and Technology International News

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 28 November 2022 has announced that it will term “mpox” as a synonym for  monkeypox. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while “monkeypox” is phased out.

WHO said that the disease's original name was considered “racist and stigmatizing’ in certain countries of the world. After complaints from some member countries WHO decided to rename the disease.

Assigning names to new and, very exceptionally, to existing diseases is the responsibility of WHO under the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared monkeypox disease as a "public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)", on 23 July 2022.It is the highest level of health alert which is issued by WHO.  

Monkeypox disease 

• Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa.
•  It was first identified in monkeys in 1958 hence it is called Monkeypox. It was first identified in humans in 1970.
• Because it was transmitted from animal to human it is called zoonotic disease.
• The first case of Monkeypox in the country was also reported from Kollam district of Kerala on July 14.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

• The World Health Organisation is a specialised agency of the United Nations which was founded on 7 April, 1948.
• Headquarters of WHO : Geneva, Switzerland 
• Director General of WHO:  Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia.
• Member Countries : 194

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appeals for generous contribution to ‘Armed Forces Flag Day Fund’ during CSR Conclave in New Delhi

Tags: place in news Defence

The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has appealed to the nation to contribute generously to the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund.  Addressing the 4th edition of the  Armed Forces Flag Day CSR Conclave, organised by Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence, in New Delhi on 29 November 2022. He asked the corporates to donate fulfilling their Corporate Social Responsibility.

Armed Forces Flag Day 

Every year 7 December has been observed as the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund since 1949.  It is managed by the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare under the Ministry of Defence.  It was set up by the government so that the public can contribute to this fund.

The fund is used by the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare for the welfare and rehabilitation of war widows, wards of martyred soldiers and Ex-Servicemen, including disabled ones by providing financial assistance for their identified personal needs such as penury grant, children’s education grant, funeral grant, medical grant and orphan/disabled children grant.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Under CSR certain public or private sector companies have to spend a minimum 2% of the average net profits made during the 3 immediately preceding financial years on certain sectors identified by the government.

CSR funds are spent on  measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents, community development programmes  related to safe drinking water, education, conservation of natural resources, setting up of orphanages, old age homes  etc.

It was implemented on 1 April 2004 under the Companies Act 2003.

RBI to launch a pilot project on retail digital Rupee (e₹-R) on 1 December 2022

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Reserve Bank of India has announced on 29 November 2022 that it will launch a pilot project on retail digital rupee (e₹-R) on 1 December 2022. The RBI had earlier launched the first pilot project of the Digital Rupee for the Wholesale segment (e₹-W) on November 1, 2022. 

Banks participating in the pilot project 

According to the RBI 8 banks have been identified for phase-wise participation in this pilot project.

 In the first phase four banks, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC will participate.

 In the second phase four more banks Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will join this pilot project.

Place where the pilot project will be launched 

According to the RBI initially the pilot project will be launched in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar. 

In the second phase it will be extended to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna and Shimla. 

Feature of the Pilot project 

The pilot project would cover select locations in a closed user group - CUG comprising participating customers and merchants. The digital Rupee would be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. 

Users will be able to transact with digital Rupee through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones. Transactions can be both Person to Person and Person to Merchant.

Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes displayed at merchant locations. 

The pilot will test the robustness of the entire process of digital rupee creation, distribution and retail usage in real-time. 

Digital Currency 

It is a legal tender issued by a central bank in a digital form. It is similar to sovereign paper currency (Indian Rupee) but takes a different form. It will not be in paper form but in digital format.

Russia postpones nuclear arms talks with US

Tags: International News

Russia has suspended nuclear arms talks with the United States under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) treaty on 28 November and neither side has given a reason for the postponement.

About New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)

• It is an arms control pact that limits both nations’ stockpiles of nuclear weapons, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles.

• It was finalised in 2011 during the Obama administration and serves as the last key pact to limit nuclear arms between Washington and Moscow.

• Last year, the US and Russia agreed to extend the pact till 2026.

• Under the treaty, Washington and Moscow are permitted to conduct inspections of each other’s weapons sites, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, inspections have been halted since 2020.

SEBI approves Sundararaman Ramamurthy as the MD and CEO of BSE

Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news

The Securities Exchange Board of India(SEBI) has approved the appointment of Sundararaman Ramamurthy as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of BSE. His appointment is subject to the approval of the shareholders, BSE

Ramamurthy is currently the Chief Operating Officer-India at Bank of America.

Previously, he was associated with the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) in various roles for nearly two decades before leaving it in October 2014.

The top position at BSE has been vacant since July when Ashish Kumar Chauhan resigned as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of BSE and joined as CEO of NSE.

BSE

It was earlier known as Bombay Stock Exchange. It was set up in 1875 as ‘The Native Share & Stock Brokers' Association in Bombay (now Mumbai). It is the first stock exchange to be set up in Asia.

BSE's popular equity index - the S&P BSE SENSEX - is India's most widely tracked stock market benchmark index.

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank signs bancassurance pacts with Chola MS General and Max Life Insurance Company

Tags: Economy/Finance

The old private sector bank Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has entered into bancassurance partnerships with Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd and Max Life Insurance Company to provide general insurance products and life insurance schemes respectively to TMB’s customers.

Under the agreement, Tuticorin-based TMB’s 500-plus branches will start retailing the insurance products of both companies.

Bancassurance 

 It is the selling of insurance products through banking channels. In  Bancassurance a bank enters into an agreement with an Insurance company. The Bank makes its customer database available to the Insurance companies. If the bank customer buys the insurance products then the bank will receive a commission from the Insurance companies.

Here both the bank and the Insurance companies benefit. The Insurance companies get new customers and banks earn extra income.

Regulator of Bancassurance in India 

Bancassurance sector is regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB)

It was set up at the Nadar Bank limited in 1921 by Nadar business community of Tamilnadu.

It was renamed as Tamilnad Mercantile Bank in 1962.

It is a Private sector bank in India.

Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO): S.Krishnan

Headquarters: Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu

Tagline of the bank: Be a Step Ahead in Life

SEBI forms a panel headed by Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifadar to review the Corporate Takeover rules

Tags: committee Economy/Finance

The Capital market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has formed a 20 member high level panel to review the extant corporate takeover rules.

The 20 member panel will be headed by the former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifadar.

The takeover code was last reviewed in 2009 by the Achutan committee.

Function of the Panel 

The panel will review the existing corporate takeover rules and suggest changes in it keeping in mind the judicial pronouncement and best global practices. 

It will suggest measures to facilitate ease of doing business in India.

 Corporate takeover code in India 

With the opening of the Indian economy to the private sector and foreign investors, a need was felt to make a rule which will promote transparency in the case of Merger and Acquisition (M&A) of companies.

SEBI made the first comprehensive code for M&A in 1994 called  Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations.

The code has amended significantly twice.

It was amended in 1997 on the recommendation of Justice P N Bhagwati committee.

The code was again amended in 2011 by SEBI on the recommendation of the 2009 Achutan committee on corporate takeover.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India was constituted as a non-statutory body on April 12, 1988 through a resolution of the Government of India.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India was established as a statutory body in the year 1992 and the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992) came into force on January 30, 1992.

It is the regulator of the capital and commodities market in India.

Headquarters: Mumbai

Current Chairman: Madhabi Puri Buch

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022

Tags: Summits Important Days International News

The World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022 concluded on November 25, with the Muscat Ministerial Manifesto on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

Important facts

• The two-day summit, which began on November 24 in Oman's capital Muscat, follows two high-level summits held in the Netherlands in 2014 and 2019.

• The theme of the meeting was - The AMR Pandemic: From Policy to One Health Action.

• The Manifesto has been endorsed by 34 of the 45 countries that participated at the conference. 

Muscat Ministerial Manifesto on AMR - three global targets

• Reduce the total amount of antimicrobials used in the agri-food system at least by 30-50% by 2030 from the current level.

• Zero use of Critically important antimicrobials (CIA).

• Ensuring that 'access' group antibiotics (a class of antibiotics that are cheaper, safer and have a lower AMR risk) represent at least 60 per cent of total antibiotic consumption in humans by 2030.

About World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 

• It is a global campaign observed annually to improve awareness and understanding related to AMR.

• It encourages best practices among the public, health stakeholders and policy makers to reduce the emergence and spread of AMR.

What is Antimicrobial Resistance?

• It is the resistance acquired by any microorganism (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, etc.) against antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and anthelmintics) that are used to treat infections.

• As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, the infection persists and can spread to others.

Government announces “Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards’ for year 2021

Tags: Sports Awards Person in news

The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has announced the name of the winners of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards for the year 2021. The Ministry announced the National sports awards winner list on 14 November 2022 but the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award winners' names were not announced.

Winner of the award and category 

Lifetime Achievement Award: Group Captain Bhawani Singh Samyal 

Land Adventure category: Naina Dhakad

Water Adventure category: Shubham Dhananjay Vanmal

No one was chosen for the Air Adventure category. 

They will be conferred the award by President Droupadi Murmu  at a function in Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi  on 30th November, 2022 along with the winners of other National  sports awards .

They will receive statuettes, certificates and award money 15 lakh rupees each. 

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 

It was set up in 1994 in the memory of Tenzing Norgay. He is an Indian of Nepali origin who along with a New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary scaled Mount Everest on 29 May 1953.

The award is given in adventure sports like mountaineering, skydiving, and open water swimming.

The Indian Army is training dogs and Kites to deal with drone menace

Tags: Defence

To deal with the menace of drones the Indian Army is training dogs and Kites (Cheel in Hindi) to identify and destroy the drones. Hostile elements from Pakistan are sending drugs, arms and ammunition to India through drones which is creating a security problem for India. 

Recently on 24 November, Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered a consignment of weapons and Indian currency that were dropped by a Pakistani drone in the Samba district of Jammu.

The Dog alerts the Army after hearing the noise of the drones and the Kite is used to identify the location of the drones.

 A trained Kite named ‘Arjun’ was demonstrated during the ongoing 18th edition of the Indo-US joint training exercise "Yudh Abhyas 22" in Auli, Uttarakhand. The 18th edition of the Yudh Abhyas is being held from 14 October to 31 October 2022. 

 What is a Drone?

Drones are also called pilotless aircraft or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). It is not flown by humans but is remotely controlled by the humans.

 It is equipped with infrared cameras, GPS and laser. It is used in Space, in the military, for transporting goods, for spraying insecticides for land mapping etc. 

Former Health Secretary Preeti Sudan appointed as a member of UPSC

Tags: Person in news

Preeti Sudan, a 1983 batch (retired) IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre and former health secretary, was administered the oath of office as a member of the UPSC on November 29. 

Important facts

• Sudan also served in Women and Child Development and Defence Ministries.

• In her cadre state Andhra Pradesh, she has held various positions in Finance and Planning, Disaster Management, Tourism and Agriculture departments.

• In addition to serving in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Sudan also served in the Ministry of Defence.

• She also worked as a consultant for the World Bank.

• In addition to initiating two major flagship programs in the country - Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Ayushman Bharat, her notable contributions include legislation on the National Medical Commission, the Allied Health Professional Commission, and a ban on e-cigarettes. 

• In UPSC, a chairman heads the committee, which can have a maximum of 10 members.

• At present the chairman of UPSC is Manoj Soni.

Uttarakhand Government appoints Prasoon Joshi as its Brand Ambassador

Tags: Person in news State News

The Uttarakhand government has named Prasoon Joshi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McCann Worldgroup India, the state’s brand ambassador.  Padma Shri awardee Prasoon Joshi is a native of Uttarakhand and is currently the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board). He is a famous and highly awarded member of the Indian advertising and media fraternity.

Prasoon Joshi has also written the lyrics for songs in popular Bollywood movies such as Rang De Basanti, Fanaa and Taare Zameen Par. He has also written the script for the award-winning 2013 film, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

Awards to Prasoon Joshi 

Earlier this month, the Uttarakhand government bestowed the Uttarakhand Gaurav Samman honour to Joshi for his contributions to art, literature, culture and advertising. 

 He has received several prestigious international honours such as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2006. He was also the first Asian to become the jury president at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity in 2014 for the prestigious Titanium category. 

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand was formed on 9th November 2000 as the 27th State of India.

Governor: Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh 

Chief Minister: Pushkar singh Dhami 

Capital: Dehradun

A UN panel has recommended that Australia's Great Barrier Reef be listed as a World Heritage Site

Tags: Environment International News

A United Nations panel recommended on November 29, 2022 that Australia's Great Barrier Reef should be listed as a World Heritage Site that is "in danger".

Important facts

• The world's largest coral reef ecosystem has been greatly affected by climate change and ocean warming.

• Frequent bleaching events and La Nina are threatening the reef.

• Bleaching occurs when water gets too warm, causing corals to expel the colourful algae living in their tissues and turn white.

• Australia's recently elected government has pledged to spend A$1.2 billion ($800 million) over the coming years to protect the reef.

What are Coral reefs?

• Coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse marine ecosystems on Earth.

• They play an important role in marine ecosystems and support habitats for flora and fauna in the ocean.

• Each coral is called a polyp and thousands of such polyps live together to form a colony.

About Great Barrier Reef

• It extends for 1400 miles along the north-east coast of Queensland, Australia and is the world's most extensive and rich coral reef ecosystem.

• It is made up of more than 2,900 reefs and more than 900 islands.

• It is the largest single structure in the world made by living organisms.

• This reef was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981.

Government of India allows the Enforcement Directorate to share information with 15 more government agencies

Tags: National Economy/Finance

The Ministry of Finance on 22 November 2022 issued a notification which amended the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to share information about economic offenders with 15 more agencies. Earlier the ED shared information with only 10 government agencies. Now it has to share information with 25 agencies.

This has been done by the government to expedite the cases involving cases related to economic offence and better coordination between agencies.

The ED investigates the case relating to economics offence under the Prevention of Money of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2022, the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act 2018 and the sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999.

New agencies with which ED has to share information

These 15 agencies with which now ED has to share information are  National Investigation Agency (NIA), Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), State Police Department, regulators under various Acts, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of External Affairs, and Competition Commission of India (CCI), National Intelligence Grid, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Defence Intelligence Agency, National Technical Research Organisation, Military Intelligence, inquiry authority under Central Civil Services Rules and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau..

Other 10 agencies with which ED shares information are;

The ED earlier used to share its information with Director (Financial Intelligence Unit, India, under the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue), Cabinet Secretariat (Research and Analysis Wing), Ministry of Home Affairs or National Security Council Secretariat or Intelligence Bureau, Economic Offenses Wing of Central Bureau of Investigation, Chief Secretaries of State Governments, Reserve Bank of India, Department of Company Affairs, Securities and Exchange Board of India.

The Enforcement Directorate was set up in 1956 under the Union Finance Ministry. 

Director of Enforcement Directorate Sanjay Kumar Mishra

Coal Ministry to conduct Investor Conclave in Mumbai

Tags: Summits National News

In order to promote the participation of bidders in the commercial auction of coal mines, the Ministry of Coal will organise an Investors Meet on December 1, 2022 in Mumbai.

Important facts

• Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi will preside over it and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be the chief guest.

• Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will be the Special Guest and Minister of State for Coal, Mines and Railways, Raosaheb Patil Danve and Minister of Mining for Maharashtra, Dadaji Bhuse will be the Guest of Honour of the function.

• Amrit Lal Meena, Secretary, Ministry of Coal and Vivek Bhardwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Mines will  also participate in the Conclave.

Power Ministry launches schemes to procure 4,500 MW electricity supply for five years

Tags: Economy/Finance Government Schemes

The Ministry of Power on 28 November launched a scheme for power procurement totaling 4500 megawatts (MW) under the SHAKTI Policy.

Important facts

• PFC (Power Finance Corporation) Consulting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PFC, has been designated as the nodal agency by the ministry of power.

• Under the scheme, PFC Consulting has invited bids for the supply of 4,500 MW. Supply of electricity will commence from April 2023. 

• The ministry of coal has been requested to allocate around 27 MTPA for this.

• Gujarat Energy Development Corporation, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company, New Delhi Municipal Corporation and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation have shown interest for the scheme.

• The scheme is expected to help those states which are facing power shortage and will also help in increasing the capacity of power generation plants.

About SHAKTI scheme

• The SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India) policy was approved in May 2017 with the intent of better allocation of coal to present and future power plants. 

• Its objective was to introduce a more transparent and competitive coal allocation policy.

• The policy was amended in March 2019 to provide assistance to stressed projects based on the recommendations of the High-Level Empowered Committee.

Merriam-Webster announces 'Gaslighting' as its Word of the Year for 2022

Tags: Popular International News

The world's renowned publisher 'Merriam Webster' has declared the word 'Gaslighting' as the Word of the Year for 2022.

Meaning of Gaslighting

• The dictionary defines the term as: "The act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage."

• Gaslighting refers to playing with someone on a psychological level for a long period of time, so that the victim begins to doubt the validity of their own thoughts and true sense of self.

• Gaslighting can also be a corporate ploy to mislead the public.

• Gaslighting, in simple language, is cheating psychologically with someone.

• Psychological gaslighting is the questioning of reality while manipulating or dominating a person.

• Talking to someone in a psychological way, questioning his existence, his truth, his decisions or his memories comes under the ambit of gaslighting.

• This word is an emotional abuse. Such behaviour in love or in married life breaks a person completely. He feels himself mentally tortured.

This word came into existence in 1938

• The term itself came into existence 80 years ago in 1938 through gas light, Gas Light is a play written by Patrick Hamilton. Two films were made on this play in the 1940s.

Top 5 words of the year 2022

• Oligarch: A term derived from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It means high noble. It is also used for the officers of authoritarian regimes.

• Omicron: This is a variant of the coronavirus. This letter is mentioned in the Greek alphabet. Alpha, Beta, Gamma etc are part of this alphabet. Areas in Greater Noida were also named on this basis.

• Codify: Converting abortion rights into federal law.

• Queen Consort: Camilla, wife of Maharaja Charles, is known by this name.

• Raid: The search at Mar-a-Lago home of former President Donald Trump was in the news.

World’s first Intranasal vaccine iNCOVACC gets DCGI approval for Covid booster doses

Tags: Science and Technology

Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) has announced on 29 November that the iNCOVACC vaccine has become the world's first intra-nasal vaccine to receive primary series and heterologous booster approval.

Important facts

• Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) is a global leader in vaccine innovation and developer of vaccines for infectious diseases.

• Now iNCOVACC (BBV154) can be used in India under restricted use in emergency from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for heterologous booster dose for age above 18 years.

• This nasal vaccine is the second approved COVID-19 vaccine in India after Biological E's Corbevax, which can be used as a mix-and-match booster shot.

• iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

• iNCOVACC has been specially formulated to allow intranasal delivery via nasal drops.