1. Cochin Shipyard to build India's first hydrogen fuel cell catamaran vessel in Varanasi
Tags: place in news National National News
The Cochin Shipyard on November 11 signed an MoU with the Inland Waterways Authority of India to build the country's first hydrogen fuel cell catamaran ship for Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
Important facts
The shipyard also signed another MoU for construction of six electric catamaran ships for Uttar Pradesh and two ships for Guwahati.
The MoU was signed in Varanasi in the presence of Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several other dignitaries.
The air-conditioned hydrogen fuel cell catamaran vessel will have a seating capacity of 100 passengers. It will be deployed in Varanasi after trial in Kochi.
The air-conditioned electric hybrid vessels, designed for short-distance travel in riverine waters, will have a seating capacity of 50 passengers.
These vessels will contribute significantly in reducing the pollution level in the national waterways.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways -Sarbananda Sonowal
Union Minister for Heavy Industries - Mahendra Nath Pandey
UP Chief Minister - Yogi Adityanath
2. Country's longest river cruise will run from Varanasi in January 2023
Tags: National National News
The Union Government has proposed to start the world's longest river cruise between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Dibrugarh in Assam by January 2023.
Important facts
The 50-day cruise will set sail from Varanasi on 10 January and cover 4,000 km, passing through Kolkata and Dhaka before reaching Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district of Assam on 1 March.
The name of the cruise is Ganga Vilas, which will sail from Varanasi to Dibrugarh in a longest river journey of 50 days covering 27 river systems and visit over 50 tourist sites including World Heritage Sites.
This will be the largest river cruise by a single river ship in the world and will put both India and Bangladesh on the river cruise map of the world.
Development of coastal and river shipping including cruise services is one of the priorities of the government and more such services will be introduced to tap the vast potential of the country in this sector.
The cruise is run on a PPP model with an MoU signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Antara Luxury River Cruises and JM Baxi River Cruises.
River cruises are already operating on National Waterway-1 (NW-1 Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly), National Waterway-2 (Brahmaputra) and National Waterway-3 (West Coast Canal).
3. Country's longest river cruise will run from Varanasi in January 2023
Tags: National National News
The Union Government has proposed to start the world's longest river cruise between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Dibrugarh in Assam by January 2023.
Important facts
The 50-day cruise will set sail from Varanasi on 10 January and cover 4,000 km, passing through Kolkata and Dhaka before reaching Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district of Assam on 1 March.
The name of the cruise is Ganga Vilas, which will sail from Varanasi to Dibrugarh in a longest river journey of 50 days covering 27 river systems and visit over 50 tourist sites including World Heritage Sites.
This will be the largest river cruise by a single river ship in the world and will put both India and Bangladesh on the river cruise map of the world.
Development of coastal and river shipping including cruise services is one of the priorities of the government and more such services will be introduced to tap the vast potential of the country in this sector.
The cruise is run on a PPP model with an MoU signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Antara Luxury River Cruises and JM Baxi River Cruises.
River cruises are already operating on National Waterway-1 (NW-1 Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly), National Waterway-2 (Brahmaputra) and National Waterway-3 (West Coast Canal).
4. India, Cambodia sign 4 MOUs in the areas of culture, wildlife & health
Tags: International Relations International News
On November 12 India and Cambodia signed 4 MoUs in areas of health, technology, biodiversity conservation and preservation of ancient buildings.
Important facts
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar holds a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the sidelines of the ongoing ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on November 12.
The two had extensive discussions on bilateral relations including human resources, mining and development projects.
Cambodia also stressed on enhancing cooperation on mine clearance to help Cambodia reach the goal of "a mine-free Cambodia by 2025".
Four memorandum of understanding (MoU)
MoU between the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and the Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur for digitalisation of Cambodian heritage sites.
MoU regarding reintroduction of tigers in Cambodia between the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India and Ministry of Environment, Cambodia for Cooperation in Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Wildlife Management.
MoU between the Ministry of Health and the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on cooperation in the fields of health and medicine.
MoU on Financing Agreement on the Preservation of Wat Raja Bo Pagoda Paintings in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
5. India, Cambodia sign 4 MOUs in the areas of culture, wildlife & health
Tags: International Relations International News
On November 12 India and Cambodia signed 4 MoUs in areas of health, technology, biodiversity conservation and preservation of ancient buildings.
Important facts
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar holds a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the sidelines of the ongoing ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on November 12.
The two had extensive discussions on bilateral relations including human resources, mining and development projects.
Cambodia also stressed on enhancing cooperation on mine clearance to help Cambodia reach the goal of "a mine-free Cambodia by 2025".
Four memorandum of understanding (MoU)
MoU between the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and the Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur for digitalisation of Cambodian heritage sites.
MoU regarding reintroduction of tigers in Cambodia between the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India and Ministry of Environment, Cambodia for Cooperation in Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Wildlife Management.
MoU between the Ministry of Health and the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on cooperation in the fields of health and medicine.
MoU on Financing Agreement on the Preservation of Wat Raja Bo Pagoda Paintings in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
6. Western Air Command Commanders’ Conference held at New Delhi
Tags: Defence National News
Western Air Command Commanders' Conference was held in New Delhi on 10 and 11 November 2022.
Important facts
The chief guest of the conference was Air Chief Marshal VR Chowdhary, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS).
VR Choudhary stressed on the need to maintain operational preparedness, ensure serviceability of assets and physical and information security.
Speaking on the occasion, he directed all the commanders present to ensure operational readiness of all platforms, weapon systems and assets at all times.
Air Command in India
The Western Command, headquartered at New Delhi, looks after the Ladakh sector, among other areas.
There is a standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at several points in eastern Ladakh.
The Air Force has seven commands (Western, Eastern, Southern, Southwestern, Central, Training and Maintenance).
7. India to host 'No Money For Terror' Ministerial Conference in Delhi
Tags: National Summits National News
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India will organize the 3rd Ministerial Conference on 'No Money for Terror' in New Delhi on 18th and 19th November.
Important facts
Representatives from 75 countries and international bodies will attend the two-day conference for deliberations.
The purpose of this conference is to take forward the discussions on combating terrorist financing held by the international community in the previous two conferences in Paris (2018) and Melbourne (2019).
It will also discuss technical, legal and regulatory aspects of all aspects of terrorism financing.
The conference will discuss diverse topics such as global trends in terrorism and terrorist financing, use of formal and informal channels of funding for terrorism, emerging technologies, international cooperation to address challenges in combating terrorist financing and terrorist financing.
The participating countries will also deliberate on how to effectively implement the standards mandated by the Financial Action Terror Force (FATF) and UN listing on terrorist groups and terrorists.
India had hosted two global events in October, 2022 - Interpol's annual general assembly in Delhi and a special session of the United Nations Anti-Terrorism Committee in Mumbai and Delhi.
8. India to host 'No Money For Terror' Ministerial Conference in Delhi
Tags: National Summits National News
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India will organize the 3rd Ministerial Conference on 'No Money for Terror' in New Delhi on 18th and 19th November.
Important facts
Representatives from 75 countries and international bodies will attend the two-day conference for deliberations.
The purpose of this conference is to take forward the discussions on combating terrorist financing held by the international community in the previous two conferences in Paris (2018) and Melbourne (2019).
It will also discuss technical, legal and regulatory aspects of all aspects of terrorism financing.
The conference will discuss diverse topics such as global trends in terrorism and terrorist financing, use of formal and informal channels of funding for terrorism, emerging technologies, international cooperation to address challenges in combating terrorist financing and terrorist financing.
The participating countries will also deliberate on how to effectively implement the standards mandated by the Financial Action Terror Force (FATF) and UN listing on terrorist groups and terrorists.
India had hosted two global events in October, 2022 - Interpol's annual general assembly in Delhi and a special session of the United Nations Anti-Terrorism Committee in Mumbai and Delhi.
9. COP27 presidency launches Sharm-el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda
Tags: Environment International News
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt, the COP27 Presidency launched the Sharm-el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda to enhance resilience for the four billion people living in the most climate-sensitive communities by 2030.
Important facts
The Sharm-el-Sheikh adaptation agenda represents a significant contribution to elevating global action on adaptation and resilience as a top priority.
Each outcome presents a global solution that can be adopted locally to respond to local climate contexts, needs and risks
This will help bring about the necessary changes in mechanisms to protect vulnerable communities from increasing climate hazards, such as extreme heat, drought, floods, or extreme weather.
Developing countries also demanded that the fund should be easily accessible.
It aims to reduce the devastating effects of climate change.
The presidency sought to raise $140 billion to $300 billion to advance these goals.
Developing countries, including India, are asking rich countries to agree to a new global climate finance target, also known as the New Collective Quantitative Target on Climate Finance.
These actions will be carried out in five impact systems – Food and Agriculture, Water and Nature, Coastal and Ocean, Human Settlements, and Infrastructure.
These actions will include enabling solutions to plan and finance these areas.
10. Sahitya Akademi organises 8-day Book Fair at Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi
Tags: Festivals National National News
Sahitya Akademi has organised an 8-day Book Fair at Rabindra Bhawan in New Delhi on 11 November. The book fair will run till 18th November.
Important facts
During the Book Fair, the Academy will organise several literary activities like book release, book discussion, children's literature, symposium, cartoon making and creative writing competitions for children.
30 eminent authors writing for children will participate in various literary activities during the fair.
About Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi was formally inaugurated by the Government of India on 12 March 1954.
It actively works for the development of Indian literature and setting high literary standards, promoting and coordinating literary activities in all Indian languages and promoting the overall cultural unity of the country through them.
The Sahitya Akademi, India's national literary academy, is the central institution for literary dialogue, publication and promotion in the country and the only institution that undertakes literary activities in 24 Indian languages, including English.
Head Office - Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi
Secretary - Dr K Srinivasan
