National
PM lays foundation stone and dedicates various development projects in Ambaji
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Gujarat on 29th and 30th September, 2022.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated various projects worth over ₹7200 crores in Ambaji on 30 September 2022.
Various projects:
» The Prime Minister dedicated and laid the foundation stone of over 45,000 houses built under PM Awas Yojana.
» The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of Taranga Hill – Ambaji – Abu Road New Broad Gauge Line and the development of pilgrimage facilities at Ambaji temple under PRASAD scheme.
- The new rail line will benefit lakhs of devotees visiting Ambaji, one of the 51 Shakti Peethas and will enrich the worship experience of the devotees at all these pilgrimage places.
» Other projects whose foundation stone will be laid include the construction of the runway and associated infrastructure at Airforce station, Deesa; Ambaji Bypass Road among others.
» The Prime Minister also dedicated the 62 Km long New Palanpur-New Mahesana section of the Western Freight Dedicated Corridor and the 13 Km long New Palanpur-New Chatodar Section (Palanpur bypass line).
- It will enhance connectivity to Pipavav, Deendayal Port Authority (Kandla), Mundra and other ports of Gujarat. With the opening of these sections, 734 km of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor will become operational.
- The opening of this stretch will benefit industries in Mehsana-Palanpur in Gujarat; Swaroopganj, Keshavganj, Kishangarh in Rajasthan; Rewari-Manesar and Narnaul in Haryana.
» The Prime Minister also dedicated various road projects including the widening of Mitha – Tharad – Deesa Road among others.
PM inaugurates Phase-I of Ahmedabad Metro project
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Phase-I of Ahmedabad Metro project at a public function at the Ahmedabad Education Society in Ahmedabad on 30 September 2022.
- The Prime Minister also flagged off the Ahmedabad Metro rail project and took a metro ride from Kalupur station to Doordarshan Kendra metro station.
- The Prime Minister flagged off Gandhinagar- Mumbai Vande Bharat Express at Gandhinagar station and travelled on the train from there to Kalupur Railway Station.
About Phase-I of Ahmedabad Metro project:
- Phase-I of Ahmedabad Metro project comprises about 32 km of the East-West corridor from Apparel park to Thaltej and the North-South corridor between Motera to Gyaspur.
- The Thaltej-Vastral route in the East-West corridor has 17 stations. This corridor also has a 6.6 km underground section with four stations.
- The 19 km North-South corridor that connects Gyaspur to Motera Stadium has 15 stations.
- The entire Phase 1 project is built at a cost of more than ₹12,900 crores.
- The metro train set is equipped with an energy-efficient propulsion system which can save about 30-35% of energy consumption.
About Vande Bharat Express 2.0:
- The Vande Bharat Express 2.0 offers a myriad of superior and aircraft-like travelling experiences. It is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System – KAVACH.
- There are reclining seats in all classes while the Executive Coaches have the added feature of 180-degree rotating seats.
- Vande Bharat 2.0 will be equipped with more advancements and improved features such as reaching the speed of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in just 52 seconds, and a maximum speed up to 180 kilometres per hour.
- The improved Vande Bharat Express will weigh 392 tons when compared to the previous version of 430 tons.
- It will also have a Wi-Fi content on-demand facility.
- Every coach is equipped with 32” screens providing passenger information and infotainment compared to 24” in the previous version.
- In the new design of Vande Bharat Express, a photo-catalytic ultraviolet air purification system is installed in the Roof-Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) for air purification.
International
Global Clean Energy Action Forum 2022
⇒ The Global Clean Energy Action Forum 2022–coveted joint convening of the 13th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM13) and 7th Mission Innovation (MI-7) was held from 21st to 23rd September, 2022 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Organized by:
The Global Clean Energy Action Forum 2022 was organised by the U.S. Department of Energy and Carnegie Mellon University. This September in Pittsburgh, the US hosted the first-ever Global Clean Energy Action Forum.
Theme:
The theme for CEM13/MI-7 was ‘Rapid Innovation and Deployment’. This means accelerating the pace and scale of innovation through collaboration and shared strategies for the deployment of clean energy technologies.
» Global Clean Energy Action Forum 2022 began with an opening ceremony at the Heinz History Centre at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US.
» The event brought together thousands of clean energy leaders from across the world, including CEOs, innovators, young professionals, civil society and ministers from over 30 countries to accelerate clean energy innovation and deployment.
Union Minister of State (I/C) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (I/C) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS PMO, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh participated in Global Clean Energy Action Forum 2022 in Pennsylvania.
- Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh led the Joint Indian Ministerial official delegation of Ministry of Power, New & Renewable Energy and Ministry of Science & Technology during his 5-day visit to USA.
- Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh joined Energy Ministers from 30 other countries at Pittsburgh for the environmental summit at the David L. Lawrence Convention Centre downtown.
Dr Jitendra Singh made the announcement at the 1st Roundtable on “Sustainable Bioenergy and Bio-refineries” at Global Clean Energy Action Forum.
» He announced the launch of the “Innovation Roadmap of the Mission Integrated Biorefineries” developed by co-leads and active inputs from Brazil, Canada, EC and the UK.
- The Mission aims at greater international collaboration and the need for increased financing for Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) during the next five years to kickstart this objective and unleash a virtuous cycle of public and private investment.
- “Innovation Roadmap of the Mission Integrated Biorefineries” aims to fill the void by identifying gaps and challenges in current biorefining value chains, prioritising Eight key actions to support the Mission, and guiding the Mission’s overall path in achieving its goal.
- It also provides policymakers with a strategy framework to establish a rising RD&D portfolio over the next five years, specific financing proposals across the entire spectrum of vital Biorefinery technologies, and rapid action suggestions.
» Dr Jitendra Singh informed the Delegates that India is continually working towards transforming the energy landscape of country with significant clean energy share.
- He added that by 2030, India agreed to reach 500-Gigawatt non-fossil energy capacity, shift 50% of energy requirements to renewable energy, lower overall anticipated carbon emissions by one billion tons, reduce carbon intensity of the economy by 45% over 2005 levels, and achieve net zero emissions by 2070.
In his address at the Roundtable on “Net Zero Built Environment with Connected Communities” at Global Clean Energy Action Forum-2022, Dr Jitendra Singh said, we cannot solve climate change without transforming our cities and buildings and this requires massive efforts from the private and public sectors, but it is possible with today’s technologies.
Addressing the Main Stage Summit Event on “International Collaboration to Accelerate the Clean Energy Transition” at Pittsburgh, Dr Jitendra Singh said, India, through the Department of Biotechnology, has been supporting R&D innovations in Advanced Biofuels and Waste to Energy technologies.
- He said sustainable biofuels play key role to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector at the “Global Clean Energy Action Forum-2022”.
- He also informed the Energy Ministers from 30 countries taking part in the conference that India has established 5 Bioenergy Centers with an interdisciplinary team working on advance sustainable biofuels using modern biotechnology tools.
- He said, India is among the few countries in the world to design a Cooling Action Plan (CAP) with a long-term vision (spanning a 20-year period from 2017-18 to 2037-38) that addresses cooling requirements across sectors. It identifies possible actions to reduce cooling demand arising from residential and commercial buildings, cold chains, etc., covering aspects of building design and technological innovations that do not compromise on energy efficiency.
» Dr Jitendra Singh said, India stands at the forefront of addressing the global challenge of climate change and has committed to an ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of reducing emission intensity by 33-35% in 2030 against the levels of year 2005.
- India is also implementing the largest Renewable Energy expansion program in the world envisaging a 5-fold increase in the overall RE capacity in the country from 32 GW in 2014 to 175 GW by 2022, and further to 500 GW of renewable power in the country by 2030.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has reiterated India’s commitment to a low-carbon future by accelerating clean energy innovations.
» Addressing the Joint Ministerial Plenary of Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM13) and Mission Innovation (MI-7) at the “Global Clean Energy Action Forum 2022”:
Dr Jitendra Singh said, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is seeking to meet the country’s massive energy demand with innovative clean energy innovations and programs.
- He said, India is committed to achieve 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by the year 2030 and reduce the projected emissions by one billion tonnes from now to 2030.