National
Foundation stone of road and ropeway projects in Mana
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of road and ropeway projects worth more than Rs 3400 crore in Mana, Uttarakhand 21 October 2022.
Details of Projects:
» The ropeway in Kedarnath will be around 9.7 Km in length and will connect Gaurikund to Kedarnath, thereby reducing the travel time between the two places from 6-7 hours at present to merely 30 mins.
» The Hemkund ropeway will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib.
- It will be around 12.4 Km in length and will reduce the travel time from more than a day to only about 45 mins.
- This ropeway will also connect Ghangaria, which is the gateway to Valley of Flowers National Park.
Developed at a cumulative cost of around Rs 2430 crore, the ropeways will be an environment-friendly mode of transport making the journey safe, secure and stable. This major infrastructure development will give a boost to religious tourism, thereby providing a fillip to the economic development in the region and leading to the creation of multiple employment opportunities.
» The foundation stones of road widening projects worth around Rs 1000 crore also laid during the visit.
- The two road widening projects – from Mana-to-Mana Pass (NH07) and from Joshimath to Malari (NH107B) – shall be another step towards providing last-mile all-weather road connectivity to our border areas.
» Kedarnath and Badrinath are one of the most important Hindu shrines. The area is also known for one of the revered Sikh Pilgrim sites – Hemkund Sahib.
Tehkhand Waste to Energy Plant
⇒ The Union Home and Cooperation Minister, Shri Amit Shah, inaugurated the Tehkhand Waste to Energy Plant, which will generate electricity from the waste of Municipal Corporation of Delhi, in New Delhi on 20 October 2022.
» In his address, the Union Home Minister said after the commissioning of this plant, Delhi has a capacity to dispose off about 7,000 metric tonnes of garbage per day.
- Shri Shah said 2,000 metric tonnes of waste will be segregated, burnt and used in a Green way every day from this plant.
- Along with this, about 25 MW of Green Energy will also be produced.
Other Points:
- Shri Amit Shah said construction of the 3,000 metric ton waste to energy plant at Narela to be completed by August 2025, has started and with its completion arrangements will be made for daily waste disposal in Delhi.
- He said that apart from this plant, 300 MT Bio CNG Plant, 3 Bio Gas Plants of 200 MT per day capacity and 8 Metal Recovery Facilities of 175 MT per day capacity are about to come up at Okhla.
International
5th Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA)
⇒ The 5th Assembly of the International Solar Alliance along with side events was held in New Delhi from 17th – 20th October, 2022.
The Fifth Assembly of the International Solar Alliance was inaugurated on 18 October 2022 by Shri Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, India in his capacity as the President, International Solar Alliance.
President of the ISA Assembly:
The Republic of India holds the office of the President of the ISA Assembly, with the Government of France as Co-President.
» Ministers from 20 countries and delegates from across 110 Member and Signatory countries and 18 prospective countries joined the inaugural ceremony of the 5th ISA Assembly.
Discussion:
» The 5th Assembly of the ISA deliberated on the key initiatives of ISA on three critical issues energy access, energy security, and energy transition.
- World leaders from ISA Member Countries also discussed the strategic plan of the ISA in Programmatic Support for LDC and SIDS Member Countries, Capacity Building support to all developing Member Countries, and Analytics & Advocacy support to all Member Countries.
- The deliberations and discussions among representatives from 110 Member Countries at the Fifth Assembly of ISA led in greater consensus among the comity for promoting the deployment of solar power.
On the sidelines of the Fifth ISA Assembly:
» The International Solar Alliance, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, the Government of India hosted a High-Level Conference on New Technologies for Clean Energy Transition on 19 October 2022 at Hotel Ashok, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
- The Conference featured plenary and thematic technical sessions. While the plenary framed key issues around solar energy technologies, investments, and markets, the thematic discussions helped deepen understanding of these themes.
Following the 5th General Assembly, three analytical reports also launched, namely:
- World Solar Technology Report
- World Solar Market Report
- World Solar Investment Report
About ISA Assembly:
- The Assembly is the apex decision-making body of ISA, in which each Member Country is represented.
- This body makes decisions concerning the implementation of the ISA’s Framework Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objective.
- The Assembly meets annually at the ministerial level at the ISA’s seat.
- It assesses the aggregate effect of the programmes and other activities in terms of deployment of solar energy, performance, reliability, cost, and scale of finance.
About ISA:
- The International Solar Alliance is an international organisation with 110 Member and Signatory countries.
- It works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable way to transition to a carbon-neutral future.
- With the signing and ratification of the ISA Framework Agreement by 15 countries on 6 December 2017, ISA became the first international intergovernmental organisation to be headquartered in India.
- ISA is partnering with multilateral development banks (MDBs), development financial institutions (DFIs), private and public sector organisations, civil society, and other international institutions to deploy cost-effective and transformational solutions through solar energy, especially in the least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
- ISA’s mission is to unlock US$ 1 trillion of investments in solar by 2030 while reducing the cost of the technology and its financing.
- It promotes the use of solar energy in the Agriculture, Health, Transport and Power Generation sectors.
- ISA member countries are driving change by enacting policies and regulations, sharing best practices, agreeing on common standards, and mobilising investments.
- Through this work, ISA has identified and designed and tested new business models for solar projects; supported governments to make their energy legislation and policies solar-friendly through Ease of Doing Solar analytics and advisory; pooled demand for solar technology from different countries; and drove down costs; improved access to finance by reducing the risks and making the sector more attractive to private investment; increased access to solar training, data and insights for solar engineers and energy policymakers.
Important Day
Police Commemoration Day
⇒ Police Commemoration Day is observed every year on 21 October.
History:
- The day commemorates the sacrifices of ten CRPF personnel who sacrificed their lives while defending our border with China on October 21, 1959.
- This is day is observed as Martyr’s Day in all police forces of India.
- The Annual Conference of Inspectors General of Police of States and Union Territories held in January 1960 decided that October 21 would henceforth be observed as “Police Commemoration Day” / Martyr’s Day.