The country’s first Infantry Museum has been opened for the general public at Mhow, Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

On the eve of 75 years of raising of the Infantry School and to commemorate the Vijay Diwas, the country's first Infantry Museum opened to the general public on December 16, 2022.

* The world-class museum has been set up under the aegis of The Infantry School, Mhow with the intention of showcasing the Infantry with the theme line

 

* The Infantry Museum covers the history of the Infantry from 1747 to 2020. It depicts the rich heritage, glorious past and supreme sacrifice of our brave soldiers preserved in sculptures, murals, and photo galleries.

 

* The construction of this museum has been in the works for a decade. This three-story building of the museum has been built on two acres of land.

* It has 17 different rooms covering the history and development of the Indian Infantry since 1747 in chronological order in 30 subject areas. In this museum, along with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Maharaja Ranjit, the history of many great men will be seen.

 

 

* The world’s first National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center is located outside the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning in Columbus Georgia. The 190,000-square-foot museum opened in June 2009.

* The museum describes the history of the United States Army Infantry from the American Revolution to present operations. It displays artifacts from all eras of American history.

H.R. Keshava Murthy, a senior gamaka exponent, who was honoured with Padma Shri earlier 2022, passed away at his residence in Hosahalli in Shivamogga taluk on Wednesday(21st Dec 2022). 

 

He was 89. He died due to age-related health problems. He is survived by his wife and a daughter, besides hundreds of students.

 

Keshava Murthy was born in a family of gamaka artists. He had his initial training from his father Ramaswamy Shastry.

Under the guidance of Venkateshaiah he continued his studies. Over the decades he has presented hundreds of programmes and trained many students. Through his performances, he publicised noted Kannada epics. Hosahalli, his native place, is known for many music talents.

 

He has been honored with many awards inlcuding Shantala Natya Shri award, by the State government and different cultural organisations.

The President honoured him with the Padma Shri this year (2022). The residents of his village celebrated the occasion.

 

Former Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa, Lok Sabha member B.Y.Raghavendra, Minister for Sericulture K.C. Narayana Gowda, who is also in-charge of Shivamogga, and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra have mourned his death.

Puma India has appointed Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma as its new brand ambassador in a move that forms part of its ongoing commitment to support women’s business in India.

 

“Bold, fierce and outspoken Anushka is the perfect fit to be the face of Puma, whose platform Propah Lady celebrates today’s unapologetic woman who is unafraid to break stereotypes,” the release said.

 

The actor will endorse the brand’s footwear, apparel and accessories, including select collections, through myriad activities and brand campaigns throughout the year.

 

Puma India has a total of 30-35 brand ambassadors in India which include Sharma’s husband and cricketer Virat Kohli. Other brand ambassadors associated with Puma India include Kareena Kapoor Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Mary Kom, Sunil Chhetri and Harrdy Sandhu.

 

Abhishek Ganguly, managing director, Puma India & Southeast Asia, says, “We are extremely excited about bringing Anushka into the PUMA family. We will be creating unique opportunities with her to deeply engage with our consumers. We are confident that the new association with Anushka will further drive our approach towards fitness and lifestyle in the country and in turn inch us closer to our consumers across cohorts.”.

Source : Business Standard

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday(14th Dec 2022) launched the second version of 'Orunodoi', the flagship scheme of the state government aimed at providing financial security to financially disadvantaged families.

 

* Speaking on the occasion at the ceremonial launch held at the premises of Assam House in the national capital, Sarma termed 'Orunodoi' the largest social-sector scheme in the history of the state that has the capability of radically transforming the lives of millions of its residents.

 

* He said that to date, around 17 lakh women have been receiving an amount of Rs 1,250 each on the 10th of every month through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) method under the first phase of this social sector scheme.

 

* "With the addition of another 10.5 lakh new beneficiaries from today onwards, it would add up to a total of 27 lakh-plus beneficiaries," the Assam CM said.

 

* The guaranteed minimum cash flow of Rs 1,250 for the underprivileged families of the state would be extremely helpful in the government's aim of poverty alleviation, the Chief Minister stated.

 

* He further said that April 2023 onwards, all the existing beneficiaries of the Deen Dayal Divyangan Pension Yojana and Indira Miri Widow Pension Scheme would be subsumed under Orunodoi 2.0. Divyangans and transgenders would also be included under the 'Orunodoi' scheme..

Source : Business Standard

Senior nuclear scientist, Dinesh Kumar Shukla has been appointed as the chairperson of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for a period of three years.

 

* He has succeeded G. Nageswara Rao to the top post.

 

* Prior to this role, he has been the executive director of the AERB.

 

* He was a graduate in mechanical engineering from the Jabalpur University, Shukla joined the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in 1981.

 

* He has been associated with the commissioning of high-flux research reactor Dhruva and later, held the positions of reactor superintendent of the Dhruva Research Reactor and the head of the Reactor Operations Division (ROD) at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). 

 

* As the head of the ROD, BARC, he was responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the research reactors at Trombay..

Source : Economic Times

 

Bhutan, through Druk Green Power Corporation Limited, has entered into an agreement with PTC India Ltd, for purchase of power from Indian power market in order to meet its power requirement during the dry winter season, the power trading company said in a statement.

 

* Further, Bhutan has also executed the agreement with Settlement Nodal Agency for settlement of grid operation related charges.

 

* With all requisite approvals, Bhutan will now start procuring upto 600 MW of power, through PTC, from the Indian power market.

 

* Commenting on the development, Rajib K Mishra, CMD, PTC India, said : “Over the years, Bhutan has been exporting hydro power to India. The increasing domestic demand in Bhutan now requires power imports during the dry winter season.“

 

* “This PPA will help address such energy requirements. This agreement is a step forward towards PTC’s endeavor to strengthen the regional power markets for energy security and sustainability in South Asia.“..

Source : Mint

The Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar has got A grade by scoring 3.85 points in National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grading, thereby becoming the only University in India to get this score.

 

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has congratulated the university on the accomplishment, saying it is the result of persistent efforts made by everyone.

He expressed hope that all the universities in the state will replicate Guru Nanak Dev University to bring laurels for the state..

Source : AIR

Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs(IICA) has launched a programme to create Impact Leaders in the areas of Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG). IICA is an autonomous institution under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. 

 

Environment Secretary Leena Nandan was the Chief Guest at the launch of the programme yesterday. Addressing the gathering, Ms Nandan emphasised the need for creating a cadre of ESG Professionals in India. 

 

She said that trained manpower is the need of the hour and IICA has taken timely initiatives to cater for the needs of transformation in industries through building capacities of the corporate functionaries. She mentioned the clarion call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create a Cadre Pro-Planet-People.

 

Praveen Kumar, DG and CEO, of IICA said that IICA has also formed a National Association of Impact Leaders which is a membership-based association only for ESG professionals. The association will provide a platform for further professional advancement and engagement to its members.

 

The event was attended by 50 budding ESG Professionals who are senior corporate officials enrolled in the programme across the globe..

Source : AIR

In a report titled ‘Coal 2022 : Analysis and Forecast to 2025,’ International Energy Agency (IEA) said the global coal use is set to rise by 1.2% in 2022, surpassing 8 billion tonnes in a single year for the first time and eclipsing the previous record set in 2013.

 

* Based on current market trends, the report forecasts that coal consumption will then remain at nearly the same level through 2025 as declines in mature markets (US, EU etc) are offset by continued demand for coal in emerging Asian economies.

* “This means coal will continue to be the global energy system’s largest single source of carbon dioxide emissions by far”.

 

* The largest increases in coal burn are forecast for China (+5%), India (+7%) and Southeast Asia (+14%). Meanwhile, coal-fired power generation will continue to contract in the United States (-18%) while a return to a declining trajectory is expected for the European Union (-29%).

 

* Europe, which has been severely impacted by the Russia-Ukraine crisis as its supply of natural gas from Russia has stopped, is on course to increase its coal consumption for the second year in a row. By 2025, however, European coal demand is expected to decline below 2020 levels, IEA has said.

* Some European countries postponed scheduled closures of coal power plants and activated coal-fired reserve capacity to limit gas usage in the power sector. “In total, we forecast coal power generation to increase by 1.8% to 10,339 TWh, a new all-time high. Overall, we expect coal demand for power generation to rise by 2.4% to 5,472 Mt, with China consuming more than half of the increase”..

Source : Hindustan Times

The next World Trade Organization ministerial conference will be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in February 2024, the global trade watchdog confirmed in a statement.

* The UAE and Cameroon were both vying to host the event and came to an informal agreement for Abu Dhabi to host the first one and Cameroon to do the next, trade sources said.

 

UAE’s Big Win : For the UAE, hosting the meeting is part of its own push to position itself as a global hub for business amid growing competition in the Middle East. It has been rolling out bilateral trade deals with fast-growing markets since the pandemic. Next year the Gulf Arab state will host COP28, the UN’s Climate Change conference.

 

* The top priority for the WTO’s 13th ministerial conference, known as MC13, will be reaching an agreement to reform the trade body’s hobbled dispute settlement system and modernising its 27-year-old rulebook.

* Most nations want to restore the WTO’s appellate body — a sort of supreme court for trade — which the US crippled in 2019, citing systemic problems with the way its members settle trade disputes.

* MC13 will also provide a forum for WTO members to complete the unfinished work of their 2022 ministerial conference, which produced an agreement to water down patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines and a deal to curb harmful fishery subsidies.

About : Founded in 1995. The WTO is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War. The WTO is run by its 164 members.

WTO is the only international organization that deals with the rules of trade between countries.

* Its aim is to promote free trade, which is done through trade agreements that are discussed and signed by the member states.

* The WTO also provides a forum for countries to negotiate trade rules and settle economic disputes between them.

WTO’s Ministerial Conference : The Ministerial Conference is the WTO’s top decision-making body

* It usually meets every two years.

* All members of the WTO are involved in the Ministerial Conference and they can take decisions on all matters covered under any multilateral trade agreements.

* Unlike other organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund or World Bank, WTO does not delegate power to a board of directors or an organisational chief.

* All decisions at the WTO are made collectively and through consensus among member countries at varied councils and committees and any member can exercise a veto.

* India has visibly benefitted from the open market reforms that it embraced in the early 1990s. Through WTO India can ensure a rule-based global trade regime.

* The dispute settlement body of the WTO is important for India as India has appealed to it seeking exemptions from the import duties on steel and aluminium imposed by the US.

The WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) took place from 12 to 17 June 2022 at WTO headquarters in Geneva..

Source : Bloomberg