Commemorating the day one of the most significant space missions to Mars was launched, November 28 is marked as Red Planet Day.

* On this day in 1964, the United States launched the space probe Mariner 4 on a course towards Mars, which it flew past in July 1965, sending back pictures of the red planet.

 

* This was the first time that a spacecraft undertook the first flyby of the red planet, becoming the first-ever spacecraft to take close-up photographs of another planet.

* Subsequently, considerable interest has been sparked around Mars, and missions have been launched, to the point that at present, the idea of settling a colony of humans on Mars (as suggested enthusiastically by billionaire Elon Musk) has also been put forth.

 

A study report, titled ‘Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India’, was released.

The report explores the importance of Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage as an emission reduction strategy to achieve deep decarbonization from the hard-to-abate sectors. The report outlines broad level policy interventions needed across various sectors for its application.

 

India has updated its NDC targets for achieving 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, the role of Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) becomes important as reduction strategy to achieve decarbonization from the hard-to abate sectors.

 

What The NITI Aayog Said : “CCUS can enable the production of clean products while still utilizing our rich endowments of coal, reducing imports and thus leading to an Atmanirbhar Indian economy.” said Suman Bery, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. Implementation of CCUS technology certainly be an important step to decarbonise the hard-to-abate sector.

 

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

 

“India’s dependency on the fossil-based Energy Resources is likely to continue in future, hence CCUS policy in Indian Context is needed” said Dr. V.K Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog.

 

What The Report Pointed : 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) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) with wide market opportunities in India, thus contributing substantially to a circular economy..

Source : PIB

Ministry of Power has launched a scheme for procurement of aggregate power of 4500 MW for five years under SHAKTI Policy.

* The Ministry said that the scheme will help states that are facing power shortage and help generation plants to increase their capacities.

 

* PFC Consulting Limited has been designated as the nodal agency. It has invited bids for the supply of 4,500 MW electricity. The supply will commence from April next year.

 

* The utilities that have shown interest for the scheme are Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Ltd, New Delhi Municipal Corporation and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd.

 

* The last date for the bid submission is 21st December 2022. It is for the first time that bidding is being carried out under B(v) of SHAKTI scheme.

 

* SHAKTI, or Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India, was launched in 2018 to provide coal to stressed power units which lack coal supply..

Source : AIR

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet extended the tenure of "Foreign Secretary" Vinay Mohan Kwatra till April 30, 2024.

Mr. Kwatra, who took charge on May 1, 2022, was earlier scheduled to retire on December 31. Mr. Kwatra (IFS 1988 batch) had succeeded Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who is now serving as the Chief Coordinator of the upcoming G-20 summit that will be held here in 2023.

 

The next year is expected to be heavy with diplomatic events. In January 2023, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi will be the ‘chief guest’ at the Republic Day celebrations.

Besides this, a number of preparatory events consisting of all the G-20 member states and the ‘guest countries’ like Bangladesh, Singapore, UAE, Nigeria, Spain, Egypt, Netherlands, Mauritius and Oman, are expected to take place during the coming months.

 

Moreover, two of India’s immediate neighbours, Nepal and Bangladesh are expected to complete democratic transition within the next year. Election has already been completed in Nepal, where Mr. Kwatra had served as India’s ambassador before taking over as the Foreign Secretary. He is credited with playing a key role in stabilising India-Nepal relation during his stint in Kathmandu following the eruption of the Kalapani territorial dispute between India and Nepal..

Source : The Hindu

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin inaugurated the SIPCOT Industrial Park at Eraiyur in Perambalur district, and laid the foundation stone for the Phoenix Kothari Footwear Park there on Monday(28th Nov 2022).

 

This is the first SIPCOT (State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited) industrial park in the industrially backward district of Perambalur.

The park established on 243.49 acre in Eraiyur on the Chennai-Tiruchy national highway follows the announcement of the government for 2022-23 to promote industrial development in the districts of Coimbatore, Perambalur, Madurai, Vellore, and Tiruvallur.

 

“Tamil Nadu is one of the leading States in the country in terms of economic and industrial development. The State government is strengthening its economy by attracting massive investments and providing employment opportunities to lakhs of youth, especially women, from the State”.

The measures are aimed at meeting the Chief Minister’s goal of achieving US $1-trillion economy by 2030-31.

 

The Guidance Tamil Nadu – State nodal agency for investment promotion and single window facilitation – signed 10 MoUs with the Phoenix Kothari Footwear and its 10 affiliated companies including those from Taiwan for an investment of Rs 740 crore. These would ensure jobs for 4,500 people.

 

Already, two MoUs committing an investment of Rs 1,700 crore were signed with Kothari Phoenix company on August 23, 2022, after the government unveiled a separate policy for footwear and leather goods manufacturing. Thus, the 12 MoUs for a total investment of Rs 2,440 crore would ensure employment opportunities for 29,500 people...

Source : The Print

Every year, the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People is observed on November 29. It is a day to inform the public about the issues related to Palestine. There is also extended support for a peaceful settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. The day carries lots of importance in the lives of the Palestinian people.

In the year 2008, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was keeping a record of the number of casualties in the Israeli and Palestinian conflicts.

 

International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People History : The United Nations General Assembly declared November 29 as International Day for Solidarity with Palestinian people in the year 1977. It adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine on May 14, 1948, and the state of Israel was formed.

 

The eight-month war between the country and the Arab states led the Israeli forces to destroy more than 400 Palestinian villages. This resulted in 760,000 Palestinian refugees moving to the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring Arab nations.

 

International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People 2022 Significance : The day plays a significant role in the international community focusing on the issues that are still unresolved for the Palestinian people.

 

People still need to attain the inalienable rights defined by the General Assembly, which include the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence and sovereignty, and the right to return to their homes and property, from which they have been displaced..

Source : India Today

iNCOVACC, the world's first intranasal vaccine by Bharat Biotech has received both primary series and Heterologous booster approval, the Hyderedab-based company said on Monday(28th Nov 2022).

 

In a release regarding the same, Bharat Biotech said, iNCOVACC (BBV 154), has received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under Restricted Use in Emergency Situation for ages 18 and above, in India, for heterologous booster doses.

 

The intranasal vaccine had earlier received approval under Restricted Use in Emergency Situation for ages 18 and above for the primary 2-dose schedule. Phase III trials were conducted for safety, immunogenicity in~3100 subjects, at 14 trial sites across India.

 

Meanwhile, the heterologous booster dose studies were conducted for safety and immunogenicity in ~875 subjects, with BBV154 intranasal vaccine administered post 2 doses of the two commonly administered COVID-19 vaccines. The trials were conducted at 9 trial sites across India.

 

 

Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, “This is a great achievement for us and the global scientific community to enable nasal administration of COVID vaccines. Despite the lack of demand for COVID vaccines, we continued product development in intranasal vaccines to ensure that we are well-prepared with platform technologies for future infectious diseases. 

 

“We thank the Ministry of Health, CDSCO, Dept of Biotechnology, Govt of India, Technology Development Board, and Washington University, St. Louis, for their support and guidance, " he added. 

 

The iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized spike protein. This vaccine candidate was evaluated in phase I, II and III clinical trials with successful results.

 

This vaccine has been specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery through nasal drops. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low and middle-income countries..

Source : Mint

* Markets regulator SEBI on Monday(28th Nov 2022) approved the appointment of Sundararaman Ramamurthy as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of leading stock exchange BSE.

 

* In a regulatory filing, BSE said the appointment is subject to acceptance of the offer made to him and fulfillment of terms and conditions including approval from the shareholders.

 

* The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) through a letter on November 28 has approved the name of Ramamurthy as the MD & CEO of BSE, the filing said.

 

* The approval comes more than four months after Ashishkumar Chauhan resigned as the MD & CEO of the exchange with effect from July 25..

Source : Zeebiz

The world’s largest active volcano has erupted in Hawaii for the first time in nearly four decades.

 

Mauna Loa erupted at 11:30 p.m. local time Sunday (4:30 a.m. ET Monday), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was the first eruption since 1984, according to its Hawaii Volcano Observatory daily update.

 

The eruption began in Moku’āweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the agency said, as it upgraded the volcano’s alert level from an “advisory” to a “warning.”

 

“At this time, lava flows are contained within the summit area and are not threatening downslope communities,” the USGS said in a news release. “Winds may carry volcanic gas and possibly fine ash and Pele’s hair downwind,” it said, referring to a type of lava..

Source : CNBC

The seventh edition of the Global Technology Summit will be held from Tuesday till the 1st of December 2022 in New Delhi in a hybrid format. The Summit is India’s annual flagship event on Geotechnology and is co-hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs and Carnegie India. The inaugural session of the Summit would be a conversation of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on geo-digital and its effects.

 

* External Affairs Ministry said that over the course of three days, the world’s leading minds in technology, government, security, space, startups, data, law, public health, climate change, academics, economy will gather and debate the vital questions related to technology and its future.

 

* The theme for this year’s(2022) Summit is Geopolitics of Technology.

* GTS 2022 will see participation from more than 100 speakers across over 50-panel discussions, keynote addresses, book launches, and other events.

* Ministers and senior government officials from the US, Singapore, Japan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bhutan, the European Union, and other countries will also participate in the Summit.

* More than 5000 participants from all over the world have registered to attend the Summit. A large number of participants would be joining the conversations through the GTS Summit website and Carnegie India’s YouTube and social media pages..

Source : AIR