[CA] May 16, 2020 Headlines

MAY 16, 2020
investment capacity of india in renewable sector reached 500 – 700 billion usd   The Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis published a study according to which India has increased its potential of renewable energy investments to 500-700 billion USD. This is mainly because of improvements in solar power in the country. According to the study, the ultra-mega solar parks in the country have attracted foreign capital. The Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan is the largest solar park in the world. It is spread over 14,000 acres. The capacity of the park is 2245 MW of power. goal Ministry of tribal Affairs has launched the "GOAL" (Going Online As Leaders) in partnership with Facebook at a webinar in New Delhi. The GOAL programme is designed to provide mentorship to tribal youth through digital mode. The digitally enabled program envisages to act as a catalyst to explore hidden talents of the tribal youth, which will help in their personal development as well as contribute to all-round upliftment of their society. 5,000 young tribal entrepreneurs, professionals, artisans and artists will be trained on digital skills under digital entrepreneurship program. sneher porosh & prochesta Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Mamata Banerjee launched two schemes ‘Sneher Porosh’ and to provide support for the migrant workers and ‘Prochesta’ to help the workers of the unorganised sector of Bengal to enable them to earn their living in the lockdown situation. southwest monsoon forecast The National Weather Forecasting Centre of the India Meteorological Department, has come out with the forecast of Monsoon onset over Kerala. This year, the onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala is likely to be slightly delayed as compared to normal date of onset of June 01. The monsoon onset over Kerala this year is likely to be on June 05 with a model error of ± 4 days. INDIA & AIIB The Government of India, the Government of West Bengal and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed a loan agreement for a US$145 million project to improve irrigation services and flood management in the Damodar Valley Command Area (DVCA) in West Bengal.	EVENTBOT The Computer Emergency Response of Team (CERT) of India has issued warning against a new malware called “EventBot”. The malware according to CERT steals personal financial information from Android phone users. The EventBot malware that is spreading is a Trojan. It cheats victims secretly attacking computer or phone operating system. Currently, the malware is capable of targeting more than 200 different financial applications. commonwealth health ministers meeting  India attended the 32nd Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting through video conferencing. The meeting was held under the theme "Delivering a coordinated Commonwealth COVID-19 response". The member countries shared their experiences and lessons in the fight against COVID-19. They also discussed on the essential collective and national actions. robert azevedo At the World Trade Organisation(WTO) members virtual meeting, the 6th Director-General Roberto Azevedo (62-year-old), a former Brazilian diplomat & 1st Latin American director announced that he will step down from the 7-year tenure(since 2013) on Aug 31 on personal grounds, cutting his second term in office short by exactly one year. dibang multipurpose project Forest Advisory Committee has once again deferred its decision on Dibang multipurpose project in Arunachal Pradesh. The project has been delayed for over six years because it required diverting 1,165 hectares of forest in a region of rich biodiversity. Dibang Multipurpose project is envisaged as a storage-based hydro-electric project with flood moderation as the key objective. This is the largest ever Hydro Electric Projects to be constructed in India. The dam is 278 metres high and will be the highest dam in India once completed. The Project is located on river Dibang, in Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh. WORLD BANK ASSISTANCE TO INDIA The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $750 million of $1 billion proposed for Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Programme to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This takes the total commitment from the Bank towards emergency COVID-19 response in India to $2 billion. A $1 billion support was announced last month towards immediate support to India’s health sector. [Click for More Details..]
Prepared by K. M. Senthil Kumar