The International Solar Alliance, in a global collaboration with the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, the Government of India, the Asian Development Bank, and the International Solar Energy Society, organised the third edition of the High-level Conference on New Technologies for Clean Energy Transition.
This significant event took place on the sidelines of the Seventh Session of the ISA Assembly in New Delhi uniting stakeholders worldwide.
The conference’s overarching goal is to translate dialogue into action. Deep-dive sessions focusing on new-age solar technologies, emerging storage technologies, and unleashing solar's role in accelerating equitable economic, and social.
An added attraction at the inaugural was the launch of the third edition of the World Solar Report series. Launched in 2022, the series provides a concise overview of global advancements, challenges, and trends in solar technology, markets, and investments.
Key findings from the 2024 edition include:
Rise in Solar Capacity.
Solar Manufacturing to Exceed Demand with Over 1,100 GW by 2024.
Solar Industry Employment Boom.
Future Forecasts.
Exponential Growth in Energy Investments.
The Solar Investment Surge.
APAC leads global solar investments.
Record-Breaking Solar PV Panel Efficiency.
Solar Manufacturing Now Uses 88% Less Silicon per Watt Peak than in 2004.
Utility-Scale PV Costs Hitting New Low.
The inaugural also witnessed the release of the ‘Readiness Assessment of Green Hydrogen African Countries’ report by ISA and Denmark.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu launched the Deepam 2.0 scheme in Edupuram, Ichapuram Mandal, Srikakulam district, as part of the “Super Six Promises” initiative. This program provides free gas cylinders to eligible families, aiming to improve their quality of life.
Marking the formal launch of the Deepam 2.0 scheme, the Chief Minister flagged off gas cylinder delivery vehicles and personally handed over the first cylinder to beneficiary Ambati Shantamma. Addressing the public meeting at ‘Praja Vedika,’ he assured that the cost of the gas cylinders would be refunded to all beneficiaries within 48 hours.
He further announced that beneficiaries now could take social pensions once every three months. Highlighting the NDA government’s commitment to social welfare, he mentioned that despite financial challenges, they are determined to fulfill all election promises.
India will launch the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission early next month from the Sriharikota spaceport, said Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh.
According to Singh, the two satellites for the Proba-3 mission, aimed at studying the Sun, arrived at Sriharikota to be integrated with ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
The mission is expected to launch on 4 December.
The two Proba-3 spacecraft will be launched together on a PSLV-XL launcher and placed in a highly elliptical orbit, reaching up to 60,000 km from Earth before descending as close as 600 km.
This high orbit is essential because the spacecraft will conduct active formation flying for around six hours at maximum altitude, where Earth’s gravitational influence is weaker, reducing the amount of propellant needed for position adjustments.
Proba-3’s twin satellites will allow continuous observations of the Sun’s faint corona, or outer atmosphere, which typically can only be seen briefly during solar eclipses from Earth.
To achieve this, the shadow cast between the two spacecraft must remain precisely aligned, requiring them to autonomously maintain formation with millimeter-level accuracy—
the thickness of a fingernail.
This launch will mark the first time since the original Proba-1 Earth-observing mission in 2001 that an ESA mission has been launched from India.
The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $200 million loan to help upgrade water supply, sanitation, urban mobility, and other urban services in the state of Uttarakhand.
The project will enhance transportation, urban mobility, drainage, flood management, and overall public services in Haldwani, the economic hub of the state.
Additionally, it will improve water supply delivery in four cities - Champawat, Kichha, Kotdwar, and Vikasnagar - by developing efficient and climate-resilient water supply systems.
In Haldwani, the project will develop 16 km of climate-resilient roads, establish an intelligent traffic management system, deploy compressed natural gas buses, and pilot electric buses.
To prepare the city against disasters, the project will construct 36 km of stormwater and roadside drains to improve flood management and implement an early warning system. A green-certified administrative complex and bus terminal will be built to improve the delivery of public services.
In the other four cities, the project aims to increase water service coverage to 100% by constructing 1,024 km of climate-resilient pipelines with smart water meters, 26 tubewells, new reservoirs, and a 3.5 million-litre-per-day water treatment plant. Sanitation coverage in Vikasnagar will be improved by sewage treatment facilities that will benefit around 2,000 households.
The signatories to the loan agreement for the Uttarakhand Livability Improvement Project were Ms. Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, for the Government of India, and Ms. Mio Oka, Country Director of India Resident Mission, for ADB.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved PM Vidyalaxmi, a new Central Sector scheme that seeks to provide financial support to meritorious students so that financial constraints do not prevent anyone from pursuing higher studies.
PM Vidyalaxmi is another key initiative stemming out of the National Education Policy, 2020, which recommended that financial assistance should be made available to meritorious students through various measures in both public and private HEIs.
Under the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme, any student who gets admission in a Quality Higher Education Institution (QHEIs) will be eligible to get a collateral-free, guarantor-free loan from banks and financial institutions to cover the full amount of tuition fees and other expenses related to the course.
The scheme will be administered through a simple, transparent and student-friendly system that will be inter-operable and entirely digital.
The scheme will be applicable to the top quality higher educational institutions of the nation, as determined by the NIRF rankings - including all HEIs, government and private,
that are ranked within the top 100 in NIRF in overall, category-specific and domain specific rankings; state government HEIs ranked in 101-200 in NIRF and all central government-governed institutions. This list will be updated every year using the latest NIRF ranking, and to begin starts with 860 qualifying QHEIs,
covering more than 22 lakh students to be able to potentially avail benefits of PM-Vidyalaxmi; if they so desire.
For loan amounts up to ₹ 7.5 lakhs, the student will also be eligible for a credit guarantee of 75% of outstanding default. This will give support to banks in making education loans available to students under the scheme.
In addition to the above, for students having an annual family income of up to Rs 8 lakhs, and not eligible for benefits under any other government scholarship or interest subvention schemes, 3 percent interest subvention for loans up to Rs10 lakhs will also be provided during moratorium period. The interest subvention support will be given to one lakh students every year.
The Department of Higher Education will have a unified portal “PM-Vidyalaxmi” on which students will be able to apply for the education loan as well as interest subvention, through a simplified application process to be used by all banks. Payment of interest subvention will be made through E-voucher and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved an infusion of equity of Rs.10,700 crore for working capital in the financial year 2024-25 in Food Corporation of India (FCI). The decision is aimed at bolstering the agricultural sector and ensuring the welfare of farmers nationwide.
This strategic move shows the Government's steadfast commitment to supporting farmers and fortifying India's agrarian economy.
FCI started its journey in 1964 with authorised capital of Rs.100 Crores and equity of Rs. 4 Crores. The operations of FCI increased manifolds resulting in increase of authorised capital from Rs. 11,000 crores to Rs. 21,000 crores in February 2024.
The equity of FCI was Rs. 4,496 Crores in the Financial Year 2019-20 which increased to Rs. 10,157 Crores in the Financial Year 2023-24. Now, the Government of India has approved a significant amount of equity of Rs. 10,700 Crores for FCI which will strengthen it financially and will give a big boost to the initiatives taken for its transformation.
FCI plays a pivotal role in ensuring food security by procurement of food grains at Minimum Support Price (MSP), maintenance of strategic food grain stocks, distribution of food grains for welfare measure and stabilization of food grain prices in the market.
Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier Telecom R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India has signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) for the development of "Millimeter Wave Transceiver for 5G Rural Connectivity ".
The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. This scheme, designed to fund Indian startups, academia, and R&D institutions, is a crucial enabler for designing, developing, and commercializing telecommunication products and solutions.
IDFC FIRST Bank has become the first bank in India to introduce real-time tracking for cross-border money transfers, enhancing transparency and convenience for its customers. Developed in partnership with Swift, this new service is available on the bank’s mobile app and Internet banking platform, allowing customers to monitor their overseas transactions around the clock.
The Swift GPI tracking plugin gives real-time updates on the status of funds, indicating whether the money is in transit or has been credited to the recipient’s account. The tracker also alerts users to potential issues, such as errors in receiver information, allowing them to resolve problems swiftly.
The 21st edition of India – US Military Cooperation Group (MCG) meeting was conducted from 05 to 06 November 2024 at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi. The meeting covered a wide range of topics, including capacity building, training exchanges, defence industrial cooperation and the advancement of joint exercises that bolster preparedness for conventional and hybrid threats.
The MCG is a landmark forum aimed at enhancing defence cooperation and fostering strategic and operational defence collaboration between the Armed Forces of both countries. The 21st MCG meeting represents a step forward in advancing the shared objectives of India and US to ensure regional and global security, counter emerging threats and build mutual capabilities.
In Japan, the world’s first wooden satellite was launched into space aims to prove that wood is a space-grade material. The satellite LignoSat is scheduled to orbit the Earth for six months. According to media reports, designed by researchers at Kyoto University in Japan, LignoSat is made of honoki, a kind of magnolia tree that was traditionally used to make sword sheaths.
The satellite will measure how wood endures the extreme environment of space, where temperatures fluctuate from -100 to 100 degrees Celsius every 45 minutes as objects orbit through darkness and sunlight. It will also gauge timber’s ability to reduce the impact of space radiation on semiconductors.
In Boxing, Indian pugilist Mandeep Jangra clinched the World Boxing Federation’s Super Featherweight world title in the Cayman Islands. He defeated Britain’s Conor McIntosh 10-0 in a unanimous decision. With this, Mandeep became the first Indian pugilist to become a world champion in any pro-boxing event category.
Mandeep, who won a Commonwealth Games silver medal in the 2014 Glasgow edition, has faced only one defeat in his professional career so far. He has won 11 out of his 12 fights with seven being knockout victories.
On 5 November 2001, the UN General Assembly declared 6 November of each year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict (A/RES/56/4).
On 27 May 2016, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted resolution, which recognized the role of healthy ecosystems and sustainably managed resources in reducing the risk of armed conflict, and reaffirmed its strong commitment to the full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals listed in General Assembly resolution, entitled “Transforming our world"
State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest bank, has launched the ‘SBI Innovation Hub’ in collaboration with APIX, a leading worldwide collaborative innovation platform for financial institutions and fintech companies.
The SBI Innovation Hub is designed to accelerate digital transformation by allowing users to develop and customise solutions in a secure Sandbox environment using SBI’s 250+ financial service APIs. The project aims to drive financial innovation and digital transformation while also improving financial inclusivity.
One97 Communications Limited (OCL), which owns Paytm, India’s leading digital payments and financial services provider, has launched a new feature allowing users to download UPI statements directly from the app. This service enables users to access and monitor their financial transactions for any date range or financial year in a simple PDF format.
The UPI statement download feature addresses the rising demand among Paytm users for greater transparency and control over their finances. Users can now view detailed transaction data, including transaction amounts, recipient information, bank details, and timestamps, all organized for easy reference.
In addition to this latest feature, Paytm offers other UPI-based services, such as Peer-to-Peer (P2P) bank transfers, UPI Lite for small transactions under ₹2,000 to prevent cluttered bank statements, and the option to link RuPay Credit Cards with UPI for seamless bill payments. Users can also check bank balances and make self-account transfers with ease on the app.
Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) has been assigned an ‘A1+’ rating for its short-term fixed deposits aggregating ₹12,000 crore and an ‘AA’ rating (Stable) for its fixed deposits by CARE Ratings. According to CARE Ratings, securities with an ‘A1’ rating are considered to have a very strong degree of safety regarding the timely payment of financial obligations.
Such securities carry the lowest credit risk. The “+” modifier reflects the comparative standing within the category. Further, securities with an “AA” rating are considered to have a high degree of safety regarding the timely servicing of financial obligations. Such securities carry very low credit risk.
