April 25th 2022 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
NITI Aayog Draft Battery Swapping Policy

NITI Aayog released a draft battery swapping policy on 21st April 2022. Under this policy, all metropolitan cities in the country having a population over 40 lakhs will be given priority for the development of a battery swapping network under the first phase.
Also, under this policy, all major cities such as UT headquarters, state capitals, and cities having populations of more than 5 lakhs will be covered under the second phase, as two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicle segments are important in growing cities.
Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier during this year’s Union Budget announced that the central government will be rolling out a battery swapping policy to reduce the costs of purchasing Electric Vehicles (EVs).
The policy is aiming to support the adoption of battery-swapping, especially in battery swapping systems that are used in three-wheeler electric rickshaws and electric scooters.

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Key Proposals made under this policy

Under this policy, NITI Aayog has proposed to offer incentives to electric vehicles (EVs) having swappable batteries, subsidies will be provided to companies manufacturing swappable batteries, standards for interoperable batteries, and a new battery-as-a-service business model, etc.
The GST Council has been suggested under this policy to consider reducing the tax rates on electric vehicle supply equipment and Lithium-ion batteries.
The policy also proposes to extend the same incentives available to electric vehicles with fixed batteries to electric vehicles with swappable batteries.
The government will also be specifying a minimum contract duration that has to be signed between EV users and battery providers to ensure that battery swapping services are provided after receiving the subsidy.
Under this policy, the state governments will be required to ensure that the public battery charging stations receive EV power connections with concessional tariffs. The policy also proposes that such stations be subject to existing or future time-of-day (ToD) tariff regimes, allowing the swappable batteries to be charged during off-peak periods when the cost of electricity is low.
State Transport Authorities and Transport Departments will be responsible for easing the registration processes for the vehicles that are sold without batteries or for the vehicles being sold with battery swapping functionality.
The municipal corporations across the country will be responsible for providing zoning permissions, planning, and land allocation for battery swapping stations.
A unique identification number (UIN) will also be provided to swappable batteries at the manufacturing stage so that they can be tracked and monitored. Also, each battery-swapping station will be assigned a UIN number.
Battery-swapping stations will be installed at several locations like public parking areas, retail fuel outlets, Kirana shops, malls, general stores etc

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NITI Aayog- UNICEF India SOI on SDGs Focusing on Children

UNICEF India and NITI Aayog have signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focusing on children. This SoI will be looking to formalise a cooperation framework to launch the first ‘State of India’s Children: Status and Trends in Multidimensional Child Development’ report.
A comprehensive measure is being developed by UNICEF India and NITI Aayog to better understand the multidimensional deprivations and attainments among children with the goal of analysing the status of children on sustainable development goals that are critical child-related.
This SoI will be contributing to India’s commitments on the 2030 Agenda and will also be providing policy recommendations for accelerating progress towards the SDGs of leaving no child behind and achieving their overall holistic development.

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INTERNATIONAL
Prime Minister to inaugurate 7th edition of Raisina Dialogue; EU President to be the chief guest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the seventh edition of Raisina Dialogue. President of the European Union Ursula Von Der Leyen will be the chief guest at the Dialogue. She arrived in New Delhi last night to attend the event. Several former Prime Ministers of different countries and other dignitaries will also participate in this virtual event.
The three-day Dialogue is based on the theme - Terranova, impassioned, impatient, imperiled. There are six broad thematic pillars of the Dialogue including Rethinking Democracy, End of Multilateralism, Water Caucuses, and Achieving Green Transitions. Raisina Dialogue will have around 100 sessions with over 210 speakers from 90 countries.
The Raisina Dialogue is a multilateral conference committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community.
Every year, global leaders in policy, business, media, and civil society are hosted in New Delhi to discuss cooperation on a wide range of pertinent international policy matters. The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs.

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Patrick Achi re-appointed as Prime Minister of Ivory Coast

Patrick Achi has been re-appointed as Prime Minister of Ivory Coast by President Alassane Ouattara.
He was appointed prime minister in March 2021. He was the third prime minister in the West African state (Ivory Coast) in the last three years after Amadou GonCoulibaly (who died in 2020) and Hamed Bakayoko (who died in 2021).
President has accepted Achi resignation ahead of a government reshuffle. Ivory Coast, also officially known as the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, is a country on the southwest coast of Africa.
Indian-Brazil Alliance for Bioenergy and Biofuels
Brazil and India have agreed to work towards the development of an Indian- Brazil Alliance for Bioenergy and Biofuels and will also be establishing a virtual India-Brazil Centre of Excellence on Ethanol.
Both countries have agreed to make efforts to make sustainable biofuels and bioenergy an integral part of the energy transition, especially for industry, transport, and other sectors that are difficult to decarbonise like shipping and aviation.
These decisions have been taken during Bento Albuquerque’s, Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, visit from April 19th to 21st 2022 wherein he paid a visit to the Indian Minister of Petroleum and Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri.

Under this, the aspects prioritised were

technical aspects of E20 blends as vehicle use in current fleets
technical aspects of higher ethanol blends use in flex-fuel vehicles
flex-fuel technologies like two-stroke and four-stroke engines
implementation of biodiesel
biogas or bio-methane incentives and policies
efficient power and heat generation in ethanol and sugar plants

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India- Maldives Navigation Chart

During a three–day visit to the Maldives, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Adm R. Hari Kumar unveiled the first navigation chart that has been jointly produced by India and Maldives.
He also handed over hydrography equipment to strengthen the Maldivian National Defence Forces’ (MNDF) capabilities.
He also visited the maritime assets of the MNDF maritime and praised the joint efforts of the Indian Navy and the MNDF for maintaining these assets’ role worthiness.
A consignment of engineering equipment was also presented by the CNS for further sustenance of the MNDF ships.
India is committed to enhancing the MNDF’s capacity-building efforts.

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ECONOMY
IMF growth projection for India during 2022-23 is 8.2 percent that is fastest growing economy: Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the latest IMF growth projection for India during 2022-23 is 8.2 percent which is the fastest among major economies in the world.
Addressing the plenary meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the IMF, in Washington D.C. yesterday, Mrs. Sitharaman said, India has continued to implement key structural reforms aimed at enhancing productivity and employment. In the backdrop of the emerging challenges, Mrs. Sitharaman said that the global economy may witness some growth deceleration. The Minister emphasized the greater role of International Monetary Fund in the post-pandemic period and the need for timely completion of 16th General Review of Quotas to address the under-representation of the Emerging and Developing Market economies.
During the meeting, Mrs. Sitharaman also emphasized the importance of the multilateral approach to combat climate change and the importance of the transfer of climate finance and low-cost technologies from developed to developing countries.

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APPOINTMENTS
Ajay Kumar Sood named as Principal Scientific Advisor to GoI

Ajay Kumar Sood, a member of the Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, has been appointed to the post for a period of three years to succeed renowned biologist K VijayRaghavan.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sood as Principal Scientific Advisor to the government.
The PSA’s office aims to provide pragmatic and objective advice to the prime minister and cabinet on matters related to science, technology and innovation with a focus on the application of science and technology in critical infrastructure, economic and social sectors in partnership with government departments, institutions and industry.

Suman Bery – New Vice-chairperson of NITI Aayog

The central government appointed economist Suman Bery as the vice-chairman of NITI Aayog after Rajiv Kumar resigned from the post on 22nd April 2022.
Kumar had been appointed as the vice-chairperson of NITI Aayog five years ago.
The cabinet committee had accepted Rajiv Kumar’s resignation and appointed Suman Bery as NITI Aayog’s full-time member and later as the vice-chairperson.
He will be taking up this post from 1st May 2022.

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SPORTS
A first-of-its-kind mobile app launched for Khelo India University Games 2021

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the second edition of the Khelo India University Games to be held in the tech capital Bengaluru will have its own mobile application. A brainchild of the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) and hosts Jain Deemed-to-be University, the unique ‘Khelo India Uni Games 2021’ mobile app promises to be a one-stop-shop for all information regarding the prestigious event scheduled to begin on the 24th April.
The coveted Games, which will be India’s first largest mass participation sporting event post-pandemic, will witness over 4,500 participants representing a total of about 189 universities vie for top honours in 20 disciplines.

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Wisden Almanack named Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah amongst “Five Cricketers of the Year”

The WisdenAlmanack has named India captain Rohit Sharma and bowler Jasprit Bumrah among the “Five Cricketers of the Year” for 2022. Rohit Sharma amassed 368 runs at an average of 52.57 in four Tests, completing an outstanding tour with a second-innings 127 at The Oval, his first Test century away from home.
Others that made the cut include England fast bowler Ollie Robinson, South African women’s player Dane van Niekerk, and New Zealand opener Devon Conway.
Former England captain Joe Root has been crowned the World’s Leading Cricketer, while South African Lizelle Lee has been named the World’s Leading Woman Cricketer, and Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan has been named the World’s Leading T20 Cricketer.

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Published date : 25 Apr 2022 07:49PM