Samudra Shakti
- It is a bilateral naval exercise between India and Indonesia.
- It is going to be organised at port of Surabaya, Java.
- Indian Naval Ship Rana is going to participate in this year edition of the exercise.
- The aim of the exercise is to strengthen bilateral relations, expand maritime co-operation, enhance interoperability and exchange best practices.
- India and Indonesia shares “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”.
Point Calimere Sanctuary
- It is the only Ramsar site in the State of Tamil Nadu.
- It is a mix of salt swamps, mangroves, backwaters, mudflats, grasslands and tropical dry evergreen forest.
- It is a haven for migratory birds and resident species.
- Chemical companies and small-scale shrimp farms around the wetland have started to pose a threat to the biodiversity and ecosystem of the sanctuary.
- Atmospheric temperature, pH and salinity exceeded the permissible limits for ecologically sensitive zones.
- The presence of salt pans around the sanctuary lead to increase in salinity of the waters.
- Previous studies show that, high acidic or high alkaline water can affect the metabolic and developmental activities of wild animals and birds.
- Coliform microbial infection in the birds have also been reported which can cause a change in their natural behaviour and even affect their long-distance migration.
Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) signed a USD 13 million grant to set up Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund.
- The fund is to be administered by ADB.
- It aims to expand and sustain investments in the energy efficiency market in India, build market diversification, and scale up existing technologies.
- Global Environment Facility (GEF) will provide the additional financing for the ongoing projects under this fund.
- Additional grants from GEF will be used by EESL for making investments in new and emerging technologies.
- EESL is under the administration of Ministry of Power and is working towards mainstreaming energy efficiency.
Click here to know about GEF.
INSPIRE
- The 2nd edition of INSPIRE (International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency ) was recently inaugurated.
- It is being organised by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and World Bank.
- Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) are the other collaborators for the symposium.
- It focuses on enhancing grid management, e-Mobility, financial instruments and technologies for energy efficiency in India.
- Awards for InnovateToINSPIRE, a first-of-its-kind energy innovation challenge, was also given in the symposium.
INSPIRE Programme
- Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Programme is sponsored and managed by Ministry of Science & Technology.
- The basic objective of INSPIRE is to attract young talents to the study of science and build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening R & D base.
- The programme does not conduct any competitive exams for identification of talent at any level.
- It relies on the existing educational structure for identification of talent.
- The programme has three components:
- Scheme for Early Attraction of Talent- (SEATS)
- Scholarship for Higher Education- (SHE)
- Assured Opportunity for Research Careers - (AORC)
Source: PIB, The Hindu, Business Standard
