WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Indian biologist Shailendra Singh has been awarded the Behler Turtle Conservation Award for bringing three critically endangered turtle conservation species back from the brink of extinction.
• Shailendra Singh was named to lead the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA)/ Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) India turtle programme.
• The award has been bestowed by several global bodies involved in turtle conservation such as Turtle Survival Alliance, IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, Turtle Conservancy, and Turtle Conservation Fund. 
• The Behler Turtle Conservation Award was established in 2006 to recognise outstanding achievements, contributions and leadership excellence in international turtle conservation and biology.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Writer Namita Gokhale has been chosen as the recipient of the seventh Yamin Hazarika Woman of Substance Award. She was conferred upon the honour recently in a virtual ceremony.
• She is a co-founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, Gokhale also mentors Himalayan Echoes and the Kumaon Festival of Literature and the Arts.
• The award was organised by a collective of women professionals from the year 2015, the annual award honours Yamin Hazarika, the first woman from Northeast India to be selected for DANIPS, a federal police service that administered Delhi and the Union Territories in 1977.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The 130th edition of the Durand Cup kicked off at the Vivekananda Yubabharati Krirangan in Kolkata. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee kicked the ball and inaugurated the tournament.
• 16 teams are playing in this edition of the oldest club football tournament in Asia while two clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are not participating. The final match will be held on 3rd October.
• The Durand Cup is a prestigious football tournament. It was first held in 1888, at Dagshai in Himachal Pradesh. This tournament has been named after Mortimer Durand. He was the then Foreign Secretary in charge of India.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• India’s first building made of bio-bricks from agro-waste has been inaugurated at IIT Hyderabad. The sample building is made up of bio-bricks supported by a metal framework.
• The roof is also made of bio-bricks over PVC sheets to reduce heat. It is part of the Bold Unique Idea Lead Development (BUILD) project to demonstrate the strength and versatility of the material.
• A prototype of the guard cabin was designed and set up in the space allocated by IIT-H. It is part of the Bold Unique Idea Lead Development (BUILD) project to demonstrate the strength and versatility of the material.
• The sample building is made up of bio-bricks supported by a metal framework. The roof is also made of bio-bricks over PVC sheets to reduce heat. Both inside and outside walls are cement-plastered to protect the bio-bricks from rain.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• National Teachers’ Award 2021 was awarded by President Ram Nath Kovind, September 5, 2021. President Kovind gave the awards to 44 finest teachers in the country for their dedicated contribution.
• The award is contributed to those who improve the quality of education for students and also inspire, enrich their lives. This year, the Ministry of Education released the name of 44 teachers, who would be conferred the National Teachers’ Award.
• Out of the total 44 teachers, 9 of the awardees are women. Due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, President Kovind addressed the teachers virtually. While highlighting the role and importance of teachers in one’s life, President Kovind expressed his gratitude to all the teachers who received the awards.
• The award was also bestowed upon Pramod Kumar Shukla of Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS), Chhattisgarh. It is the second award in a row for an EMRS established under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria attended a three-day-long Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium 2021 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii.
• The event themed ”Enduring Cooperation towards Regional Stability” was attended by air chiefs from countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Bhadauria was nominated as the Dean for the symposium. India, the US, Australia, Japan and many other like-minded countries are working towards ensuring a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
• The symposium saw deliberations through panel discussions, tabletop exercises and keynote addresses on topics ranging from aspects of regional security to cooperation amongst air forces for humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, has been appointed as India’s Sherpa for G20.

About:

• G20 is an influential grouping which brings together the major economies of world.
• Next G20 Summit is scheduled to take place from October 30 to 31, 2021 under Italian Presidency.
• India will hold the G20 Presidency from December 1, 2022 and will also convene G20 Leaders’ Summit in 2023 for the first time.
• India will also be part of the G20 Troika (preceding, current, and incoming G20 Presidencies) from December 1, 2021 to November 30, 2024.
• Since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been leading India’s representation at G20 Summits.

G20 (or Group of Twenty)

G20 is an intergovernmental forum consisting of 19 countries and the European Union (EU). This grouping works to address major issues related to the global economy like international financial stability, sustainable development and climate change mitigation. G20 comprises of largest economies, including industrialised & developing nations, of the world.  it collectively accounts for 90 percent of gross world product, 75-80 percent of international trade, half of world’s land area and two-thirds of the global population.

Background

This grouping was founded in 1999 following a several world economic crises. Since 2008, it organises summits at least once a year, involving each member’s head of government or state, foreign ministers, finance minister, and other high-ranking officials. EU is represented by European Commission and European Central Bank.

Who is a Sherpa?

Sherpa is the personal representative of the head of state or government who prepares an international summit, specially the annual G7 and G20 summits. Sherpa is generally influential, but they do not have any authority to make final decision regarding any given agreement.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Union Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh and Union Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the Emergency Landing Facility on a National Highway in Rajasthan.

About:

• This emergency landing facility has been constructed on the Satta-Gandhav stretch of National Highway (NH) 925A in Barmer, Rajasthan.
• On the occasion, C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) landed at the emergency field landing at the National Highway in Jalore, Rajasthan.
• This is the first time; a National Highway will be used for emergency landing of IAF aircraft.

How this was made possible?

Development of roadways as key infrastructure enabled the construction of high-quality expressways and highways, that can be used as runways with few modifications. These highways and expressways have a limited construction of additional infrastructure. As a result, they can be used to operate various types of aircraft during emergencies.

Who built this Facility?

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) developed a three kilometres section of the Satta-Gandhav stretch on NH-925A, under the supervision of IAF.

About Emergency Landing Facility

This facility was developed on NH-925A from Km 41/430 to Km 44/430 for the IAF. It is a part of newly developed two-lane stretch of Satta-Gandhav and Gagariya-Bakhasar section in Barmer (Rajasthan). Total length of the highway is 196.97 kilometres, while the length of emergency landing facility is 3.5km. It costs worth Rs 765.52 crores under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. It was completed in 19 months.

Significance of Emergency Landing Facility

This facility will be used for road traffic flow on every day basis. However, during the operations of IAF, it will be used to facilitate the landing of all types of aircraft of IAF. It will improve the connectivity between villages of Jalore and Barmer districts in Rajasthan

WHY IN THE NEWS?

The government of India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $112 million loan in order to develop water supply infrastructure in the state of Jharkhand.

About:

• The loan will also strengthen capacities of urban local bodies (ULBs) in order to improve service delivery in four towns of Jharkhand.
• This project is in line with the priority of Jharkhand Government to improve urban services in state.
• It will ensure continuous, treated piped water supply in Ranchi and other three towns namely Jhumri Telaiya, Hussainabad, and Medininagar. These towns are located in economically and socially backward areas.

ADB’s first project

• This project will be the first urban project of ADB in Jharkhand. It will help in establishing a model for continuous water supply in combination with policy reforms for sustainable operation.
• Under the project, four water treatment plants will be established in four towns with a combined capacity of 275 million liters per day.
• These plants would provide safe drinking water of national drinking water quality standards.
• It will also establish 940 kilometres of water distribution network in order provide continuous water supply across 115,000 households, including below poverty line households, scheduled caste & scheduled tribe members and other vulnerable groups.

How project will ensure sustainability?

In order to ensure sustainability, project will strengthen the capacity of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) by developing an asset management strategy and training on design and implementation of urban projects. It will also introduce innovative technologies in order to minimize water losses in water treatment and distribution. It will also use a supervisory control and data acquisition system for water supply operation and geographic information system-based asset management in the state’s capital city, Ranchi.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

State of Tamil Nadu and Denmark have planned to create an energy island in Gulf of Mannar that lies between the west coast of Sri Lanka and south-eastern tip of India.

About:

• This plan was made as Tamil Nadu is looking to expand its footprint in the green energy sector.
• To achieve this target, Denmark is likely to invest $5-10 billion in the renewable energy sector in the state. It also includes investment for an energy island in the Gulf of Mannar.
• With this investment, island would be able to produce 4-10 GW of energy.

Background

A delegation of experts from Denmark met Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin on September 8, 2021 to discuss the plan. If the plan materialises, it will be India’s first offshore floating Wind Park.

Tangedco Solar power projects

Tamil Nadu and Denmark made their plan for the investments, days after the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) announced to launch 20,000 Mw of solar power projects with adequate battery storage, 2,000 Mw of gas-based power units and 3,000 Mw of pumped storage hydroelectric projects. These projects will require loans of about Rs 1.32 trillion.

Denmark’s investment in Tamil Nadu

Value of Danish investment in Tamil Nadu in the period of January 2003 to January 2021 is estimated at $ 751.72 million. Some of the Danish companies operating in Tamil Nadu include Maersk, Vestas, Cubic, Danfoss, Grundfos, and FLSmidth.

India-Danish cooperation

Around 200 Danish companies are operating in other parts of India, including Ramboll, A.P. Moller Maersk, and Novo-Nordisk. In the last decade, Denmark has invested more than $1 billion in India. Indian companies operating in Denmark include Tata Consultancy Services, ITC Infotech, Infosys Technologies and L&T Infotech