• Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar inaugurated the International Lavi Fair at Rampur Bushahr in Shimla district.
• He said the four-day fair was not only a commercial festival, but also a symbol of cultural richness of Himachal Pradesh. He said every effort should be made to preserve cultural heritage and restore the old glory of traditional fairs and festivals.
• He lauded the efforts of the organisers for making sincere efforts to carry forward the rich traditions of the Lavi fair. “The woollens, dry fruits and other traditional crafts and products exhibited in the market are unique.
• The fair provides a good opportunity for their promotion and sale and benefits the traditional craftsmen and farmers.
• He also inaugurated the ‘Kinnauri market’ and exhibition put up by various organisations.
• Deputy Commissioner and Chairman of the International Lavi Fair Organising Committee, Aditya Negi, spoke about various activities to be held during the fair. A cultural programme was also presented on the occasion.

• In Himachal Pradesh, Tashigang is the world’s highest polling station situated at 15256 feet.
• The residents of Tashigang will vote for the first time in assembly election tomorrow. Tashigang, the world’s highest polling station, was set up in 2019 and voters have exercised their franchise once in the Lok Sabha and second in the Lok Sabha by-elections but this time voters will vote in the assembly elections for the first time.
• Earlier this year, in the Mandi Lok Sabha by-election, this polling station witnessed 100 percent voting.
• Tashigang village has 52 registered voters, including 30 men and 22 women.
• This remote village is located in Lahaul-Spiti district which falls under the Mandi parliamentary seat.
• Earlier, Hikkim had the status of being the highest polling station.

• Model Economic Township (MET City), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL) said it was developing a world-class greenfield smart city near Gurugram, Haryana. In this industrial township, manufacturer of medical devices Nihon Kohden will build its largest facility of India.
• MET City is a Japanese Industrial Township (JIT) and houses four leading Japanese companies in its integrated industrial township. Nihon Kohden, one of the four Japanese companies and manufacturers of medical devices, said it recently did a ground-breaking ceremony on their plot at MET City.
• This facility of Nihon Kohden will be their largest manufacturing facility in India, and it will further enhance the position of MET City as a leading location for setting up companies in Haryana and North India, according to a statement from MET City. Panasonic, Denso, and T-Suzuki are other Japanese companies in MET City.
• S V Goyal, chief executive officer, and whole-time director, MET City, said, “We are very happy to have the facility of Nihon Kohden starting construction at MET City. With 400+ industrial customers, walk-to-work masterplan, and world-class infrastructure, MET City today is one of the fastest growing Greenfield Smart City in North India.”
• “The plug-n-play infrastructure of MET City is an added advantage for any company coming to us for their requirement.
• ‘Plug and play’ concept normally refers to ready facilities in terms of building, power-water-sewage connectivity, road connectivity, beside other basic things including clearances in hand required to start the industry.

• According to a study, India saved $4.2 billion in fuel costs through solar energy generation and avoided an additional 19.4 million tonne (mt) of coal in the first half of the year.
• The report also said the contribution of solar generation in seven Asian countries – China, India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand – avoided fossil fuel costs of approximately $34 billion from January to June 2022.
• The report compiled by energy think tank Ember said India had been facing the high price of coal and this is one of the main factors in the ongoing power crises. However, the country managed to save $4.2 billion in fuel costs in the reviewed period and also avoided the use for an additional 19.4 mt that could have further stressed the strained domestic energy supply.
• The report said as many countries continue to revise their energy development plans, the volatility in commodity markets and the record-breaking fuel costs affecting the price of electricity everywhere must serve as a warning against continued fossil fuel dependence. This needs to be translated into more ambitious solar deployments, capitalising on the massive solar potential in the region, the think tank said in the report.
• Solar on the grid is already contributing meaningfully to meeting electricity demand, the report said. Assuming solar replaced the most expensive fossil-based electricity (i.e. either coal, gas, or oil), the think tank said its analysis found that the contribution of solar generation in seven Asian countries – China, India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand – avoided fossil fuel costs of approximately $34 billion from January to June 2022.
• The majority of these estimated savings were in China, where solar met 5 per cent of the total electricity demand and avoided approximately $21 billion in fossil fuels imports from January to June 2022, the report said.
• Japan saw the second biggest contribution with $5.6 billion in avoided fuel costs thanks to solar power generation alone, which reached record levels for the country in May this year, the think tank said in the report.
• Vietnam’s solar power avoided $1.7 billion in potential fossil fuel costs, it said, adding that notably, Vietnam’s solar generation was close to zero Terawatt-hour (TWh) in 2018. In 2022, solar accounted for 11 per cent (14 TWh) of electricity demand from January to June, the report said.
• In Thailand and the Philippines, where the growth in solar has been slower, the avoided fuel cost is still notable, the think tank said in a report. While solar only accounted for 2 per cent of Thailand’s electricity in the first six months of 2022, an estimated $209 million of potential fossil fuel costs were avoided. Similarly, the report said the Philippines avoided $78 million in fuel costs, despite solar accounting for only 1.7 per cent of generation.
• In South Korea, solar had a 5% generation share in the first half of the year, avoiding potential fossil fuel use costing $1.5 billion.
• In many geographies, the think tank says solar power offers the cheapest electricity in history. In the wake of soaring fossil fuel prices, the importance of diversified and domestic renewable energy has only become clearer. The report said the cost of continued reliance on expensive fossil fuels is evident in the supply crunches and increasing electricity prices that many countries are seeing today.

• The climate change discourse took a new turn on Wednesday with small island nations demanding that countries like India and China, which are perceived to be highly polluting nations, should contribute to a climate fund. This, according to reports they said, would help countries rebuild after climate change-driven disasters.
• The suggestion came from Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne at the UN COP27 summit underway in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh. This is the first time that India and China have been clubbed together as major emitters by small island nations.
• Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the summit, Browne said the two countries (India and China) are liable to pay for a climate compensation fund irrespective of the fact that both are emerging economies. He was representing the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) negotiating bloc.
• There was consensus among the delegates at the conference to take up the issue of loss and damage as the formal agenda for the first time in the history of international climate negotiations, said further.
• Reports from the summit quoted Browne as saying: “We all know that the People’s Republic of China, India they’re major polluters, and the polluter must pay.”
• “I don’t think that there’s any free pass for any country and I don’t say this with any acrimony.”
• In climate talks parlance, the phrase “loss and damage” refers to costs already being incurred from climate-fuelled weather extremes or impacts, like rising sea levels.

About:

• It will be developed by the US along with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation and receive inputs from public and private sectors.
• It is a new carbon offset plan that will allow companies to fund clean energy projects in developing countries and gain carbon credits that they can then use to meet their own climate goals, at least partly.
• According to U.S.A, the concept is to put the carbon market to work, deploy capital otherwise undeployable, and speed up the transition from dirty to clean power, for two purposes- to retire unabated coal fired power and accelerate renewables.
• The ETA is expected to deliver deeper and earlier emissions reductions, help developing countries achieve and strengthen their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, and help them advance broader sustainable development goals, including expanded energy access.
• The ETA is expected to operate through 2030, possibly extending to 2035.

About:

• The Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA), established to “remove barriers” to the energy.
• It was set up by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Denmark and the Global Wind Energy Council.
• The alliance is supported by a number of organizations which are actively promoting the offshore wind industry in their different regions.

Objective:

• It aims to provide the growing offshore wind industry with a one-stop shop overview of all offshore wind industry events around the world.
• Both IRENA and the International Energy Agency (IEA) expect that offshore wind capacity will need to exceed 2000 GW in 2050, from just over 60 GW today, to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degree Celsius and achieve net zero.
• To reach this target, GOWA will aim to contribute to accelerating growth to reach a total of at least 380 GW installed capacity by the end of 2030.

• In view of the increasing trend in the Air Quality Index, the Commission for Air Quality Management(CAQM) in Delhi-NCR and Adjoining areas has decided that ongoing actions implemented under Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan- GRAP will continue.
• The Commission decided that stage- 3 of the GRAP should not be withdrawn as wind conditions have not been very favorable and accordingly dispersion of air pollutants has not been very effective.
• The Sub-Committee of the Commission for invoking actions under GRAP took the decision after comprehensively reviewing the air quality scenario following the significant spike in Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index from 260 to 346 in the last two days. 

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

• Formed by an ordinance, “Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020”, in October 2020.
• The Commission will be a statutory authority. It will supersede bodies such as the central and state pollution control boards of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan.
• Composition: The new 18-member Commission brings together the Centre, states, and other stakeholders on one collaborative platform.

• • Chaired by a government official of the rank of Secretary or Chief Secretary. The chairperson will hold the post for three years or until s/he attains the age of 70 years.
  • It will also have five ex officio members who are either Chief Secretaries, or Secretaries in charge of the department dealing with environment protection in the States of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
  • Three full time technical members.

• Powers & Jurisdiction: It will have the powers to issue directions to these state governments on issues pertaining to air pollution.

• • Exclusive jurisdiction over the NCR, including areas in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, in matters of air pollution, and will be working along with CPCB and ISRO, apart from the respective state governments.
  • The Commission will have the power to impose a fine of up to Rs 1 crore and imprisonment of up to 5 years in case its directions are contravened.

• The year 2022 has been declared as the ASEAN-India Friendship year, as ASEAN and India commemorate 30 years of partnership. As a part of this programme, Indian media delegation is on a visit to Singapore and Cambodia under the ASEAN-INDIA Media exchange programme from 8th November to 13th November.
• On the first leg of the visit the delegation visited the Singapore-India Chambers of Commerce and Industries (SICCI) and had an exchange of thoughts on topics such as India-Singapore relations with a specific focus on business-friendly policies and the expectations of business community in Singapore from India.
• After the first leg of visit, the delegation has reached Cambodia.
• As a precursor to the visit of the Vice President of India to Cambodia for the ASEAN Summit, the delegation visited the Angkor Vat and Ta Prohm temple complexes and witnessed the prominent role played by the Government of India and the Archeological Survey of India in restoring these UNESCO World Heritage sites there. Vice President would be inaugurating the newly restored portions of the Ta Prohm temple complex during the visit.

About ASEAN

• It is a regional grouping that promotes economic, political, and security cooperation.
• It was established in August 1967 in Bangkok,Thailand with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the founding fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
• Its chairmanship rotates annually,based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States.
• ASEAN countries have a total population of 650 million people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 2.8 trillion.It is India’s 4^th largest trading partner with about USD 86.9 billion in trade.

About ASEAN-India:

• ASEAN, a 10-nation grouping, is considered one of the most influential groupings in Southeast Asia.
• India and several other countries, including the US, China, Japan and Australia, are its dialogue partners.
• The ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of a sectoral partnership in 1992.
• This graduated to full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and summit-level partnership in 2002.
• Traditionally the basis of India-ASEAN tieshas been trade and people-to-people ties due to shared historical and cultural roots, a more recent and urgent area of convergence has been balancing China’s rise.
  • BothIndia and ASEAN aim to establish a rules-based security architecture for peaceful development in the region, in contrast to China’s aggressive policies.

• Cochin Shipyard has signed an MoU with Inland Waterways Authority of India to build the country’s first hydrogen fuel cell catamaran vessel for Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
• The Shipyard also signed another MoU for the construction of six electric catamaran vessels for Uttar Pradesh and two such vessels for Guwahati.
• The MoU was signed at Varanasi in the presence of Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Heavy Industry Mahendra Nath Pandey, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and a host of other dignitaries.
• The air-conditioned hydrogen fuel cell catamaran vessel will have a seating capacity for 100 passengers. It will be deployed at Varanasi after test and trial in Kochi.
• The air-conditioned electric hybrid vessels, designed for short-distance commute in riverine waters, will have seating capacity for 50 passengers. The vessels will provide onboard accommodation for the crew, besides toilet and washroom facilities for the passengers.
• The vessels will significantly contribute to the reduction in pollution levels in the National Waterways.