Daily PIB Analysis For UPSC/IAS/Civil Services

Table of Contents

PMO

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron today co-chaired the first Founding Conference of International Solar Alliance, ISA, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
• The one-day summit seeks to mobilise $1 trillion of investments needed by 2030 for massive deployment of solar energy.
• Mr Modi stressed on inclusiveness and presented 10 action points.
• making affordable solar technology available to all na tions
• raising the share of electricity generated from photovoltaic cells in the energy mix
• framing regulations and standards to support the initiative
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• The Prime Minister also called for concessional financing and less-risky funds for solar projects to raise the share of solar power in the energy basket, provide cheaper electricity and cu
• This would be more than double the present renewable energy capacity and would be enough to overtake renewable expansion in the European Union for the first time.
• Mr Macron said, there are financing and regulation hurdles for achieving the target which need to be cleared by government, private sector and civil society coming together.
• He asked the visiting dignitaries to make concrete announcements on what they are doing to generate solar energy in their countries.
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• Prime Minister Modi and visiting French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated 101 megawatt solar power plant in Mirzapur district of the state.
• 157 million unit of power will be produced per year from the project at Dadar Kala village.
• About one lakh houses are likely get power from the project.
• Commercial production will begin from next month.

MEA

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held bilateral meetings with President of Bangladesh Mohammed Abdul Hamid and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on the sidelines of founding conference of International Solar Alliance.
• During the meetings, the leaders discussed connectivity and developmental co-operation, among other issues.
• Mr Modi also held a meeting with Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Bin Al Nahyan. Both leaders discussed trade and investment, energy and food security.
MEA-
• The Prime Minister also held talks with Seychelles President Danny Faure on intensifying cooperation in human resource development, trade and maritime economy.
• Mr Modi also met President of Comoros, President of Guyana, Rwanda President, Fiji Prime Minister, President of Djibouti and discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

President

• President Ram Nath Kovind today urged Indian diaspora in Mauritius to become living bridge between the two countries.
• Addressing Indian diaspora and youth at Gandhi Institute in Port Louis, the President said, the Indian community in Mauritius comprises those who trace their roots to different states ranging from Bihar to Tamil Nadu.
• Stressing that there is much to be learnt from one another, Mr Kovind asked the youth to plug into the local network of the states where they come from.
President-
• Mr Kovind said, Swachh Mauritius is in many ways a model for Swachh Bharat.
•He also said, India and Mauritius can share developmental and economic experiences in agricultureand dairy farming, tourism and textiles, coastal zoning and urbanisation, and skilling and education.
• Amid applause, he also spoke in Bhojpuri and Mauritian language.
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• 10th century – Island is known to the Arabs but they choose not to settle.
• 1507-1513 –

Mauritius

• 10th century – Island is known to the Arabs but they choose not to settle.
• 1507-1513 – Portuguese sailors come across the island.
• 1638 -1710 – The Dutch claim the island, naming it after Prince Maurice van Nassau.
• 1710-1810 – The French take possession, establishing a sugar industry based on slave labour.
• 1810-1968 – The British conquer the island. Abolition of slavery sees thousands of indentured labourers recruited, mainly from India.
• 1966 – Britain expels hundreds of residents of the Chagos archipelago to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia. Many are sent to Mauritius.
• 1968 – Independence declared.
• 1992 – Mauritius becomes a republic.
• 2014 – Parliament dissolved to allow a constitutional amendment and provide for the direct election of the president
•India has offered a 100 million dollar Line of Credit, LoC, to Mauritius for defence procurement to help its security capacity.
•India also agreed to sell a Multi Purpose Offshore Petrol Vessel to the island nation, which will be financed through the LoC announced today.
•It will also have a five-million dollar grant component in addition to the LoC. Line of Credit is a big step in India’s defence cooperation with Mauritius.
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•Earlier, both the countries signed four MoUs to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.
•These agreements are in the fields of education health, culture and civil services.
•Mr. Kovind said, the core of Indo-Mauritius relations lies the ancestral links between the two
countries.

Neighbourhood

• China’s Parliament today abolished the decades-old two-term limit for the President, allowing Xi Jinping to remain as the country’s leader for life.
• The constitutional changes were passed in Beijing by the annual sitting of the National People’s Congress – the country’s legislature – with two-third majority. Of the 2,964 delegates, only two voted against the change, while three abstained.
• Earlier, the seven-member Standing Committee – the top most body of the ruling Communist Party of China – had unanimously approved the amendment.
• 64-year old Xi Jinping is currently in his second five-year term and due to retire in 2023 under the current two term system.

Ministry of Space

• The ISRO today said, it is aiming for an April launch of the Chandrayaan-2 satellite to the Moon. It will be country’s second mission to the Moon.
• This time it plans to send a rover to explore the lunar surface.
•ISRO, chairman, K Sivan told reporters in Chennai that if the April launch of the Chandrayaan-2 is not possible, it will aim for a launch by October.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs

•• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) provides for reorganisation and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner.
• For this purpose, has established an institutional infrastructure comprising of Adjudicating Authorities, the IBBI, insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies and information
utilities.
• IBBI exercises regulatory oversight over the Insolvency Professionals, Insolvency Professional Agencies and Information Utilities.
• It writes and enforces rules for processes, namely, corporate insolvency resolution, corporate liquidation, individual insolvency resolution and individual bankruptcy under the Code.