7) India, Germany Sign 18 MoUs in various sectors
Current Affirs India and Germany on 5th October signed 18 MoUs in various sectors including renewable energy, skill development, higher education, civil aviation, railways, food safety and promotion of German language in India and modern Indian languages in Germany.
The MoUs were signed at the end of third Indo-German Inter-governmental Consultations in New Delhi which was co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
- Germany has pledged about one billion Euros (7,300 crore rupees) assistance for India`s solar projects as part of the bilateral cooperation in energy sector.
- The joint statement issued after the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said both the countries will continue to intensify their cooperation in developing climate-friendly and sustainable solutions for India`s expanding energy needs.
- Besides, both sides welcomed the MoU on an Indo-German solar energy partnership based on concessional loans in the range of one billion euros over the next 5 years. India and Germany recognise that renewable energy and the efficient use of energy are most effective approaches to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in both the countries.
8) Reducing Greenhouse gas emissions: Indo-German Climate and Renewable Alliance
Recognizing "renewable energy" and "efficient use of energy" as the most effective routes to mitigate climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions, India and Germany decided to move on this path more aggressively under the new `Indo-German Climate and Renewable Alliance`.
They identified seven focus areas to intensify their ongoing cooperation. Germany, on its part, will provide soft loans worth one billion euros to India for solar projects over the next five years in addition to 1.15 billion euros that Berlin had committed earlier under `Green Energy Corridors Partnership`.
- The alliance will be a comprehensive partnership to harness "technology, innovation and finance" in order to make affordable, clean and renewable energy accessible to all and to foster climate change mitigation efforts in both countries.
- Interestingly, both the countries also underlined that "adaptation" must be a central part of a balanced Paris climate agreement - a point which has consistently been raised by India despite being resisted by many rich nations who want a mitigation-centric deal.
- The agreement on renewable energy, signed between India and Germany, is in tune with what New Delhi had promised in its climate action plan (called Intended Nationally Determined Contribution - INDC) in the first week of October, 2015
- India had told the UN body on climate change on October 1 that the country would increase its share of clean energy by nearly 40% of its total energy mix by the year 2030, provided it gets support of finance and technology from the developed countries. New Delhi also highlighted that the country would need $ 2.5 trillion for this purpose by 2030.
- This is where the new `Indo-German Climate and Renewable Alliance` will come as a boost for India`s efforts to move on a low carbon growth path. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too flagged this issue in his statement at a joint press briefing with visiting German chancellor Angela Merkel here on Monday while recognizing Germany`s cooperation.
9) Microsoft Ties up with Telangana to offer Smart City Solutions
Microsoft India and the State government have joined hands to help transform Telangana into a technology-enabled state. Developing smart cities is important to drive the state’s growth. Telangana government released a concept note on “Accelerate India - Technology for Growth,” with solutions available for smart cities from 21 startups.
- Meanwhile, a slew of startups, government officials and Microsoft officials took part in a Smart City Startups Conclave to map smart solutions for cities in Telangana.
- The discussion focused on solutions and apps in the areas of transport, healthcare, public safety, water and energy by startups from the Microsoft Ventures’ Portfolio which included Mybustickets.in, Celstream, iBot and FlamencoTech.
10) India, US to work on regulatory info exchange
India and the US will work on establishing a channel of communication between the regulatory bodies of the two countries. The aim is to minimise instances of sudden restrictions imposed on exports of agricultural products and pharmaceuticals.
At the recent India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue in Washington, it was decided that the working group on standards — one of the six groups established to strengthen bilateral ties — will work on a mechanism for regular exchanges between the regulators of both sides.
- Indian exports of farm products such as Basmati rice, shrimps, spices and fruits have, in the past, faced sudden curbs due to reports of higher-than-allowed levels of contaminants found in shipments.
- Pharmaceuticals is another area that has taken a hit due to sudden restrictions imposed by the USFDA on Indian companies, more often on procedural matters than quality issues. Domestic majors such as Sun Pharma and Emcure Pharmaceuticals have been at the receiving end of USFDA action for allegedly violating standard manufacturing practices.
- It was decided at the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue — co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from the Indian side and Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker from the US side — that the working group on standards will start work immediately on the exchange.