Rajnath Singh flagged off massive campaign against single-use plastic:
Ministry of Defence (MoD) organized a special plogging awareness drive rally in Delhi Cantt as part of Swachhta Pakhwada. The massive campaign against single-use plastic was flagged off by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 7 December 2019.
Aim:
The campaign was conducted to spread awareness against the ill-effect of plastic on the environment, bring about behavioural change with respect to sanitation. The drive sent a message to give up the use of plastic including carry bags, plastic cutlery, plastic water bottles, etc. to the people of India.
Massive plogging programme:
♦ The massive plogging programme was organized at more than 400 locations throughout the country by MoD. Along with MoD, Indian Army, Navy, Indian Air force, Indian Coast Guard, Border Road Organisation (BRO), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Defence Public Sector Undertakings, and various other defence establishments organized similar campaigns in various location of the country.
♦ The massive exercise intended to raise awareness in the society to collect plastic waste and make the surroundings clean.
♦ The slogan for the event was Plastic Se Raksha–Swachhata Hi Suraksha.
♦ Swachhta anthem was played in all the events across the country.
♦ Community awareness programmes such as debates, quizzes, nukkad nataks, painting competitions were held among students.
♦ During the event, India Army cleaned up waste at 17 locations across the country right from Siachen to Jaisalmer and Bhuj to Bairengte, Mizoram.
♦ The Indian Navy cleaned up waste at 30 locations from Mumbai to Karwar and Kolkata to Vishakapatnam.
♦ Indian Air Force cleaned up waste at 150 locations from Hindon to Upper Shillong and Nagpur to Trivandrum.
♦ ICG conducted the programme in its 47 locations, Cantonment Boards in 62 locations, BRO in 18 locations, Sainik Schools in 31 locations, NCC in 18 locations, Comptroller General of Defence Accounts in 20 locations across the country.
Participants:
More than 3,000 people, including schoolchildren, participated in the Massive plogging programme and collected sizeable single-use plastic waste.
IREDA plans to set up Green Window:
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) is planning to set up a dedicated Green Window with an aim to serve the unserved segments of renewable energy. It was announced by Shri Anand Kumar, Secretary for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
IREDA Green Window:
♦ IREDA Green Window aims to provide a significant boost to the renewable energy market.
♦ As India is currently moving towards becoming a $5 trillion economy, it aims to install 450 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity
♦ It is expected to be one of the major drivers of economic growth
♦ Centre is planning to allocate approximately $20 million for the Green window. It also plans to leverage $80 million from other agencies to establish a facility of $100 million.
♦ The Green Window will support underserved clean energy markets
♦ It will also support the scaling up of new clean energy technologies
♦ It will be used to leverage additional sources of capital from both private domestic banks and international sources.
♦ An estimate of Rs.21,45,000 crore is needed for India to accomplish the commitments, between 2018 and 2030, under the Paris Agreement.
Green windows:
These are the public entities that are created to work with the private sector to increase investment in green energy. It will bring clean energy financing into the mainstream. Green windows are innovative and new tools that were proved successful in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and the United States.
IREDA:
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) is a Mini Ratna (Category–I) Enterprise. It functions under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It was established in 1987. It aims to promote, develop and extend financial assistance to set up projects that are related to new and renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency.
Researchers found intense sunshine may be melting ice on Mount Everest:
The newly installed weather stations atop Mount Everest data were presented at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco on 13 December 2019. The data is among the first scientific results to emerge from the National Geographic Society`s and Rolex`s Perpetual Planet Extreme Expedition to Everest.
Report highlights:
♦ The data reported that the mountain experiences some of the most intense sunlight on the planet.
♦ It is suspected that it might hasten ice melt atop the world`s highest mountains and impacting glaciers in ways that are not fully understood.
♦ The data helps the researchers to understand the amount of energy available to melt snow and ice in high alpine environments.
5 weather stations:
In June 2019, the researchers installed a network of five automatic weather stations at elevations of up to 27,600 feet. It includes the two highest weather stations on the planet. All stations are collecting data on air, pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. Every station, except for the highest one, is outfitted with a net radiometer and the lower stations also carry rain gauges and present weather sensors.
Note: Radiometer is an instrument that measures incoming and outgoing radiation.
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