Headlines at a Glance – 24th November 2021
NITI Aayog launches Sustainable Development Goals Urban Index
Shimla tops the list of cities scoring highest on urban Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) index. Coimbatore and Chandigarh were at second and third position in the ranking of urban SDG index. Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Panaji, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Ahmedabad and Nagpur are among the list of top 10 cities. The Niti Aayog on Tuesday launched the SDG Urban Index & Dashboard (2021-22) which ranks 56 urban areas on 77 SDG indicators across 46 targets of the SDG framework. A senior official said that the index and dashboard will further strengthen SDG localization and institute robust SDG monitoring at the city level. It highlights the strengths and gaps of ULB-level data, monitoring, and reporting systems.
SOURCE: The Indian Express
India to release 5 million barrels of crude oil from strategic reserves
INDIA is set to release 5 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic reserves as part of a coordinated move along with the US, China, Japan and South Korea aimed at lowering international prices. The US will release 50 million barrels of crude oil from its reserves as part of the effort. The move is being seen as a strategic step to rein in spiralling global crude oil prices and to keep them under check. In response, the OPEC+ group of oil exporting countries, which accounts for about 50 per cent of global crude supply, has indicated that it may reconsider plans to restore production over the coming months. Supply of oil was “being artificially adjusted below demand levels by oil producing countries, leading to rising prices and negative attendant consequences”, it said. A release of 5 million barrels of crude oil would equate to about 12. 8 per cent of India’s strategic oil reserves of 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil, which is estimated to be equivalent to 9.5 days of its crude oil requirement.
SOURCE: The New Indian Express
Global State of Democracy Report, 2021 released
The number of countries moving towards authoritarianism in 2020 was higher than that of countries going in the other direction, towards democracy, the Global State of Democracy Report, 2021 released by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International-IDEA) on Monday said. While 20 countries moved in the direction of authoritarianism, seven countries moved towards democracy, the report said. The report highlighted the case of Brazil and India as “some of the most worrying examples of backsliding. However, India remained in the category of a mid-level performing democracy as it has since 2000, the report showed.
SOURCE: The Hindu
Maldives hosting Trilateral Exercise ‘Dosti’ with India and Sri Lanka
The 15th edition of the biennial trilateral exercise “Dosti” by the coast guard forces of the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka is underway in the Maldives during November 20-24. The Indian Coast Guard vessels, ICGS Vajra and ICGS Apoorva, and the Sri Lanka Coast Guard’s SLCGS Suraksha are in the Maldives for the exercise. This year marks 30 years since the first edition of the exercise. The trilateral exercise aims to strengthen friendship, enhance mutual operational capabilities, exercise interoperability and build cooperation between the coast guards of the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka, officials said. Exercises carried out over the past 10 years have focused on drills on assisting with maritime accidents, eliminating sea pollution, and coast guard procedures and conduct during situations such as oil spills.
SOURCE: Hindustan Times
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