Headlines at a Glance – 30th November 2020
Government launches ‘Mission COVID Suraksha’ to help boost vaccine development
The Central Government has launched ‘Mission COVID Suraksha’ in order to facilitate the development of approximately 5-6 COVID-19 vaccine candidates. According to the Department of Biotechnology, it will also ensure that the vaccine candidates are brought closure to introduction and licensure in the market. The DBT further informed that the mission focuses on the COVID-19 vaccine development with end-to-end focus from the preclinical stage through clinical development as well as manufacturing and regulatory facilitation. Earlier in November 2020, the government had announced the third stimulus package worth Rs. 900 crores for ‘Mission COVID Suraksha- the Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission’. The grant under the package will be provided to the Department of Biotechnology for the research and development of vaccines. The mission will help in accelerating the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. It will also introduce them in the market for the consideration of regulation authorities for introduction in public health systems to control the further spread of infection.
SOURCE: The Hindu
India-US extend MoU for Cooperation on Nuclear Energy
Extending the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on nuclear energy for 10 more years, India and America have issued a joint statement on 24 November, saying, “Marking the tenth year of cooperation between the United States and India at the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) and the signing of the extension, for an additional ten years, to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of India Concerning Cooperation with the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, India, signed at New Delhi on November 7, 2010 (the GCNEP MOU).” The joint statement also recognises India’s important commitment in 2010 to establish the GCNEP with a vision to promote safe, secure, and sustainable nuclear energy for the service of mankind through global partnership. Both India and the United States have committed to promote cooperation on initiatives aimed at giving an impetus to nuclear safety and security, research and development in nuclear science and technology under various schools of GCNEP. They will deepen the dialogue on nuclear and other radioactive material security by collaborating on advanced projects in the field (e.g. future technology), with the goal of sharing the outcomes in the international arena.
SOURCE: Livemint
India-Vietnam Defence Ministers hold discussions
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Vietnamese counterpart General Ngo Xuan Lich on Friday discussed collaboration in defence industry capability building, training and cooperation in United Nations peacekeeping operations during bilateral talks via video-conferencing. “In a further step towards deeper bilateral cooperation, both sides signed an implementing arrangement for cooperation in the field of Hydrography between National Hydrographic Office, India and Vietnam Hydrographic Office in the presence of the two Ministers,” Defence Ministry said in a statement. The arrangement will enable sharing of hydrographic data and assist in production of navigational charts by both sides, it stated. Underlining the vision of “Atma Nirbhar Bharat” for enhancing self-reliance including defence industries, Mr. Singh urged closer defence industry cooperation between India and Vietnam by concluding an institutionalised framework agreement in the near future.
SOURCE: The Hindu
GoI launches India Climate Change Knowledge Portal
Minister of Environment,Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar today launched the India Climate Change Knowledge Portal. The portal will have all the major steps the Government is taking at both national and international levels to address the climate change issues. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Javadekar said,it will be a single-point information resource that provides information on the different climate initiatives taken by various Line Ministries enabling users to access d status on these initiatives. With regard to climate actions after the Paris Agreement, Mr Javadekar said, India has practically achieved its pre-2020 climate action targets. He said, though India is not responsible for climate change but it is taking responsible action to mitigate the challenge. Mr Javadekar also demanded that other countries must commit to the advance commitments of Kyoto Protocol which has not been followed by the countries that must be done.
SOURCE: The Indian Express
Farmers in India to get trained through Sahakar Pragya
The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) will train farmers in primary cooperatives in rural areas of India through its newly launched programme, Sahakar Pragya. Union agriculture minister, Narendra Singh Tomar formally launched the programme in New Delhi. “Sahakar Pragya embodies enhancing NCDC’s training capacity through an elaborate network of 18 regional training centres across the country by the Laxmanrao Inamdar National Academy for Cooperative Research and Development (LINAC),” The academy is fully funded by NCDC. Sahakar Pragya comprises of the launch of 45 training modules for transferring knowledge, skills and organizational capacities to equip the cooperative societies to run their affairs in terms of the market economy, said an NCDC official. The minister also directed the corporation to empower farmers in primary cooperatives through innovative training programmes. The corporation has been proactive in delivering innovative solutions for the cooperative sector and has advanced loans to the tunes of Rs 1.58 lakh crores to cooperative societies of various categories across the country. It has also helped in creating a market-linked cooperative business plan ecosystem in agriculture and allied activities. The country has a huge network of over 8.50 lakh cooperative societies with about 290 million members.
SOURCE: Hindustan Times
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