Microsoft vows to be 'carbon negative' by 2030

Microsoft vows to be ‘carbon negative’ by 2030

The US tech giant Microsoft has announced that it would become “carbon negative” by year 2030. The announcement has been made in the form of its increased efforts to combat the climate change. The company announced that it vows to eliminate all the carbon emissions created by the company since its inception in 1975.

Microsoft has also announced its investment of $1 billion in a “climate innovation fund” for technology for carbon capture and removal.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft: Satya Nadella.
Founded: April 4, 1975; Headquarters: Washington, United States(US).

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Arunachal Pradesh inked a MoU with IUCN to red-listing of orchids

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Arunachal Pradesh inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) to red-listing of orchids. Arunachal Pradesh has become the 1st state in the country to initiate the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) ‘red listing’ at the state level.

As per the agreement, the state government will collaborate with the IUCN in carrying out the red-list assessment of the orchids in the state. The IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. A powerful tool to inform and catalyze action for biodiversity conservation and policy change, it is critical in protecting natural resources.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh: Pema Khandu.
Governor of Arunachal Pradesh: B. D. Mishra.

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Indian scientist Sakya Singha Sen awarded “Merck Young Scientist Award 2019

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A senior scientist Sakya Singha Sen from National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) Pune, has been awarded “Merck Young Scientist Award 2019” for doing remarkable research in chemical science.

Sen and his research team specializes in main group chemistry and involves in the synthesis of compounds with main group element and their catalytic application. All the catalysts currently used mostly belong to precious metals platinum, palladium, iridium etc. These are very expensive and their abundance in the earth is very less.

This award is instituted by Merck, a science and technology company operating worldwide. Merck Young Scientist Award is given to researchers with less than ten years of experience with expertise in solving some of the toughest problems in chemical sciences.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Founder of Merck Company: Friedrich Jacob Merck; Established: 1668.

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GoI & World Bank signs loan agreement for Assam Inland Water Transport Project

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For the implementation of Assam Inland Water Transport Project, the Government of India (GoI), the Government of Assam and the World Bank have signed a $88 million loan agreement. The loan agreement seeks to modernize the Assam’s passenger ferry sector by improving the infrastructure and its services. The government ferries are operated by the Assam Shipping Company (ASC) while the terminals and terminal services are provided by the Assam Ports Company (APC) in the state of Assam.

Details of Loan agreement:

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will provide the loan amount of $88 million for the modernization of Assam Inland Water Transport Project. The loan has a final maturity of 14.5 years with a grace period of 5 years.

Impact of the loan agreement:

The $88 million agreement will provide technically better designed terminals and energy-efficient vessels to make the ferry services more efficient, modern and safe mode of river transport system. The ferry services will benefit both the passengers as well as the cargo carried by the vessels.

The modernization of the ferry services with the increased efficiency will also led to low-carbon emission and is a more sustainable mode of transport. The above mode of transport is also an low cost option in comparison with the construction and maintenance of flood-resilient roads and bridges across the Brahmaputra river.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

President of World Bank: David R. Malpass; Headquarter: Washington DC.
Capital of Assam : Dispur; Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal, Governor: Jagdish Mukhi.

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Henley Passport Index 2020: Check Details Here

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Henley Passport Index 2020 has been launched. The ranking report is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association of some 290 airlines, including all major carriers. The Henley Passport index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.

Important key Points: Henley Passport Index 2020

The list was topped by Japan. Japan has been topping the Index for three years continuously. Japan can access now 191 countries.
Japan was now followed by Singapore, Germany, and South Korea.
The Indian passport ranked 84th, along with Tajikistan and Mauritania in the world’s most powerful passport index 2020, which is a drop by 2 places as it ranked 82nd in 2019.
At present Indian citizens can access only 58 destinations in the world without obtaining prior Visa.
Afghanistan (107) was among the world’s worst passports.
Serbia is the only European country to which Indian passport holders can travel visa-free.
The top 10 most powerful passports for 2020 are Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Finland, Spain, USA and UK, Luxembourg, Denmark.
The document which has opened the door to the largest number of new territories in ten years is the United Arab Emirates passport, which is placed 18th in the ranking and allows for easy access to 171 countries.

What is Henley Passport Index?

The Henley Passport Index was launched in 2006 with the aim of providing a global picture of freedom of travelling. The Passport index includes Visa-Frees score, World Openness score, Welcoming score and Global Mobility score. When these scores are high, the passport index is also high and such a passport is said to be highly powerful.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Headquarters of Henley & Partners: London, United Kingdom; Founded: 1997.
Chairman of Henley & Partners: Christian Kalin.
Chief Executive Officer(CEO): Juerg Steffen.

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IIM-Indore signs MoU with TikTok for short video modules

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The Indian Institute of Management, Indore has signed an MoU with the video sharing platform “TikTok“. The MoU will facilitate the production of short video modules for students and trained professionals. TikTok will prepare the short video modules covering various subjects like strategy, negotiation, communication, marketing. The videos prepared by TikTok would be implemented by the Indian Institute of Management, Indore in its various courses.

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Indian Railways’ SCR zone signs MoU with SBI to provide doorstep banking

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To provide doorstep banking services, the South Central Zone of the Indian Railways has signed an MoU with the State Bank of India. According to the MoU, the doorstep banking facility will be provided at 585 Railway Stations of the South Central Zone. The “doorstep banking” facility will enable direct pickup of earnings from the railway stations and will save the complex activity of cash movement through cash safes by trains.

Present Process of remittance?

Before the signing of the MoU, the everyday earnings of the small railway stations used to be sent manually with the Guard of nominated trains. For the large stations, the earnings were remitted at the nominated nearest banks by the concerned commercial supervisor, escorted by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel. There were several factors in the above process which led to the delay in remittance process. The factors are: availability of man power, holidays etc.

The advantages of provision of doorstep banking facility:

The cash remittance technique would be uniform for all the railway stations.
The real time information of the cash being deposited by different stations will led to better supervision and accountability.
Unnecessary accumulation of cash at the railway stations can be avoided with the above facility.

Impact:

The signed MoU will led to the introduction of door step banking which will increase the pace of financial transactions. The facility will also digitize the remittance of cash earnings of the railways. The State Bank of India (SBI) will collect the traffic earnings and make the process hassle free. The collected amount would be transferred to the Government account, thus avoiding any delay in the process.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Chairperson of SBI: Rajnish Kumar; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 July 1955.
Union Minister of Ministry of Railways: Piyush Goyal.

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National Book Trust appointed Lt Col Yuvraj Malik as director

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Lt Col Yuvraj Malik has been appointed as the Director of the National Book Trust on deputation from the Indian Army. He will replace Sahitya Akademi-awardee writer Rita Chowdhury. He has served with the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Raj Bhawan in Jammu & Kashmir, United Nation Missions in Africa and several operational areas. National Book Trust came under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Union Minister of Human Resource Development: Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.

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Gujarat CM launched 7th Economic Census process

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Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched the 7th Economic Census process in the state. Economic Census process is being organised by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with the help of Common Service Centres. More than 40 thousand enumerators will use mobile application for the first time to gather information under the guidance of 6,500 supervisors.

Enumerators will personally visit door to door for basic information like members of the family, their economic activity, whether it is shop, office or factory. It will continue till 30th June 2020. The entire data will be compiled on 30th September 2020. The data of this Economic Census will be classified into the village, taluka and district-wise to be developed into a National Business Register. This will be a very useful document for application into socio-economic issues of the country.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Gujarat CM: Vijay Rupani; Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat; Capital: Gandhinagar.

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1st edition of Krishi Manthan begins in Gujarat

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The 1st edition of Krishi Manthan– the largest Food, Agri-business and Rural Development Summit of Asia begins in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This summit is organized by Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. It is an exclusive platform for industry, academia, and policymakers to share ideas, knowledge, and expertise to create solutions. More than 1,500 delegates including students and academicians are participating in the event organized by the Food and Agribusiness Committee of IIMA.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Gujarat CM: Vijay Rupani; Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat; Capital: Gandhinagar.

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