Month: June 2023

UN Security Council to Welcome Five New Non-Permanent Members

Manish Kumar

The UN General Assembly elected Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and South Korea to the U.N. Security Council for two-year terms starting on Jan. 1, 2024.  Belarus allied with Russia in its invasion of Ukraine was denied a spot.  The five elected nations will replace Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates.  U.N. Security Council has five permanent veto-wielding members: Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States.  The 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly, which comprises all 193 UN Member States and is in…

Air India sending plane ‘with food, essentials’ for passengers stuck in Russia

Manish Kumar

AI173 was a widebody Boeing 777 that developed an engine problem and was forced to land in Magadan on Russia’s eastern coast and over 10,000 km from the capital Moscow.  Air India will send a replacement plane to ferry 216 passengers and 16 crew.  Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is tracking the situation very closely, The US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said “We are continuing to monitor the situation”  A Russian ban on some foreign carriers using its airspace, in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, has…

Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the collapse of dam: Tens of thousands at risk from flooding

Manish Kumar

About 42,000 people are at risk from flooding in Russian- and Ukrainian-controlled areas along the Dnipro River after a dam collapsed.  Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the collapse of the dam.  U.N. aid chief said that the dam breach will have grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine through the loss of homes, food, safe water, and livelihoods.  The Kazkova Dibrova Zoo on the Russian-held riverbank was completely flooded and all 300 animals were dead.  The Geneva Conventions ban targeting dams in war because…

Finance influencers use code words ‘chai’, ‘murgi’ through YouTube to escape Sebi glare

Manish Kumar

Finfluencers are finding innovative ways to get around the market regulator’s increased scrutiny of unregistered investment advice.  The finfluencers are running YouTube channels where the ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ calls are disguised in code, setting up companies as a partner of a registered analyst (RA) and more.  Another way people are planning to escape the regulatory clasp is by setting up companies by partnering with an RA.  Finfluencers are finding innovative ways to get around the market regulator’s increased scrutiny of unregistered investment advice. Besides renting a registration number, the finfluencers…

MAHIR to act as catalyst for realizing Net Zero, Start-Up and Make in India in the Power Sector: Union Power & NRE Minister Shri R. K. Singh

Manish Kumar

The Ministry of Power and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy are jointly launching a National Mission to quickly identify emerging technologies in the power sector and develop them indigenously, at scale, for deployment within and outside India. The National Mission, titled “Mission on Advanced and High-Impact Research (MAHIR)” aims to facilitate indigenous research, development and demonstration of the latest and emerging technologies in the power sector. By identifying emerging technologies and taking them to implementation stage, the Mission seeks to leverage them as the main fuel for future…

PRESIDENT OF INDIA ADDRESSES THE MEMBERS OF INDIAN COMMUNITY IN SURINAME AT A COMMUNITY RECEPTION

Manish Kumar

On the concluding day of her visit to Suriname, the President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu addressed the members of Indian Community at a Reception hosted by the Ambassador of India to Suriname, Dr Shankar Balachandran in Paramaribo yesterday evening (June 6, 2023). Before the commencement of the Reception a two-minute silence was observed to condole the loss of lives in the rail accident at Balasore, Odisha. Addressing the gathering, the President said that India and Suriname may be separated by geography, but the two countries are united by their shared…

Internet for all: Kerala, the first state to have its own internet service provider

Manish Kumar

The Kerala government plans to establish an “affordable” network infrastructure across the state at the cost of ₹1,500 crores.  Kerala became the first state to have its own broadband service K-FON or ‘Kerala Fiber Optic Network’, a state-run initiative launched by the chief minister.  The CM said that by ensuring connectivity in places through K-FON, “no one would be left behind and everyone would be a part of the real Kerala story.”  The service is claimed to offer equivalent high speed and quality as other service providers, but at more…

Reliance Foundation announces relief measures for Odisha train accident affected

Manish Kumar

For more than a decade, Reliance Foundation’s disaster management team has worked towards empowering communities to be able to respond to disasters, whether natural or otherwise, and become resilient.  Reliance Foundation works with communities training youth in disaster response, provides advisories to guide communities in actioning important measures before, during and after disasters. Through the years, Reliance Foundation has supported communities following floods, cyclones, earthquakes, during droughts and extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic through multiple initiatives aimed at ensuring relief and enabling rebuilding of lives and livelihoods, supporting over 21 million…

ONGC-funded Yatri Niwas in Jammu: Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Lays Foundation Stone with J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha

Manish Kumar

Inspired by the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited is funding the construction of National Disaster Mitigation Centre and Yatri Niwas in Sidhra, Jammu. Hon’ble Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas for Petroleum, and Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, and Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Shri Manoj Sinha laid the centre’s foundation stone on 6 June 2023.   Every year, lakhs of tourists visit Srinagar and Amarnath. The large footfalls have been causing logistical…

US Presidential candidate Nikki Haley calls India ‘one of biggest polluters’: sparked a row on social media

Manish Kumar

Indian-origin US presidential candidate Nikki Haley sparked a row on social media after her controversial statement on World Environment Day calling India “one of the biggest polluters”. Taking to Twitter, Haley said, “If we want to be serious about saving the environment, we need to confront India and China. They are some of the biggest polluters.” This did not go well with the Indians as several Netizens attacked her on the social media platform. Contributor to the ‘AI book’ Shailendra Malik slammed Haley saying, “I am beginning to believe, Indians…