It is a bilateral naval exercise between India and Indonesia.
It is going to be organised at port of Surabaya, Java.
Indian Naval Ship Rana is going to participate in this year edition of the exercise.
The aim of the exercise is to strengthen bilateral relations, expand maritime co-operation, enhance interoperability and exchange best practices.
India and Indonesia shares “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”.
Point Calimere Sanctuary
It is the only Ramsar site in the State of Tamil Nadu.
It is a mix of salt swamps, mangroves, backwaters, mudflats, grasslands and tropical dry evergreen forest.
It is a haven for migratory birds and resident species.
Chemical companies and small-scale shrimp farms around the wetland have started to pose a threat to the biodiversity and ecosystem of the sanctuary.
Atmospheric temperature, pH and salinity exceeded the permissible limits for ecologically sensitive zones.
The presence of salt pans around the sanctuary lead to increase in salinity of the waters.
Previous studies show that, high acidic or high alkaline water can affect the metabolic and developmental activities of wild animals and birds.
Coliform microbial infection in the birds have also been reported which can cause a change in their natural behaviour and even affect their long-distance migration.
Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) signed a USD 13 million grant to set up Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund.
The fund is to be administered by ADB.
It aims to expand and sustain investments in the energy efficiency market in India, build market diversification, and scale up existing technologies.
Global Environment Facility (GEF) will provide the additional financing for the ongoing projects under this fund.
Additional grants from GEF will be used by EESL for making investments in new and emerging technologies.
EESL is under the administration of Ministry of Power and is working towards mainstreaming energy efficiency.
The 2nd edition of INSPIRE (International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency ) was recently inaugurated.
It is being organised by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and World Bank.
Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) are the other collaborators for the symposium.
It focuses on enhancing grid management, e-Mobility, financial instruments and technologies for energy efficiency in India.
Awards for InnovateToINSPIRE, a first-of-its-kind energy innovation challenge, was also given in the symposium.
INSPIRE Programme
Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Programme is sponsored and managed by Ministry of Science & Technology.
The basic objective of INSPIRE is to attract young talents to the study of science and build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening R & D base.
The programme does not conduct any competitive exams for identification of talent at any level.
It relies on the existing educational structure for identification of talent.
