• NTPC Limited has recently entered a 3,582-crore rupees foreign currency loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC).
• This is under JBIC’s GREEN or Global Action for Reconciling Economic growth and Environment preservation initiative.
• The loan proceeds will be utilised by NTPC for funding its capital expenditure for flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) and renewable energy projects. 
• The facility is extended under JBIC’s outreach for projects that ensure conservation of the global environment.
• FGD is expected to substantially reduce sulphur emissions in the flue gases of thermal power plants and is a critical step towards environmental sustainability.

• After 35 years, India assumes the Chairmanship of the Governing Body of International Labour Organization.
• Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary (Labour and Employment) has been elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Body of the International LabourOrganisation (ILO) for the period October 2020- June 2021. 

International Labour Organization (ILO)

• It is the United Nations agency for the world of work.
• It sets international labour standards, promotes rights at work and encourages decent employment opportunities, the enhancement of social protection and the strengthening of dialogue on work-related issues.
• The ILO has a unique structure, bringing together governments, employers’ and workers’ representatives.
• The ILO has 187 member States and is one of the oldest UN agencies.
• The ILO’s Secretariat has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and a global network of technical experts and field offices in more than 40 countries.
• The International Labour Conference (ILC) meets once a year to adopt new international labour standards and to approve the ILO’s work plan and budget.
• The Governing Body is the executive council of the ILO and meets three times a year in Geneva.

Background

• The ILO is founded as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War, 1919, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace cannot be achieved without social justice.
• The ILO becomes the first specialized agency of the United Nations in 1946.
• The Organization is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969.

• October 23, 2020 was celebrated every year as International Snow Leopard Day.
• Government of India has been conserving snow leopard and its habitat through the Project Snow Leopard (PSL). The PSL was launched in 2009.
• Government is also committed to landscape restoration for snow leopard habitat conservation, and implementing participatory landscape-based management plans involving local stakeholders.
• India is also party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013.

Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP)

• It is an unprecedented alliance of all snow leopard range countries, non-governmental organizations, multi-lateral institutions, scientists and local communities, united by one goal: saving the snow leopard and its mountain ecosystems.
• It seeks to address high-mountain development issues using the conservation of the charismatic and endangered snow leopard as a flagship.
• India is party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013.

Kisan Suryodaya Yojana

• Kisan Suryodaya is scheme of Gujarat state government.
• It is aimed at providing day-time electricity to farmers in Gujarat for irrigation and farming purposes.
• Under the scheme Rs. 3,500 crore will be spent over the next three years for providing solar power to farmers for irrigation during daytime (5 AM to 9 PM).
• 10 districts including Dahod, Gir-Somnath and Tapi have been selected under the Scheme for 2020-21.
• The remaining districts will be covered in a phase-wise manner by 2022-23.
• About 3,500 circuit kilometers (CKM) of new transmission lines will be laid for this project.
• The scheme would help in the expansion of micro irrigation in the state.
• Micro irrigation is defined as the frequent application of small quantities of water directly above and below the soil surface; usually as discrete drops, continuous drops or tiny streams through emitters placed along a water delivery line.

• NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Rockefeller Foundation and Smart Power India have recently launched the ‘Electricity Access in India and Benchmarking Distribution Utilities’ report.
• The report is based on a primary survey conducted across ten states, representing about 65 per cent of the total rural population of India and with a sample size of more than 25 thousand, including households, commercial enterprises and institutions.

• According to the report, 92 per cent of customers reported the overall availability of electricity infrastructure within 50 metres of their premises.
• 87 per cent of the surveyed customers have access to grid-based electricity. The remaining 13 per cent either use non-grid sources or do not use any electricity at all.
• The hours of supply have improved significantly across the customer categories to nearly 17 hours per day.

• The report underlines some best practices adopted by the better-performing electricity distribution utilities in India and provides key recommendations to enhance sustainable electricity access.
• The data from the survey provides evidence that the infrastructure of providing electricity across sectors has improved over time.
• It also shows that reforms undertaken by the Government have been appreciated by the stakeholders.