India, ADB sign USD400mn loan to Create Quality Urban Infrastructure
Indian government signed a USD 400 million policy-based loan agreement with the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) to support its sub-programme 2 of the
Sustainable Urban Development and Service
Delivery Programme.
This program is India’s urban reform agenda to
create high-quality urban infrastructure, improve
service delivery, and promote efficient governance
systems.
The Loan has a principal repayment period of 12
years .
Key Points:
- The sub-programme 2 of the Sustainable Urban
Development and Service Delivery Programme
was approved in 2021 with a financing of USD 350
million.
It established national-level policies and guidelines
to improve urban services.
While Sub-programme 2 supports investment planning and reform actions at the state and urban local body
(ULB) levels.
- Sub-programme 2 supports reforms under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation
(Amrut) 2.0, targeting universal water supply and sanitation access.
It aims to achieve urban water security, reduce water losses, recycle treated sewage, and rejuvenate water
bodies.
- It also modernizes urban planning for economic centers, integrates resilience and nature-based solutions,
incentivizes city creditworthiness through efficiency and revenue measures, and encourages innovative
financing for urban infrastructure deficits.
Indian Cricketers Virender Sehwag, Diana Edulji and Sri Lanka’s Aravinda de Silva
Inducted into ICC Hall of Fame 2023
- Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag and former Indian women’s cricket team captain Diana Fram
Edulji , along with Sri Lanka’s Aravinda de Silva,
were inducted into the International Cricket
Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame for the year 2023.
- Diana Fram Edulji is the first Indian woman
cricketer inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
- The three legends are to be presented with a
commemorative ICC Cricket Hall of Fame cap
during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
(Maharashtra) on 15th November 2023.
- Sehwag was also part of the Indian team that won
the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup in 2011 and also
won the inaugural Twenty 20 International (T20I)
World Cup 2007 in South Africa
About International Cricket Council (ICC) :–
Chairman – Greg Barclay
Headquarters – Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Established in -1909
Rear Admiral CR Praveen Nair Assumes Command as Fleet Commander of Indian
Navy’s Western Fleet
- Rear Admiral CR Praveen Nair, officially assumed the role of Flag
Officer Commanding the Western Fleet on November 10, 2023,
marking a change in leadership for the Western Fleet, the Sword Arm
of the Indian Navy.
He succeeded Rear Admiral Vineet McCarty, who became the Fleet
Commander of the Western Fleet in November 2022
- A ceremonial naval parade was held at the Naval Dockyard in
Mumbai, Maharastra, and the baton of the Flag Officer Commanding
Western Fleet was handed over by Rear Admiral Vineet McCarty.
- Rear Admiral Nair was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 July
1991 and served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) at
Naval Headquarters in New Delhi, Delhi
- He has also served at the Naval Headquarters as Commodore
(Personnel). He has commanded the missile corvette INS Kirch; the
aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya; and commissioned the guided
missile destroyer INS Chennai.
‘AAINA Dashboard for Cities’ Portal Launched by MoHUA
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched ‘AAINA Dashboard for Cities’ portal to
create a database of the key performance metrics of Urban Local Bodies (ULB).
The portal is an initiative of MoHUA.
Key Points:
- The ULBs submit their data, including audited
accounts, and self-reported performance metrics
by logging in to the dashboard’s portal.
- The portal does not rank cities, but instead
serves as a tool for comparing similarly placed
cities and promoting peer learning among cities
- The Dashboard is also a permanent platform
for ULB related data, that would be updated on
a regular basis
- Once the dashboard is populated with data, it will be open to all stakeholders, including citizens
- MoHUA through Digital India Corporation under Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology(MeitY), will provide handholding support to ULBs/States in the data submission process on a
need basis.
About Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs:
Union Minister – Hardeep Singh Puri (Rajya Sabha – Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of States (MoS) – Kaushal Kishore (Constituency- Mohanlalganj, Uttar Pradesh)
CRS-29: SpaceX Launched Its 29th Cargo Mission To ISS
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX jointly launched Dragon’s 29th
Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-29) to the International Space Station (ISS)
- CRS-29 Dragon spacecraft was launched atop a Falcon 9 Rocket from Complex 39A at NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center(KSC) in Florida, the United States of America(USA).
- This is the 9th SpaceX launch under the Commercial Resupply
Services-2 (CRS) contract.
- The Falcon’s first stage made a successful landing at Cape
Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1). The
launch marked the second flight for the stage, which
previously launched Crew-7.
Public Service Broadcasting Day 2023- November 12
Public Service Broadcasting Day or Jan Prasaran Diwas is annually observed across India on 12
November to commemorate the first and only visit of Mahatma Gandhi to the studio of the then All India
Radio (AIR) (now Akashvani ) in Delhi, in 1947
Key Points:
- On 17th November 1947, Mahatma Gandhi
visited the AIR Studios at Broadcasting House,
New Delhi, Delhi to address the refugees (from
Pakistan) who were camped in Kurukshetra,
Haryana following the partition
- To commemorate 50 years of this visit of
Mahatma Gandhi to AIR, a function was organised
at AIR premises on 12th November 1997.
- Later in 2001, the day, “12th November”, was
declared Public Service Broadcasting Day.
The observance was conceptualised by Suhas Borker, Convenor, Jan Prasar
About All India Radio (AIR):
Akashvani Mysore (Karnataka), a private radio station, was set up in September 1935. On June 8, 1936, the
Indian State Broadcasting Service transformed into AIR.
Director General – Dr. Vasudha Gupta
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
World Pneumonia Day 2023 – November 12
World Pneumonia Day is annually observed across the globe on November 12 to raise awareness and
educate people about Pneumonia disease, the world’s
most prominent infectious death of children under the
age of 5.
The theme of World Pneumonia Day 2023 is “Every
Breath Counts: Stop Pneumonia in Its Track”.
Key Points:
- World Pneumonia Day was established under the
Stop Pneumonia Initiative by the Global Coalition
Against Child Pneumonia in 2009.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about
Pneumonia.
- The 1st World Pneumonia Day was observed on 12th
November 2009
World Diabetes Day 2023- November 14
The United Nations (UN) World Diabetes Day (WDD) is annually observed across the globe on 14
November to raise awareness about the impact of diabetes on the health of people.
WDD also aims to highlight the opportunities to strengthen the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of
diabetes.
Key Points:
- WDD was created in 1991 by the International
Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health
Organization (WHO) to address the growing
concerns about the health threat posed by diabetes.
Since 1991, WDD has been observed on 14
November at the global level by IDF
- On 20 December 2006, the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution
A/RES/61/225 and proclaimed the 14 November of
every year, as a UN Day, beginning in 2007.
- The first-ever UN-recognised WDD was
observed on 14 November 2007.
About International Diabetes Federation (IDF):
President– Prof. Akhtar Hussain (Norway)
President-Elect– Prof Peter Schwarz (Germany)
Headquarters– Brussels, Belgium
Founded on– September 23, 1950