India, ADB sign USD400mn loan to Create Quality Urban Infrastructure
Indian government signed a USD 400 million policy-based loan agreement with the Asian DevelopmentBank (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 FramEdulji , 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 IndianNavy’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 IndiaRadio (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 andeducate 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 InternationalDiabetes 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