NATIONAL NEWS
1.PNGRB amends regulation to allow unified tariff for natural gas pipelines
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has introduced amendments to the PNGRB (Determination of Natural Gas Pipeline Tariff) regulations to include regulations related to a unified tariff for natural gas pipelines, with a vision of “One Nation, One Grid and One Tariff.”
Key things to know about PNGRB new regulations:
As per the regulations, PNGRB has established a levelised unified tariff of Rs 73.93/MMBTU and created three tariff zones for the unified tariff. The first zone covers a distance up to 300 km from the gas source, the second zone is 300-1,200 km, and the third zone is beyond 1,200 km. These zonal unified tariffs will take effect from April 1, 2023.
2. 3-Star Garbage Free cities
During the International Zero Waste Day 2023 in New Delhi, Sh. Hardeep S. Puri, The Hon’ble Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, announced that 1000 cities are targeted to achieve a 3-Star Garbage Free rating by October 2024. The GFC-Star rating protocol, launched in January 2018 to promote a competitive and mission-driven approach among ULBs, has seen a significant increase in certification since its inception.
The Minister commended the ‘Swachhta Doots‘ from all over the country, praising them for being agents of change and leaders in their communities, as well as for their ability to turn challenges into opportunities for livelihood.
BANKING NEWS
Bank of Maharashtra inaugurated its first dedicated Branch for Start-ups in Pune
State-owned Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has opened its first dedicated branch for startups in Pune, Maharashtra. The dedicated branch will provide all kinds of support to a startup during its growth journey. Asheesh Pandey, Executive Director, Bank of Maharashtra, was present in the inaugural ceremony. Sadashiv Survase, Joint Director, Industries, Govt. of Maharashtra, Sajit Kumar, Senior VP SIDBI venture capital, General Managers of the bank, entrepreneurs from start-ups along with customers were present at the event.
During the event Bank of Maharashtra signed an MoU with SIDBI venture capital for proactive financing of start-ups. Start-ups are an entrepreneur venture in early stage of business operation, which if properly nurtured becomes an integral pillar of economic growth, employment generation while satisfying evolving needs of its clients with innovation.
TAMIL NADU
GI Tag for 11 products
In a first time, 11 products from Tamil Nadu were conferred with a geographical indicator (GI) tag together.
With this, Tamil Nadu would surpass Karnataka to become the state with the highest number of GI tags by 56 products.
Recently, Ramanathapuram’s ‘Mundu Chilli’ and Vellore’s Elavambadi spiny brinjal received the tag.
REPORTS
Top 10 contributors to warming
India is ranked fifth among the top 10 contributors to global warming. US is the largest contributor through their emissions of key greenhouse gases since 1850. USA is followed by China, Russia, Brazil and India. Indonesia, Germany, the UK, Japan, Canada stands next 5 places.
India is responsible for 0.08 degrees Celsius of warming from the 1850s through 2021. The global warming resulting from the emissions of all three Green House Gases (GHG): carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). The combined contributions to warming from Brazil, South Africa, India and China rose from 17% in 1992 to 23% in 2021.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology
Recently, ISRO and its partners successfully demonstrated a precise landing experiment for a Reusable Launch Vechicle -Technology at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka
About:
- According to ISRO, the series of experiments with the winged Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) are part of efforts at “developing essential technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle to enable low-cost access to space”.
- In the future, this vehicle will be scaled up to become the first stage of India’s reusable two-stage orbital (TSTO) launch vehicle.
Previous current affairs:https://www.pmias.in/tnpsc-important-current-affairs-april-1-3/
Source:https://www.dinamalar.com/
