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- The UN climate conference (COP24) finally on late Saturday night adopted rule-book for implementation of the Paris Agreement.
- This global deal is meant for climate actions by all the countries across the globe post-2020.
- The global rules are important to ensure that each tonne of emissions released into the atmosphere is accounted for.
- In this way, progress towards the emission limitation goals of the Paris Agreement can be accurately measured.
- Currently, climate actions of rich nations for pre-2020 period are being guided by the Kyoto Protocol.
- “We have worked on this (Katowice) package for three years. With 200 countries in the room it is not easy to find agreement on a deal so specific and technical.
- But in these circumstances every single step forward is a big achievement,” said the COP24 president of Poland, Michal Kurtyka.
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- Can a dead rocket in space be anything but debris? Isro believes it might actually be useful. Feted for its frugality and tech-savviness
- the Indian Space Research Organisation is working on a new technology where it will use the last stage of the PSLV rocket for space experiments.
- It will perform a technology demonstration of this new system when it launches the PSLV C44 rocket in January.
- Talking to TOI here, Isro chairman K Sivan said, “Normally, the last stage of a PSLV rocket after releasing the primary satellite in space becomes dead and categorised as debris.
- Now, we are working on a new technology where we will give life to this “dead” last stage of PSLV for six months.
- This will be the most cost-effective way to perform experiments in space as we don’t have to launch a separate rocket for the purpose.” He said that “India is the only country in the world that is working on on this new technology”.
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- Auto companies have proposed a one-time incentive in the form of rebate in taxes for replacing pre-2000 registered vehicles to facilitate taking them off the roads, industry sources said.
- In a pre-budget meeting with the heavy industries ministry, the industry has also asked the government to do away with multiple tax rates for passenger cars while mooting a special rate for electrification of vehicles.
- The suggestions were made in a recent meeting between representatives of the auto industry and officials of department of heavy industry.
- According to sources, the auto industry impressed upon the government that keeping in mind pollution and safety issues in India, there was a need to replace old vehicles.
- Around 80 per cent of pollution and accidents were caused by old ill-maintained vehicles which are mostly more than 15 years old.
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- The 23-year-old P.V. Sindhu has suffered a series of near-misses in recent years.
- P.V. Sindhu celebrated gold at last after the Indian defeated Japan's Nozomi Okuhara to win badminton's season-ending World Tour Finals on 16 Dec.
- With the straight-game victory, Sindhu became the first Indian to achieve the feat.
- The 23-year-old has suffered a series of near-misses in recent years, winning silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and again at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games this year.
- The world number six, renowned for her never-say-die attitude, has also twice lost in the final of the World Championships and was runner-up in last year's season finale.
- But she put all that heartbreak behind her in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, beating the fifth-ranked Okuhara 21-19, 21-17 in the women's final in just over an hour. .
- Sindhu, who was always in control of the match, sealed the championship with a forehand smash, before collapsing to the court floor on her hands and knees. .
- The men's final later on 16 Dec. tees up the two top players in the world, top-ranked Kento Momota of Japan against number two and home star Shi Yuqi.
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- President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi lead the nation in paying tributes to the brave soldiers of Indian armed forces on the occasion of the Vijay Diwas
- The day commemorates the victory in the 1971 India-Pakistan war that led to creation of an independent Bangladesh.
- The proud Nation celebrated Vijay Diwas on 16 Dec. The day marks the glorious victory over Pakistan in 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, in alliance with Bangladesh Mukti Bahini.
- The end of the war also resulted in the unilateral and unconditional surrender of the Pakistan Army and subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh.
- On this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani forces, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with 93,000 troops, surrendered to the allied forces consisting of Indian Army and Mukti Bahini after their defeat in the war.
- The anniversary of Vijay Divas is being observed across India by paying tributes to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the nation.
- In the national capital New Delhi, Defence Minister and heads of all three wings of the Indian armed forces paid homage at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate.
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