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- India and Sri Lanka on 17 sep. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for construction of a 5000-metric ton temperature controlled warehouse in Dambulla of Central Province.
- The warehouse will be constructed with an Indian grant assistance of 30 crore Sri Lankan rupees.
- The MoU was signed by Mr. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka and Mr. K.D.S. Ruwanchandra, Secretary to Sri Lankan ministry of national policies and economic affairs.
- The project envisages construction of a 5000-metric ton temperature controlled warehouse for fruits and vegetables to minimize its post-harvest losses.
- This initiative will benefit the farming community by reducing the wastage particularly in the peak season when there is surplus production.
- This project is in continuation of Government of India’s efforts to partner with Government of Sri Lanka in people oriented development projects.
- India’s overall commitment of development assistance to Sri Lanka stands at a total of around 3 billion US dollars, out of which 550 million US dollars is pure grant assistance.
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- Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), developed by Subhash Palekar, a 69-year-old farm philosopher from Maharashtra, has been generating interest in a large number of farmers across the country. While the Andhra Pradesh government has adopted this model, Karnataka is set to experiment with it.
- As the groundwork for launching ZBNF is under way, Mr. Palekar is confident it can ensure a minimum annual income of ₹3 lakh an acre for farmers.
- What exactly is ZBNF? -It means compensating the cost of production of the main crop by the income from inter-crops. Also, none of the farm inputs should be purchased from the market. We should be able to either prepare or get all these inputs at our own farm.
- More importantly, the inputs should not harm natural resources such as the soil and environment. Natural farming means allowing the self-nourishing system of nature to take care of plants. There should be no human interference in growth of plants.
- Does it mean there is no tilling involved?- Yes. Barring a few crops, there is no cultivation. Plant nourishing should be left to nature. Nature has the capacity to take care of plants if there is no human interference. The self-nourishing system can be seen during severe drought. In such extreme conditions, the trees and plants grown by us within the farm wither away. But the naturally grown trees and shrubs on the bunds remain unaffected though nobody takes care of them.
- What is its main ingredient?- We use a culture of micro-organisms made out of dung of a native breed of cows. One cow is enough to take care of farming on 30 acres.
- What are the crops that can be brought under ZBNF?- All crops in the world can be cultivated through ZBNF, including coffee, areca, coconut and sugarcane.
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- Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, the first Indian to win gold at the World Championships in more than two decades last year, were recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on 17 sep, the highest sporting honour in the country.
- Interestingly, both Kohli and Chanu were conferred the Padma Shri in successive years Kohli in 2017 and Chanu this year. Chanu, who also opened India’s medal tally with a gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the 48kg category, was the unanimous choice for the panel. Kohli, the world’s top-ranked batsman in both Tests and ODIs at the moment, got second-time lucky with the award after being ignored last year.
- Sources said there had been objections this year as well, with some of the panelists rooting for shuttler Kidambi Srikanth and javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, but Kohli finally managed to get the nod ahead of the two. He would become the third cricketer, after Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to get the prestigious award.
- The 20-year old Chopra, instead, has been recommended for the Arjuna Award following his gold-winning efforts at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games this year. He is also the national record holder and the U-20 World record holder with 86.48m, set during the Junior World Championships in 2016.
- Besides Chopra, 19 other names have been recommended for the Arjuna the upper limit is normally 15 including two in para games. The committee recommended more than the limit given India’s impressive outing at the recent Asian Games. In fact, the Asiad performances had prompted the Sports Ministry to allow federations to send their nominations till September 12 for the awards.
- Among those who benefited from the extension and have been recommended include Jinson Johnson, Hima Das, Manika Batra and Ankur Mittal. Shooting, in fact, has the maximum representation with three being named for the Arjuna.
- Also finally getting recognised for her services to hockey over the last decade is women’s goalkeeper Savita Punia who, ironically, is yet to get a job and men’s midfield machine Manpreet Singh.
- Tennis veteran Rohan Bopanna, among those being touted as deserving of the Khel Ratna, has also finally made the cut after years of trying, albeit for the Arjuna.
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- It uses fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, leaving behind water and steam
- Germany on 17 September rolled out the world’s first hydrogen-powered train, signalling the start of a push to challenge the might of polluting diesel trains with costlier but eco-friendly technology.
- Two bright blue Coradia iLint trains, built by French TGV-maker Alstom, began running a 100 km (62-mile) route between the towns and cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde and Buxtehude in northern Germany a stretch normally plied by diesel trains.
- Zero emission- “The world’s first hydrogen train is entering into commercial service and is ready for serial production,” Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge said at an unveiling ceremony in Bremervoerde, the station where the trains will be refuelled with hydrogen.
- Alstom has said it plans to deliver another 14 of the zero-emissions trains to Lower Saxony by 2021, with other German States also expressing an interest.
- Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, a process that leaves steam and water as the only emissions.Excess energy is stored in ion lithium batteries on board the train.
- The Coradia iLint trains can run for around 1,000 km on a single tank of hydrogen, similar to the range of diesel trains. Alstom is betting on the technology as a greener, quieter alternative to diesel on non-electrified railway lines an attractive prospect to many German cities scrambling to combat air pollution.
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- Almost three months after Pakistan was placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list for failing to curb terror funding, Pakistan’s recent action against terror financing, particularly on the “legal” front, was found to be “unsatisfactory”, according to a review by the Asia Pacific Policy Group (APPG).
- The APPG examines cases of all countries on the grey and black lists and reports to the FATF.
- Official sources said that a review held on September 11-12 in Jakarta observed that “not much has been achieved by Pakistan, especially on the legal side (like freezing of assets, attachment of funds, militant groups infrastructures etc).”
- The APPG also reviewed Pakistan on its compliance with the 26-point action plan, which Islamabad, in February this year, had submitted to the FATF to choke the funding of militants groups, including Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its affiliates.
- The development, officials said, comes as a major setback for newly elected Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was hoping that the inter-governmental body will be lenient in the review given Islamabad’s commitment to the 26-point action plan spanning over a period of 15 months.
- APPG, according to official sources, will report the unsatisfactory performance by Pakistan to the FATF, at its plenary in Paris in October 2018.
- Sources also said that another review for Pakistan will be held in December this year following which a final evaluation report will be prepared. “For Pakistan, the first deadline is January 2019 failing which they may face more heat. By then, Pakistan will have to publish updated lists of persons and entities proscribed under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the UN-designated entities,” the official explained.
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