National
Supreme Court approves action plan to counter air pollution in New Delhi
- The Supreme Court on December 3, 2016, approved the Graded Response Action Plan of the Union Government to deal with different levels of pollution in Delhi-NCR region.
- The court also directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to upgrade its existing infrastructure and set up additional monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR within six months.
Highlights:
- It will be implemented under the aegis of Environment Pollution (Control and Prevention) Authority (EPCA).
It recommends closing of brick kilns, hot mix plants, intensifying public transport services and stone crushers.
It also suggests increase in frequency of mechanised cleaning of road and sprinkling of water on roads to tackle problem of pollution. - It proposes common pollution code for Delhi-NCR to provide graded response to the health emergencies that are caused by toxic air. The code classifies the pollutants present in the air into four categories- moderate to poor, very poor, severe, very Severe or emergency depending upon the level of pollutants in air.
- The pollution level will be termed as ‘severe’ when the particulate matter is above 250 to 430 micrograms per cubic metre in the ambient air. If the air pollution level reaches the alarming situation, immediate steps will be taken like ban on construction activities and implementation of road space rationing schemes.
- The proposed new thermal power plant standards must come into force as soon as possible to reduce pollution load significantly by installing the pollution control devices without any further delay.
India to launch 83 satellites in one go in January 2017
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch 83 satellites into space in one go, aboard a single rocket in January 2017.
- Among the 83 satellites, 3 belong to India while the other 80, weighing 500 kg belong to five foreign nations including Israel, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Switzerland and the United States of America.
- The launch of these foreign satellites by India is a part of a commercial agreement signed between these countries and Antric Corporation Ltd, which is the commercial arm and Public sector undertaking of ISRO.
- The three Indian satellites that are going to be launched include: Cartosat – 2 series, INS-IA, INS-1B
International
Heart of Asia Conference held in Amritsar
The 6th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) concluded on December 4, 2016, after adopting the Amritsar Declaration. The declaration recognised terrorism as the biggest threat to peace and demands an immediate end to all forms of terrorism.
Participating nations, for the first time, expressed concerns about the high-level of violence in Afghanistan caused by Taliban and other terror groups including Islamic State and its affiliates Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Haqqani Network, Al Qaida, TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Jundullah and others.
Highlights:
- Declaration recognised the necessity of taking serious measures to address recruitment of youth to extremist and terrorist networks.
- It calls for immediate end to all forms of terrorism including support to it in any form including financing or tactical and logistical support to it.
- The document called all states to act against terrorist entities in accordance with their respective national counter-terrorism policies, their international obligations and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy 2006.
- It called for early finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) with consensus.
- It says that radicalisation of disaffected elements of the population, especially youth, can only be prevented by effective de-radicalisation and counter-radicalisation strategies involving all the Heart of Asia countries.
Menace of Drug
- Participating nations displayed their concern on the increase of production and cultivation of opium in Afghanistan and drug trafficking.
- The declaration calls for efforts that help in eradicating the drug menace that poses a threat to the socio-economic development, security and stability of Afghanistan and the Heart of Asia region.
Connectivity and economic cooperation
- The declaration acknowledges the crucial role of Afghanistan as a natural land bridge, which helps in promoting regional connectivity and economic integration in the region.
- It stresses that connectivity and economic development will contribute to achieving peace and stability in the region including Afghanistan.
- It will help in enhancing regional economic integration.
- The declaration welcomes the practical implementation of TAPI and completion of the first stage of the Asian International Railway Corridor between Imamnazar, Turkmenistan, and Aqina, Afghanistan — the initial stages of TAT linking Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
- It also encourages implementation of the multinational energy and connectivity projects of TUTAP, CASA-1000, the five-nation railways, Chabahar agreement, TAT linking Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan by rail. It would play a central role in strengthening regional cooperation between Central Asia and South Asia and further forge economic connectivity and growth in the region.
- IT also welcomes the MoU on Jointly Building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road between the China and Afghanistan. All these will lay the foundations for a successful Seventh Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) planned for November 2017 in Ashgabat.
Sports
Usain Bolt and Almaz Ayana win IAAF World Athlete of the Year Award
- Nine-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt on 2 December 2016 won the IAAF male Athlete of the Year award. He won the award for the record sixth time.
- Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana won the IAAF women Athlete of the Year award. Ayana broke the 10000m world record by over 14 seconds in winning Olympic gold in Rio in 2016.
- Other Awards:
- Male Rising Star: Canada’s Andre De Grasse (200m, 100m and 4 x 100m relay)
- Female Rising Star: Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam (Heptathlon)
- Women in Athletics: Greece’s Polyxeni Argeitaki
- Coaching Achievement: USA’s Harry Marra (decathlete coach)
- President’s Award: Tegla Loroupe, Kenya (Marathon runner)