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Rajnath Singh visits US Naval Base

Washington (NVI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is here for the India-US ‘2+2’ Ministerial dialogue, has expressed hope that the Indo-US relations would strengthen further in the near future.

He said his visit to the US reflected the strong defence ties between the two countries.

Singh visited the American Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana and Naval Station Norfolk, highlighting the depth of the US-India defence partnership and the close ties between the Navies of the two countries.

The US officials said the Indian delegations’ visit to Naval Air Station Oceana and onboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower will further bolster partnership between the two countries.

Singh also inspected a Boeing Mobile Flight Simulator, static display and F/A-18E flight demonstration.

The Indian delegation also toured the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), which is located at Naval Station Norfolk.

Singh was accompanied by Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, other senior officials of the Government of India and active-duty military officers.

SC rejects Nirbhaya convict’s review plea

SC quashes plea seeking waiver of exam fees for CBSE Class 10, 12 students
File Photo

New Delhi (NVI): The Supreme Court today rejected a plea by Akshay Kumar Singh for review of his death penalty in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case.

Akshay Kumar Singh is one of the four convicts facing the gallows for the gruesome act.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice R. Banumathi, said there was no reason for reviewing the 2017 judgement of the top court upholding death penalty of the convict.

It observed that Akshay’s review petition was similar to those filed by other three convicts, which were dismissed by the top court last year.

Meanwhile, the Patiala House court heard a plea by Nirbhaya’s parents for issuance of death warrant against all the four convicts.

Sensex jumps 129 points to hit lifetime high of 41,480.91

Mumbai (NVI): Market benchmark Sensex jumped 129 points to hit its lifetime high of 41,480.91 in early morning trade.

The 30-share BSE Sensex after scaling its record peak, it pared some gains to trade 106.90 points or 0.26 per cent higher at 41,459.07 in morning session.

Similarly, the 50-scrip NSE Nifty hit its all-time (intra-day) high of 12,199.05 in opening session. It was trading 19.55 points or 0.16 per cent higher at 12,184.55.

Tata Motors was the top gainer in the Sensex pack rising up to 1.86 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, M&M, TCS, Vedanta and Infosys.

On the other hand, HUL was the top loser, shedding up to 1.45 per cent. Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI and ONGC were also trading in the red.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee opened on a weak note and fell 13 paise to 71.11 against the US dollar in the early trade.

On Monday, the Sensex gauge settled 413.45 points, or 1.01 per cent, higher 41,352.17, which was its fresh closing peak.

While, the Nifty soared to its new intra-day high of 12,182.75 before ending 111.05 points, or 0.92 per cent, up at 12,165 – a record closing level.

Delhi overall air quality in “poor” category

New Delhi(NVI): The air quality in Delhi has started deteriorating once again, with the AQI in the national capital recorded today being in the “poor” category.

According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR),the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 249 which falls in the “poor” category.

Meanwhile, the temperature in the national capital continued to dip, as cold winds from snow-clad regions blew in with the north-westerly winds.

Delhi observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 8.0 degrees Celsius and a high of 13.0 degrees Celsius, Indian Meteorological Department said in a statement.

The weatherman has predicted that the mercury is expected to dip further with moderate to dense fog over till December 20.

The AQI in the Delhi University was in the “poor” with the PM2.5 of 290, followed by PUSA, Lodhi Road and Mathura Road with the recorded PM 2.5 count of 208, 239 and 283 respectively which also falls in the “poor” category.

While, the AQI in Chandini Chowk was recorded in the “very poor” category with PM2.5 of 303.

The neighbouring Noida recorded a PM2.5 of 309 which also falls in the “very poor ” category, SAFAR added.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 “severe”. An AQI above 500 falls in the “severe plus” category.

‘Khadi Rumal’ on sale

New Delhi (NVI): A few years back, families of militancy-affected areas of Kashmir shifted to Nagrota near Jamm city to sustain their existence.

In 2016, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) started a napkin stitching centre in Nagrota for the women impacted by the lack of livelihood opportunities and unemployment, to help them become self-dependent and sustain their families.

It was called ‘Khadi Rumal’ (khadi handkerchief), whose sale was launched here today by Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari in the presence of KVIC Chairman VK Saxena.

“This ‘Khadi Rumal’ is not just a piece of cloth, but a symbol of trust that the women in militancy-affected areas residing in Nagrota have on the people of India to enable them and empower them to live a life of dignity and respect,” Saxena said.

The sale of this ‘Khadi Rumal’ will instil confidence and enable the women all over Kashmir to come out and stand for themselves, earn a respectful livelihood and take care of their families, he said, adding “it is time for India to unite and help the cause.”

“We have targeted to sell 5 crore pieces of Khadi Rumal initially,” Saxena said.

“To create 5 crore pieces of Khadi Rumal, around 15 lakh kgs of cotton will be consumed, and it will require 25 lakh man-days of spinning, 12.5 lakh man-days of weaving and around 7.5 lakh man-days required for cutting, stitching and packing of Khadi Rumal, thus creating 44 lakh man-days of livelihood yielding wages amounting to Rs. 88 crores for various artisans,” the KVIC Chairman said.

He said a humble contribution of the citizens of India could be a stepping stone for the beginning of the ‘Journey of Transformation’.

“It is an opportunity where every Indian citizen can be a part of nation-building, a part of empowering the women artisans of Nagrota, and all those women of Kashmir too, who are still in line and looking forward to joining this journey of transformation. This shall be the real tribute to Bapu on his 150th birth anniversary,” Saxena said.

Speaking about it, Gadkari said, “This initiative of KVIC is the true reflection of Bapu’s vision of empowering the weakest of the society, and an appeal to the people to support this unique initiative which is creating jobs for needy.”

ADB to give $250 million loan to EESL

New Delhi (NVI): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of $250 million to Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Power Ministry, to expand its energy efficiency activities in India for the benefit of agricultural, residential and institutional consumers.

An agreement to this effect was signed between the government of India and ADB.

In addition, $46 million financing will be provided from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), to be administered by ADB.

ADB previously approved a $200 million loan to EESL in 2016 for Demand Side Energy Efficiency Sector Project that focused on efficient lighting and appliances, an official release said.

Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB) in the Department of Economic Affairs, who signed the agreement on behalf of Indian government, said the project is expected to contribute to government’s mission to promote energy efficiency and meet its commitments to reduce energy intensity of the economy.

Introduction of energy-efficient technologies in eligible states including smart meters, distributed solar photovoltaic systems and electric vehicles will help reduce electricity network losses and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, said this is one of the few ADB projects specially focused on demand-side energy efficiency targeting upstream efficiency opportunities and business models that can be scaled up in India and other ADB developing member countries.

The project’s smart metering component will help address billing and collection inefficiencies.

EESL will also explore business models to generate greater public demand for e-vehicles to support India’s current push for electric vehicles.

Promoting awareness of the benefits of using energy efficient technologies is another feature of the project. Awareness campaigns will engage local organisations in knowledge-sharing and training, with a focus on women electricity consumers. Capacity building for electricity distribution, regulatory agencies, and other government bodies will also be carried out.

Accompanying the loan will be a technical assistance (TA) of $2 million to support EESL in implementing the project, including a gender action plan, mobilising private sector participation in energy efficiency services, identifying new business opportunities, and transferring knowledge about successful models.

The TA will also support the identification and development of new subprojects and pilot test some technologies. The grant comes from the Clean Technology Fund, to be administered by ADB.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.

In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion.

Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members — 49 from the region.

GeM Samvaad launched to connect local sellers with online marketing

New Delhi (NVI): A national outreach Programme, GeM Samvaad, was launched by Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan and Chairman of GeM (Government e-Marketplace) here today with an intention of connecting stakeholders and local sellers.

The programme aims to facilitate on-boarding of local sellers on the marketplace while catering to specific requirements and procurement needs of buyers from Dec 19 to February 17, 2020.

GeM has more than 15 lakh products and around 20,000 services, more than 3 lakh registered sellers and service providers and more than 40,000 Government buyer organizations, an official release said.

In its short journey of three years, GeM has processed more than 28 lakh orders worth Rs. 40,000 crores in Gross Merchandise Value out of which 50% has been transacted by MSMEs, it said.

State Departments and Organizations and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) have been using GeM for their buying needs. Sellers from the states are also benefitting through the access to national Public Procurement market using the portal, it added.

Through ‘GeM Samvaad’, the marketplace is looking forward to receiving feedback from users which shall be used for making improvements and advancements in the system.

Government e Marketplace (GeM) is the national public procurement portal offering end to end solutions for all procurement needs of Central and State Government Departments, PSUs, autonomous institutions and local bodies. Since its commencement on 9th August 2016, GeM has transformed public procurement in the country by leveraging technology and making procurement contactless, paperless, and cashless.

Soldier killed in Pakistani action on LoC

Alert issued in Poonch, Rajouri after militant movement detected near LoC
(File/Representational Image)

Jammu (NVI): An Indian soldier was killed in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) in Sunderbani sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian Army responded effectively, inflicting substantial damages to Pakistan Army, a Defence spokesperson said.

Rifleman Sukhwinder Singh (21), who attained martyrdom in the action, belonged to Fatehpur village in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. He leaves behind his parents.

Violence in East Delhi area

delhi police

New Delhi (NVI): Seelampur area in East Delhi today witnessed violence, with some miscreants pelting stones at police and damaging public transport, ostensibly in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the violent mobs, which were on rampage and injured some cops.

At least two buses, a vehicle of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and some two-wheelers were damaged during the violence, police said.

After hours of violence, the police brought the situation under control and mounted a vigil.

The police was trying to track down those who indulged in violence by using CCTV footage.

Two days back, large scale violence was witnessed in New Friends Colony area in South East Delhi over the CAA.

Brahmos tested using land & air platforms

New Delhi (NVI) : In a major achievement, two Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missiles were launched successfully today from air and land platforms.

While one launch was carried out in Odisha from a land-based mobile launcher, the second was carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Su-30MKI fighter plane.

Brahmos missile is a developed jointly by India and Russia under a collaboration programme.

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