Current Affairs 2015 for Competitive Exam

India, Sri Lanka inks agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, Cultural cooperation

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India and Sri Lanka have signed an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, Cultural cooperation during Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Maithripala Sirisen four-day visit to India.

Sri Lanka has signed first such bilateral agreement on civil nuclear cooperation.

Following agreements were signed between India and Sri Lanka

• Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy- It will facilitate the transfer and exchange of knowledge and expertise, resources in peaceful uses of Nuclear energy between both nations. This agreement also includes capacity building and training of personnel for nuclear security, radioactive waste management and nuclear and radiological disaster mitigation and environmental protection.
• Programme of Cultural cooperation between both nations for years 2015-18 –It seeks to enhance cooperation in different fields like arts, visuals arts, cultural documentation, archeology, handicrafts etc between both nations.
• MoU on establishment of Nalanda University- It will enable Sri Lanka to participate in India’s Nalanda University project.
• Work Plan 2014-15 under MoU on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture- It will facilitate bilateral cooperation in Agro Processing, Agricultural extension, horticulture, agricultural machinery, training in farm mechanization, livestock diseases, etc. between relevant institutes and organizations from both countries.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Permanent Judicial Museum at Bombay High Court

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Permanent Judicial Museum at Bombay High Court located on the ground floor of the heritage building of court.

This museum is conceived and set up as part of the Sesquicentennial Celebration (150th year) of the Bombay High Court.

Key highlights

• It is first of its kind museum in Maharashtra designed by Advocate Rajan Jaykar. It displays antique items associated with the rich history of the 150 year old court.
• Museum displays some historic and important documents such as the barrister certificates of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr B R Ambedkar, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, judgment copies of sedition cases against Lokmanya Tilak.
• It also displays barrister certificates of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, K M Munshi and the first Chief Justice of India, M C Chhagla.
• It showcases a cannon dating back to 1864, the charter by which Queen Victoria established the Bombay High Court in 1862, and subsequent charters from 1879 giving more powers to the court.
• There are old candle stands with original glass casings, inkpots and paperweights, an original wig, a silver mace and other judicial paraphernalia on display.

The first judicial museum in the country was opened at Supreme Court of India premises in Delhi. It should be noted that Madras high court, Punjab and Haryana high court and Madhya Pradesh high court, also have their own museums displaying their glorious past.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated first renewable energy global investors meet

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet and Expo (Re-Invest) 2015 in New Delhi.

The aim of the meet is to evolve innovative financial models for funding and to ensure the partnership of states and the Centre in harnessing renewable energy.

Germany is the partner country for Re-Invest 2015 and over 2500 delegates including exhibitors from 45 countries are participating in the three day event.

Key highlights of Re-Invest 2015

• Re-Invest 2015 will showcase the Union Government’s commitment in the development and scaling up of renewable energy in a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable manner to meet the national energy requirement.
• It will provide single platform to attract large scale investments for solar and wind power generation in India.
• Re-Invest 2015 includes several sessions headed by experts from the renewable energy industry, equipment manufacturers. It also include sessions of global financial institutions, Public Sector Enterprises, regulatory authorities, Central and state governments, research institutions and academia.

At present, renewable energy contributes over 6 percent of the total power generated in India. Union government is planning to double its share to 12 percent with an investment of $100 billion over the next four-five years.

To increase the share of renewable energy, government also has revised the target of solar power generation from 20,000 MW by 2022 to 100,000 MW by 2020.