India
9 Hindu devotees die in India road crash
As many as nine Hindu devotees returning home on a three-wheeler after performing a religious ritual died after a speeding truck crashed into their vehicle in the Indian state of Assam, bordering Bangladesh, Thursday.
The accident occurred on national highway number 8 in the Baithakhal area of Assam's Karimganj district.
Police said that the truck was travelling at a high speed and its driver lost control of the vehicle, leading to the accident. "Nine of the 10 Hindu devotees on the auto died in the impact of the crash," a police official said.
Read: 3 killed in Gazipur road accident
Assam's chief minister Himanta Biswa Sharma took to social media to offer his condolences to the bereaved families.
"I deeply mourn the tragic deaths of nine persons in an accident at Baitakhal, Patharkhandi...," he tweeted. "Assam police are trying to trace the driver of the truck who fled the scene..."
The police officer also said that "efforts are on to nab the truck driver in the hit-and-run case". "Our teams are scanning the footage of CCTV cameras in the area," he added.
Road accidents are very common in India, with one taking place every four minutes. These accidents are often blamed on poor roads, rash driving and scant regard for traffic laws.
The Indian government's implementation of stricter traffic laws in recent years have failed to rein in accidents, which claim over 100,000 lives every year.
Serum Institute looks to supply 25 million doses to Covax till December
Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is expected to supply 25 million doses to the Covax facility till December, as it looks to resume supplies to the WHO-led Covax facility this month. Earlier in March, the government had imposed a hold on all major exports affecting the Covax deliveries.
"The supplies will resume soon. SII is supposed to supply 25 million doses till December," reports The Economic Times.
Read: India raises finance concern as COP 26 enters second week
In an interview to ET in October, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said small exports will start soon. "I think January onwards there will be large exports to Covax because by then India will have more than enough vaccines. Already, there is more stock than what we are vaccinating. So, we will be in a very good situation. Combine that with the fact that other Indian vaccine manufacturers are also scaling up," it said.
Read: Top India honours for ex-diplomat Syed Muazzem Ali & scholar Enamul Haque
The Covax facility was created last year to ensure Covid vaccines were made available around the world, with richer countries subsidising costs for poorer nations. The scheme hoped to distribute enough vaccines to protect at least 20% of the population in 92 low-or medium-income countries.
Padma Bhushan for late Muazzem Ali, Padma Shris for three other Bangladeshis
President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Padma Awards, the highest civilian awards of the Indian state, for 2020 and 2021 through a Civil Investiture Ceremony held over two days Rashtrapati Bhavan this week.
Four Bangladeshis were recognized over the two days, with the 2020 awards ceremony that was precluded by the Covid-19 pandemic held together with 2021.
The Padma Shri Award was presented to Lt Col (Retd.) Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir for Public Affairs.
Colonel Sajjad was a freedom fighter recognized with the Bir Protik, a Swadhinata Padak winner, and independent researcher who has authored a number of books on the Bangladesh Liberation War.
He was a serving officer in the Pakistan Army, when he defected to join the call of Bangabandhu for an independent Bangladesh.
He has also played a pivotal role for the 'Friends of Bangladesh' award of the government of Bangladesh, which was constituted to recognize contributions of citizens of other countries, or foreigners, who played a significant role in the War of Liberation.
READ: Late Muazzem Ali awarded ‘Padma Bhushan’ by India
Eminent musicologist Sanjida Khatun received the Padma Shri Award for Art.
She was one of the principal founders of Bangladesh Mukti Sangrami Shilpi Sangstha during the Liberation War of 1971, as well as Chhayyanaut, devoted to Bengali culture, in the early 1960s.
Under her tutelage, Chhayanaut has risen to be recognized as an institute par excellence, promoting classical music and dance forms and earning global repute.
The Padma Bhushan, which is one level up from the Padma Shri and the third-highest civilian award conferred by India, went posthumously to the late diplomat Syed Muazzem Ali (Posthumous) for Public Affairs.
Ambassador Syed Muazzem Ali, a member of the distinguished Bangladesh Foreign Service, served as High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India from 2014-2019 and played a key role in bringing about greater political, economic, and security cooperation between the two countries.
He was closely associated with starting energy cooperation and land connectivity between Bangladesh and India.
Another Padma Shri was conferred on Prof Enamul Haque for Archeology.
He is the founding Director General of the National Museum of Bangladesh.
He is a distinguished archeologist and a highly respected cultural activist who dedicated his life to the field of archaeology and the associated development of the Museum.
India raises finance concern as COP 26 enters second week
After the big-ticket announcements that gave it possibly the most productive start for any climate meeting, the Glasgow conference was staring back at familiar contentious issues on Monday as ministers re-assembled to resolve the key differences that are holding back progress.
Host country UK’s lead negotiator Archie Young said preparations were being made to facilitate “late-night working” throughout the week. COP (Conference of Parties, the official name of the climate meetings) President Alok Sharma said negotiators needed to “shift gears” to ensure an agreement on contentious issues by Friday evening when the meeting is supposed to come to an end, reports the Indian Express.
Read: India At COP26 Says Its Solar Energy Capacity Increased 17 Times In 7 Years
The first results of the ministerial consultations, in the form of draft texts on some of the issues, are expected to be out late by Monday evening.
The issue most talked about is the one related to finance. The failure of the developed countries to put together US$ 100 billion in climate finance every year from 2020 onwards, in accordance with a promise made over a decade ago, has been the biggest disappointment. But that is not the only money that is not coming in.
Money is required for action in a lot of different areas, including adaptation, loss and damage, halting deforestation, capacity building in developing countries, and technology transfer. There isn’t adequate money flowing in anywhere. While the requirements are estimated to be in trillions of dollars every year, developed countries, which are primarily responsible for delivering climate finance, have been unable to put together even a basic sum of US$ 100 billion every year.
Lack of finance is not something new at this COP. It has persisted ever since the climate negotiations began. But the postponement of the 2020 deadline the start of the US$ 100 billion commitment by at least three years has been a big setback to the process.
India, while making a statement on behalf of the BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) at one of the meetings on Monday, spoke for the entire developing world when it said that the non-seriousness of the developed countries over finance was especially frustrating when several other nations had been enhancing the ambition of their climate actions.
“We would not like to see the enhanced mitigation ambitions (new targets announced by several countries, including India) reach the same fate as the pre-2020 climate finance ambition. It has been over a decade since the annual US$ 100 billion pledge and the world is still waiting for its mobilization and delivery. Trust in multilaterism and credibility of the process is at stake,” said Richa Sharma, additional secretary in the Environment Ministry and India’s lead negotiator.
“Post 2020 mitigation ambition and net zero pledges require significantly enhanced climate finance. The exact magnitude of the new finance goal can be determined through a structured process with clear timelines and milestones so that we have a new finance goal well before 2025. This is a simple ask from many developing country parties. Yet what we are getting is more workshops and in-session seminars to discuss the new goal,” Sharma said.
Read: India moves to patent the over century-old logos of Darjeeling’s ‘Toy Train’
“BASIC would like to warn that lack of a serious approach to climate finance will jeopardise the enhanced mitigation and adaptation ambition as well as net zero pledges of parties,” she said.
On Sunday, the COP presidency had said the final outcome from Glasgow, called decision text, must contain a provision expressing “deep concern” over the failure of the developed countries to meet the US$ 100 billion goal. It said another provision should acknowledge the urgent need to scale up finance flows to “levels needed to support developing countries”.
Among other issues requiring attention of the ministers is the particularly difficult provisions of a new carbon market being set up under the Paris Agreement. This is one of the key things holding back the finalization of the rules and procedures that will govern the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Developed and developing countries have major differences on how to deal with accumulated unsold carbon credits with some developing countries. These carbon credits were earned in the previous market mechanism that operated under the Kyoto Protocol. But Kyoto Protocol came to an end last year, and with that ended its market mechanisms. Nations that are left with unsold carbon credits — developing countries like Brazil, India or China — want these to be transitioned to the new market mechanism being established under the Paris Agreement. Several developed countries are opposing this.
There are several issues related to carbon markets that have remained unresolved for over three years now. A resolution of these would be a major step forward.
Elsewhere, countries also have to agree on how frequently should they be updating their NDCs (or nationally determined contributions, an official reference to the climate action plans of every country) – in five year cycles, or ten-year cycles, or somewhere in between. As of now, some countries have submitted five-year action plans, while others have given ten-year plans. Standardisation of this cycle is considered necessary for proper assessment of what the world together is doing over a fixed time period, and whether it was adequate to meet the global goals to keep the temperature rise in check.
The final decision text from Glasgow could ask for the preparation of “synthesis report” every year on the action countries are taking to assess whether enough was being done to keep the global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times.
Srinagar joins UNESCO Creative Cities Network 2021 as 'City of Craft and Folk Art'
In a major recognition of the crafts and arts of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar on Monday joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) 2021, under the Crafts and Folk Arts category.
The inclusion of Srinagar in the creative city network for the arts and crafts has paved a way for the city to represent its handicrafts on the global stage through UNESCO, reports ANI.
This was announced on UNESCO's official website wherein 49 cities have joined this elite list. The exercise for UNESCO nomination was started by Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 however our nomination was not accepted then.
Read: India moves to patent the over century-old logos of Darjeeling’s ‘Toy Train’
This year the exercise of Dossier preparation began in the month of May. The government of India Ministry of Culture received four nominations which included Two from Madhya Pradesh Gwalior and Indore and one from West Bengal (Calcutta ) and one from Jammu and Kashmir (Srinagar).
The government of India rejected the application of Calcutta and Indore and forwarded only two nominations which included Srinagar and Gwalior. The Centre recommended the nomination of Gwalior for the Creative City of Music and Srinagar for the Creative City of Craft and Folk arts to UNESCO on June 29, 2021.
The nomination of Gwalior was rejected and that of Srinagar was accepted. This nomination is the global recognition of the rich craft legacy of Srinagar and will help us in attracting Craft Connoisseurs to Jammu and Kashmir and particularly Srinagar.
The UNESCO creative city network involves seven creative fields arts and folk art, media, film, literature, design, gastronomy and Media arts.
The dossier for nomination for Srinagar as the Creative city was first filed by Srinagar in the year 2019, however, only 2 cities, Hyderabad for Gastronomy and Mumbai for Film were chosen during that year.
Prior to the year 2019, only three Indian cities have been recognised as members of UCCN for creative cities namely, Jaipur (Crafts and Folk Arts) in 2015, Varanasi (Creative city of Music) in 2015 and Chennai (Creative city of Music) in 2017. For the year 2020 UNESCO did not call for applications for creative city network.
Read: India At COP26 Says Its Solar Energy Capacity Increased 17 Times In 7 Years
Chief Executive Officer, Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project, JKERA, Dr Abid Rashid Shah, said that process of nomination of Srinagar under the UNESCO Creative City Network was undertaken and funded under the World Bank Funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project. This is the recognition of the historical Crafts and Arts of the City.
"It is a proud moment for all of us. World Bank, Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) and Department of Industries did a remarkable job in projecting the city in this regard," said Dr Shah.
Director, Technical, Planning and Coordination, JTFRP, Iftikhaar Hakeem, said that credit must go to JTFRP, Department of Industries and line departments for taking up the task positively. He said consultants were hired and work was taken up in this regard to fulfilling all the requirements.
India At COP26 Says Its Solar Energy Capacity Increased 17 Times In 7 Years
India on Sunday told the UN climate summit in Glasgow that its solar energy capacity stands at about 45 gigawatts after it increased 17 times in the last seven years, asserting that although the country represents 17 per cent of the global population, its historical cumulative emissions are only 4 per cent.
India said this while giving a presentation on its third Biennial Update Report (BUR) during the 11th Facilitative Sharing of Views (FSV) at the ongoing COP26 climate summit here, reports NDTV.
Read: India moves to patent the over century-old logos of Darjeeling’s ‘Toy Train’
The BUR was submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in February.
The key highlight of the discussion on India's third BUR was the achievement of 24 per cent reduction in emission intensity of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the period of 2005-2014, and the significant increase of its solar programme.
Making a statement on behalf of India, JR Bhatt, Adviser/Scientist in the Ministry of Environment, highlighted that India represents 17 per cent of the global population but its historical cumulative emissions are only 4 per cent, while current annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are only about 5 per cent.
“This is complemented by the fact that India is particularly vulnerable to climate change. However, India is nevertheless taking several mitigation actions, spanning across the entire economy and society and has progressively continued decoupling of its economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mr Bhatt.
In the last seven years, India's installed solar energy capacity has increased 17 times, he said, adding that the solar energy capacity now stands at about 45 gigawatts.
All the Parties commended India's efforts on the BUR and its climate actions, including recent announcements of new measures.
There were questions about India's multilateral efforts to combat climate change, including the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
India responded by saying that disaster risk is increasing in developing countries, and this is a step to enhance international cooperation which is much needed in the current times.
On the question of an increase in forest cover, India responded that people's participation has played an important role in enhancing its forest cover, and that its forests provide all the four ecosystem services.
India highlighted that it speaks on climate change from a position of strength and responsibility.
Read:10 dead in India Covid hospital fire
“India's 15 per cent of total carbon dioxide emission in 2016 was removed from the atmosphere by the LULUCF (Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry).
“Between 2015 and 2019, the forest and tree cover increased by 13,031 square kilometer and mangrove cover increased by 235 square kilometer. Populations of Asiatic lion, elephant, rhino increased manifold in the last 5 to 6 years,” according to India's statement.
“We emphasise that India is particularly vulnerable to climate change, a point which many friends overlook in their eagerness to understand our mitigation efforts.
India moves to patent the over century-old logos of Darjeeling’s ‘Toy Train’
More than two decades after the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, India has finally registered the logos of the iconic ‘Toy Train’ internationally as its intellectual property.
The use of these logos anywhere in the world will now require written permission from India and the payment of a fee, reports the Indian Express.
The DHR, which started operations in 1880, more than 140 years ago, has two logos, both of which have been patented. One has “DHR” in bold black, intertwined letters; the other is a circular seal with a picture of mountains, forests and a river, with “Darjeeling Himalayan Railway” in white lettering on a green background around it.
Read:India At COP26 Says Its Solar Energy Capacity Increased 17 Times In 7 Years
Both logos are over a century old, and popular in world heritage circuits. They are used randomly on merchandise and communications materials by various commercial organisations in Europe, the UK and the US; even the West Bengal government has used it in communications and on merchandise in the past.
The Railway Ministry in Delhi and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway office in Kurseong, West Bengal, initiated the process of registering the logo with the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry in August.
The claim was then sent to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a specialised agency of the United Nations based in Geneva, Switzerland, in accordance with the procedure laid down in WIPO’s Vienna Classification (VCL). There is a six-month window to register any counter-claims, following which the Indian government’s claim will receive international approval.
“We have registered the logo. Anyone who wants to use it will have to take our permission,” S K Chaudhary, Divisional Railway Manager, Katihar, Northeast Frontier Railway, said. DHR is part of NFR Katihar division.
Sources said there are plans to patent the logos of India’s other mountain railways as well, such as the Mettupalayam-Udagamandalam Nilgiri Mountain Railway, the Kalka-Shimla Railway, and the Matheran Hill Railway.
Before applying to patent the DHR logos, the Railways worked to restore the original artwork on old cutlery and the walls of stations, officials said. DHR archives were mined to retrieve the oldest available artwork, and local talent was employed to create impressions and pictures.
“Some station buildings have the original logo… Original documents and other items were dug out. The logo is India’s national property. We need to protect it,” DHR director A K Mishra said.
“We can now claim patent fees or user charges if anyone uses the logos,” Mishra said. “There is no fixed rate for this as such,” he said.
DHR and the Mountain Railways of India (DHR, Nilgiri, and Kalka-Shimla) have been selected by the United Nations Postal Administration among six global UNESCO sites to be made part of its World Heritage Stamp series.
Read:10 dead in India Covid hospital fire
This will put the Darjeeling Toy Train’s ‘Iron Sherpa’ blue steam locomotives of the Darjeeling heritage train on the same pedestal as the legendary transalpine Rhaetian Railway in Switzerland, and is likely to boost its recognition and prominence around the world.
The stamp features a steam locomotive at Ghum station, the highest point on the DHR route, commanding a panoramic view of the Darjeeling Himalayas.
The stamp in a way marks the bouncing back of the Indian Railways at UNESCO World Heritage. Two years ago, the unsatisfactory state of affairs at DHR had invited scrutiny, and the property had seemed in danger of losing its prestigious World Heritage Site recognition. A fortnight-long Ghum Festival is being planned to boost the people connect and tourism prospects of the iconic Toy Train of Darjeeling.
10 dead in India Covid hospital fire
At least 10 people died in a deadly fire that swept through the intensive care unit of a hospital treating Covid patients in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Saturday, officials said.
The blaze broke out at the Covid intensive care unit of the government-run Civil Hospital in the state's Ahmednagar district, some 250km from Maharashtra's capital Mumbai, this morning.
Read: 8 dead, several injured at Astroworld Festival in Houston
As many as eight fire tenders were pressed into service within minutes, but it took them a couple of hours to douse the flames, a senior district administration official told the local media.
"While the bodies of 10 people, mostly patients, were recovered by the firefighters, another person has sustained burn injuries. The remaining patients have been safely evacuated," the official added.
The deaths came on a day India reported 10,929 fresh coronavirus cases in 24 hours, 14% lower than Friday's figure of 12,729. The country also logged 392 new deaths during the period, the health ministry said.
Fire officials suspect an electrical short-circuit triggered the fire. "However, a probe will pinpoint the exact cause of death," a fire official said.
Read: 3 killed in Gazipur road accident
This is the third horrific Covid hospital fire tragedy in India in the past eight months.
In May, as many as 18 people died in a fire that broke out at a Covid hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat. In March too, some 10 Covid patients were killed in a fire that broke out at a Mumbai hospital.
Australian recognition for Covaxin a booster dose for mutual agreements with other countries
Australia’s decision on Monday to accept Bharat Biotech-manufactured Covaxin as a “recognised” vaccine for the purpose of determining a traveller’s vaccination status has come as a big boost for India’s first-indigenous Covid-19 vaccine as it awaits emergency approval from the WHO. Australia had already approved AstraZeneca-manufactured Covishield for travel last month, reports The Hindu Business Line.
While Covaxin is pending WHO approval and is not recognised by a majority of countries, including the US and the UK, India has worked the diplomatic channels for mutual agreements with about a dozen nations to facilitate entry of Indians vaccinated by Covaxin. Covaxin has thus far been approved for travel in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Iran, Mauritius, Greece, Zimbabwe, Mexico and the Philippines.
Read: COP26: India will reach net zero emissions by 2070, says PM Modi
The Ministry of External Affairs is in negotiations with several others, including many European nations, for mutual recognition of vaccine certifications, so that WHO recognition ceases to be a mandatory condition. One such agreement has already been struck between India and Hungary last month and the government is hopeful of more success soon.
Modi lauds decision
Australia’s move to recognise Covaxin will have significant impact for the return of international students, and travel of skilled and unskilled workers to Australia, according to a statement released by Department of Health, Australia on Monday. Australian health regulatory body, Theraupatic Goods’ Administration (TGA), has also approved BBIBP-CorV, manufactured by Sinopharm, China, for travellers aged between 18 and 60.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his appreciation for Australia’s decision. “It is an important step forward in post-Covid partnership between Indian and Australia,” Modi tweeted.
Read:Indonesia first to greenlight Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
The Australian health regulator said recognition of Covaxin, and BBIBP-CorV, along with the previously announced recognition of Coronavac (manufactured by Sinovac, China) and Covishield (manufactured by AstraZeneca, India), means many citizens of China and India will now be considered fully vaccinated on entry to Australia.
“In recent weeks, the TGA has obtained additional information demonstrating these vaccines provide protection and potentially reduce the likelihood that an incoming traveller would transmit Covid-19 infection to others while in Australia or become acutely unwell due to Covid-19. The supporting information has been provided to the TGA from the vaccine sponsor and/or the WHO,” the TGA statement said.
COP26: India will reach net zero emissions by 2070, says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday gave a five-pronged target for India and finally committed to a Net Zero emission target by 2070, joining the likes of the US, the UK and China, reports Business Standard.
“I am giving a panchamrit — five targets that India is committing to join the global fight for climate change — by 2030. Our non-fossil capacity will touch 500 Gw and 50 per cent of our energy needs will come from renewable energy sources. From now to 2030, the projected carbon emissions will reduce by 1 billion tonnes and our overall carbon intensity of the economy will see a 45 per cent reduction.”
In line with expectations from the UK and the US, he said India would be a Net Zero economy by 2070.
Net Zero is achieved when the amount of greenhouse gas produced is offset by the amount removed from the atmosphere. This entails no future investment in coal or fossil fuels and greening several industries and economies.
Read:How virtual galleries kept Indian art alive amid Covid
Modi also upped the renewable energy target of the country to 500 Gw by 2030. It was 450 Gw earlier. India’s current RE capacity stands at 175 Gw.
“Today India’s installed renewable capacity is fourth in the world. In the last seven years, our non-fossil fuel energy has seen 25 per cent growth and the share of green energy in the mix reached 40 per cent,” Modi said, adding that India’s national transporter, Indian Railways, had declared a Net Zero target year of 2030.
“This entails 60 million tonnes of emission reduction every year. Another 40 million tonne emissions reduction will come from our LED programme,” Modi said.
He spoke of several other initiatives of India, including the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and said India had joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
He asked the developed world to increase financing to meet the enhanced targets that India had declared.
“India has raised its ambition in setting its targets. They also need to raise ambitions in climate finance and tech transfer. The world cannot achieve newer targets with old goals of climate finance,” Modi said.
India is the only country to fulfil commitments made in Paris. India is putting climate change at the centre of its policies, Modi said.
"Whole world thinks is only one economy which has worked Paris agreement on letter and spirit and it is India," said the PM.
The US has declared Net zero by 2050, same as the UK. China has net zero target year 2060.
India has been long pressed by global leaders to declare a net zero target. From the US, John Kerry, special Presidential envoy for climate change, has long pressed India to declare a headline ‘Net Zero’ target. On his last visit to India, Kerry termed India a “red-hot investment destination” for the solar sector, saying the country has set an example for developing nations by reaching 100 Gw of renewable energy capacity.
Read: US returns antiquities to India in stolen art investigation
Speaking at the same event, Joe Biden, the US President said his government has proposed to quadruple the climate financing by the US by 2024 for adaptation efforts. He said the country will try to meet the $100 billion annual financing target of developed world to developing countries.
A day before, Bhupendra Yadav, union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said developed countries have not only failed to meet the $100 billion goal per year of support to developing countries.
Delivering the statement on behalf of the BASIC group of countries, comprising Brazil, South Africa, India and China at the UN Climate Change Conference underway at Glasgow, Yadav said, "In a context where developing countries, including BASIC countries, have massively stepped up their climate actions since 2009, it is unacceptable that there is still no matching ambition from developed countries on the enabling means of implementation on climate finance support."