Monthly Archives: June 2022

E-TRANSMISSION AT WTO

India will oppose the continuation of a moratorium on Customs Duties on electronic transmission (E-Transmission) at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) starting in June 2022 as it favors developed nations only. The moratorium was extended at the 11th MC in Argentina in 2017 for two years. In the General Council meeting in December …

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ISRAEL UAE FREE TRADE DEAL

Recently, Israel signed a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates, its first with an Arab country, building on their US-brokered normalization of relations in 2020. The UAE was the first Gulf country to normalize ties with Israel and only the third Arab nation to do so after Egypt and Jordan. …

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STOCKHOLM+50

Stockholm+50 is being held in Stockholm, Sweden. It will commemorate the 50 years since the 1972 United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference). The UN General Assembly will be convening this international meeting. This is being held at a time when the world is facing a triple planetary crisis of climate change, …

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LEOPARD GECKO

Recently, researchers have identified a new colorful species of leopard geckos named Eublepharis pictus, also known as the Painted Leopard Gecko, earlier it was thought to belong to a known species. The new species differs from all members of the genus Eublepharis except for E hardwickii. Eublepharis is a genus of terrestrial geckos native …

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STUBBLE BURNING

Recently, a new biomass-based boiler technology was launched in India (Kurukshetra, Haryana) that claims to accommodate all kinds of agricultural residue as fuel and can be greener and may also help reduce the burden of stubble burning. Biomass-based electricity is gaining the attention of regulators and policy makers, as the country moves towards …

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SDG 7

Recently, the Tracking SDG 7 – The Energy Progress Report 2022 was released which showed that the Russia-Ukraine war and Covid-19 crisis have considerably slowed down efforts towards attaining the Seventh Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 7) target. The Energy Progress Report is a product of close collaboration among the five SDG 7 custodian agencies in the form of a …

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APPELLATE COMMITTEES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA GRIEVANCE

Recently, a proposal for setting up ‘Grievance Appellate Committees’ for hearing appeals regarding social media posts has been put forward by the government of India. One or more ‘Grievance Appellate Committees’ will be constituted by the Central Government as per the draft of the proposed amendments to the IT Rules, 2021. The appellate committees will …

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INDIA AND SWEDEN DIALOGUE

Recently, India and Sweden hosted the Industry Transition Dialogue in Stockholm, as a part of their joint initiative i.e. Leadership for Industry Transition (LeadIT). This high level dialogue has contributed to the UN Conference ‘Stockholm+50’ and set the agenda for COP27 (Climate Change). LeadIT The LeadIT initiative lays specific focus on hard to abate sectors that are …

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TRINCOMALEE PORT

Sri Lanka plans to develop Trincomalee port into an industrial hub that would spark global interest. The proposal is a long-standing plan to monetise land that belongs to the Sri Lanka Port Authority, by getting foreign and local investment for a special economic zone, an industrial park, or an energy hub. Trincomalee …

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INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT

Recently, the 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom (IRF) was released by the US Department of State. The document is distinct from the IRF report released by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity while the IRF is part of the US State Department. The former’s …

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