Ø Moody’s, a global ratings agency, raised India’s rating outlook to
“positive” from “stable” on Thursday, but retained the Baa3 rating. Moody’s is
the first to give the country a positive outlook after downgrading it as the
economy sagged.
Ø The Union Home Ministry on Thursday suspended the registration of
Greenpeace India under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) for six
months and froze its seven accounts, prohibiting donations from abroad. Citing
various grounds for suspension of its FCRA registration, the Ministry of Home
Affairs alleged that the organisation did not inform the authorities about
transfer of foreign contributions received in the designated account to the
FCRA utilisation account and then to five other accounts.
Ø An 11-member international jury has declared Thane the National Earth
Hour Capital with the city emerging the winner from India in the Earth Hour City
Challenge this year. the city represented India in the Global Earth Hour
Capital Competition of 16 countries in Seoul. The host city was declared the
winner and acknowledged as the Global Earth Hour Capital 2015. The
year-long competition among cities is aimed at promoting renewable energy and
preparing for climate change. In its third year in India, the contest had 13
participants. Thane, Rajkot and Pune were the finalists from India. Pune
received a special mention from the jury for its city mobility plan and its
solar and waste-to-energy initiatives. While all finalists were invited
to the programme in Seoul, only the Mayor of Rajkot could attend the ceremony
and was felicitated for the city’s performance in the field of renewable energy.
Last year, Coimbatore was selected as the National Earth Hour Capital. The
notable actions by the Thane city administration include the mandatory use of
solar water-heating systems for municipal buildings and solutions such as
wind-solar hybrid systems and use of solar energy for lighting and
air-conditioning. Besides, the city plans solar rooftop net
metering-based power generation and regular energy audits. Among the
actions are an energy service company (ESCO) project for energy-efficient
street lighting, commissioning of a bio-methanation plant to treat municipal
solid waste and generate electricity and three cyclic switching units for
optimal use of streetlights. A five-year target has been set for
developing a solar city project in the city.
Ø Three days after the failure of an interceptor missile trial, India
successfully test-fired the nuclear-weapons capable Dhanush missile for its
full range of 350 km off the Odisha coast.
Ø Rajasthan will immunise four lakh children from the vulnerable sections
of society under Mission Indradhanush, launched nationally on April 7.
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