India's new climate pledge to the UN could be weakened by its growing use of coal, even as the country plans a 2035 roadmap to cut emissions and boost clean energy.
India will publish its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the 2035 period by December, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Monday, while urging developed nations to achieve net zero targets ahead of their current timelines.
New data shows India's emissions rising faster than its 2030 targets.
'At COP30, the emphasis will be on unlocking climate finance, reinforcing the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and building resilience through inclusive transitions and the mainstreaming of adaptation.'
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian national accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been extradited to India from the United States. Rana's interrogation is expected to shed light on the role of Pakistani state actors in the attacks, which claimed 166 lives. Indian authorities are particularly interested in his travels across India in the days leading up to the attacks, including visits to Hapur, Agra, Delhi, Kochi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. Rana's extradition follows a lengthy legal battle, with the US Supreme Court ultimately denying his application to challenge it. Rana is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks. The investigation into the Mumbai attacks has implicated senior members of terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul Jihadi Islami (HuJI), as well as officials from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, is expected to be extradited to India from the United States soon. The US Supreme Court denied his last-ditch effort to stop his extradition, moving him closer to being handed over to Indian authorities. Rana's extradition is expected to help probe agencies expose the role of Pakistani state actors behind the attacks and shed new light on the investigation. He is associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
Asserting that Pakistan developing sophisticated missile technology will give it the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the United States, a top White House official said on Thursday that the Asian country's actions are an emerging threat to the United States.
President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said cyberattacks have emerged as a major threat to national security and the civil services and armed forces must join hands to create a secure nationwide system capable of thwarting them.
Former Chief of Army Staff General Sundararajan Padmanabhan, affectionately known as 'Paddy' in army circles, passed away in Chennai due to old age, a source close to him said on Monday.
Tami Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa walked out of the National Development Council meeting in Delhi on Thursday after being interrupted during her speech. "I was barely able to finish one third of my speech. To show my protest, I have walked out of the NDC meet. I began my speech; they rang the bell soon after. This is humiliating," Jayalalithaa told media personnel.
Leaders of the JD-U, which has two ministers in the Union government, insist that the resolution also spoke of "special package and other types of help" and that Bihar could still get a lot from Narendra Modi government.
Among major economies, India in FY23 recorded the steepest increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, climbing 6.1 per cent, with China trailing close behind at 5.2 per cent, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2024. In contrast, GHG emission decreased in both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) by 7.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. Despite India's rise, its 2023 GHG emission remains relatively low at 4,140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCOe) against China's 16,000 and the US's 5,970.
Talks on global climate finance virtually ground to a halt last week at COP29, the annual United Nations (UN) Climate Change event in Baku, Azerbaijan, as the developed world, led by the European Union (EU), and developing countries including India, Brazil, South Africa, and a clutch of island nations and African countries faced a wide chasm between their expectations. This has raised doubts about whether an agreement can be reached this week or whether talks will spill over to COP30, to be held next year in Benem, Brazil.
The nation's highest policymaking body, the National Development Council, will focus on five key areas, including the Naxal menace, power reforms and water crisis, at its meeting on Saturday.
Pakistani-origin terror convict Tahawwur Rana, whose extradition to India has received a green signal, was 'very relaxed' in the days after the 26/11 attacks and wanted Pakistan's highest military honour to be bestowed on the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who carried out the carnage in Mumbai.
India rose two spots to rank eighth out of 63 countries in the Climate Change Performance Index 2023 (CCPI). In the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Use categories, the country was rated "high". In the Climate Policy and Renewable Energy categories, it earned a "medium" rating.
The Centre on Thursday rejected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's charge that non-Congress ruled states were discriminated against at the National Development Council meet and said that no leader should make political capital at such events.
Asserting that the world does not have much time to correct the mistakes of the last century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a 'Green Credit Initiative' focused on creating carbon sinks through people's participation and also proposed to host the United Nations climate conference in 2028, or COP33, in India.
With the prestigious National Defence College in New Delhi being one of the prime targets of Lashkar-e-Tayiba, the government on Wednesday said that "adequate precaution" was being taken to safeguard the military institution.
The RBI on Friday said maiden Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) would be issued in two tranches for an aggregate amount of Rs 16,000 crore, and proceeds will be utilised for funding public sector projects seeking to reduce carbon emissions. The first auction would be done on January 25 while the second on February 9, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement. The proceeds will be deployed in public sector projects, which help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy, it said.
Lt Gen Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the next vice chief of the Army Staff on May 1, the defence ministry said on Friday.
Urging chief ministers from across India to ensure the safety and security of women in various states, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while referring to the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl in the national capital on Thursday, said that the government has decided to review the present laws and examine the levels of punishments in cases of aggravated sexual assault.
Centre's disinvestment policy Saturday came in for sharp criticism from some States with BJP ally Biju Janata Dal in Orissa going so far as to seek a separate National Democratic Alliance meeting on it.
A day after walking out of the National Development Council meet, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday said renewed moves were being made to set up the National Counter Terrorism Centre despite opposition to it by several states.
This is the second time that the Planning Commission will be scaling down the growth projection for the 12th Plan.
Remember to take important documents like no dues certificate.
During his three-day UK visit until Tuesday, Modi is listed to address the COP26 summit with a national statement about India's climate action plan in the afternoon session on Monday, ahead of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Bipin was the brightest among our coursemates and went on to become the first CDS of the country. I believe that all those who have known him and Madhulika will miss them very much, observes Lieutenant General Himalaya Singh (retd).
India has voiced its strong opposition to China's Belt and Road Initiative and its flagship project -- the CPEC -- at the just concluded second UN Sustainable Transport Conference where the Indian diplomat's mike curiously went silent while she was highlighting New Delhi's objection to the controversial projects.
National Development Council meet to discuss this next week.
The 12th Plan document has already been approved by the full Planning Commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on September 15.
The state plans for 4 per cent growth in agriculture and 11 per cent each in industry and services sector.
Representing India at the 'High-Level Segment for Heads of States and Government' at the UN COP26 underway at Glasgow, UK, Prime Minister Modi said that India is working very hard on tackling climate change related issues.
Ahead of the July 24 National Development Council (NDC) meeting, the Planning Commission will come out with a report on the problems in the Naxal-hit areas and the issues being faced by tribals.
The MTA will now be placed before the National Development Council, highest policy making body in the country headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Prime Minister's Office on Sunday said that an avoidable controversy has been created through a "deliberate and mischievious misinterpretation" of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on minorities.
Referring to the US sub-prime mortgage crisis and the likely slowdown of the global economy, Singh said, "this may impact both our exports as well as capital flows". Singh said with increased globalisation, the country's economy accounts for almost 40 per cent of the GDP and, hence, India cannot remain unaffected by global developments.
The government also approved the State Bank of India's Rs 10,000 crore equity issue.
Aiming to improve the living standards in the country, the 11th Plan draft document has set ambitious targets of per capita income growth of 7.6 per cent each year and an overall average economic growth of nine per cent. The Plan aims at an average growth rate of 9 per cent, accelerating it from 8 per cent in the first year of the Plan (2007) to 10 per cent by the end of the Plan period (2011-12).
The government on Thursday said it would open up to 20 IIITs across the country in partnership with the industry, for which a sum of Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) has been approved. Planning Commission member secretary Rajeeva Ratna Shah said the National Development Council (NDC) has approved setting up of the new IIITs, which will be co-funded by industry associations and other business houses.
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