Uttarakhand to prepare plan to develop more pilgrimage sites: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said his government would soon prepare a master plan for developing more mythological and pilgrimage sites, other than the Char Dham, in the state.
Dhami said PM Modi also asked to inform pilgrims returning from the Char Dham about the importance of other mythological temples in Uttarakhand.
INTERNATIONAL
Egypt climate conference
UN climate summits are held every year, for governments to agree steps to limit global temperature rises.
They are referred to as COPs, which stands for “Conference of the Parties”. The parties are the attending countries that signed up to the original UN climate agreement in 1992.
COP27 is the 27th annual UN meeting on climate. It will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh from 6 to 18 November.
This will be the fifth time a COP has been hosted in Africa.
The region’s governments hope it will draw attention to the severe impacts of climate change on the continent. The IPCC says Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world.
Currently, 17 million people are estimated to be facing food insecurity in east Africa because of drought.
NATIONAL
ISRO to boost NavIC, widen user base of location system
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a series of improvements to the NavIC, or India’s equivalent of the Global Positioning System (GPS), so that more people are motivated to install it and use it. Plans are also afoot to make its reach global rather than circumscribe it to India and a limited territory around it.
NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), or the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), is a constellation of seven satellites that is akin to the American GPS, the European Galileo and the Russian GLONASS, and can be used to track location. The first of these satellites (IRNSS-1A) were launched in 2013 and the latest in 2018.
Currently, NavIC satellites orbit earth in a geostationary or geosynchronous (GEO) orbit, or about 36,000 km from earth. MEO orbits occupy a space between GEO and Low Earth Orbit (LEO), or about 250-2,000 km from earth.
Centre mulls removal of TRAI-related provisions from telecom bill
Following concerns over the possible dilution of powers of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in the proposed telecom policy, the government is mulling the removal of provisions related to the regulator from the bill. It is evaluating introducing a separate bill to strengthen the regulatory body at a later stage.
The DoT is currently under the process of discussion with all stakeholders, including industry bodies, on the draft Bill. The government has also invited written comments from industry on the Bill.
PM Modi launches Mission LiFE ‘Lifestyle for Environmet’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched Mission LiFE movement (Lifestyle for the Environment) at the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. Envisaged by PM Modi, Mission LiFE is expected to be an India-led global mass movement that will nudge individual and collective action to protect and preserve the environment
The launch of Mission LiFE in Gujarat is significant as it was the first state in the country to initiate steps in the direction of renewable energy and climate protection.
PM Modi said the mantra of Mission LiFE is ‘Lifestyle for Environment’. “It connects the powers of the people for the protection of this earth, and teaches them to utilize it in a better way.
