Indian fertilizer companies sign MoU with Canpotex

• Potash, which is source of Potassium, is used both for direct application as MOP as well as in combination with ‘N’ & ‘P’ nutrients in NPK fertilizers.
• India meets 100% of its Potash requirement through imports. The country imports approximately 40 LMT MOP annually.
• Canpotex is a joint venture between leading fertiliser players, Mosaic and Nutrien, and markets Potash being produced at Saskatchewan region in Canada.
• It is amongst the largest suppliers of Potash globally, exporting around 130 LMT of product annually to more than 40 countries and has been one of the suppliers to India.

Rs 600-crore redevelopment plan for Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple

• Mahakal Maharaj Mandir Parisar Vistar Yojna is a plan for the expansion, beautification, and decongestion of the Mahakaleshwar temple and its adjoining area in Ujjain district.
• Under the plan, the Mahakaleshwar temple premises of around 2.82 hectares is being increased to 47 hectares, which will be developed in two phases by the Ujjain district administration. This will include the 17 hectares of Rudrasagar lake.
• The project is expected to increase annual footfall in the city from the current 1.50 crore to nearly three crore.

Mahakaleshwar Temple

• Mahakaleshwar, which means the ‘Lord of time’, refers to Lord Shiva. As per Hindu mythology, the temple was constructed by Lord Brahma and is presently located alongside the holy river Kshipra.
• Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain is one of the 12 jyotirlingas considered the most sacred abodes of Shiva.
• The temple’s Mahakal Lingam is believed to be Swayambhu (self-manifested) and unlike any other jyotirlingas in the country, the idol of Mahakaleshwar faces south.

Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Anurag Singh Thakur to launch nationwide month-long Clean India 2.0 Programme

• The programme is being organised in all the villages across the country through the network of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), affiliated Youth Clubs & National Service Scheme Affiliated Institutions.
• This month-long nationwide programme will be launched to collect waste material mainly single-use plastic and create awareness among people.
• One crore kilogram of waste material including plastic and e-waste will be collected and disposed off with the support and voluntary participation of citizens.
• Hotspots for waste collection will be Tourist Places, Educational Institutes, Bus Stand/Railway Stations and the vicinity, National Highways, Historical and heritage buildings, religious places & surroundings, Hospitals and Water Resource etc.

India, Netherlands formalize bilateral Fast-Track Mechanism between both countries

• The Joint statement aims to facilitate a platform for the Dutch companies operating in India, for faster resolution of investment cases.
• It is expected that the mechanism will strengthen and assist bilateral efforts to increase mutual investment activities, and also support and develop business cooperation between companies in both countries.
• Commerce and Industry Ministry said, the Netherlands is the fourth largest foreign direct investor in India. The cumulative flow of FDI from the Netherlands to India reached around 42.3 billion US dollars between April 2000 and June 2022.

Senior advocate R Venkataramani has been appointed as the new Attorney General of India.

• The Ministry of Law and Justice in a notification said, the President has appointed Mr Venkataramani as the new Attorney General for a period of three years.
• His appointment comes just days after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi declined the government’s offer to become the next AG.
• Mr Rohtagi had earlier served the post for three years and stepped down in June 2017. Mr Venugopal succeeded him and was appointed for a three-year term.
• Since 2020, Mr. Venugopal had been given two one-year extensions at his requests. However, in June, Mr. Venugopal requested the Law Ministry not to extend his tenure beyond three months because of his advanced age.

India is the first country with a cooling action plan

• Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has said that India is the first country with a cooling action plan based on energy efficiency and thermal comfort. He stated this while addressing the Ministerial Roundtable for Green Economy at the World Green Economy Summit at the World Trade Center in Dubai.
• reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by 2037-38,
• reduce refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by 2037-38,
• Reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by 2037-38,
• recognize “cooling and related areas” as a thrust area of research under national S&T Programme,
• training and certification of 100,000 servicing sector technicians by 2022-23, synergizing with Skill India Mission.
• Thermal comfort for all – provision for cooling for EWS and LIG housing,
• Sustainable cooling – low GHG emissions related to cooling,
• Doubling Farmers Income – better cold chain infrastructure – better value of produce to farmers, less wastage of produce,
• Robust R&D on alternative cooling technologies – to provide push to innovation in cooling sector.

10000-crore plan to modernise three major railway stations

• With the redevelopment, expected to be completed in 2.5 to 3.5 years, passengers will be able to enjoy facilities such as food court, waiting lounge, playing area for children, place to shop local products, proper illumination and lifts/escalators/travelators, among other facilities.
• The stations, which will make use of green building techniques with solar energy, water conservation/recycling and improved tree cover, will be integrated with other modes of transportation such as metro and bus.
• The government would be funding the redevelopment project so as to not put any extra monetary burden on passengers. Overall, the government is currently working on redevelopment of 199 stations, of which tenders have been issued for redevelopment of 47 stations.

Cabinet clears MoU with Bangladesh on river water withdrawal

• The Union Cabinet chaired has given its ex-post facto approval for a MoU between the Government of India and Bangladesh on withdrawal of upto 153 cusecs of water each by India and Bangladesh from common border river Kushiyara.
• The Kushiyara River is a distributary river in Bangladesh and Assam, India.
• It forms on the India-Bangladesh border as a branch of the Barak River, when the Barak separates into the Kushiyara and Surma.
• The waters that eventually form the Kushiyara originate in the uplands of the state of Assam and pick up tributaries from Nagaland and Manipur.

Cabinet extends PMGKAY scheme to benefit 80 crore beneficiaries

• Under this welfare scheme, 5 kg of food grain per person per month is provided free of cost for all the beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) [Antodaya Anna Yojana & Priority Households] including those covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• Financial implication for the Government of India has been about 3.45 Lakh Crore upto Phase-VI of PMGKAY.
• With the additional expenditure of about Rs. 44,762 Crore for Phase-VII of this scheme, the overall expenditure of PMGKAY will be about Rs. 3.91 lakh crore for all the phases.
• So far, PMGKAY has been in operation for 25 months as under:
  • Phase I and II ( 8 months) : April’20 to Nov.’20
  • Phase-III to V (11 months) : May’21 to March’22
  • Phase-VI ( 6 months) : April’22 to Sept.’22

Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) appointed next Chief of Defence Staff

• Lt Gen Chauhan will also function as Secretary, Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge. In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan had held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East India.
• The post of Chief of Defence Staff has been lying vacant since General Bipin Rawat''s death in a helicopter crash on 8th December last year.
• The Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces (CDS) is the military head and permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) of the Indian Armed Forces.
• The Chief of Defence Staff is the highest-ranking uniformed officer on active duty in the Indian military and chief military adviser to the Minister of Defence. The Chief also heads the Department of Military Affairs.