Ministry of Power and New and Renewable Energy in a statement said that any consumer with a connected load of 100 kW or above can get Renewable Energy through open access from any Renewable Energy generating plant set up by himself; or by any developer. The open access has to be granted within 15 days. The application for open access can be made on this portal.

Rajnath Singh termed national security as the prime focus of the Government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stressing that the full potential of the country can be tapped only when its interests are protected. Security is sine-qua-non for civilization to flourish and prosper, he said.

New Delhi [India], September 14 (ANI): Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said the concept of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (to treat the world as one family) represents the "core value of our civilizational ethos" while delivering a lecture on 'India's Core Values Interests and Objectives' at the National Defence College (NDC) in New Delhi.

New Delhi [India], August 30 (ANI): The Ministry of Coal has set an ambitious goal for coal companies to bring more than 2,400 hectares of area in and around coalfields under green cover with plantation of more than 50 lakh saplings for the year 2022-23.

New Delhi [India], April 28 (ANI): Highlighting India's efforts in the fight against climate change, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday said India is not a part of the climate problem but wants to be a big part of the solution.

New Delhi Jan 31 PTI Climate finance will remain critical to successful climate action by developing countries including India according to the Economic Survey presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on MondayThe Economic Survey 2021-22 tabled in the Lok Sabha ahead of the Union Budget which will be presented on Tuesday said There is a greater thrust on climate action following the announcement of Indias target of becoming Net Zero by 2070 Climate finance will remain critical to successful climate action by developing countries including India Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a part of the national statement delivered at the 26th Conference of the Parties COP 26 in Glasgow in November 2021 announced ambitious targets to be achieved by 2030 to enable further reduction in emissionsIndia has an NDC nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement to reduce emission intensity of its GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levelsIt has already achieved 24 per cent reduction of emissions till 2016 as per the third Biennial Update Reports BUR submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC in 2021According to the survey Indias performance on the NITI Aayog SDG Sustainable Development Goals India Index has improved from an overall score of 60 in 2019-20 to 66 in 2020-21 It said the figures show progress in Indias journey towards achieving the SDGsDespite 2020-21 being a pandemic year India performed well on eight of the 17 SDGs measured by the NITI Aayog SDG India Index it saidThese included goal 3 good health and well-being goal 6 clean water and sanitation goal 7 affordable and clean energy goal 10 reduced inequalities goal 11 sustainable cities and communities goal 12 responsible consumption and production goal 15 life on land and goal 16 peace justice and strong institutions it said The remaining SDGs are no poverty goal 1 zero hunger goal 2 quality education goal 4 gender equality goal 5 decent work and economic growth goal 8 industry innovation and infrastructure goal 9 climate action goal 13 life below water goal 14 and partnerships for the goals goal 17In September 2015 193 countries including India committed to the SDGs as detailed in the UN resolution Transforming our world the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable DevelopmentThe SDGs comprehensively cover social economic and environmental dimensions and build on the Millennium Development Goals MDGs which covered the earlier 15-year period from 2000 to 2015India has been making significant strides in increasing its forest area ranking third globally in net gain in forest area during the decade 2010-20 it said adding that going forward there is a need to improve the forest and tree coverMuch of Indias increase in forest cover during 2011-21 is attributed to the enhancement in very dense forest cover which rose by approximately 20 per cent during the period Open forest cover also improved by seven per cent during the period it saidGoing forward there is need to further improve forest and tree cover Social forestry could also play a significant role in this regard the survey saidIt also suggested that statesUnion Territories need to improve the management of their ground water resources through improving their recharge and by stemming their over-exploitation and to prevent the critical and semi-critical assessment units from further worsening The survey observed that climate change-related financial risks pose both micro and macro prudential concerns and that in May 2021 the Reserve Bank of India RBI set up a new unit -- Sustainable Finance Group SFG -- within its Department of Regulation to effectively counter these risks and for leading the regulatory initiatives in the areas of sustainable finance and climate riskIt further said to assess the progress of its regulated entities in managing climate risk RBI is preparing a consultative discussion paper covering governance strategy risk management and disclosureThe discussion paper will sensitise regulated entities to incorporate climate-related and environmental risks in their business strategies governance and risk management frameworks it saidIn line with the international best practices banks will be guided to adopt a forward-looking comprehensive and strategic approach to climate-related risks the survey said PTI AG RHL

New Delhi Dec 31 PTI India on climate change issues will continue with its resolute actions both domestically and internationally and walk the talk from a position of strength and responsibility Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav saidHe also asserted that the Panchamrit announced by the prime minister at the climate summit COP 26 is an agenda for the entire country and all ministries and departments are relevant to its implementationSpeaking to PTI Yadav said India had placed adaptation and climate finance at the core of the concerns that it wanted to be articulated at the United Nations global climate conference COP 26 and that his ministry will assess the progress of Indias climate goals by preparing the national inventory of greenhouse gases under the Enhanced Transparency Framework provided by the Paris AgreementWe must not forget that our agenda of climate action is not a standalone endeavour It is part of our larger agenda of development not just in a short-term sense like the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs but part of our journey towards not only a climate-resilient but also prosperous secure and flourishing India realising our goals as a responsible global power that is home to more than one-sixth of humanity he saidOn climate change issues we will continue with our resolute actions both domestically and internationally and walk the talk from a position of strength and responsibility as ever and before he saidYadav said his ministry will ensure adequate synergy and linkage with all government departments towards achieving goalsSpecific actions will be guided through the PMs announcements and implemented by our eight national missions and be part of the agenda of schemes programmes and initiatives of all ministries and departments There are a variety of such initiatives including the Railway ministrys net-zero goal the Hydrogen Mission and so on he saidOn matters relating to the biosphere especially forests and other biosphere resources the environment ministry will carry out its own specific responsibilities in achieving existing NDC goals he saidReiterating that India was committed to a successful climate summit COP that reached credible and relevant decisions Yadav said the country had placed adaptation and climate finance at the core of the concerns that it wanted to be articulated at COP26On adaptation developing countries worked together to energize the Global Goal on adaptation agenda which will now be politically driven and reach some definitive conclusions in the next two years he saidHe said a number of other steps on adaptation is being taken building on the achievements of the past few yearsAdaptation finance has now a target doubling 2019 levels by 2025 and this must be further strengthened quickly he said adding that the demand for greater emphasis on adaptation was heard loud and clear at COP26Stressing that developing countries have made their views clear at the summit Yadav said India had called for COP26 to turn over a new page on the agenda of climate finance but due to continued reluctance of developed countries to live up to their commitments this is still some distance awayTalking about climate finance the minister said COP26 approved an unprecedented decision expressing regret on the failure of developed countries to meet their target of mobilising USD 100 billion by 2020 But the target remains very much on the agenda to continue at least till 2025 Meanwhile terms and quantum of long-term finance is also definitely under negotiation and will be pursued actively in the years to come he saidOn the takeaways from COP 26 Yadav said COP summits in this era should not be perhaps individually evaluated for their significanceThey are now part of a consistent rapid and committed path that the world must follow to ensure that humanity is safe from the consequences of profligate emission of greenhouse gases by a minority that endangers all In this sense COP26 marked the end of a five-year journey to mop up the details of implementing the Paris Agreement which will guide our actions for some time to come he said Yadav said developed countries create roadblocks in achieving climate goals and push goalposts constantly which must be considered while evaluating the success of summitsEvery few years whenever a new direction to proceed has been finally agreed upon they are pushing a new agenda a new goal and always in the future neglecting their duties especially their duties in the present Yadav saidThe demand for a declaration of net-zero is in this category though India through the Panchamrit announcements undertook to reassure the world by its own promise of reaching net-zero by 2070 he saidHowever India made it repeatedly clear that the path to net-zero is the key ensuring that the emissions of all countries stay within their fair share of the global carbon budget which they must use responsibly Yadav saidHe said the agenda ahead must be to convert these discussions into meaningful sharp emissions reduction by developed countries so that they reach net-zero earlier staying within their fair share of the remaining carbon budgetCurrently the US and the EU alone will consume more than 25 percent of the remaining carbon budget for 15-degree warming though they are only 10 percent of humanity This cannot be the way forward But if the world has to be safe we have to make every effort to ensure that the US the EU and other developed countries adhere to equity and reach net zero far earlier he saidFrom Indias perspective and that of developing countries the final decision on the phase down of coal invoking also the context of poverty eradication sustainable development and just transition was a good decision he said adding that India has indeed defended and succeeded in an equitable outcome PTI AG ANB ANB

New Delhi [India], December 1 (ANI): Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Mago took over as the 34th Commandant of National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi from Air Marshal D Choudhury who superannuates on November 30, 2021.

New Delhi Oct 28 PTI India is well on its way to meet targets set under the Paris accord and it expects fulfilment of commitments in facilitating financial resources and technologies in helping developing countries confront climate change Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday His comments came days ahead of the 26th Conference of Parties COP-26 to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC to be held in Glasgow We are well on our way to meeting our NDC Nationally Determined Contributions commitments and even doing better than that he said at a media briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Rome and Glasgow to participate in the G20 summit and COP-26 meet respectively The NDCs are long-term goals and they embody efforts by each country to cut greenhouse gas emissions We are looking forward to a COP-26 that would bring forth fair and objective discussions and a balanced outcome Shringla said The developed countries promised to allocate USD 100 billion annually to developing countries to deal with climate change Modi will leave for Glasgow from Rome on October 31 to attend COP-26 He will participate in the high-level segment of COP-26 titled World Leaders Summit from November 1 to 2 The prime minister will leave for Rome on Friday In a pre-departure statement Modi said India is taking ambitious action on expanding clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency Today India is creating new records in collective effort for climate adaptation mitigation and resilience and forging multilateral alliances he said The prime minister said India is among the top countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy wind and solar energy capacity I will also highlight the need to comprehensively address climate change issues including equitable distribution of carbon space support for mitigation and adaptation and resilience building measures mobilization of finance technology transfer and importance of sustainable lifestyles for green and inclusive growth he said Shringla said India would like to see the fulfilment of such promises by the developed countries The quantum of such financing is also in our view inadequate You need much more financing in order to reach the goals that have been set he said Shringla said providing financial resources and technology to developing countries is key to helping them meet their climate goals This is something that will occupy the leaders and negotiators this is something that we expect to see some outcomes on not only in terms of commitments he said Shringla said a global green bridge initiative with the theme of one sun one world and one grid under the International Solar Alliance will be launched on the sidelines of the COP-26 The COP-26 is being held from October 31 to November 12 under the presidency of the UK which is partnering with Italy for the event It is being billed as one of the biggest ever congregations of world leaders and experts in combating climate change The Paris Agreement of 2015 requires each party to prepare communicate and maintain successive NDCs that it intends to achieve PTI MPB ZMN ZMN

While addressing the just concluded second United Nations Sustainable Transport Conference and voiving strongly against the China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its flagship project - the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, First Secretary Priyanka Sohoni's mic went curiously silent.