NATIONAL NEWS
India’s first Biomass-based hydrogen plant to be built in Madhya Pradesh
India’s first commercial biomass-based hydrogen plant will be built in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. The biomass-based hydrogen plant is expected to produce a tonne of hydrogen every day. It is also expected to produce biochar and methane. It will be constructed with an investment of Rs 24 crore.
Earthquake hits J&K, no casualty reported
A light intensity earthquake measuring 3.8 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Jammu and Kashmir earlier on February 10, 2022. There was no report of any casualty or damage to property. The epicentre of the earthquake was Gulgit-Baltistan region 20 km inside the earth’s crust. Kashmir Valley is located on an earthquake prone region where tremors have wreacked havoc in the past.
J&K signs pact with New Zealand to transform sheep farming sector
Jammu and Kashmir government has signed a pact with New Zealand for transforming sheep farming sector. The objective of the agreement will be to improve farmers’ remuneration, transfer of technology in research and development and marketing and value addition of J&K sheep products. The agreement was signed between the two sides virtually in the presence of LG Manoj Sinha and Navin Choudhary, principal secretary of agriculture production and farmers welfare department animal.
Tiger deaths increased to 127 in 2021, as per state report
The number of deaths of Tigers in the country has risen to 127 in 2021, in comparison to 106 in 2020, as per reports from the states. Madhya Pradesh reported the maximum number of deaths with 42 deaths, followed by Maharashtra with 27 deaths, Karnataka with 15 and Uttar Pradesh with 9. As per the report from the state, the Tiger deaths increased in the previous year due to various reasons including infighting, electrocution, poaching and old age. The number of tiger deaths in 2019 was 96.
RBI Monetary Policy: RBI keeps Repo Rate unchanged at 4.0 per cent
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent for the 10th consecutive time while maintaining an ‘accommodative stance’ as long as necessary. The reverse repo rate will continue to be 3.35 per cent. Reserve Bank of India conducted the 6th and the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for 2021-22 between February 8-10, 2022.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Russia to hold military drills in Black Sea
Russia plans to hold military drills in Black Sea. The nation had announced last month that its navy would stage a sweeping set of exercises involving all its fleets in January and February in the region, ranging from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Six Russian warships arrived in the Black Sea earlier on February 10th, near the Crimean Peninsula Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014 for the naval drills. It is the latest show of strength by Russia amid a surge of military activity during a standoff with the West over Ukraine.
Iran welcomes US sanctions relief but says it’s too little.
Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday welcomed US sanctions relief intended to entice Iran back to the 2015 nuclear deal, but called it insufficient. On Friday, the Biden administration restored some sanctions relief to Iran’s atomic program as world powers and the Islamic Republic continue talks aimed at salvaging the languishing agreement. Lifting some sanctions in a real and objective manner could be interpreted as the good will that Americans talk about, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters. However, he said the move is not sufficient.
