Accredited Investor
- Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed to introduce the concept of ‘accredited investors’ in the securities market.
- Accredited investors (Qualified investors or Professional investors) are those who have an understanding of various financial products and the risks and returns associated with them.
- They are able to take informed decisions regarding their investments and are recognised by many securities and financial market regulators globally.
- SEBI said the accreditation once granted shall be valid for a year.
- The accreditation may be carried out via 'Accreditation Agencies’ which may be the market infrastructure institutions or their subsidiaries.
International Commission on Large Dams
- The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) Symposium on Sustainable Development of Dams & River Basins was organised.
- ICOLD is a non-governmental International Organization that provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience in dam engineering.
- It sets standards and guidelines to ensure that dams are built and operated safely, efficiently, economically, and are environmentally sustainable and socially equitable.
- It is directed by the General Assembly consisting of representatives from all the Member Countries and of the Officers of the Commission.
- Any country can become a "Member Country" and constitute a National Committee with persons competent in the matters relating to dams.
Kodaikanal Solar Observatory
- Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KoSO) has estimated how the Sun had rotated over the Century, from digitized data extracted from old films and photographs.
- [KoSO is a part of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology (DST).]
- This estimation would help study magnetic field generated in the interior of the Sun, which causes sunspots and results in extreme situations like the mini-ice age on Earth (absence of sunspots).
- It could help predict solar cycles and their variations in the future.
- The Sun rotates more quickly at its equator than at its poles.
- Over time, the Sun's differential rotation rates cause its magnetic field to become twisted and tangled, and this in turn, causes lots of sunspots.
- The sunspots form at the surface with an 11-year periodicity.
- They are the only route to probe the solar dynamo or solar magnetism inside the Sun and hence measure the variation in solar rotation.
Indian Energy Exchange
- Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company sold power to Arunachal Pradesh through Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX).
- IEX is the first and largest nationwide energy exchange platform in India, which has been operating since 2008.
- It is an automated trading platform for physical delivery of electricity, Renewable Energy Certificates and Energy Saving Certificates.
- It enables efficient price discovery and increases the accessibility and transparency of the power market in India.
- It also enhances the speed and efficiency of trade execution.
- The benefiting open access consumers belong to various industries such as metal, food processing, textile, chemicals, automobiles, IT industries, institutional, housing and commercial entities.
- It is a publicly listed company with NSE and BSE, and is regulated by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
United Nations Human Rights Council
- The 46th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was held recently. In this session,
- India took on Pakistan for releasing an Al-Qaeda terrorist.
- The U.S. Secretary of State said that the U.S. will seek re-election to the UNHRC for the 2022 to 2024 term.
- The UNHRC replaced the former UN Commission on Human Rights.
- The 47-member UNHRC is an inter-governmental body that promotes and protects human rights around the globe.
- It discusses all thematic human rights violation issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.
- It is made up of UN Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly. It meets at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
- The UNHRC was created by the UNGA in 2006 by resolution 60/251.
- One year later, the Council adopted its "Institution-building package" to guide its work and set up its procedures and mechanisms.
Carbon Watch
- It is India’s first app to assess the carbon footprint of an individual.
- [Carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases-especially carbon dioxide-released into the atmosphere by a particular human activity.]
- Chandigarh became the first state or Union Territory in India to launch the mobile application Carbon Watch.
- The app can be downloaded through a QR code in Android phones.
- As a person downloads the app, they will need to fill details in four parts,
- Water category - Information on water consumption on their part.
- Energy category - Information on electricity units consumed every month in house, etc and usage of solar energy
- Waste category - Information on the waste generation on their part and their family
- Transport (Vehicular movement) category - Information such as the national and world average of the emission, and the individual’s level of emission generation.
Source: PIB, The Indian Express, The Hindu
