[ NATIONAL ]

COP26: PM Narendra Modi surprises climate summit with 2070 net-zero vow

1. India, by 2030, nonfossil energy, will be increased up to 500GW
2. India by 2030, increased renewable energy production by 50%
3. India from 2021 to 2030 reduced C-emission by 1bn tons
4. In India, the economy of C-emission will be reduced by 45%
5. India by 2070 C-emission will “net-zero”

People of India deeply value friendship with Israel: PM Modi to Israeli PM

Prime Minister Modi, who was accompanied by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, interacted with Bennett on Monday in a visibly cordial brief meeting.

Army conducts airborne exercise in eastern Ladakh to check rapid response along LAC

Airborne troops of the Army’s Shatrujeet brigade were dropped from over 14,000 feet as part of the exercise, which also involved combat-free fall jumps and integrated battle drills.

First India-Russia 2+2 dialogue later this month in Moscow: Ambassador Varma

Russia will be the 4^th country with which India would have a 2+2 dialogue arrangement. India already has such a mechanism with the US, Japan, and Australia

US lawmaker to introduce Bill in Congress to make Diwali a federal holiday

With Diwali approaching, US Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is planning to propose a bill in Congress that would make Diwali an official holiday in the US. Members of the India Caucus, including Congressman Ro Khanna, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, and other activists, will join the Democrat Congressman from NY on Wed to launch her proposal on Capitol Hill. 

IT dept attaches properties worth Rs 1,000 cr allegedly belonging to Ajit Pawar

Income Tax Department has attached properties allegedly belonging to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar worth Rs 1,000 crore, sources said on Tue. According to sources, one of these 5 properties includes Nirmal Tower situated at Nariman Point, Mumbai.

India saw 125 extremely heavy rainfall events this Sept, Oct, highest in 5 years: IMD

India recorded 125 extremely heavy rainfall events during Sept-Oct in 2021, the highest in 5 years, owing to the late withdrawal of the southwest monsoon and higher-than-normal low-pressure systems, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tue.

4 SIMI men get death for 2013 Modi rally blasts, jail for 5

A special NIA court on Mon awarded death sentence to 4 members of banned terror outfit SIMI for triggering serial blasts that killed 6 persons and injured 89 at the ‘hunkar’ rally of then PM candidate Narendra Modi at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Oct 27, 2013.

Bypoll results: Gains for Congress in Himachal, NDA may win all seats in northeast

The results also consolidated TMC’s position in West Bengal with the party all set to make a clean sweep of all the four seats to which by-polls were held. Going by the trends so far, by-polls in 13 states and 1 UT have thrown up a mixed bag of results, with Congress leading in Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan while the saffron party and its allies performing well in Madhya Pradesh and the northeast. The results also consolidated TMC’s position in West Bengal with the party all set to make a clean sweep of all the 4 seats to which by-polls were held.

[ NEIGHBORHOOD ]

Powerful blast and gunfire heard near National military hospital in Kabul

According to witnesses on the scene, the sound of small weapons fire could also be heard from the explosion site. 

Taiwan to woo backers at APEC for a bid to join Pacific trade pact

Taiwan will seek support for its bid to join a trans-Pacific trade pact when it attends a meeting of economic leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group next week, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tue (Nov 02).

Punjab govt releases more than 800 TLP workers days after the agreement

The Punjab govt has released more than 800 workers of the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), days after reaching a deal with the group to end nearly two weeks of protests and clashes, Punjab Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat said on Tue.

Unlike the West, Pakistan doesn’t have the luxury to disengage from Afghanistan: NSA

National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf said on Tuesday that Western countries may have the luxury to disengage from Afghanistan but Pakistan did not have that option. The NSA was addressing a news conference in Islamabad after Pakistan and Uzbekistan signed a Protocol on the Establishment of Joint Security Commission that was followed by the inaugural session of the commission.

COP26: PM Narendra Modi surprises climate summit with 2070 net-zero vow

• The world’s third-biggest emitter will increase its non-fossil fuel power capacity goal and half of India’s electricity will come from renewable sources by 2030
• Modi wants rich nations to make US$1 trillion available as soon as possible to help less developed countries decarbonize

SCMP-India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents his national statement as part of the World Leaders’ Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, on Mon and he surprised delegates at the COP26 climate summit with a bold pledge: the world’s 3^rd-biggest emitter (the US and China) will reach net-zero by 2070.

• The announcement injected new life into talks that had been set back by a disappointing outcome from the Group of 20 meeting in Rome this weekend.
• Though India’s goal is two decades behind rich nations such as the US and UK, it is compatible with what scientists say is needed to avoid catastrophic global warming.

SCMP (Nicholas Stern, chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics) -“This was a very significant moment for the summit”. It’s a chance for India to show that “it can deliver on both economic development and climate change”.

• President Joe Biden, hamstrung by politics at home, did not bring anything substantially new to the table.
• The challenge for India is figuring out how to finance the transition to net zero, which will require trillions of dollars of investment.

PM Modi – rich countries should help support poor nations by raising more money to accelerate the transition to clean energy – though he did not specify how much exactly India would need from the international community.

“.. the world’s developed nations make US$1 trillion available as climate finance as soon as possible,” Modi said, a figure that’s 10 times more than the annual climate finance target set by rich countries.

“Justice would demand that those nations that have not kept their climate commitments should be pressured.”

Bloomberg – Modi’s office had been working on modeling what was needed to get to net zero. But the officials balked at setting a goal without strong financing pledges from rich nations.

• He raised India’s 2030 target for low-emission energy capacity to 500 gigawatts from 450GW and pledged to produce half the country’s electricity using renewable energy.
• India will also cut CO₂ emissions by 1 billion tons from business as usual by 2030.
• To deliver on the 2070 goal, the country still has to lay out a detailed plan for the 40 years in between.

Earlier in the day, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson kicked off the COP26 summit by urging world leaders to “defuse the bomb of climate change.”

With helicopters buzzing overhead, delegates swarmed through the vast conference center along the banks of the River Clyde, and long lines formed as organizers struggled to accommodate the crowds.

Modi’s announcement is consistent with what research shows is needed to meet that target.

To keep temperatures from rising more than 1.5^oC, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that the world has to reach net-zero CO₂ emissions by about mid-century and then hit net zero across all greenhouse gases by 2070.

“Country-wise net zero cannot be the same for all nations,” said Arunabha Ghosh CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water, who has advised the PM’s office.

India’s target is “equitable and just”, he said.

• It’s in India’s self-interest to stem global warming, even if the problem was caused mainly by CO₂ accumulated in the atmosphere by countries that industrialized first.
• The nation of 1.3 billion people is one of the most vulnerable to climate impacts.
• Extreme weather events like heatwaves, floods, and disruptions to the rainy monsoon season will have devastating impacts.
• Modi also committed to increasing India’s 2030 carbon intensity reduction goal – measured as CO₂ emissions per unit of gross domestic product – from 35 to 45%.
• Stern, from the London School of Economics, said the new targets could mean India reaches peak emissions by 2030.

Nepal and Thailand also set new carbon neutrality targets, for 2045 and 2050, respectively.

Meanwhile, Canada and Australia declined to set new short-term emissions targets, though they did pledge some new money toward financing the transition.

The UK to extend £750 million for green projects in India, commits new funds for EVs

• This is part of the UK’s India Green Guarantee to the World Bank (WB), announced at COP26. The UK has also committed £ 210 million to fund green projects in developing countries.
• The UK will provide an India Green Guarantee to the WB, to unlock an additional £750 million for green projects across India, announced at the COP26 summit on Mon.
• The green guarantee financing will support clean and resilient infrastructure in sectors such as clean energy, transport, and urban development.

Further, in an aid-backed Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), the UK has committed more than £210 million in new investment at the UN climate summit to back transformational green projects in developing countries, including electric vehicles (EVs) in India.

PIDG financing will go to schemes including electric vehicle manufacturing in India, and solar power in Pakistan, Nepal, which are expected to mobilize more than £470 million in additional private sector finance.

I want to see the UK’s Green Industrial Revolution go global.

Foreign Secy H V Shringla- PM Modi reiterated his invitation to UK PM Boris Johnson to visit India…There was also a discussion on regional, global issues including Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, Indo-Pacific, supply chain resilience in post-COVID global economic recovery.

Developed nations presenting $100 bn annual support till 2025 ‘unacceptable’: India at COP26

Developed nations have not only failed to meet the US$ 100 billion goals per year of support to developing nations since 2009 but also continue to present it as the ceiling of their ambition to 2025, Union Environment Minister B Yadav said at the COP 26.

Yadav, who is representing India made the statement on behalf of the BASIC group of countries – Brazil, South Africa, India, and China – at the opening plenary session of the Conference of Parties (COP 26), which began on Sun.

IRIS initiative gives us hope, does something for most vulnerable nations: PM Modi

ANI- PM Modi on Tue said that the launch of Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States fills us with new hope and beliefs and gives us satisfaction to do something for the most vulnerable nations.

Launching the IRIS initiative at the 26^th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26), along with his British counterpart Boris Johnson, PM Modi said, “The launch of Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States fills us with new hope and beliefs. This gives us the satisfaction to do something for the most vulnerable nations.”

Speaking about the impact of climate change on the world, PM Modi said, “The past few decades have proven that nobody remains untouched by effects of climate change. Be it developed nations or nations that are rich in natural resources. It’s a huge threat.”

• “Small Island Developing States are most threatened with climate change. For them, it is a matter of life and death, a challenge to their existence” he added.
• The Infrastructure for the Resilient Island State (IRIS) is an initiative to boost the infrastructure in small island countries.
• PM Modi is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with leaders of Ukraine, Nepal, Israel, Switzerland, Finland, Malawi in Glasgow, Scotland, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
• He is also likely to attend the side event by the United States of America – Build Back Better World.
• Further, PM Modi is scheduled to attend an event on “Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Development”. (ANI)

Mauritius is proud to associate itself with the launch of IRIS. Our Island is negatively impacted by the effects of climate change, events that have resulted in the loss of lives and caused serious damage to infrastructure: Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth

Sino-India Standoff: Army conducts airborne exercise in eastern Ladakh to check rapid response along LAC

ThePrint– (sources) Airborne troops of the Army’s Shatrujeet brigade were dropped from over 14,000 feet as part of the exercise, which also involved combat-free fall jumps and integrated battle drills along the northern borders in eastern Ladakh to validate its rapid response capabilities, said on Mon.

Indian and Chinese militaries have been engaged in a border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 2020 when a violent clash in the Pangong lake area led to both sides gradually rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

These pre-acclimatized troops along with specialist vehicles and missile detachments were transported through C-130 and AN-32 aircraft from 5 different mounting bases to validate inter-theatre move, precision stand-off drops, rapid grouping, and the capture of designated objectives with speed and surprise.

• The drop was particularly challenging due to the low temperatures of up to – 20 ^oC and rarefied atmosphere in the super high altitude terrain, they mentioned.
• The exercise – involved combat-free fall jumps and integrated battle drills by airborne forces, mechanized columns, and attack helicopters, to validate rapid response capabilities and seamless integration.

The exercise was still in progress, they stated.

• After a series of military and diplomatic talks, India and China completed the disengagement process in the Gogra area in August and in the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake in Feb.
• Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in the sensitive sector.

The Oct 10 military dialogue in Ladakh took place more than 2 months after the last round of talks that led to the disengagement of forward-deployed troops from Gogra, or Patrolling Point-17A, in early Aug.

Outstanding problems at Hot Springs and Depsang are yet to be resolved.

HT-The Indian Army’s patrolling activity has been affected in Hot Springs (PP-15) and PLA’s forward presence in Depsang has also hindered access of Indian soldiers to routes including the ones leading to PP-10, 11, 11-A, 12, and 13.

• There is no end in sight to the standoff, with army chief Gen MM Naravane stating on Oct 9^th that if PLA is there to stay in the Ladakh theatre so is the Indian Army.
• The Indian Army is demonstrating its combat capabilities to China with the high-altitude exercise, said former Northern Army commander Lt Gen BS Jaswal (retd).

First India-Russia 2+2 dialogue later this month in Moscow: Ambassador Varma

WION-India and Russia are expected to hold the first 2+2 dialogue later this month, will be featured foreign and defense ministers of both countries. For the dialogue, Indian Defense minister Rajnath Singh and Indian External affairs minister Dr. S Jaishankar will be traveling to Russia.

• The mechanism was announced in April of this year, with Russia becoming the 4^th country with which India has this mechanism.
• India already has a 2+2 mechanism with the US, Japan, and Australia.
• “The dialogue is expected to take place in Moscow, possibly by mid-Nov“, Indian Envoy, Bala Venkatesh Varma told Russian media in his last interview in his capacity.
• Both India and Russia are expected to announce a joint commission on technology and science, military-technical cooperation for the next decade 2021-2031.
• Defense forms a key pillar of the relationship, and India has participated in every major Russian exercise.–INDRA Navy, INDRA Army, Zapad, and Peace Mission.
• The happens ahead of Russian President Putin’s India visit later this year.

Varma said, “There will be a bilateral summit between India-Russia. Both sides are actively working on it. There is a high possibility that the Summit is taking place in Dec.”

One of the key areas of focus has been on Afghanistan-India has participated in the Moscow format of talks on Afghan last month and has invited Russia for the National Security Advisor level talks on Nov 10.

• New Delhi has invited 5 countries for the talks– Russia, Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
• Varma -“General Patrushev has been invited and there’s a very strong possibility that he may actually visit. We are still awaiting confirmation, but he will be a very welcome participant in the dialogue.”
• In Sept, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation General Nikolay Patrushev had visited Delhi to hold talks with NSA Ajit Doval on the situation in Afghanistan.

[ NEIGHBORHOOD ]

Powerful blast and gunfire heard near National military hospital in Kabul

• A powerful explosion rocked Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, on Tue afternoon.
• According to reports, the explosion in front of Sardar Davood Khan Hospital was a form of a suicide attack.
• According to witnesses on the scene, the sound of small weapons fire could also be heard from the explosion site.
• The Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan National Military Hospital is a military hospital located in Kabul, Afghanistan.
• After the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the complexities including militancy and sectarian violence are widely arising in the country.

On Oct 20, the Taliban’s acting interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, praised the “sacrifices” of suicide bombers who carried out innumerable horrific strikes across Afghanistan during the country’s 20-year US occupation, according to the article.

• The minister awarded the family of suicide bombers with cash and land during a ceremony in a hotel in Kabul.
• In a tweet, Interior Ministry spokesperson Qari Saeed Khosty stated that the Taliban could not have returned to power without the support of suicide bombers.
• The Taliban’s adoration of suicide bombers infuriated many Afghans, particularly those who had lost loved ones in suicide strikes, according to the research.

Taiwan to woo backers at APEC for a bid to join Pacific trade pact

Taiwan will seek support for its bid to join a trans-Pacific trade pact when it attends a meeting of economic leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group next week, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tue (Nov 02).

• China, which has also applied to join the pact, opposes Taiwan’s membership and has increased military activities near the island which Beijing claims and has not ruled out taking by force.
• Taiwan and China both applied in Sept to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
• Economic leaders from APEC, (the US, China, and Japan), will meet virtually next week to discuss a path forward for the region to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I’d like to ask envoy Chang to use this meeting to gather support from more APEC members for Taiwan to join CPTPP,” Ms. Tsai told reporters, referring to Taiwan’s representative for the meeting, chip giant TSMC founder Morris Chang.

“Envoy Chang will express Taiwan’s support and insistence for free trade.”

Speaking at the same event, Chang said he will use his 6-minute speech to emphasize Taiwan’s qualification to reach CPTPP’s high standards, as well as the island, ‘s already “very high” trade contribution to the major pan-Pacific free trade pact. He did not elaborate.

Joining CPTPP has become the latest in a string of tensions between Beijing and Taipei, which is excluded from many international bodies because of China’s insistence that it is part of “one-China” regardless of Taiwan’s claim that it is an independent country.

Taiwan, a major semiconductor producer, is a member of the WTO and the APEC grouping.

Tensions between Taiwan and China have escalated sharply in recent weeks as Beijing raises military pressure that has included repeated missions by Chinese warplanes in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.

Punjab govt releases more than 800 TLP workers days after the agreement

The Punjab government has released more than 800 workers of the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), days after reaching a deal with the group to end nearly two weeks of protests and clashes, Punjab Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat said on Tue.

Dawn-he said the people who were released were those arrested during crackdowns on the protests — which started on the 12^th of Rabiul Awwal — and raids.

• They were released after scrutiny was completed, Basharat said, adding that workers against whom first information reports (FIRs) were registered would have to obtain bail from courts.
• Basharat-it was yet to be decided whether TLP workers who were detained under Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) 1960 would also be released.

The TLP had launched the latest round of protests in Lahore on Oct 20, primarily to exert pressure on the Punjab govt for the release of its chief, Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi, the son of its late founder Khadim Rizvi. The younger Rizvi has been kept in detention by the Punjab govt since April 12 for “maintenance of public order”.

• However, TLP leader Pir Ajmal Qadri had later said the purpose of the move was “respect for the Holy Prophet (PBUH)”, while also demanding Rizvi’s release.
• After 3 days of clashes with the police in Lahore, the TLP started a long march to Islamabad on Oct 22.
• 5 police officials were killed in action and scores of others from both sides received injuries in clashes in Lahore and Gujranwala as the marchers moved on the Grand Trunk Road.
• The TLP leadership on Oct 30 asked the protesters to wait at Wazirabad for further instructions when the government and the group started negotiations.

Agreement: On Sun, members of the negotiating team from the govt (Mufti Munibur Rehman, and other religious leaders who facilitated the talks) side claimed that they had reached an ‘agreement’ with the proscribed group but refused to divulge its details.

• Rehman- “the details of the agreement would be made public at an “appropriate time”.
• He, however, said its “positive results” would be visible to the nation next week or during the next 10 days.
• He then used an English proverb “action speaks louder than words” to justify the move to keep details of the deal secret.

(sources)- the govt assured the TLP leadership that it would unfreeze the accounts and assets of the proscribed outfit and take steps to lift the ban.

Govt assured TLP – govt would not pursue minor cases against the TLP leadership and workers, but the cases registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act would be decided by courts.

‘Alliance with TLP means isolation’: Meanwhile, Min for Info, Fawad Chaudhry said the TLP would be “over sooner than Sunni Tehreek” — a religious organization that converted itself into a political party in 2012.