28 April 2020: PIB Summary & Analysis

April 28th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Petersberg Climate Dialogue
2. ADB’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Programme (CARES Programme)
3. Jal Shakti Abhiyan

1. Petersberg Climate Dialogue

Context:

India, along with 30 countries, deliberates on issues of Climate Change in the first ever virtual Petersberg Climate Dialogue.

About the Petersberg Climate Dialogue:

• The first virtual Climate Dialogue, was the eleventh session of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue.
• This has been hosted by Germany since 2010 to provide a forum for informal high-level political discussions, focusing both on international climate negotiations and the advancement of climate action.
• The virtual XI Petersberg Climate Dialogue was co-chaired by Germany and the United Kingdom, the incoming Presidency of the 26^th Conference of Parties (COP 26) to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The dialogue saw participation from ministers and representatives of about 30 countries.
• The Climate Dialogue was originally an initiative of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
• It is hosted by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.

2. ADB’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Programme (CARES Programme)

Context:

India signed $1.5 billion loan with the ADB to support India’s COVID-19 immediate response.

Details:

• This move focuses on immediate priorities such as disease containment and prevention, as well as social protection for the poor and economically vulnerable sections of the society, especially women and disadvantaged groups.
• The loan was granted under the Asian Development Bank’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Programme (CARES Programme).
• Earlier, the ADB’s Board of Directors approved the loan to provide budget support to the government to counter and mitigate the adverse health and socio-economic impact of the pandemic.
• Building on the CARES Programme, ADB is also in dialogue with the government for further possible support for stimulating the economy, support strong growth recovery, and to build resilience to future shocks.
• This includes the support for the affected industries and entrepreneurs, particularly micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), by facilitating their access to finance through credit guarantee schemes, MSME integration into global and national value chains through enterprise development centres, and a credit enhancement facility for infrastructure projects.
• Strengthening of public service delivery will be another important agenda, including the extension of comprehensive primary health services in urban areas, and of secondary and tertiary health care systems through PPP modalities.

3. Jal Shakti Abhiyan

Context:

Jal Shakti Abhiyan gears up for monsoon.

About the Jal Shakti Abhiyan:

• The scheme was launched in 2019 and it covered 256 water stressed districts across the country.
• This ‘Abhiyan’ is a mass movement to bring all the stakeholders under one ambit of water conservation drive.
• Under this Abhiyan, more than six and a half crore people became part comprising of State Govts, Central Govt, Civil Society Organisations, Panchayati Raj Institutions and Communities.
• More than seventy five lakh traditional and other water bodies and tanks were renovated and around a crore water conservation & rainwater harvesting structures were created.
• Focus areas of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan:
  • Water conservation and rainwater harvesting
  • Renovation of traditional and other water bodies
  • Reuse of water and recharging of structures
  • Watershed development
  • Intensive afforestation

Also read: National Water Mission

April 28th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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