ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER GIUSEPPE CONTE RESIGNS
Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte resigned after losing his Senate majority, plunging the country into political uncertainty just as it’s battling the pandemic and a recession.
He tendered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, the ultimate arbiter of Italian political crises, who invited him to stay on in a caretaker capacity pending discussions on what happens next.
Italy was the first European country to face the full force of the Covid-19 pandemic and has since suffered badly, with the economy plunged into recession and deaths still rising by around 400 a day.
Parts of the country remain under partial lockdown, the vaccination programme has slowed and a deadline is looming to agree on plans to spend billions of euros in European Union recovery funds.
NATIONAL MARITIME TURTLE ACTION PLAN
National Marine Turtle Action Plan has been recently released by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in New Delhi.
The Ministry also released the ‘Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ along with the Marine Turtle Action Plan.
National Marine Turtle Action Plan and Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines have been released acknowledging the need for a conservation paradigm for marine turtles and marine megafauna.
At the launch, the minister called for conserving both floral and faunal diversity including marine biodiversity. Both these documents include the ways and measures to promote inter-sectoral action for conservation.
The documents also provide guidance for enhanced coordination amongst the government, all relevant stakeholders, and civil society on the response to cases of entanglement, stranding, injury, or mortality of marine mammals.
All of them should also have better coordination to chalk out plans for the conservation of marine turtles.
P. JAVADEKAR LAUNCHED INDO-FRENCH YEAR OF THE ENVT.
The Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Prakash Javadekar has launched the Indo-French Year of the Environment, along with Barbara Pompili, the French Minister for Ecological Transition in New Delhi.
The basic objective of this partnership is to strengthen Indo-French cooperation in sustainable development, increase the effectiveness of actions in favour of global environment protection and give them greater visibility.
This collaboration and the Indo-French Environment year will be held under the Ministry of Ecological Transition, in association with the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs along with the support of the Embassy of France in Delhi and its partners from the French side.
The Indo-French Year of the Environment is the Indo-French partnership on Environment, Biodiversity, Climate Change and other allied areas to be undertaken throughout 2021.
The Indo-French Year of the Environment will be implemented over the period 2021-2022.
It would be based on five main themes:
- Environmental protection
- Climate change
- Biodiversity conservation
- Sustainable urban development
- Development of renewable energies and energy efficiency
INDIA RANKED 86TH IN THE CPI 2020
India has been ranked 86th among 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2020, released by Transparency International.
This year, India’s rank has slipped six places compared to 2019, when it was ranked at 80th spot. The CPI score for India in 2020 is 40. India is sharing its position jointly with Burkina Faso, Morocco, East Timor, Trinidad and Tobago and Turkey.
Top Country: New Zealand and Denmark have jointly secured the first position with scores of 88.
Lowest Country: Somalia and South Sudan rank lowest at 179th position with scores of 12.
CPI Index: The CPI index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people. The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
- Transparency International Headquarters location: Berlin, Germany.
- Transparency International Chairperson: Delia Ferreira Rubio.
- Transparency International Founded: 4 May 1993.
MARTYR’S DAY OR SHAHEED DIWAS: 30TH JANUARY
Martyr’s Day or Shaheed Diwas is observed every year on January 30 in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated at Gandhi Smriti in the Birla House by Nathuram Godse in 1948.
The day is observed to remember the sacrifices made by freedom fighters in the struggle for India’s independence and to pay our respects to them.
Notably, Martyrs’ Day is also observed in India on March 23 to pay respect to Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, who was hanged death on this day in 1931.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu. Mahatma Gandhi, regarded as Father of the Nation, was the torch-bearer of India’s struggle for freedom and was revered by everyone for his non-violent approach against the British Raj.
Despite his peaceful methods, Bapu was shot at Birla House compound in New Delhi at the age of 78. He was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, who opposed Gandhi’s views on the partition of India.
5TH JOINT MEET OF INDIA-JAPAN ACT EAST FORUM
The 5th joint meeting of the India-Japan Act East Forum (AEF) was held in New Delhi. The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla, and Suzuki Satoshi, Ambassador of Japan to India.
During the 5th meeting, the AEF reviewed the progress of ongoing projects in the North Eastern Region of India in various areas including connectivity, hydropower, sustainable development, harnessing of water resources, and skill development.
They also exchanged views on cooperation in new areas such as healthcare, agro-industries and SMEs, bamboo value chain development, smart city, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
The AEF was established in 2017 to provide a platform for India-Japan collaboration in the North Eastern Region under India’s “Act East Policy” and Japan’s vision for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.
APPROVAL OF START-UP INDIA SEED FUND SCHEME
The Central Government has approved the Rs 945-crore ‘Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme’ (SISFS), which aims to provide financial assistance to start-ups for the product trials, market-entry, proof of concept, prototype development and commercialization.
The Rs 945 crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) will become operational from April 1 of this year till 2025 and this will be disbursed through selected incubators across India, according to a gazette notification by the government.
The scheme will be implemented by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DIIT). The funds under the scheme will be disbursed through the selected incubators across the country. The startup will receive seed support only once.
The incubator should be operational for at least two years on the date of application to the scheme.
The incubator must have facilities to seat at least 25 individuals. The incubator must have at least five startups undergoing incubation physically on the date of application.
The incubator must have a full-time Chief Executive Officer, experienced in business development and entrepreneurship.