26 Apr 2024: PIB Summary for UPSC

26 Apr 2024 PIB
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. DigiLocker
2. SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Kazakhstan
3. World Energy Congress 2024

1. DigiLocker

Syllabus: GS-3, Information Technology

Prelims: DigiLocker

Context:

The Indian Air Force (IAF) embarked on an integration with the DigiLocker platform, a flagship initiative under the Digital India programme.

Details:

• The IAF and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to leverage DigiLocker’s secure and accessible document repository services.
• This will revolutionise how critical service documents of IAF personnel, both serving and retired, are issued, accessed, and verified digitally.
• Salient features:
  • Authorised IAF departments and divisions can now seamlessly upload digital records, certificates, and vital documents to the national DigiLocker repository, ensuring secure storage and easy accessibility.
  • IAF officers will have direct access to their crucial documents, such as the Certificate of Service (COS) and Service Book Officers (SBO), through their personal DigiLocker wallets, enabling convenient retrieval and verification.
  • It will streamline various processes within the IAF, including the Agniveer Vayu recruitment, where the candidate’s academic document verification will be conducted digitally, enhancing transparency and credibility.

About the DigiLocker:

• DigiLocker is a system that provides citizens with real-time access to dematerialised documents issued by various government and private agencies.
• It has over 269 million registered users and 6.73 billion issued documents.

Read more on the DigiLocker in the linked article.

 

2. SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Kazakhstan

Syllabus: GS-2, International Relations

Prelims: SCO

Mains: India & SCO, related issues

Context:

SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Kazakhstan endorsed ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.

Details:

• Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan.
• During the meeting, a protocol was signed by the Defence Ministers of all SCO Member States.
• In a joint communique issued after the meeting, the SCO Defence Ministers agreed, amongst other initiatives, to develop the idea of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, which is rooted in the ancient Indian philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.
• At the meeting, the Defence Secretary talked about:
  • India’s steadfast commitment towards maintaining peace, stability and security in the SCO region
  • The need to adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism in all its forms for the prosperity and development of the SCO Member States
  • India’s long-standing proposal of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the United Nations
• The concept of ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)’, proposed by India for the Indo-Pacific

3. World Energy Congress 2024

Syllabus: GS-3, Energy

Prelims: World Energy Congress 2024, IREDA

Context:

The World Energy Congress 2024 was held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

About the World Energy Congress:

• The 26th World Energy Congress was held in Rotterdam. 
• The Chairperson & Managing Director of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) participated in a panel discussion on “The New Interdependencies: Trust, Security and Climate Resilience”.
• The IREDA CMD shared insights into India’s journey towards energy transition and underscored IREDA’s crucial role in advancing renewable energy adoption within the country. 
• He said that India’s ambitious goal of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil-fuel energy capacity by 2030 positions it as a beacon of hope in the global fight against climate change. 
• He also highlighted India’s commitment to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2070. 
• He pointed out that with rapid progress in the renewable energy sector, India stands fourth globally in renewable energy installed capacity.
• As the largest pure-play green financing NBFC in the country, IREDA plays a pivotal role in expediting energy transition.

Read previous PIB articles here.