TNPSC Current affairs April 2017 07 for group 1 & group 2 mains(All)

TNPSC Current Affairs April 2017

1.Asian Development Bank to lend $175 million to India to improve solar transmission system.

Manila-headquartered Asian Development Bank (ADB)  have agreed to lend $175 million loan to support construction of high voltage transmission systems to evacuate power generated from new mega solar parks to the interstate grid, and improve reliability of the national grid system .

 The Agreement  was signed by Mr.Raj Kumar Joint Secretary , Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of finance on behalf of Government of India and Mr. Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission signed for Asian Development Bank.

About Agreement:

• The loan will be given to the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) and will include subprojects in various locations in India.
• The construction of interstate transmission systems for the mega solar power projects will enable transmission of surplus solar energy from States with surplus power to power-deficit States.
• The project will improve the capacity and efficiency of interstate transmission networks, particularly in transmitting the electricity generated from the new solar parks to the national grid.
• Apart from the evacuation of 2,500 megawatts(MW) of power from solar parks in Bhadla, Rajasthan, and 700 MW from Banaskantha, Gujarat, POWERGRID is also including two additional subprojects that will increase solar power generation by 4.2 gigawatt and lessen carbon emissions by over 7 million tons every year.
• This project will support the continued expansion of solar energy in India in line with the Government of India’s objectives, and contribute to climate change by increasing share of clean energy in the power mix besides increasing overall efficiency of the power system

  

2. India improves ranking in tourism by 12 places -World Economic Forum

India has moved 12 Places from 52^nd to 40^th rank globally in Travel and tourism competitiveness list in latest report published by world Economic Forum.

Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture, Dr Mahesh Sharma said that India has moved to 40^th place in the Travel and Tourism Competitive Index of World Economic Forum released on 5^th April 2017.

Key factors:

• The Key factors for improving tourism is due to some strong policies like visa on arrival, e-visas, improvement in the ground transport infrastructure.
• India also continues to enrich its cultural resources, protecting more cultural sites and intangible expressions through UNESCO World Heritage lists, and via a greater digital presence, report said.
• It also noted that even though health conditions, ICT readiness, security concerns and human resources are improving but remains weak.
• In last 3 years India has cumulatively improved its ranking by 25 places from 65^th position to 40^th position.
• Spain, France and Germany were ranked at the top three positions, China ranked 12^th position.