Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) and the World Bank signed a $220 million Loan Agreement and a $80 million Guarantee Agreement for the India Energy Efficiency Scale-Up Program. The program will be implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). It will help scale-up the deployment of energy saving measures in residential and public sectors. The investments under the Program are expected to avoid lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of 170 million tons of CO2, and contribute to avoiding an estimated 10 GW of additional generation capacity. The Program will help tackle the financing, awareness, technical and capacity barriers faced by new energy efficiency programmes and support the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and Street Lighting National Program (SLNP) schemes. The $220 million IBRD loan has a 5-year grace period & a maturity of 19 years while the $80 million IBRD guarantee will partially cover re-payment risks to commercial lenders or investors, to enable EESL to raise funds for its programme.

Notes:
The first-ever SAARC Agriculture Cooperative Business Forum has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on August 29, 2018. It is co-organized by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA) with the support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The aim of the forum is to bring together representatives both from the government and non-governmental entities from the Member States of SAARC as well as from regional and international organizations. The theme of 3-day Forum is the ‘Organizing and Strengthening Family Farmers’ Cooperatives to attain the Sustainable-Development-Goals-1 and 2 in South Asia.

Notes:
Despite competing with a severe toothache, Swapna Barman from West Bengal clinched gold in the women’s heptathlon with 6026 points at the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta on August 29. With this, she created history by becoming the first Indian heptathlete to win an Asian Games gold. Before Barman, only Bengal’s Soma Biswas and Karnataka’s JJ Shobha and Pramila Aiyappa had returned with a medal from the Asian Games. Soma and Shobha had finished two-three at both Busan Asian Games (2002) and the Doha Games (2006), while Pramila had won a bronze at the 2010 Guangzhou edition.

Notes:
In Argentina, the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting 2018 was held in Salta with theme ‘Building consensus for fair and sustainable development’ on August 23-24. It took place as part of Sherpa Track for 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit, which is to be hosted by Argentina by end of 2018. India was represented by Union Minister for Electronics and IT & Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad. The G20 Ministerial meeting allowed India to showcase the inclusive use of digital technology by the Government to empower the people. It also allowed India to articulate it’s views on global issues relating to cyber security, data protection and innovation for growth. The key issues of the meeting were future of work, infrastructure for development, and sustainable food future. It concluded with the adaptation of declaration that reflects G20’s commitment towards promoting policies and actions that catalyze digital transformations.

Notes:
Arpinder Singh from Punjab clinched India’s first men’s triple jump gold in 48 years, with a jump of 16.77m in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games on August 29. With this, he became the 2nd Indian sportsperson to achieve this landmark. Before him, Mohinder Singh Gill won gold medal in triple jump event in 1970 Bangkok Asian games event.

Notes:
The Government of India has signed a $375 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Madhya Pradesh Irrigation Efficiency Improvement Project (MPIEIP). The aim of the pact is to double farming incomes in Madhya Pradesh by expanding irrigation networks and system efficiency. The project will focus on two large irrigation systems: Kundalia irrigation project & Sanjay Sarovar Irrigation Project. It will develop 125,000 hectares of new, highly efficient and climate resilient irrigation networks, and improve water use efficiency in more than 400 villages, which will benefit over 800,000 people across the state. The project will also help farmers to adopt micro-irrigated agriculture including high-value crops.

Notes:
The 6th edition of RCEP Trade Ministers’ Meeting 2018 has started in Singapore on August 30, which consists of 10 ASEAN countries and six ASEAN FTA partners namely, India, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. In it, the Indian delegation is led by Suresh Prabhu, the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation. The aim of 2-day meeting is to work towards a high quality, balanced and inclusive outcomes that take into consideration sensitivities and interests of member countries. The Ministers will deliberate on the current global economic situation and exchange views on promotion of rule-based multilateral trading system and its importance to the stability and effective functioning of the global economic order. This will be followed by the 15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM) which will take stock of the current level of trade and economic engagement between India and ASEAN.

Notes:
Ruchi Ghanashyam, the 1982 batch IFS officer, has been appointed India’s new High Commissioner to United Kingdom (UK). She succeeded Y K Sinha. Prior to this post, she was the Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Ghanashyam was the first Indian woman diplomat to be posted in Islamabad when the harassment of Indian diplomats was routine.

Notes:
The 14th edition of multilateral regional maritime engagement exercise “KAKADU 2018” has started in Darwin, Australia from August 29 and will continue till September 15. It is hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Indian Naval Ship ‘INS Sahyadri’, commanded by Captain Shantanu Jha, is participating in this edition of exercise. Indian Navy’s participation is a significant milestone in towards strengthening mutual confidence among regional navies and is expected to further bolster India’s contribution in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The exercise KAKADU is held biennially in Darwin and the Northern Australian Exercise Areas (NAXA). Exercise KAKADU derives its name from Kakadu National Park, which is a protected area in the northern territory of Australia, 171 km south-east of Darwin.

Notes:
The World Bank (WB) will provide a $250 million loan facility to Rajasthan for improving the performance of its electricity distribution sector under the 24×7 Power for All program. For this, an agreement was signed among the Government of India, the Government of Rajasthan and the World Bank. The key areas that the programme will support include strengthening governance in the distribution sector by establishing annual performance MoUs between the DISCOMs and the State Government. To address the concerns of affordability and access to electricity for the poor, the program also supports the Union Government’s Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP), under which more than 15 million LED lamps have been distributed in the State.