Current Affairs : December 12, 2011

India agrees to legally binding emission cuts in Durban climate deal

• India at Durban has for the first time agreed to binding emission cuts, with all other major emitters, but the quantity of cuts would be based on equity. The 194 countries have agreed on a roadmap for a 2015 accord that will, for the first time, legally force all major emitters of greenhouse gases to reduce their emissions. Thus, India has now three years to decide how much carbon emissions reductions it would be willing to take after 2020. However, the new emission reduction regime will be based on equity. A country like India which has much lower emissions than China would be given a lower reduction target.
• India had so far refused to agree to emission cuts till its per capita emissions rise above average per capita emissions of the developed world.
• The US which had opted out of the Kyoto Protocol has now also come on board.
  
• The parties would develop a new protocol, another legal instrument or agreed outcome with legal force that would be applicable under the UN climate convention. The new treaty would come into force by 2020.
• The countries will begin negotiations for new deal that covers all countries next year. They have agreed to the second commitment period under Kyoto Protocol, the only legally-binding treaty for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
  
• Kyoto Protocol treaty, which expires next year, mandates the 37 industrialised nations and the EU to cut carbon emissions to five per cent below the 1990 levels by 2012. But it exempts developing countries like China and India from any meeting any targets. The US had chosen to remain out of the Kyoto Protocol.

Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan selected for Mansur Award

• Sarod Maestro Amjad Ali Khan has been selected for the prestigious Mallikarjun Mansur Award for musicians for the year 2011. The award given for achievements in the field of classical music carried a cash prize of Rs one lakh, a memento and a plaque. So far only vocalists were being conferred this award.

State Bank of India commences operations in Qatar

• State Bank of India (SBI), country’s largest bank, has commenced operations in Qatar recently with the opening of a branch in Qatar Financial Centre, Doha. The branch is fully equipped with state of the art technological infrastructure. SBI is the country s largest Commercial bank with more than 13,700 branches in India and 170 overseas offices in 34 countries.

Lt Gen Sujlana sworn in as PPSC Chairman

• Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil sworn in as Chairman of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).

BCCI terminates Nimbus contract

• The Indian cricket board erminated the contract of Nimbus, which holds telecast rights for international matches at home.

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Month: Current Affairs - December, 2011