Morning Brief: India Commits $1.4 Billion For Solar Energy Worldwide; Ministries To Frame EV Guidelines; IAF To Start Process For Acquiring New Fighters

Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.

India Commits $1.4 Billion For Solar Energy Worldwide

At the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance on Sunday, India announced one of the world’s largest investment plans in solar energy. India will extend $1.4 billion line of credit to countries in the alliance. This line of credit will support around 27 projects in 15 countries. The conference was co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. France will provide €700 million in loans and support by 2022 to emerging economies for solar energy projects. France’s total monetary contribution to the alliance stands at one billion euros, President Macron has said.

At least 23 heads of states and governments from all over the world attended the conference. Launched by Indian Prime Minister Modi in 2015, the alliance aims to promote solar energy in 121 countries.

NITI Aayog Tasks Seven Ministries With Framing Guidelines On EVs

Government think-tank NITI Aayog has tasked seven ministries with framing guidelines to encourage the use of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country. This comes a month after it dropped the idea of an electric vehicle policy. While the government will continue to support the adoption of EVs, it will not be in form of a policy. The ministries selected for the task are are those of heavy industries, power, new and renewable energy, road transport and shipping and highways, earth sciences, urban affairs and information technology.

While the road transport ministry will prepare guidelines on non-fiscal incentives, public transportation and last-mile connectivity, the power ministry will work on framing rules for charging infrastructure.

IAF To Kickstart Process For Acquiring New Fighter Aircraft

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is likely to float a fresh global tender inviting military aviation firms to build fighter jets in the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative in the next four weeks. The government had recently scraped the IAF’s plan to choose between two single-engine fighters - F-16 Block 70 and Gripen E, asking the force to widen its search by also considering twin-engine fighter aircraft. According to reports, the IAF is planning to issue a request for information to foreign manufacturers before DefExpo-2018 - an event organised by the defence ministry. The event is set to open on 11 April in Chennai.

“The document will not specify the number of engines the jets should have, leaving the field open for makers of both single- and twin-engine planes,” a person familiar with the project has been quoted as saying.

Over 1,700 Lawmakers Booked In Criminal Cases In Last Three Years

In the last three years, around 1,700 lawmakers in Parliament and state assemblies faced criminal cases, the government has said in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court. The document was submitted by the Law Ministry last week, listing 3,186 registered cases against politicians. Of these, 3,045 cases are pending trial across the country, with Uttar Pradesh topping the list. The apex court in November 2017 asked the government to prepare a report card on the status of 1,581 cases pending against MLAs and MPs during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Nepal’s Oli Wins Two-Thirds Majority In Floor Test

With support from two Madhesi parties, Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli managed to pass a vote of confidence on Sunday with a two-thirds majority. This was the first time in Nepal since the restoration of democracy that a ruling alliance managed to muster a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. With two major Madhes-based parties now supporting him Oli received 208 votes while 60 legislators voted against him. Support lent by Madhesi parties comes as a surprise, given their past acrimony. Oli has always been dismissive of their demand to amend the Constitution.

Harassment New Normal For Indian Diplomats In Pakistan, Says MEA

In a strong response to Pakistan’s accusation that its diplomats in New Delhi were being mistreated, the Ministry of External Affairs has said that “harassment is the new normal for Indian High Commission personnel in Islamabad”. Pakistan had on Sunday said that it would pull out families of its diplomats from India if the alleged harassment did not stop. India has responded to it by saying that "incidents of alleged harassment will no doubt be investigated” and that it “makes all efforts to provide a safe, secure and hospitable environment for diplomats to work in." However, it added that "Indian diplomats in Islamabad have been facing tremendous harassment for long, particularly in the last year".

PM Modi, France's Emmanuel Macron To Visit Varanasi Today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron will jointly inaugurate a solar plant today in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister Modi will receive the French President, who will arrive in Varanasi by a special plane today morning. Both the leaders will fly by helicopter to Mirzapur to jointly inaugurate the 75-megawatt solar plant and will return back to Varanasi. The two leaders are also scheduled to go on a boat ride from Assi ghat to Dashashwamedh ghat, after which Prime Minister Modi will host a dinner for the French president.

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We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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