4th December 2018 Current Affairs-Bitwise

International
Qatar to leave OPEC from January 2019
• Qatar has announced its decision to leave the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) from January 2019 and focus more on the
production of natural gas.
• Addressing a press conference in Doha, Qatar's new
energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi announced the
decision on 03 December, 2018.
Qatar has plans to increase its annual exports of
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liquified natural gas, LPG from 77 million tons of gas
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per year to 110 million tons.

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Qatar is the world's largest exporter of LPG. Al-Kaabi

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said, Qatar also wants to raise its oil production from

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4.8 million barrels of oil equivalent a day to 6.5

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• There was no immediate comment from Vienna-

based OPEC, which is to meet this month and discuss
possible production cuts.
Economy
ADB, Centre sign 85 million dollar loan to support
Odisha skill development project
• The Centre and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have
signed an 85 million dollar loan to improve skill
development eco-system in Odisha. An advanced
skill training centre, the World Skill Center (WSC) will
 also be established in Bhubaneswar with the help of
a loan.
• The project will help over 1.5 lakh people learn skills
in priority sectors, including manufacturing,
construction and services for formal employment.
The Skill Centre will deliver eight training courses for
13 thousand students and provide training to five
thousand teachers.
• It will improve the overall eco-system of skill
development by providing integrated services
through an entrepreneurship incubation centre, a
career counselling and placement centre and
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education technology deployment centre. ూ
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These important functions of the Skill Centre will

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support a network of Government ITIs and develop

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skills and capacity of polytechnics, college of

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engineering, and other private skilling centres.

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Government begins registration for drone operators in

country
Ministry of Civil Aviation has started the registration
process for drone operators in the country. An official
release said, it will be done through a portal called Digital
Sky platform.

In August 2018, the government had announced the

release of its Civil Aviation Regulations to enable safe
flying of Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS)
popularly referred to as drones. For drones of micro size
and above categories, operators are required to register
on the Digital Sky portal.

Drones are an industry of the future and it is a matter of

great pride for the country that we are now at the cutting
edge of the rulemaking in this industry.

India will be taking lead in this sector and will be working

with countries around the world to develop common,
scalable standards.

India’s first locomotive-less Train 18, breaches 180

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India's first locomotive-less train, known as Train 18,

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has breached the 180 kilometers per hour speed limit

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during a test run at Kota-Sawai Madhopur section in

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Rajasthan. When this indigenously designed train is

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made operational, it will become the country's

fastest train.
• "Train 18 is capable of touching 200 kilometers per
hour provided the rest of Indian Railways' system,
such as tracks and signals, permit. With 16 coaches,
the train will have the same passenger carrying
capacity as that of the Shatabdi Express.
• It has aerodynamically designed driver cabins at both
ends for quicker turn-around at destinations.
• The train also sports an advanced regenerative
braking system which saves power. The fully air-
conditioned train offers better passenger comfort
 and safety, as all equipment are fixed under the
carriage so that more space is available on board.
Environment
World Bank unveils USD 200 billion in climate action
investment for 2021-25
• The World Bank has unveiled 200 billion US Dollars
in climate action investment for 2021 to 2025,
adding that this amounts to a doubling of its current
five-year funding. The move coincides with a UN
climate summit in Katowice.
• The World Bank said, the move represents a
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significantly ramped up ambition to tackle climate
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change and sends an important signal to the wider

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global community to do the same.

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The statement said the breakdown of 200 billion

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dollars would comprise approximately 100 billion in

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direct finance from the World Bank.

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• Around one-third of the remaining funding will come

from two World Bank Group agencies with the rest
private capital mobilised by the World Bank Group.
• World Bank senior director for climate change, John
Roome said, if the emissions are not reduced, 100
million more people will be living in poverty by 2030.
Climate talks begin in Polish coal city Katowice
• UN Delegates from nearly 200 nations began two
weeks of talks to tackle deep political divisions at the
most important United Nations meeting on global
 warming since the landmark 2015 Paris deal to shift
away from fossil fuels.
• Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama declared
the UN climate summit open yesterday and handed
over the presidency of the talks to Michal Kurtyka,
Poland's deputy environment minister.
• The COP24 climate summit will see nations try to
agree on ways of implementing the promises they
made in the 2015 Paris treaty to limit temperature
rises to avert runaway global warming.
• Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is leading
the Indian delegation at the conference. The
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government has said that the conference is crucial
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for India and the country is committed to fighting

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climate change constructively.

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The CoP-24 is extremely important for us and also

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for the world.

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In our negotiations, we will try and touch on issues

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of differentiation, which is our concern, on issues of

finance, on issues of adaptation and loss and
damages. But we will play a very constructive role in
trying to see that the world comes to an agreement
at CoP-24 at Katowice.