Russia and India agreement

♦ Russia and India signed agreements for future units of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said this on 26 December 2023. Jaishankar is on a five-day visit to Russia to hold meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on the bilateral economic cooperation during which they witnessed the signing of agreements on nuclear power and in areas of medicines, pharmaceutical substances, and medical devices. 

♦ The Kudankulam nuclear power plant was built in Tamil Nadu with the technical assistance of Russia. 
 

Ministry of Rural Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Reliance Retails JioMart

Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Reliance Retail’s JioMart towards its efforts to help enhance the outreach of the products of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) thereby empowering the rural SHG artisans. 

♦ This alliance will bring SHGs under MoRD’s SARAS collection brand onto JioMart offering a range of handlooms and handicrafts products from traditional textiles to pantry, home décor and beauty products.

♦ DAY-NRLM is a flagship poverty alleviation program of the Government of India and is the world's largest initiatives to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor. The Mission seeks to achieve its objective through investing in four core components viz., (a) social mobilization and promotion and strengthening of self-managed and financially sustainable community institutions of the rural poor; (b) financial inclusion of the rural poor; (c) sustainable livelihoods; and (d) social inclusion, social development and convergence.
 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral and delegation-level talks with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tarik at the Hyderabad House in Delhi on 16 December 2023.

♦ During this meeting, they signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) in around 10 key areas.

♦ This is the first State visit by an Omani ruler in 26 years.

♦ Prime Minister Modi visited Oman in February 2018.

Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Summit

♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on 12 December 2023. GPAI is a multi-stakeholder initiative with 29 member countries aiming to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities. India is the lead chair of GPAI in 2024.
 

Viksit Bharat@2047

♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Viksit Bharat@2047 - Voice of Youth’ via video-conferencing on 11 December 2023. PM Modi addressed university vice-chancellors, heads of institutes and faculty members in a workshop organised at the Raj Bhawans across the country symbolising the start of the initiative. The initiative aims to provide a platform for youngsters of India to contribute their part to the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. 

♦ Viksit Bharat@2047 is the vision to make India a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of its independence.
 

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd and EKI Energy Services

♦ Indian Oil Corp. Ltd and EKI Energy Services have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote “Surya Nutan”. Surya Nutan is the IndianOil's innovative indoor solar cooking system. Under the MOU, IndianOil will share the technology of Surya Nutan with EKI Energy to enhance its production and distribution, supported by carbon finance while contributing towards the betterment of society and environment. EKI Energy will oversee the end-to-end management of Surya Nutan encompassing manufacturing, marketing, installation, and the provision of after-sales services.
 

Annual UN climate meeting

♦ The annual UN climate meeting, COP28 (Conference of Parties-28) was inaugurated in Dubai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in this Summit and said that climate change has had an immense impact on countries in the Global South. COP28 is being held from November 30 to December 12 under the Presidency of the UAE in Dubai.

♦ The World Climate Action Summit is the high-level segment of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP-28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).