Indian farmers were implicitly taxed $120 billion in 2023, the highest among 54 countries, due to export bans, duties or other policies which lower the price of agricultural commodities like rice, to benefit consumers, the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) assessment on agricultural policy and support globally has revealed.

In 2023, the Indian government introduced various export restrictions on commodities like rice, de-oiled rice bran, sugar and onions to keep food prices low for consumers. While this kept domestic prices from rising for the consumers, it also meant that producers’ (farmers) receipts were lower than they would have been had these policies not been in place.

In fact, according to the Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2024 report, which analysed 54 countries, net support to farmers in India has been negative throughout the last two decades but fluctuated markedly.

In a proud moment for JBCN Education, Kunal Dalal, Managing Director, has been recognised as the Education Leader of the Year at the prestigious Education World India School Ranking Awards 2024-2025, concluded recently in Gurgaon. This honour highlights his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to nurturing a progressive network of international schools.

Alongside Dalal's individual recognition, JBCN Education has once again been honoured as India's Most Respected Education Brand at the Education World India School Ranking Awards 2024-2025. This marks the second consecutive year that JBCN has earned this prestigious title, a reflection of its consistent dedication to delivering innovative, holistic education that fosters critical thinking, creativity, and overall development of a learner.

Reflecting on the recognition, Kunal Dalal, Managing Director of JBCN Education, shared, "I am deeply honoured to receive this recognition, made possible by the dedication and passion of our incredible teachers, support staff, and our supportive parent and learner community. What motivates us every day is our shared vision of providing an educational experience that empowers our learners with the skills, values, and confidence to become the Changemakers of tomorrow. Together, we strive to create a learning community where every learner's potential is fully realised."

India's Arjun Erigaisi leapfrogged to second place in the world chess rankings thanks to his victory over Alexey Sarana in the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 here on Thursday.

He is jointly leading the Masters category alongside Amin Tabatabaei after three rounds.

Starting with the black pieces, Arjun reacted to Sarana's Queen's Pawn Opening as he engaged him in the Indian Game before swiftly going for an East Indian Defense.

Both players knocked off their kings early in the tie while remaining locked in an intense battle before Arjun earned the upper hand, converting it into his competition's second win.

As a result, the 21-year-old has reclaimed his 2,800 ELO rating, going past Fabiano Caruana to take the second place in the world rankings.

IIT Kharagpur has signed an MoU with the Central Council for Research (CCRH) in Homeopathy for a collaborative study on a project.

The study includes clinical verification of research and drug proving, an IIT KGP statement said.

“A project-based MoU has been signed between CCRH and IIT Kharagpur to undertake a fundamental research project on Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopic (FTIR) and Raman Study in homeopathic potentised medicines, characterisation and analysis of the medicines,” the Director General of CCRH, Dr Subhash Kaushik, said.

The statement said Thursday that the MoU was signed by the Director General of CCRH Dr Subhash Kaushik and Deputy Director of IIT Kharagpur Prof Rintu Banerjee.

In a notable sign of deepening defence cooperation between India and Australia, this year’s edition of the joint military exercise “AustraHind” commenced on Friday at the Foreign Training Node in Pune, Maharashtra.

This joint training aims to enhance interoperability between the two nations' forces, with activities ranging from tactical operations to a friendly cricket match. The exercise, taking place from 8th to 21st November 2024, underscores the close security relationship that both nations share.

The Australian Brigade Commander described Australia and India as "top-tier security partners" in light of their collaborative efforts within the Indo-Pacific region.

The Government of India has asked for proposals to establish Centres of Excellence (CoE) focused on Green Hydrogen research and development. This move is part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, aiming to position India as a leader in sustainable energy. In a press release issued on Monday, the MNRE invited institutions and industry partners to submit proposals under the R&D Scheme of the mission.

These CoEs are envisioned as hubs for integrated research across various segments of the Green Hydrogen value chain, including production, storage, and application. With a goal of enhancing energy independence and advancing low-carbon technologies, the centres are expected to drive innovation in Green Hydrogen, contributing significantly to the country’s long-term sustainability efforts.

According to MNRE, the CoEs will serve as platforms for high-level research, skill-building, and knowledge sharing, fostering collaboration among government, academia, and industry. The centres will play a crucial role in improving efficiency in Green Hydrogen processes and creating new products, pooling resources and expertise to support India’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

India's largest integrated power company NTPC Limited celebrated its 50th foundation day. During this, CMD Gurdeep Singh said that NTPC Vindhyachal has achieved a major milestone.

Efforts towards reducing carbon emissions

NTPC Vindhyachal has achieved a very important milestone by successfully collecting and synthesizing the carbon dioxide gas emitted after burning coal in its power plant for the first time and converting it into methanol. This is an important effort in the efforts to reduce carbon emissions from coal-based power plants.

Making methanol from dioxide gas is a big achievement.

Shankar Subramanyam, Deputy Manager of NTPC Vindhyachal, said on Friday that collecting carbon dioxide gas released after burning coal in large quantities from coal-based power plants and making methanol from it is an important achievement. For the first time in this plant, 10 TPD carbon dioxide gas was collected and a drop of green methanol was successfully synthesized from it. This methanol has been prepared using carbon dioxide and green hydrogen. This important success will help in reducing the emission of carbon dioxide gas from NTPC and other coal-based power plants across the country. This project will also play an important role in achieving India's net-zero emission target by 2070. This achievement proves the efforts of NTPC which are contributing to moving India towards green energy.

Vilas Sopan Wadekar is set to be next Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) Limited, a PSU under the Ministry of Railways. He has been recommended for the post by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) Panel on Thursday. Presently, he is serving as Director (Technical).

Wadekar has been recommended for the post of CMD of MRVC from a list of two candidates, who were interviewed by the PESB Selection panel in its selection meeting held on November 7. The other candidate on the list was from Patel Engineering Ltd.

India voted against a resolution by Pakistan on 'Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels'.

The resolution by Pakistan and Syria on 'Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels' in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly was adopted by recorded vote with 179 members voting in favour, an abstention by Israel while India was the sole country voting against the resolution.

The First Committee of the UNGA deals with disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace that affect the international community.

The resolution recognises the “crucial role of conventional arms control in promoting regional and international peace and security.” “Convinced that conventional arms control needs to be pursued primarily in the regional and subregional contexts since most threats to peace and security in the post- cold-war era arise mainly among states located in the same region or subregion,” the resolution said.

The Supreme Court Thursday held that rules of public recruitment cannot be changed once the process has begun unless the rules provide so.

Answering a reference, a five-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said, “The recruitment process commences from the issuance of the advertisement calling for application and ends with filling up of vacancies. Eligibility criteria for being placed in the select list, notified at the commencement of the recruitment process, cannot be changed between to the recruitment process unless the extant rules so permit or the advertisement which is not contrary to the extant rules so permit.”

The bench also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal, and Manoj Misra said, “If such change is permissible under the extant rules for the advertisement, the change would have to meet the requirement of the constitution and satisfy the test of non-arbitrariness.”