The World Bank on Saturday approved $1.5 billion in financing for a second operation to help India — which is the fastest-growing large economy in the world — accelerate the development of low-carbon energy. The second ‘Low-Carbon Energy Programmatic Development Policy Operation’ will support reforms to boost the production of green hydrogen and electrolysers, critical technology needed for green hydrogen production.

This operation is aligned with the government’s energy security and with the World Bank’s Hydrogen for Development (H4D) Partnership. According to the World Bank, the reforms are expected to result in the production of at least 450,000 metric tonnes of green hydrogen and 1,500 MW of electrolysers per year from FY25/26 onwards, said the World Bank. In addition, it will also significantly help to increase renewable energy capacity and support reductions in emissions by 50 million tonnes per year.

The operation will also support steps to further develop a national carbon credit market. “The World Bank is pleased to continue supporting India’s low-carbon development strategy which will help achieve the country’s net-zero target while creating clean energy jobs in the private sector,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, World Bank Country Director for India. “Both the first and second operations have a strong focus on boosting private investment in green hydrogen and renewable energy,” Kouame added.

The Indian economy is expected to continue to expand at a rapid pace. According to the World Bank, decoupling economic growth from emissions growth will require scaling up renewable energy, especially in hard-to-abate industrial sectors. “India has taken bold action to develop a domestic market for green hydrogen, underpinned by rapidly expanding renewable energy capacity,” said Aurelien Kruse, Xiaodong Wang, and Surbhi Goyal, team leaders for the operation.

In June 2023, the World Bank approved the $1.5 billion first operation, which supported the waiver of transmission charges for renewable energy in green hydrogen projects, the issuance of a clear path to launch 50 GW of renewable energy tenders annually and creating a legal framework for a national carbon credit market. AGENCIES

Former SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya on Friday raised concern over the fact that a very small percentage of women make it to the senior management in different organisations.

She made the comments while delivering her special address during CII’s Rajasthan Women Leadership Summit in Jaipur.

“The reason for this is that women often exit the workforce at various stages, such as during childbearing, when their children are between classes 10 to 12, or when they need to care for the elderly at home. The women workforce should be provided with flexible work schedules and locations,” she said and added that women should make up to 40 to 50 per cent of an organisation’s workforce.

To retain women in the workforce, it is important to understand why they leave and provide them with flexible work schedules and locations, said Bhattacharya.

Bhattacharya, who was the first woman chairperson of SBI, further cited the example of how introducing the concept of a sabbatical for up to two years for women in SBI helped more than 650 women retain their jobs.

Talking about skilling, she said that with the leap in technology, there is a need to keep learning, relearning, and unlearning.

“Skilling is a matter of initiative, as plenty of online courses are now available.”

Sanjay Agarwal, Founder, Managing Director and CEO of AU Small Finance Bank, emphasised the importance of enhancing the visibility of women in the workforce.

He acknowledged that while women are indeed working, their contributions and the time they dedicate to their jobs often go unnoticed or undervalued.

Agarwal stressed that it is crucial for organisations to recognise and appreciate the efforts of female employees, ensuring that their hard work is acknowledged and rewarded.

He also highlighted the need for creating a supportive and secure work environment for women, he said.

Nitin Gupta, Senior Director and Head of CII Rajasthan, said that the primary aim of the summit is to create a platform where women leaders would share their experiences, how they surmounted challenges on their leadership journey and what were the pivotal moments or the events that transformed them as individuals and leaders.

During her welcome remarks, Indian Women Network Chairwoman, Rajasthan, Tanuja Agarwal, said that the objective of the session is to discuss the role of women in nurturing organisational growth.

The Vote of Thanks on the occasion was proposed by Co-Vice Chairwoman, IWN Rajasthan, Nivedita Sarda. AGENCIES

The World Bank said that it has approved a $750 million loan to strengthen the Philippine economy’s recovery.

The Philippines Second Sustainable Recovery Development Policy Loan supports reforms that increase investment in public service sectors, attract private investment in public infrastructure, particularly in domestic shipping, promote renewable energy, protect the environment and improve climate resilience, reports Xinhua news agency.

World Bank Senior Economist Ralph van Doorn on Saturday said the Philippine economy remains resilient despite ongoing global and domestic challenges. “The reforms supported by this lending program, if implemented, will encourage private investment, innovation, and sustained growth,” he said.

Through these reforms, Van Doorn said the Philippines can transition faster to a greener economy and achieve its environmental and climate objectives.

Given the Philippines’ archipelagic nature, he added that marine transport is critical for trade and connecting its numerous islands and destinations, enabling efficient movement of goods and products.

Van Doorn said attracting more local and foreign investments in domestic shipping can significantly boost the country’s competitiveness.

The loan also supports reforms that aim to enhance plastic waste reduction, recovery, and recycling, promote green transportation, and encourage the production and consumption of environment-friendly goods and services through public procurement. AGENCIES

Four people were killed and nine others were injured when a minivan crashed into a nail salon in US state of New York, authorities said, citing media reports.Officials say the minivan drove all the way through the strip-mall business, Hawaii Nail and Spa, on 796 Grand Boulevard in Deer Park on Long Island on Friday around 4:30 p.m., ABC7 New York reported.The cause of the crash is still unknown.All of the deceased were inside the nail salon, authorities added.”It’s horrible, it’s going to be tough for the community…tough for the volunteer fire department, but we’re going to get through it…just a horrible thing to see especially at this time of the year with all the good things happening, graduations and what not,” said Deer Park Fire Department Assistant Chief Dominic Albanese.The driver was taken to the hospital and was partially conscious, ABC7 New York reported.The people who were trapped were extricated and taken to the hospital.Named Hawaii Nail & Spa, the nail salon is one of several stores in a shopping area in Deer Park. AGENCIES

At least five persons were killed as a fire raced through a dormitory in a Moscow suburb, Russian media reports quoted emergency services as saying early on Saturday.

TASS news agency said an initial investigation showed the fire in the suburb of Balashikha was caused by an electrical fault.Several residents were rescued from the burning two-storeyed building, Reuters reported.TASS quoted emergency services as saying the dormitory housed mainly foreign migrant workers. AGENCIES

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed he and his family were threatened by an accused teenage terrorist.

Albanese said on Friday that he and his family were among those threatened in an extremist manifesto in which 19-year-old Jordan Patten allegedly outlined his intention to kill Members of Parliament from the governing Labour Party, Xinhua news agency reported.

“There is no place for extremism in Australia. That documentation that was made is very concerning, including threats not just to Labor MPs but to others, to my family,” he told reporters in Canberra.

Patten was on Wednesday arrested by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) in the city of Newcastle — nearly 100 km north of Sydney — after allegedly entering the office of Tim Crakanthorp, a Labour MP in the New South Wales state parliament, armed with knives and tactical equipment.

He has been charged with one count of preparing for, or planning, a terrorist act.

Authorities said that following Patten’s arrest, they became aware of the manifesto that expresses anti-immigration, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic views and a list of grievances against the Labour Party and Albanese.

“It’s another reason why families should be off-limits from the media. It’s something that is of concern. I applaud the security agencies and police for the swift action they undertook,” Albanese said.

Under Australian law anyone found guilty of preparing for, or planning, a terrorist act can be sentenced to imprisonment for life. AGENCIES

A Bolivian court sentenced General Juan Jose Zuniga and two other former military chiefs to six-month preventative detention over a failed coup against Bolivian President Luis Arce, said the local authorities.

While the investigation continues, the former commanders, who are charged with crimes of terrorism and armed rebellion, are being held in custody in the maximum security prison of Chonchocoro in the Department of La Paz, Xinhua news agency reported.

The prosecution team on Friday argued that the danger of escape and the possibility that the accused would hinder the investigation were reasons for their detention.

Earlier on Thursday, as many as 17 people, mostly members of the military, were arrested in Bolivia for their role in a failed coup, Government Minister Eduardo Del Castillo has said.

On Wednesday, hundreds of soldiers led by General Juan Jose Zuniga marched on Murillo Square, the epicentre of Bolivia’s political power. They forced their way into the old Government Palace in a failed bid to oust President Luis Arce from office.

Immediate measures by the new army commander, Jose Sanchez, who ordered the troops to return to their units and reaffirmed support for the government, were crucial to stabilising the situation.

Additionally, President Arce on Wednesday denounced the attempted coup, emphasising that “democracy must be respected.” AGENCIES

China on Saturday issued a red alert for rainstorms, the most severe in its four-tier weather warning system. It also warned about possible geological disasters occurring in some rain-hit regions.

Some areas in Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces should expect downpours, with some regions likely to experience heavy rain of up to 280 mm within 24 hours until 2 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to the National Meteorological Center forecast.

The national observatory also issued a blue alert, the lowest level in the warning system, for convective weather such as thunder, strong wind and hailstorms, which is expected to hit many regions, including Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Hubei, Anhui and Jiangsu during the period, reports Xinhua news agency.On Saturday, the country’s top meteorological authority and the Ministry of Natural Resources jointly issued alerts for geological disasters, warning that there will be a high risk of geological disasters in some regions in Anhui and Hubei on Saturday and Sunday, while parts of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Hunan and Guizhou should also guard against possible rain-induced geological disasters. AGENCIES

Four people were killed and another four injured as a heavy truck crashed into four cars early Saturday morning in east China’s Zhejiang Province, local authorities said.

According to the public security bureau of Nanhu District, Jiaxing City, the accident occurred at 6.27 a.m. local time at an intersection, reports Xinhua news agency.

Four cars were waiting to pass when a heavy truck hit them.The truck driver, surnamed Yang, is in police custody.Investigations are underway.A preliminary investigation ruled out any suspicion of Yang’s drunk or drug driving.Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor AGENCIES

 Iran’s 14th presidential election on Saturday entered a run-off vote, with former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian and former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili leading in the first round, but no one gets the minimum threshold of 50 per cent of votes, Iran’s Election Headquarters Spokesperson Mohsen Eslami said.

The spokesperson said that the turnout of the voting stands at 40 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.

Voting for Iran’s 14th presidential election took place on Friday, after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month.

The voting was held at close to 59,000 polling stations in more than 95 states, and over 61 million people are eligible to vote in the election, according to authorities.

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following Raisi’s unexpected death.

Initially, six candidates — Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the current Vice President; Alireza Zakani, the Mayor of Tehran; Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Parliamentary Speaker; Saeed Jalili, the former top negotiator for nuclear talks; Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former Interior Minister and Justice Minister; and Masoud Pezeshkian, a former Health Minister — were qualified to enter the race.

Later, Hashemi and Zakani, two principlist candidates, withdrew from the race in favour of Qalibaf and Jalili, who were also in the principlists’ camp. AGENCIES