India to host European Union Film Festival - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India to host European Union Film Festival .

24 latest European movies from 23 European countries Festival to traverse through 11 cities in India Slovakian Movie Little Harbour to be the opening film for the festival

Putting a spotlight on the latest European cinema, the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will premiere in New Delhi on 18th June, 2018 at the Siri Fort Auditorium. With a selection of 24 latest European films from 23 EU Member States, this years' film festival brings some unusual stories for the world cinema enthusiasts. The European Union Film Festival is organized by Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India partnering with the Delegation of the European Union and embassies of EU Member States in various city film clubs.
The festival will traverse through 11 cities in India including New Delhi, Chennai, Port Blair, Pune, Puducherry, Kolkata, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Thrissur, Hyderabad and Goa from 18th June till 31st August. Celebrating diversity, the EUFF will screen movies from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
As a special attraction this year, audience, students and filmmakers will get an opportunity to interact with Katarína Krnáčová (Slovakian producer), Paula Ortiz (Spanish Director), Salvatore Alloca (Italian Director), Yannis Korris (Greek Director), Douglas Boswell (Belgium Director) and Ádám Fekete (Hungarian Actor) who are travelling to India for the festival. Indian actress Neena Kulkarni who has worked in the Luxembourg movie being screened at the film festival will be attending the festival in Goa.
23rd European Film Festival has some unusual stories to tell: the lines of reality are blurred when the cyber world comes to life; a play done by a motley cast of antiheroes provides an opportunity for redemption; a man stuck in an unhappy marriage practices unusual ways to assert his freedom; a music critic finds his father irksome when they both begin to compete for the attention of an attractive psychotherapist; and three Kurdish siblings come together unexpectedly in a hair-raising journey during which they are pursued by angry relatives. These are just some of the curious themes of the European Union Film Festival of 2018.
The EU Film Festival 2018 to be held from 18 - 24 June in Delhi, brings to the city a selection of some of the finest and most riveting films coming out of Europe today. The European Union Film Festival, organized by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, and European Union will be hosted at the Sirifort Auditorium Complex.
The Festival will be inaugurated by the Hon'ble Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, in the presence of Mr. Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; Mr. Raimund Magis, Deputy head of Delegation of the European Union to India; Mr. Chaitanya Prasad, Additional Director General, Directorate of Film Festivals; Ms. Katarina Tomkova, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Slovak Republic at 6.00 pm on 18 June 2018 at the Siri Fort complex (Audi 2). Slovakian Producer Katarina Krnacova, whose film Little Harbour is the opening movie at the festival this year will also be attending the inauguration. Paula Ortiz (Spanish Director), Salvatore Alloca (Italian Director) will be present during their respective movie screenings.
The award winning film Little Harbour is inspired by true events about two children whose innocent play changes their lives forever. It's a story of children who feel safer in the streets than at home, about children seeking out sturdy lifeboats that cross between the world of fantasy and the harsh reality of life. The ten year old Jarka lives with her mother, who is not yet ready to be a Mum. She spends most of her time alone. Pushed by her desire for love and to form a fully functional family, she finds herself substituting as a mother to two babies.
About the European Union (EU):
The EU, which consists of 28 countries, has the world's largest economy and its third largest population, after China and India. Though richly diverse, the countries that make up the EU (its 'Member States') are all committed to the same basic values: peace, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. They have set up common institutions so that decisions on matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level. By creating a frontier-free single market and a single currency (the euro) which has been adopted by 19 Member States, the EU has given a significant boost to trade and employment. It is also at the forefront of policies on sustainability. (Source: PIB)


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India to host European Union Film Festival.

India to host the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India to host the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial.

The 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial comes in the backdrop of a supply cut by Opec and Russia that has led to a rally in global oil price.

India, the world’s third-largest energy consumer after the US and China, will host the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial (IEF—16), that will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
The ministerial comes in the backdrop of a supply cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Russia that has led to a rally in global oil price. This has resulted in the cost of Indian basket of crude, which averaged $47.56 a barrel in 2016-2017, touching $63.80 (average price) in March 2018, according to information from Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Extreme volatility has marked crude oil prices, which reached a record $147 per barrel in July 2009.
The Indian basket represents the average of Oman, Dubai and Brent crude.
“Covering all six continents and accounting for around 90% of global supply and demand for oil and gas, the IEF is unique in that it comprises not only consuming and producing countries of the IEA and Opec, but also Transit States and major players outside of their memberships, including Argentina, China, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa,” the Indian government said in a statement on Monday.
The ministerial hosted by India also assumes significance given that the country’s energy needs are primarily met through imports, with India importing 214 million tonnes of crude oil in 2016-17.
“Sellers also need a steady and stable buyers’ market. India fulfils that need,” said an Indian government official closely involved in evolving the country’s new energy security paradigm, requesting anonymity.
This also comes at a time when India has been pushing for a gas based economy. India, the world’s fourth-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, has been trying to leverage the glut in global LNG supplies to renegotiate its contracts. Indian firms have been exploring strategies such as time swap of volumes, destination swaps and contract on free on board basis to reduce the final fuel price. India imported 19 million metric tonnes of LNG in 2016-17.
Also, India has been recalibrating its crude sourcing strategy and sourcing heavy crude from Latin America as part of its strategy to become a preferred refining hub. It also sourced crude oil from US last year.
“The International Energy Forum (IEF) aims to foster greater mutual understanding and awareness of common energy interests among its members. Its 72 Member Countries are signatories to the IEF Charter, which outlines the framework of the global energy dialogue through this inter-governmental arrangement. Apart from them, 20 countries are also participating in this meeting as special invitees,” the statement added.
The ministerial will be attended by Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s petroleum and natural gas minister; Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s petroleum and mineral resources minister; Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, United Arab Emirates’s energy and industry minister; Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Iran’s petroleum minister; Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar’s energy and industry minister; Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum resources; and Kosaburo Nishime, Japan’s state minister of economy, trade and industry.
As a major consumer, India is trying to leverage its position to seek reasonable rates. New Delhi is also reworking its import strategy by stepping up the share of short-term contracts whenever the market is favourable and exploring long-term supply deals at discounted prices as its new energy architecture evolves.


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India to host the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial.

ISA and India sign the Host Country Agreement - Pragnya IAS academy - News Analysis

ISA and India sign the Host Country Agreement.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), signed the Host Country Agreement here, today. The Agreement will give ISA a juridical personality and gives it power to contract, to acquire and dispose off movable and immovable properties, to institute and defend legal proceedings. Under this agreement, ISA shall enjoy such privileges, applicable tax concessions and immunities as are necessary for ISA’s Headquarter to independently discharge its function and programmes. ISA shall be deriving its status, privileges and immunities as per Article 10 of Framework Agreement.

The agreement was signed by General (Dr.) V.K. Singh, Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs and Shri Upendra Tripathy, Interim Director General, ISA in the gracious presence of Shri R K Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) Power and New & Renewable Energy.
Congratulating the signatories, Shri R.K. Singh said that ISA has potential to change developmental paradigm in the world. He said that energy will now be available to less developed tropical countries at affordable rates and in an easily deployable manner. The Minister also mentioned that many countries have shown interest to learn from India’s experience in renewable energy. He emphasized the need for our industry to go and set up infrastructure in these countries and talked about doing necessary de-risking in this regard.
General (Dr.) V.K. Singh also congratulated ISA and stated that ISA has an onerous task at hand to mobilise over US $ 1000 billion of investment into the Solar Sector and deploying over 1000 GW of Solar capacity. He also stated that ISA need to firm up financial partnership deals with more multilateral and bilateral donor agencies in order to meet its stated objectives.
Shri Upendra Tripathy called the signing of Host Country Agreement an important milestone and thanked the Government of India for its wholehearted support.
Secretary, MNRE; Secretary (ER), MEA were among the dignitaries present at the event.
Background:
The International Solar Alliance is an initiative jointly launched by the Prime Minister of India and President of France on 30th November 2015 at Paris, in the presence of the Secretary General of the UN, on the side lines of COP21 UN Climate Change Conference. The main objective of ISA is to undertake joint efforts required to reduce the cost of finance and the cost of technology, mobilize more than US $ 1000 billion of investments needed by 2030 for massive deployment of solar energy, and pave the way for future technologies adapted to the needs of 121 countries lying fully or partially between the Tropics.
ISA has presently four ongoing programmes: Scaling Solar Applications for Agricultural Use, Affordable Finance at Scale, Scaling Solar Mini Grids and Scaling Solar Rooftop catering to the needs of solar energy in specific areas.
The Framework Agreement coming into force on 6th December 2017, the ISA became the first international intergovernmental treaty based organization to be headquartered in India. ISA celebrated its founding day on 11th March, 2018. (Source: PIB)


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ISA and India sign the Host Country Agreement.