Current Affairs: Passage of the Day - 18 October 2024 | Current Affairs & General Knowledge - CLAT PDF Download

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
The curtain raiser for the Seventh Session of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Assembly was hosted on Wednesday at New Delhi amidst representatives from 60 countries.
Pralhad Joshi, minister of new and renewable energy, and President of ISA Assembly, stated "ISA has evolved into a key platform for global solar cooperation, now encompassing 120 Member and Signatory Countries.
This growing commitment demonstrates solar energy's significant role in addressing our shared energy access challenges and the adverse effects of climate change. The progress made by ISA’s Member Countries in adopting solar energy is remarkable. Solar energy holds the potential to be the game-changer in the theatre of global climate action. Its attributes of being clean, reliable, free and easily accessible to all make it central to achieving universal energy access."
Under the presidency of India and co-presidency of France, the seventh session will be held at New Delhi, from November 3 to 6. Ministers, mission heads, and senior government officials from 120 Member and Signatory Countries, prospective countries, partner organisations, the private sector, and key stakeholders will participate.
Ajay Yadav, Joint Secretary, MNRE, stated “Global solar deployment presents its challenges: investments, infrastructure, and indigenisation. Countering these challenges demands targeted efforts to support the sector's expansion. To address these challenges through various programmes, initiatives, and collaborations with governments, private enterprises, and international organisations and by working with its Member Countries, ISA creates opportunities to diversify global supply chains and boost solar energy demand, contributing to manufacturing capacity growth.”
Ajay Mathur, Director General of the International Solar Alliance, said, "The International Solar Alliance stands at the forefront of global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDGs 7 & 13 on affordable and clean energy and climate action respectively. The International Solar Alliance is a force for change. It harmonises and aggregates demand for solar finance, technologies, innovation, research and development, and capacity building. This initiative is more than just a coalition; it is a revolutionary movement reshaping our energy landscape and our planet's future."
Adding further, he said, “As we approach the mark to last five years to realise the goals defined by the 2030 Agenda, this session of the ISA Assembly is an important nudge to accelerate our actions and raise our ambitions. All stakeholders must make this decade count in favour of climate action. Our work at the ISA directly supports the implementation of the Paris Agreement and contributes to the broader UN framework for sustainable development. ISA is working with Member Countries to help shape conducive policies to bring in investments in solar energy, a sustainable pipeline of solar-powered projects, and help build skills to sustain solar projects in the long term.”
To watch out for SolarX Startup Challenge, launched by ISA in collaboration with Invest India in 2022, at COP27 in Egypt, the challenge aims to foster entrepreneurship by supporting scalable and replicable solar energy business models in ISA's Member Countries.
The STAR-C initiative, launched in 2022 by ISA, UNIDO, and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France, aims to build capacity and align skills with national training needs. It enhances quality infrastructure and standards for photovoltaic and solar thermal products to drive economic growth and job creation.
Global Solar Facility: launched in 2022, enhances solar investments in underserved regions, particularly Africa, using tools like the Solar Payment Guarantee Fund and Solar Insurance Fund.
The First International Solar Festival, launched in September 2024, brought together corporates, academia, youth, community leaders, and other stakeholders to exchange ideas, promoting creativity and international cooperation for a future driven by solar energy.
The Assembly's seventh session will be followed by ‘High-Level Conference on New Technologies for Clean Energy Transition’ on November 5.
The Assembly proceedings will conclude on November 6, 2024, with a visit to a farm site on the outskirts of New Delhi showcasing the practical implementation of agrivoltaic systems. 120 countries are signatories to the ISA Framework Agreement, of which 102 countries have submitted the necessary instruments of ratification to become full members of the ISA.
The Seventh Session of the ISA Assembly will deliberate on initiatives of ISA that impact energy access, security, and transitions with a focus on: Empowering Member Countries to adopt solar energy as the energy source of choice. Make energy access universal by supporting solar entrepreneurs to scale up local solutions. Mobilise finance to speed up solar deployment.
[Excerpt from TOI "International Solar Alliance Assembly Kicks Off in New Delhi" Dated 18/10/24]

Q1: Where will the Seventh Session of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Assembly be held in November 2024? 
(a) Paris, France
(b) New York, USA
(c) New Delhi, India
(d) Tokyo, Japan

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Q2: What is the main goal of the International Solar Alliance (ISA)? 
(a) To promote nuclear energy
(b) To encourage the use of solar energy
(c) To invest in fossil fuels
(d) To reduce water consumption

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Q3: What initiative focuses on supporting startups in the solar energy sector? 
(a) STAR-C Initiative
(b) SolarX Startup Challenge
(c) Global Solar Facility
(d) Solar Energy Taskforce

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Q4: What challenge was identified in expanding solar energy during the assembly? 
(a) Excessive global investments
(b) Infrastructure issues in solar energy systems
(c) Overreliance on wind energy
(d) Lack of interest in renewable energy

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Q5: Which two countries led the Seventh Session of the ISA Assembly? 
(a) India and the USA
(b) India and France
(c) China and France
(d) USA and Germany

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