Buddha Poornima being celebrated today

1.    Buddha Poornima being celebrated today

i. The auspicious day of Buddha Poornima, the most sacred festivals of Buddhists, is being celebrated on Wednesday. 

ii. The day is marked with prayer meetings, sermons on the life of Gautam Buddha, religious discourses, continuous recitation of buddhist scriptures and group meditation.

iii. Lakhs of buddhists, monks and devotees are gathering at buddha temples for special prayers.
iv. President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and the Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh greeted the nation on the eve of Buddha Purnima. 

2.    India to become the third largest oil consumer by 2025: US EIA

i. India will become the world’s third largest oil consumer by 2025 according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its annual Energy Outlook on 7 May 2014.

ii. At present, India is the fourth largest oil consumer in the world behind the US, China and Japan.

According to the Energy Outlook
• India will overtake Japan to become the third largest oil consumer behind the US and China by 2025. 
• India’s oil consumption growth rate will be the highest in the world with a 3 percent compounded annual growth rate from 2012 to 2040. 
• The oil consumption of India will reach 6.11 million bpd in 2030 and 8.33 million bpd in 2040.

3.    India signs two agreements with Cambodia

i. India has signed two agreements with Cambodia, one on the study of ground water resources in Kampong Spue Province for the establishment of hydrograph network stations. The other agreement was on development of Master Plan for Siem Reap River Basin in Cambodia. 
ii. The agreements were signed in New Delhi on Tuesday by Joint Secretary (South) in External Affairs Ministry Sanjay Bhattacharyya and Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Water and Power Consultancy Services, R K Gupta, in the Water Resources Ministry.

iii. Shallow open and bore wells will be fitted with handpumps for better efficiency and there will be monthly monitoring of water levels to maintain the ground water regime. The second agreement on Siem Reap River Basin involves preparation of master plan for water resources, land use and environment management.