PM to begin foreign tour with visit to Bhutan by June end

1.    PM to begin foreign tour with visit to Bhutan by June end

i. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his foreign tour with visit to Bhutan by the end of this month.

ii. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi the spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin said India gives top priority to the neighboring countries that is why the Prime Minister choose Bhutan for his first trip abroad.

iii. The Prime Minister has a very tight schedule ahead as he has to attend a number of bilateral and multilateral summits during coming months.

iv. He said immediately after Bhutan visit Mr. Modi will leave for United States and followed by a trip to Japan. Regarding visit to United States the spokesperson said that discussion is going on with Washington to have mutually convenient dates but it is not yet decided.

2.    Nitin Gadkari got additional charge of Union Ministry Rural Development

i. Union Transport Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari was given additional charge of the Ministries of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation on 4 June 2014. 

ii. The additional charges were given to him by the President of India on the advice of Prime Minister of India. The additional charges given to Gadkari were with Gopinath Munde, who died on 3 June 2014 due to a car accident in New Delhi.

3.    US President Barack Obama announced new rules to cut carbon pollution by 30% by 2030

i. US President Barack Obama on 2 June 2014 announced new rules to cut carbon pollution from existing Power plants by 30% till 2030. 
ii. The announcement involved to cut carbon dioxide emission 30 percent from 2005 level. The new rule was announced by The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  It also announced to cut by 2030 particle pollution, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide by more than 25 per cent as a co-benefit. 
iii. The new rules could transform the power sector. Currently, US Government relied on coal for nearly 38 percent of electricity.  

iv. Moreover, new rules provide multiple options for states to achieve their emission targets. States could improve power plant heat rates, can use more natural gas plants to replace coal plants, ramped up zero-carbon energy, such as solar or nuclear; and increasing energy efficiency.