01-04-23 Daily-Odisha-OPSC Current Affairs

Electricity dues worth Rs 10,266.73 crore have been pending against different types of consumers including industries in all the four distribution company areas of Odisha.

This was informed by Energy Minister Pratap Keshari Deb in the State Legislative Assembly.

In a reply to a question of MLA Nityanand Gand, the Minister said highest Rs 4,578.93 crore electricity dues are pending against the consumers in the Tata Power Western Odisha Distribution Limited (TPWODL) area while Rs 3,115.17 crore is pending in Tata Power Central Odisha Distribution Limited (TPCODL).

Similarly, electricity dues worth Rs 1,782.57 crore are pending in Tata Power North Odisha Distribution Limited (TPNODL) and Rs 750.06 crore is pending in the Tata Power South Odisha Distribution Limited (TPSODL).

As per the statement of Deb, Rs 7,872.95 crore electricity bills were pending against the domestic consumers in the four discom areas, of which highest Rs 3,650.14 crore is pending in TPWODL area, followed by Rs 2231.44 crore in TPCODL area, Rs 1,298.35 crore in TPNODL area and Rs 693.02 crore in TPSODL area.

Similarly, a total electricity duty of Rs 386.04 crore is pending against industries and Rs 996.98 crore is pending against different commercial establishments.

The two spacecraft forming the European Space Agencys Proba-3 mission are ready with instruments and sensors allowing them to maneuver to a millimeter-scale precision relative to one another. The spacecraft will fly into space on India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in 2024.

The spacecraft is set to go into the testing phase where engineers will subject them to a simulated space Environment. The spacecraft has been designed to demonstrate precision formation flying in space, where they will fly together maintaining a fixed configuration as a large rigid structure.

In a sudden announcement, OPEC members, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, and Algeria, have declared voluntary oil production cuts of more than one million barrels per day from May to December. They have stated that this is a preventive action to support the stability of the oil market

The group, which consists of 23 oil-producing countries, had reduced its collective output by two million barrels per day in the previous year and is expected to maintain the agreed-upon production levels at their upcoming virtual meeting

Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has announced that Finland has become the 31st member of the alliance, thanks to Turkeys unanimous vote. Despite Russias opposition to Finlands membership, Turkeys approval has allowed the extension of NATO. Finland a long border of over 1,300 kilometers with Russia, and its decision to join NATO was prompted by security concerns following Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, Swedens application to join NATO has been declined by Turkey and Hungary.

NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an intergovernmental military alliance established in 1949. It was formed as a collective defense pact between North American and European nations to deter Soviet expansion and protect member states from potential Soviet aggression during the Cold War