First Assembly of International Solar Alliance inaugurated in New Delhi

• Prime Minister NarendraModi inaugurated first Assembly of International Solar Alliance (ISA) in New Delhi.
• The same event also marked inauguration of second Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Renewable Energy Ministerial Meeting and second Global RE-Invest (Renewable Energy Investors’ Meet and Expo).
• United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres was present on the occasion.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

• The Paris Declaration establishes ISA as an alliance dedicated to the promotion of solar energy among its member countries.
• The ISA Framework Agreement had entered into force in December 2017 and formally became de-jure treaty based International Intergovernmental Organization. It is headquartered at Gurugram, India.
• The main objective of ISA is to include global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity and mobilisation of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030.
• ISA also aims to serve as an action-oriented organization by bringing together countries with rich solar potential to aggregate global demand, thereby reducing prices through bulk purchase.
• It also seeks to facilitate the deployment of existing solar technologies at scale, and promoting collaborative solar R&D and capacity building.

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

• The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), is an international organisation consisting of coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean.
• The IORA is a regional forum, tripartite in nature, bringing together representatives of Government, Business and Academia, for promoting co-operation and closer interaction among them.
• IORA was set up with objective of strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within Indian Ocean Region with 21 member states and 7 Dialogue Partners.
• IORA have identified 6 areas of cooperation including medicinal plants. The Coordinating Secretariat of IORA is located at Ebene, Mauritius.
• In 2nd IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial meet, ministers from 9 member countries and delegates from all 21 member countries participated.

RE-Invest

• It is a global platform to explore strategies for development and deployment of renewables.
• The 2nd Global REInvest was built upon success of RE-Invest 2015. It provided international forum to established players as well as new segments of investors and entrepreneurs to engage, ideate and innovate.
• It also showcased India’s green energy market and Government’s efforts to scale up capacity to meet national energy demand in socially, economically and ecologically sustainable ways.
• Globally, India stands fifth in renewable power, fourth in wind power and fifth in solar power installed capacity.
• India is one of world’s largest green energy markets with exponential increase in demand and supply.