DIGITAL OCEAN
Union Minister of Earth Sciences inaugurated the web-based application “Digital Ocean (www.do.incois.gov.in)” developed by INCOIS of M/o Earth sciences.
About:
- Digital Ocean is a first of its kind digital platform for Ocean Data Management.
- It includes a set of applications developed to organize and present heterogeneous oceanographic data by adopting rapid advancements in geospatial technology.
- It facilitates an online interactive web-based environment for data integration, 3D and 4D data visualization, data analysis to assess the evolution of oceanographic features, data fusion and multi-format download of disparate data from multiple sources
- ‘Digital Ocean’ will help to share knowledge about the ocean with a wide range of users including research institutions, operational agencies, strategic users, academic community, maritime industry and policy makers. Digital Ocean also provides free access to information to the general public and the common man.
RUTHENIUM-106
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai has developed Eye Cancer therapy in the form of the first indigenous Ruthenium 106 Plaque for treatment of Ocular Tumours.
About:
- The handling of plaque is very convenient for the Surgeon and it has been acknowledged to be at par with the international standards.
- So far the BARC plaques made in India through the Department of Atomic Energy have been used for seven cases for Ocular Cancer.
- Ocular tumours are tumours inside the eye. They are collections of cells that grow and multiply abnormally and form masses.
PROXIMA CENTAURI
Astronomers at the $100 million Breakthrough Listen project, started by the legendary physicist Stephen Hawking, have recently picked up an “intriguing” radio wave emission from the direction of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Sun.
About:
- The news has sparked renewed interest in Proxima Centauri, one of whose planets is believed to revolve in the star’s habitable zone, giving rise to the possibility that it could have, or does, sustain life.
- Proxima Centauri is 4.2 light-years away from the Sun – considered a close distance in cosmic terms.
- Its mass is about an eighth of the Sun’s, and it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
ZARI, ZARDOZI
Madhya Pradesh Government is organizing ‘Raag-Bhopali’ exhibition to promote Zari-Zardozi crafts of Bhopal.
About:
- Embroidery done with metallic threads is called kalabattu and forms the zari.
- The main zari production centres are Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
Process:
- Here the metal ingots are melted into metal bars called pasa from which lengths are got by beating it after treatment.
- This is then pulled through perforated steel plates to make it into wires, followed by the tarkashi process to make it thin with rubber and diamond dies.
- The last stage is called badla where the wire is flattened and twisted with silk or cotton thread to become kasab or kalabattu.
NATIONAL SUMMIT ON GOOD, REPLICABLE PRACTICES AND INNOVATIONS IN PUBLIC HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS IN INDIA
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare digitally inaugurated the 7th National Summit on Good, Replicable Practices through a video conference.
About:
- Ministry of Health & Family Welfare holds the National Summit on Good, Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Healthcare Systems in India.
- While the first one was held in 2013 at Srinagar to recognize, showcase and document various best practices and innovations in public healthcare system, the last was held at Gand hinagar, Gujarat.
NEW BHAUPUR-NEW KHURJA SECTION OF EASTERN DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDOR
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the ambitious New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) in Uttar Pradesh.
About:
- The 351-kilometre New Bhaupur- New Khurja section of EDFC is built at a cost of Rs. 5,750 crore and most of its part passes through Uttar Pradesh.
- The section will decongest the existing Kanpur-Delhi main line and will enable Indian Railways to run faster trains.
- The agro products of Uttar Pradesh will now reach at a faster speed to other parts of the country and it will increase the export capacity of the state which is a landlocked area and doesn’t have any port to send the items abroad.
PREVENTING FINANCING OF PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
The Turkish parliament passed a bill that would increase the monitoring of civil society groups. The act is called “Preventing Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction”.
About:
- The Bill has come following the 2019 report on Turkey prepared by the intergovernmental body Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meant to fight money laundering and terror financing.
- The bill consists of 43 articles and has made changes to seven laws on Turkey’s Law of Associations and is meant to keep Turkey from being blacklisted by the Paris-based watchdog of terror financing.
- The Bill gives the Turkish government the power to appoint trustees to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to suspend their activities, seize their assets and monitor their sources of funding.
NAUSHERA KA SHER
After it came to light that the grave of Naushera ka Sher Brigadier Mohammad Usman, the senior-most officer killed in the first India-Pakistan war of 1947-48, was damaged, an Army source said it was looking into the issue and the grave will be restored soon.
About:
- Brigadier Mohammad Usman MVC (1912 – 1948) was one of only 18 Brigadiers in the Army at the time of Independence and was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his gallant action during the 1947-48 war.
- In January–February 1948 Usman repulsed fierce attacks on Nowshera and Jhangar, both highly strategic locations in Jammu and Kashmir.
- During the defence of Naushera against overwhelming odds and numbers, Indian forces inflicted around 2000 casualties on the Pakistanis while Indian forces suffered only 150 casualties. His defence earned him the nickname Lion of Naushera.
- The grave is located on the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) campus in New Delhi. Brig. Usman’s funeral was done with full state honours and the prayer was led by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
KISAN RAIL
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the 100th Kisan Rail train, which is also plying between Devlali and Danapur — a popular offering which has now been extended to run between Sangola to Muzaffarpur and has carried over 15,450 tonnes of produce.
About:
- The Kisan Rail train carries vegetables such as cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, drumsticks, chillies, onion, etc, as well as fruits like grapes, oranges, pomegranate, banana, custard apple.
- The loading and unloading of perishable commodities will be permitted at all en route stoppages and no minimum or maximum size of consignment. The government has extended a subsidy of 50 per cent on transportation of fruits and vegetables.
- The multi-commodity train service has been popular as it also carries relatively small quantities of produce brought in by small, individual farmers.
INFLATION TARGET
Maintaining the inflation target at 4% is appropriate for India, according to a working paper titled “Measuring Trend Inflation in India” released by RBI.
About:
- The paper seeks to estimate trend inflation in India to find the answer to a question that goes to the root of flexible inflation targeting (FIT) – is the choice of the target for inflation consistent with its trend?
- The 4% target for inflation — with an upper tolerance limit of 6% and a lower limit of 2% — was set by the Centre in consultation with the RBI in 2016 and its validity expires on March 31, 2021.
- The paper finds a steady decline in trend inflation to 4.1- 4.3% since 2014.
- A target set too [significantly] below the trend imparts a deflationary bias to monetary policy because it will go into overkill relative to what the economy can intrinsically bear in order to achieve the target, the paper said.
- Analogously, a target that is fixed above the trend renders monetary policy too expansionary and prone to inflationary shocks and unanchored expectations. Hence, maintaining the inflation target at 4% is appropriate for India.
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