Varanasi to host Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2019
The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention is being organized by Ministry of External Affairs in association with the State Government of Uttar Pradesh in January 2019 (Jan. 21 – 23, 2019). Theme of 2019 event is “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India”. Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is annually celebrated on January 9 to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community towards their homeland.
Maharashtra will launch ‘One farmer one transformer’ scheme from 15th August
In order to reduce electricity losses, the Maharashtra government will launch a new scheme allocating “one transformer per farmer”. Two lakh farmers will be given electricity connection for high voltage distribution line which will ensure uninterrupted power supply. Farmers who lose their cattle in attack by wild animals will now get Rs 40,000, up from Rs 25,000 earlier. Rs 2 lakh hike in the compensation given to the kin of people killed in an attack by wild animals was announced. Each affected family will now get Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 8 lakh earlier.
Indian women’s Cricket team coach Tushar Arothe resigned
Arothe was forced to resign after a few senior players, with reasonable influence, wanted his immediate ouster. Arothe, who was a Baroda stalwart with an experience of 114 first-class games, had guided the team to the 50-over World Cup final in England last year. The 10-nation ICC women’s World T20 is scheduled to take place in the West Indies November 9-24.
Climate change threatens Nilgiri tahr
The sure-footed Nilgiri tahr, the endangered species that are found only in high altitudes in India’s Western Ghats, could be losing their footing with increasing climate change. Scientists have predicted that even under moderate scenarios of future climate change, tahrs could lose approximately 60% of their habitats from the 2030s. As per the International Union for Conservation of Nature, their population shows a decreasing trend as there are only around 2,500 tahrs left in the wild.
Abhishek Nayar is appointed as mentor, lead coach of KKR Academy
IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has appointed Abhishek Nayar as the mentor and lead coach of the KKR Academy. KKR has also appointed Omkar Salvi as the bowling coach of Academy. The idea of the KKR Academy is to help cricketers improve their skills, fitness as well as grooming talent and to provide them with a perfect platform to showcase their skills. KKR CEO: Venky Mysore
Goa University has discovered a pigment in wild edible mushroom that may help fight cancer
The mycological laboratory of the Department of Botany, Goa University has discovered a new pigment from wild mushrooms in Goa. The chemical nature of the brown or black color pigment in wild edible mushrooms Roen alamis or Termitomyces species has a new sulphur-rich melanin pigment with immense bio-industrial, biomedical and biotechnological potential. This may help to fight against cancer and tumors. People of Goa who consume these mushrooms are actually eating sulphur-rich melanin. The Goa University has declared it as world’s first sulphur-rich edible melanin. Its structure is similar to black pigment found in human hair. With more than 50 teams working on these mushrooms, globally, Goa got the lead now.
Amrita University, Coimbatore has developed a self-driving wheelchair
Amrita University Coimbatore, under a project of the University’s Humanitarian Technology Lab, has developed self-driving wheelchair to help orthopaedically challenged persons to overcome problems in moving from one place to another and to ease the way they move. The self-driving wheelchair functions in both automated as well as manual mode. The fully automated mode allows the user to move anywhere in a mapped area. The fixed automatic mode takes the user from his or her current position to a specific point in a mapped area. In manual mode, the user has the freedom to move around anywhere using a navigation system under his control.
Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA approval for manufacturing Azithromycin tablets
Aurobindo Pharma, a drug firm, has received its final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Azithromycin tablets, in strengths of 250 mg and 500 mg, which is used for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate infections, in the US market. The company said the product would be introduced this month. The product has an estimated market size of USD 132 million for the 12 months ended May 2018. The tablets are an AB-rated generic equivalent of Pfizer Inc’s Zithromax tablet.
India’s first private UAV factory will be set up in Kota
DCM Shriram Industries Group will set up India’s first private sector unit for manufacturing Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and Light Bullet Proof Vehicles (LBPV), on the campus of Shriram Rayons in Kota, under ‘Make in India’ initiative of the union government. Total 3000 LBPVs and 500 UAVs will be manufactured annually once the plant is set up and starts its manufacturing. These UAVs and LBPVs are likely to be used by defence and para-military forces in India.
India joined European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
India became 69th member of London-based multilateral lender, “European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)”. EBRD bank has already worked with Indian companies on joint projects worth almost 1 billion euros ($1.18 billion), including investments with Tata, SREI, Jindal, and Mahindra and Mahindra.
Forbes released 2018 List of America’s Richest Self Made Women
Diane Hendricks, cofounder and chairman of ABC Supply, reclaims the top position on Forbes 2018 list of America’s most successful women entrepreneurs, with a net worth of $4.9 billion. ♦ 20-yr-old Kylie Jenner youngest among US richest self-made women, with a net worth of $900 million. ♦ Two Indian-origin women featured on this list are Computer networking company Arista Networks CEO, Jayshree Ullal (ranked 18th with a fortune of $1.3 billion) and IT consulting firm Syntel Co-Founder Neerja Sethi (ranked 21st with $1-billion). ♦ The 60 women on the list have a record combined fortune of $71 billion.
Government approved Net Neutrality, new telecom policy
To ensure open and free Internet in India, the government has approved the principle of net neutrality, which means that telecom and Internet service providers must treat all data on the Internet equally, and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, site, platform, or application. They cannot engage in practices such as blocking, slowing down or granting preferential speeds to any content. ♦ Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in November 2017, batted in favour of net neutrality – which has been one of the most hotly debated topics in India for over 4 years now. ♦ TRAI Chairman – R S Sharma.
BSNL launched India’s first internet telephony service, to enable making calls without SIM
Now BSNL customers will be able to make calls using the company’s mobile app “Wings” to any phone number in the country. Registration for the service will start this week and the services will be activated July 25 onwards. Telecom Commission, the highest-decision making body of the Department of Telecom, had allowed companies who hold valid telecom licence, to provide app-based calling service even by using wi-fi connection.
Global Innovation Index: Switzerland Tops, India Ranks 57th
This year, India ranked as the 57th most innovative nation in the world, and has improved its ranking from 60th position last year. Since 2011, Switzerland has been ranked at the top every year. Top 10 Countries in Global Innovation Index 2018 are: 1. Switzerland, 2. The Netherlands, 3. Sweden, 4. The United Kingdom, 5. Singapore, 6. United States of America, 7. Finland, 8. Denmark, 9. Germany, 10. Ireland.
Andhra govt launched ‘Anna Canteens’, meals at just Rs 5
Andhra Pradesh government launched 60 ‘Anna’ canteens serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at just ₹5, in nearly 25 municipalities across the state in the first phase, and will be run by Akshaya Patra Foundation. Chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated a canteen in Vijayawada. In the second phase of the project worth ₹83 crore, another 103 canteens would be inaugurated by August 15.
Himachal CM announced Rs 1.55 crore cow sanctuary project
Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur announced a ₹1.55-crore project to set up a cow sanctuary at Kotla Barog, , near Rajgarh in Sirmaur district. Here the animals will be free to roam in the fenced area. This sanctuary provides grazing facility to 500 animals, mostly stray cows. Madhya Pradesh is the only state which till now had introduced the concept of cow sanctuaries.
Odisha Govt ordered to ban use of plastic in phases from October 2
The ban will be imposed in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Berhampur and Sambalpur municipal corporations and Puri town in the first phase. The entire state will be covered in separate phases over the span of two years. ♦ Odisha Chief Minister – Naveen Patnaik. ♦ The Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments have also announced a ban on plastic. ♦ In Maharashtra, the plastic ban came into effect on June 23 with the state government imposing fines of Rs 5,000 for a first offence, Rs 10,000 for the second, and up to Rs 25,000 and a three-month jail term for repeated violations. ♦ The plastic ban in Uttar Pradesh is set to be implemented from July 15.
