iDEX signed 300th Contract For Design and Development of GaN Semiconductor
Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)-Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), the flagship initiativeof the Ministry of Defence (MoD), signed its 300th contract with Bengaluru (Karnataka) based M/S Agnit Semiconductors Private Limited in New Delhi, Delhi.
Key points:
- The contract aims to utilise indigenous GaN technology to design, develop and manufacture GaN components for defence in India
- With this India can reduce its reliance on imports of GAN components and potentially become an exporter of it.
Note: GaN’s applications range from radars to Electronics Warfare (EW) jammers.
About iDEX:
i.It was launched in 2018 with an objective to provide the platform of co-creation & co-development in the defence sector.
ii.It promotes startups, innovators, and entrepreneurs to contribute to indigenous defense production.
iii.It is being implemented by DIO, established under the Department of Defence Production, MoD.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah led Committee Approves Rs 1,658 Crore Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Joshimath
The high-level central committee, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved the Recoveryand Reconstruction (R&R) plan of Rs 1,658 crore for Joshimath in Uttarakhand, which was affected by landslides and land subsidence.
Key points:
- Joshimath, a hill town in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, suffered a land subsidence(sink) of about 5.4 cm in the 12 days from December 27, 2022, to January 8, 2023.After this incidence, Joshimath has been declared a landslide-subsidence zone by the Uttarakhand government.Land subsidence is a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth’s surface due to removal or displacement of subsurface earth materials.
- Joshimath is also located in a high-risk seismic zone known as ‘Zone V’, which is vulnerable to landslides and flash floods.
Note:Joshimath is located en route to Badrinath and the Valley of Flowers National Park and Gurdwara Hemkund Sahib.
About the recovery plan for Joshimath:
i.The recovery plan for Joshimath will be implemented in three years, following best practices, Build Back Better (BBB) principles, and sustainability initiatives.
ii.Central Assistance:The union government will provide assistance of Rs 1,079.96 crore from recovery and reconstruction the window of the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
iii.State Assistance:The Uttarkhand state government will provide assistance of Rs 126.41 crore from its State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and Rs 451.80 crore from its state budget, including land acquisition costs for resettlement of Rs 91.82 crore
HDFC Securities Launches Mobile Trading App HDFC SKY On AWS Cloud
- HDFC Securities Limited, the stock-broking arm of HDFC Bank, has launched its mobile trading app,HDFC SKY on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing unit of Amazon.com.AWS is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud.
- HDFC Securities will provide secure and low-latency trading services to retail investors who prefer mobile trading.
- HDFC SKY, built on AWS, will enable investors to access the stock market at a scale of thousands of transactions per second.
- With AWS, HDFC Securities will reduce its annual Information technology (IT) infrastructure and management costs by up to 50%
India re-elected to International Maritime Organisation Council for 2024-2025
India has been re-elected to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council under Category Bstates for the 2024-2025 biennium. India got 157 votes out of 167, which is the highest number of votes among candidates in category B.The election was held during the 33rd Assembly of IMO in London, The United Kingdom (U.K.).Vikram Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, represented India at the IMO Assembly
About IMO Assembly:
The IMO Assembly is the highest governing body. It consists of 175 member states of IMO and meets once in every 2 years (biennial).
- Its main function is to monitor and approve the work programme and budget of IMO
- It determines financial arrangements and elections of members to the IMO Council
IMO Council:
i.It is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible for supervising the work of the organization under the IMO assembly.
ii.It consists of 40 members who are elected for 2 years. These members are further classified into 3 different categories:
Category A: It includes 10 member states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services.
Category B: It includes 10 member states with the largest interest in international seaborne trade.
Category C: It includes 20 member states which have a special interest in maritime transport or navigation.
About International Maritime Organisation:
International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations(UN) responsible for regulating and formulating policies for international maritime.The IMO Convention entered into force in 1958.India joined the IMO as its member state in the year 1959.
Secretary-General– Kitack Lim (South Korea)
Headquarters– London, the United Kingdom(U.K.)
Members– 175 member states and 3 associate members.
Gajraj System: Indian Railways to Install AI-based Surveillance System to Prevent Elephant Deaths on Tracks
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ministry of Railways, announced that the Indian Railways will install ‘Gajraj System’, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based surveillance system, covering 700-kilometer (km)track across India to reduce elephant deaths on railway tracks.700 km of rail network across Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, and Tamil Nadu will be covered under this system.The implementation of this system will costs around Rs 181 Crore.
Key points:
- The ‘Gajraj System’ was developed by the Railways in collaboration with several startups.
- This technology was tested on a 150-kilometer stretch of Assam in 2022. Based on the field experience, improvements were made in the system exhibiting a 99.5% accuracy in detecting elephants on tracks
- The Northeast Frontier Railway(NFR) has commissioned this system a pilot project over a section of 60 to 70 km
- In September 2023, the system was installed on 11 elephant routes in the Northeast: 5 in Alipurduar, West Bengal and 6 in Lumding, Assam
About Gajraj System:
i.The Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for railways is based on AI software, it can monitor unusual movements up to 60 kilometers.
ii.IDS (Elephant Detection) is based on the Distributed Acoustics Sensing (DAS) technique, which locates and detects the presence of elephants near the track so that the speed of trains in the sections will be reduced.
PCI Launched Revamped ‘DIGI-PHARMed’ Portal for Pharmacists
Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) launched the revamped version of the DIGI-PHARMed application, a cloud-based application to provide end-to-end services to Pharmacy institutions/Pharmacist/Pharmacy student/Pharmacist jobseeker.Dr. Montu Kumar M Patel, President of PCI inaugurated the revamped DIGI-PHARMed application.About DIGI-PHARMed
Objective:
To ensure that educational standards are implemented uniformly across India.
Key Points:
- The application has been enhanced with 4 integrated services with an objective to regulate the Pharmacy education in the country by enrollment/registration of Pharmacy institutions/ Pharmacist/ Pharmacy student/ Pharmacist jobseeker across India.
- The revamped version will enable the stakeholders to avail the full benefits of PCI digital services.
- The revamped portal will ensures total digitization, saving man-hours and paper.
- This will also enhance user satisfaction, streamlines registration, and boosts productivity and transparency.
About Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) :
Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) is a statutory body working under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
President– Dr. Montu Kumar M Patel
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2023- December 02
The United Nations (UN) International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is annually observed across theglobe on 2 December to combat and eradicate contemporary forms of slavery, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.
Key Points:
- The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery observed on 2 December, marks the date of the adoption of the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (resolution A/RES/317(IV)) by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) of 2 December 1949.
- The Convention for the Suppression of Trafficking Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others entered into force on 25 July 1951.
National Pollution Control Day 2023- December 2
National Pollution Control Day or National Pollution Prevention Day is annually observed across Indiaon 2 December in the memory of those who lost their lives in the disastrous 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy.The Day also aims to raise awareness of the management and control of industrial hazards and avoid pollution caused by industrial processes or human negligence.2 December 2023 marks the 39th Anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy
About Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB):
CPCB functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEF&CC).
Chairman– Tanmay Kumar
Headquarters– New Delhi, Deli
World Computer Literacy Day 2023 – December 02
World Computer Literacy Day is annually observed across the globe on December 2 to raise publicknowledge of computers and encourage the development of technological skills, particularly among children and women in India.2nd December 2023 marks the observance of 23rd World Computer Literacy Day.The first World Computer Literacy Day was observed on 2nd December 2001.
About National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT):
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Director (ED)
– Sapnesh Lalla
Headquarters – Gurugram, Haryana
Established in – 1981
Assam govt and NDDB sign MoU for holistic dairy development in Assam
- The Government of Assam has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for the holistic development of the dairy sector in Assam.
- This partnership is in line with efforts to make Assam, sufficient in milk and egg production in the coming years
- The government has targeted to increase Assam’s milk production to 39 lakh litres per day from 29 lakh litres
- Assam has identified land at three places to set up mega milk processing plants with a capacity of 1 lakh litres per day
Key Points:
- In January 2022, Assam and NDDB signed an MoU to create a Rs 2000 crore joint venture for the holistic development of the dairy sector in Assam.
- Under this MoU, the joint venture will be established with a target to process 10 lakh litres of milk through 6 new units in 7 years
- Himanta Biswa Sarma, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam also laid the foundation stone of Purabi Dairy expansion project under World Bank-funded Assam Agribusiness & Rural Transportation Project (APART).
Bengaluru’s KIA set to become India’s 1st Airport to Introduce CTX System For Effortless Screening Experience
- The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, is set to become the first Airport in India to introduce the Computer Tomography X-ray (CTX) machine to eliminate the need for removing personal electronic devices from handbags during preboarding security checks.KIA operator Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) has initiated a trial run for the CTX machine
- The CTX system will allow the passengers to leave electronic devices, such as laptops, and items categorized as Liquids, Aerosols, and Gels (LAGs), in their bags, expediting the screening process
- The CTX machine integrated with the Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) and full-body scanners, will enhance the security measures and operational efficiency
- The system is expected to become fully operational by December 2023