20TH AUGUST
Contents
DEFENCE INDIA START-UP CHALLENGE (DISC) 5.0
FIRST EV FRIENDLY HIGHWAY IN THE COUNTRY
INDIA LAUNCHED TECH PLATFORM ‘UNITE AWARE’
DRDO DEVELOPED CHAFF TECH. FOR IAF JETS
INDIA RANKED 2ND IN TERMS OF CRYPTO ADOPTION
WORLD MOSQUITO DAY OBSERVED ON 20TH AUGUST
INDIA OBSERVED SADBHAVANA DIWAS ON AUG 20TH
DEFENCE INDIA START-UP CHALLENGE (DISC) 5.0
- Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh launched Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0 under Innovations for Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) initiative, on August 19, 2021, in New Delhi.
- The Ministry of Defence has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for domestic procurement through the iDEX initiative for the financial year 2021-2022.
- The Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence has approved budgetary support of Rs. 498.80 crore for iDEX for the next 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
- DISC is a platform wherein the Government, Services, think tanks, industry, startups and innovators can work together to help the defence & aerospace sectors reach full potential by creating a strong, modern & well-equipped military and equally capable & self-reliant defence industry.
(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)
FIRST EV FRIENDLY HIGHWAY IN THE COUNTRY
- With a network of solar-based electric vehicle charging stations, the Delhi-Chandigarh Highway has become the country’s first EV-friendly highway in the country.
- The network of stations was set up by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) under the FAME-1 (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) & Electric Vehicles) scheme of the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
- Union Minister of Heavy Industries (MHI) Mahendra Nath Pandey remotely inaugurated the state-of-the-art charging station at Karna Lake Resort.
- About the EV charging station: The EV charging station at Karna resort is strategically located at the midpoint of the Delhi-Chandigarh highway. It is equipped to cater to all types of e-cars currently in the country.
- BHEL is also working on upgrading other charging stations on this highway, within this year. The establishment of similar EV chargers at regular intervals of 25-30 kms on the highway will do away with the anxiety of EV users and bolster their confidence for inter-city travel.
- The SEVC stations are equipped with individual grid-connected rooftop solar plants that will supply green and clean energy to the charging stations.
(SOURCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES)
INDIA LAUNCHED TECH PLATFORM ‘UNITE AWARE’
- India has launched a tech platform named “UNITE Aware”, in collaboration with the UN, for improving the safety and security of the UN peacekeepers.
- The platform was launched in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the UN headquarters. The launch of the UNITE AWARE platform came as India assumed the Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council for the month of August.
- India has contributed USD 1.64 million for UNITE Aware. UNITE Aware platform will provide terrain-related information to the United Nations military personnel (Blue Helmets) in the line of duty.
- India has developed the technology platform in partnership with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Operational Support.
- Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations: Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
- Department of Peacekeeping OperationsFounded: March 1992.
- Department of Peacekeeping Operations Headquarters: New York, United States.
(SOURCE: THE HINDU)
DRDO DEVELOPED CHAFF TECH. FOR IAF JETS
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have jointly developed an advanced chaff technology to safeguard fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from enemy radar threats.
- Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur, and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune, have developed the chaff cartridge meeting qualitative requirements of IAF.
- The Indian Air Force has started the process of induction of this technology after the completion of successful user trials.
- What is chaff technology?
- Chaff is primarily an electronic counter-measure technology used by militaries worldwide to protect high-value targets such as fighter jets or naval ships from radars and radio frequency (RF) guiding mechanisms of the enemy missiles.
- The chaff deployed in the air reflects as multiple targets for the missile guidance systems, thus misleading the enemy radars or deflecting adversary missiles. Chaff is a critical defence technology used to protect fighter aircraft from hostile radar threats.
(SOURCE: LIVE MINT)
INDIA RANKED 2ND IN TERMS OF CRYPTO ADOPTION
- India has ranked second in terms of crypto adoption worldwide behind Vietnam, but ahead of countries such as the US, UK, and China, according to the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain data platform Chainalysis.
- This comes even as worldwide crypto adoption grew by 880% between June 2020 and July 2021, according to the report.
- About the report: A report by US-based research platform Finder released this month corroborated that the top five countries in terms of crypto adoption were all from Asia.
- The company surveyed 47,000 users worldwide and 30% of those surveyed in India said they owned cryptocurrencies.
- Bitcoin is the most popular coin in India, followed by Ripple, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash, according to the report.
- Crypto adoption in India has also been led by smaller towns in the country. The largest crypto exchange in the country by trading volume, WazirX, said last week that it had seen more than 2,648% growth in user sign-ups from tier II and tier III cities in India.
(SOURCE: MONEY CONTROL)
WORLD MOSQUITO DAY OBSERVED ON 20TH AUGUST
- World Mosquito Day is observed on 20 August annually to raise awareness about the causes of malaria and how it can be prevented.
- This day is observed to highlight the efforts of healthcare officials, NGOs, and others in fighting diseases caused by malaria.
- On World Mosquito Day every year, awareness is created around diseases caused by mosquitoes.
- This year amid the coronavirus pandemic, the theme of World Mosquito Day 2021 is “Reaching the zero-malaria target”.
- There are several different mosquitoes that act as vectors for different diseases. Aedes mosquitoes cause chikungunya, dengue fever, lymphatic filariasis, rift valley fever, yellow fever, and zika. Anopheles cause malaria, lymphatic filariasis (in Africa).
- History of the day: The day also commemorates the discovery made by British doctor Sir Ronald Ross in 1897 that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans. In 1902, Ross won Nobel Prize for Medicine becoming the first British person to receive the award.
(SOURCE: FIRSTPOST)
INDIA OBSERVED SADBHAVANA DIWAS ON AUG 20TH
- Every year India observes Sadbhavana Diwas on August 20 to commemorate the birth anniversary of late erstwhile Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
- This year on 20th August 2021, we are going to celebrate the 77th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
- The Indian National Congress instituted Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award in 1992, a year after his death.
- Every year this day is celebrated in the memory of the late Rajiv Gandhi who was the youngest Prime Minister of India at the age of 40 years. In lieu of paying tribute to his vision for India, on this occasion contributions to society betterments are made.
- About Rajiv Gandhi: Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister at an age of 40 years after the assassination of his mother Indra Gandhi and served from 1984-89.
- To modernize the education system he came up with a National Education Policy in 1986 and he founded Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya System where he provided free residential education to rural sections from classes 6 to 12.
- He always had a dream of a developed nation for which he did many deeds including the National Education Policy in 1986, reduced Licence Raj, and included Panchayati Raj.
- He was the one whose contribution to the development of the nation is benefiting us at present. For remembering his dreams, his social and economic work for taking the nation towards development, Sadbhavana Diwas came into existence.
(SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA)