Yearly Archives: 2023

NEW FUEL FOR RAILWAYS

Trains Powered With Hydrogen Fuel Cells Don’t Emit Noxious Gases, Not Even Carbon Dioxide. They Will Cut Down Global Diesel Consumption By Millions Of Litres A Day By the end of this year you could ride up to Shimla in an electric train. Only, it will be an electric train …

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NISAR

Once launched into space, NISAR will provide critical information on Earth’s crust, ice sheets, and ecosystems, helping researchers better understand the causes and consequences of land surface changes. Jointly developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), an Earth-observation satellite, called NISAR …

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CHATGPT – BARD

ChatGPT in many ways is being called the end of Google Search, given that conversational AI can give long, essay style and sometimes elegant answers to a user’s queries. Google has finally decided to answer the challenge and threat posed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI and its AI chatbot, ChatGPT. The search …

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BALLOONING OPTIONS TO SPY

The saga of the alleged Chinese spy balloon over the United States ended in an anticlimactic puff of smoke on February 4 after an American F-22 shot down the airship over coastal waters in the Atlantic Ocean. News of the Chinese airship went public on February 3. This was not …

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TRAINING MODULE FOR INDIA’S HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT

Indian astronauts on India’s first human space flight mission Gaganyaan will undergo training with modules developed by IIT-Madras using extended reality (XR), which includes immersive technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) would utilize the advanced technologies created at the newly-established eXperiential Technology …

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E20 – ETHANOL BLENDING IN INDIA:

Indian Petrol Already Contains 10% Alcohol. The Launch of The E20 Pilot Can Help The Country Further Reduce Its Dependence On Fossil Fuels A pilot for ‘E20’, or petrol blended with 20% ethanol, at the ‘India Energy Week’ was launched. Ethanol Blending Ethyl alcohol or ethanol (C2H5OH) is a bio-fuel …

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PRADHAN MANTRI KRISHI SINCHAYEE YOJANA

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched during the year 2015-16 to enhance physical access of water on farm and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc. PMKSY is an umbrella scheme, consisting of two major components being implemented …

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VOICE DEEPFAKES

On January 29, several users of the social media platform 4chan, used “speech synthesis” and “voice cloning” service provider, ElevenLabs, to make voice deepfakes of celebrities like Emma Watson, Joe Rogan, and Ben Shapiro. These deepfake audios made racist, abusive, and violent comments. Making deepfake voices to impersonate others without …

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THE STATE OF ETHNIC DEMOCRACY IN MALAYSIA

Malaysia held its 15th general election (GE) in November 2022 to put an end to the volatile political situation in the region — the fallout of two ruling coalitions in quick succession. Given the tectonic political landscape of Malaysia, the election delivered, unsurprisingly, the first hung Parliament of the country …

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INDIGENOUS LIGHT COMBAT AIRCRAFT LANDING

In a major milestone, the naval variant of the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) landed on the first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, on Monday. This is also the maiden landing of a fixed-wing aircraft on the carrier. The LCA’s feat was followed by the landing and take-off by a twin-engine …

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ADOLESCENT INDIA

The freedom of speech is one of the most cherished freedoms. The Constitution of India, too, declares that Indians possess this freedom, but makes it subject to the interest of public order, or the sovereignty and integrity of India. We believe that the framers of the Constitution accepted this watering …

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ADVANCE MEDICAL DIRECTIVES’

When the Supreme Court granted legal status to the concept of ‘advance medical directives’ in 2018 and allowed passive euthanasia, subject to stringent safeguards, it was seen as a vital recognition of both patient autonomy over end-of-life decisions and the right to a dignified death. However, doctors later found that …

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SHOOTING DOWN OF A CHINESE SURVEILLANCE BALLOON

The shooting down of a Chinese surveillance balloon by the U.S. military has served as a stark reminder of the deep distrust that characterises relations between the world’s two biggest powers. The detection of the balloon last week over Montana sparked a diplomatic crisis, leading to U.S. Secretary of State …

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HYDROPOWER GENERATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Unlike coal-powered power plants, hydropower, which is the second highest power producing source at 13%, is a significant contributor to clean global electricity generation. Based on observations and climate projections, a two-member team from IIT Gandhinagar studied the hydroclimatic changes in the catchment areas and their implications for hydropower generation …

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INDIAN SEMICONDUCTOR MISSION

India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) has been setup as an Independent Business Division within Digital India Corporation having administrative and financial autonomy to formulate and drive India’s long-term strategies for developing semiconductors and display manufacturing facilities and semiconductor design ecosystem. Envisioned to be led by global experts in the Semiconductor and …

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MECHANISATION OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE

The adoption of mechanization by the farmers depends on various factors such as socioeconomic conditions, geographical conditions, crops grown, irrigation facilities etc. The farm mechanization levels assessed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for major cereals, pulses, oil-seeds, millets and cash crops indicates that the seedbed preparation operation is …

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BANNING OF PESTICIDES

An Expert Committee was constituted by Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India under the chairmanship of Dr. Anupam Verma (former National Professor), IARI, New Delhi to review 66 pesticides which are banned/restricted in other countries but continued to be registered …

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EU PLEDGES SUPPORT AHEAD OF KYIV SUMMIT

The EU on Friday pledged to support Ukraine “every step of the way” in its quest for bloc membership as top officials gathered in Kyiv for a highly symbolic summit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is hosting the meeting, is pressing the bloc for speedy membership as it battles to …

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ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOURISM AT G-20 MEETING

The Ladpura Khas village of Madhya Pradesh, Khonoma village of Nagaland and heritage sites like Dholavira will be showcased as success stories of rural and archaeological tourism by India during the first tourism working group meeting of the G-20 nations to be held at the Rann of Kutch. Rural tourism …

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