National
INDUS (Innovation Development Upskilling) IoT Kit
⇒ Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited the CDAC Centre at Bangalore to Launch INDUS (Innovation Development Upskilling) IoT Kit – a single board IoT development platform.
The CDAC developed kit, of the size of a credit card, is fitted with 6 sensors, actuators, connectivity and debugger interfaces.
The compact and easily portable IoT Kit shall facilitate development of local and smart solutions in a range of applications including Drones.
Aadhaar Hackathon 2021
⇒ UIDAI hosted a Hackathon titled “Aadhaar Hackathon 2021” targeted at young innovators – who are still at various Engineering institutes and eager to step into the real world.
The hackathon started on 28 October 2021 and ended on 31 October 2021.
Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 was themed around two topics.
» The first theme was around “Enrolment and Update”.
- Essentially covers some of the real-life challenges being faced by the residents while updating their address.
» The second theme of the Hackathon was around the “Identity and Authentication” solution offered by UIDAI.
- Under this theme, UIDAI was soliciting innovative solutions to prove Identity without sharing the Aadhaar number or any demographics information.
29th “HunarHaat” at Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
⇒ The Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the 29th “HunarHaat” at Rampur, Uttar Pradesh with other Union Ministers on 16 October 2021.
This Hunar Haat was organised as a part of a series of 75 “Hunar Haat” from 16th to 25th October, 2021.
A series of 75 “Hunar Haat” are going to be organised across the country under “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” to celebrate 75 years of India’s Independence.
Vishwakarma Vatika:
“Vishwakarma Vatika” was an attraction in “Hunar Haats”. The first such “Vishwakarma Vatika” has been set up in “Hunar Haat” at Rampur to protect, preserve and promote India’s glorious legacy of centuries-old skills and craftsmanship.
Theme:
Besides “Vocal for Local”, “Hunar Haats” were also based on the theme of “Best from Waste”.
Participants:
About 700 artisans and craftsmen from more than 30 States and UTs participated with their indigenous products made with wood, brass, bamboo, glass, cloth, paper, clay etc at the “Hunar Haat”, organised at Numaish Ground, Panwaria in Rampur.
International
8th Edition of India-Sri Lanka Bilateral Joint Military Exercise MITRA SHAKTI
⇒ The 8th Edition of the bilateral joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army, Exercise MITRA SHAKTI was conducted from 04 – 16 October 2021.
- The two-week long exercise was conducted at the Combat Training School, Ampara in Sri Lanka.
Participation:
The Indian Army contingent comprised of 120 personnel of Infantry Battalion Group. Also, similar strength from a Battalion of the Sri Lankan Army participated in the bilateral exercise.
Exercise Mitra Shakti, based on counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in semi urban terrain is the largest bilateral exercise being undertaken by the Sri Lankan Army and it forms a major part of India and Sri Lanka’s growing defence partnership.
During the past 14 days, both the contingents displayed great enthusiasm and professionalism while practising joint drills, executed as part of the exercise.
Aim:
The aim of the exercise is to promote close relations between Armies of both countries and enhance inter-operability and sharing best practices in counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations.
Previous edition:
The 7th Edition of Exercise Mitra Shakti was conducted at Foreign Training Node (FTN), Pune, Maharashtra (India) in 2019.
Important Day
World Food Day 2021
⇒ World Food Day is celebrated globally on 16 October every year.
Theme:
The theme of World Food Day 2021 was “Our actions are our future. Better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life”.
Significance:
World Food Day is celebrated to tackle global hunger and strive to eradicate hunger across the world. It is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the founding of the FAO of the United Nations, every year.
Background:
World Food Day was established in November 1979, as suggested by former Hungarian minister of agriculture and food Dr Pal Romany.
Celebration in India: Food Tech Summit 2021
To commemorate World Food Day, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, organised the Food Tech Summit on 16th October 2021.
Aim:
The Food Tech Summit 2021 aimed at setting the stage for all food-tech stakeholders to impart, discuss and acquaint micro enterprises on the new emerging trends in food processing and technological innovation.
About Food Tech Summit and PMFME Scheme:
- The Food Tech Summit is one-of-a-kind initiative by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries along with the support of distinguished industry experts to educate and guide the stakeholders to make informed decisions in order to scale up their food business in the present scenario.
- Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme was launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
- PMFME Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme.
- PMFME Scheme aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and to promote formalization of the sector and provide support to Farmer Producer Organizations, Self Help Groups, and Producers Cooperatives along their entire value chain.