National
First Uniform Sign Language Alphabet in Malayalam
⇒ Recently, the first Uniform Sign Language Alphabet in Malayalam was released by Dr. R Bindu, the Higher Education Minister of Kerala.
Developed by:
The sign language alphabet in Malayalam is developed by the National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH), in collaboration with All Kerala Association of the Deaf.
The Higher Education Minister of Kerala said that it would help bring about a qualitative change in the lives of those who are hearing impaired.
DigiSaksham - a digital skills programme
⇒ The Minister for Labour and Employment, Shri Bhupender Yadav launched DigiSaksham- a digital skills programme to enhance the employability of youth by imparting digital skills that are required in an increasingly technology driven era on 30 September 2021.
This joint initiative with Microsoft india is an extension of the Government’s ongoing programs to support the youth from rural and semi-urban areas.
About DigiSaksham:
Under the DigiSaksham initiative, there will be basically three types of training:
- Digital Skills – Self paced learning
- VILT mode training (Virtual Instructor led)
- ILT mode training (Instructor led)
» Through DigiSaksham initiative, free of cost training in digital skills including basic skills as well as advance computing, will be provided to more than 3 lakh youths in the first year.
» The Jobseekers can access the training through National Career Service (NCS) Portal. The initiative gives priority to the job-seekers of semi urban areas belonging to disadvantaged communities, including those who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19 pandemic.
» Through this initiative, jobseekers will be able to access training in areas like Java Script, Data Visualisation, Advance Excel, Power Bi, HTML, Programming languages, software development fundamentals, Introduction to coding etc.
» DigiSaksham will be implemented in the field by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India (AKRSP-I).
People's Plan Campaign 2021
⇒ Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Shri Giriraj Singh launched People’s Plan Campaign 2021- Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas and Vibrant Gram Sabha Dashboard on 30 September 2021.
He also released a booklet on People Plan Campaign-2021 for preparation of plans for FY 2022-23 and the 10th issue of Gramoday Sankalp Magazine.
People’s Plan Campaign has been rolled-out in all the States from 2nd October 2021.
Highlights of People’s Plan Campaign–2021:
During the campaign:
» Structured Gram Sabha meetings will be held for preparing Panchayat Development Plans for the next financial year 2022–2023.
- The Panchayat Development Plan aims to strengthen the role of elected representatives of Panchayats and SHG Women under DAY-NRLM in effective Gram Sabha.
» The campaign is being undertaken on a large scale, given the number of Gram Panchayats in the country.
» There will be a Public Information Campaign of all programmes in Gram Panchayat office.
» The structured Gram Sabha meetings will be spread over 2nd October 2021–31st January 2022, with physical presence and presentation by frontline workers/supervisors on 29 sectors.
- These 29 Sectors are:
Agriculture, Land improvement, Minor irrigation, Animal husbandry, Fisheries, Social Forestry, Minor forest produce, Small scale industries, Khadi, village and cottage industry, Rural housing, Drinking water, Fuel and fodder, Roads, Rural electrification, Non–conventional energy, Poverty alleviation programme, Education, Vocational education, Adult and informal education, libraries, Cultural activities, Markets and fairs, Health and sanitation, Family welfare, Women and child development, Social welfare, Welfare of weaker sections, Public distribution system and Maintenance of community assets
Unique technology for direct generation of Hydrogen from agricultural residue
⇒ Indian researchers have developed a unique technology for direct generation of Hydrogen from agricultural residue.
This innovation by Indian researchers can promote eco-friendly hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles by overcoming the challenge of hydrogen availability.
A team of researchers from Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, GOI, in collaboration with Sentient labs of KPIT Technologies, have developed this technology at lab-scale to extract hydrogen from agricultural residues.
About Technology:
- The hydrogen fuel generation process comprises the use of a specially developed microbial consortium that facilitates biodegradation of cellulose- and hemicellulose-rich agricultural residues, such as biomass of paddy, wheat, or maize, without thermo-chemical or enzymatic pretreatment.
- The process generates Hydrogen in the first stage and Methane in the second.
- The methane generated in the process can also be used to generate additional hydrogen.
- This technology is 25% more efficient as compared to conventional anaerobic digestion processes used today.
International
NITI Aayog, AWS,and Intel Collaborate to Accelerate Digital Innovation in India
⇒ The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), the Government of India’s national policy think tank, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Intel have come together to establish a new experience studio at the NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center.
- The new experience studio is located in NITI Aayog’s New Delhi premises.
About New Experience Studio:
» The studio will help showcase the potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/ VR), blockchain, and robotics to accelerate their application in public sector use cases.
» The studio will be a hub for collaboration and experimentation to enable problem solving and innovation between government stakeholders, startups, enterprises, and industry domain experts.
» It will also provide startups with an option to access necessary support to enhance and scale their solutions.
» The new experience studio at the NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies CIC, based on the AWS Cloud Innovation Centers program, aims to quickly solve public sector challenges through collaboration and actualize innovations from experimentation and prototypes.
About NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies CIC:
The NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies CIC was established in October 2020 as part of the AWS Cloud Innovation Centers Global Program.
Sports
First Indian Batsman to reach the 10,000 run mark in all forms of T20 cricket
⇒ Virat Kohli became the first Indian, and the fifth batsman overall, to reach the 10,000-run mark in all forms of T20 cricket (international, domestic and franchise). He completed this mark on 26 September 2021 during the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021).
West Indies legend Chris Gayle holds the record for most runs in T20 cricket, having scored more than 14,000 runs in the format.
Apart from Kohli and Gayle, Windies white-ball captain Kieron Polard, Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik and Australian David Warner are the other members of the 10,000-run club in T20 cricket.
2021 Sudirman Cup
⇒ The 2021 Sudirman Cup was the 17th edition of the Sudirman Cup, the biennial international badminton championship contested by the mixed national teams of the member associations of Badminton World Federation.
- The tournament was played from 26 September to 3 October 2021 in Vantaa, Finland.
- India was eliminated in group stage.
Winner:
China won the trophy while Japan was the runner-up.