Uttarakhand Affairs
The Union Minister of State for Tourism and Defence, Ajay Bhatt said that the Tourism ministry will provide any required assistance to Uttarakhand for facilitating tourism in the inner line areas. He said that a proposal for this should be sent to him. The minister said this while visiting the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) along with the States Tourism minister Satpal Maharaaz here on Sunday.
Speaking on the occasion, Bhatt emphasised on the need for finding destinations of tourist interest and developing such locations across the state. He said that this is important for developing the economy of the state. Inner line areas where the tourists are considerably interested due to historical aspects should also be identified. He said that proposals should be sent to him for any assistance required from the ministry in this regard.
Expressing his views, Maharaaz stressed on the development or religious tourism along with various different circuits like Mahabharat, Ramayana and Vivekanand circuits. Both the ministers also spoke of developing the Kainchi Dham temple in Nainital district, stating that it has elicited global interest and been a popular destination for visitors. Bhatt and Maharaaz also spoke of developing border area tourism to raise the living standards of the local inhabitants. The ministers also agreed to pursue the matter of giving the status of Central IHM to the State IHM in Dehradun. Stress was laid upon the importance of swift development of road, rail and water transport in the state.
National and International Affairs
Centre for Development of Telematics – C-DOT
C-DOT celebrated its thirty eighth Foundation Day. C-DOT is the premier telecommunications technology improvement centre owned by the Government of India.
About C-DOT:
C-DOT, Established in 1984, C-DOT engages in creating intelligent computer Software program applications.
Initially, its purpose was to increase Telecommunication technology to meet the needs of the Indian telecommunication Network.
It designs, develops and produces telecom technologies particularly suitable to the Indian landscape.
Currently, it is a full-fledged independent telecom R&D group that complies with level 5 maturity on the CMMI Model.
Doppler Weather Radar and Pilot Sonde Based on Indigenous GPS
The Jammu IMDs Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) and a Indigenous GPS based Pilot Sonde were unveiled by the Union Minister of Science & Technology.
Highlights:
This is the latest upgrade of the most advanced Doppler weather radar (DWR) and Pilot Sonde based on Indigenous GPS by the Indian Meteorological office in Jammu.
The X-Band Doppler Weather Radar mounted will assist in supplying real-time monitoring and reporting of Climate occasions affecting the Jammu area and will be beneficial in imparting climate forecasts in different sectors consisting of <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and tourism forecasts.
Besides offering real-time monitoring, the X-Band Doppler Weather Radar stationed at Jammu will provide increased climate Services to the people of J and K and enter into numerical climate prediction models for producing better climate forecasts.
First Ever Medal by Archer in Paralympics
In Paralympics 2020, Indias ace archer Harvinder Singh has won the bronze medal in the mens individual recurve open.
The 31-year old has grown to be Indias first-ever archer to win a medal in the Paralympics. With this win, Indias medal haul at the ongoing Paralympics Games in Tokyo has reached thirteen [2G,6S,5B]. Harvinder defeated South Koreas Kim Min Su 6-5 in a shoot-off to win Indias 0.33 medal of the day at Tokyo 2020, taking Indias tally to thirteen Earlier, United States of Americas (USA) Kevin Mather defeated Harvinder by way of 6-4 in the semi-final.
India is the 3rd Largest Unicorn Ecosystem
Hurun Research Institute has released the Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021, as per which India is the third-largest Unicorn/startup ecosystem in the world.
Highlights:
The USA is on top, followed by China on second. India has 51 unicorns according to the list. The USA has 396 and China has 277 unicorns. Zilingo is the pinnacle unicorn in the ranking in India with funding of USD 310. The headquarters of Zilingo is in Singapore. Bengaluru is the top Indian metropolis in terms of the variety of Unicorns headquartered in the city. Bengaluru has 31 unicorns followed by Mumbai which has 12 unicorns.
Logistics Agreement with Russia – India
India is about to sign a bilateral agreement with Russia, and the agreement with the United Kingdom has entered the final stage.
Highlights:
The Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement is probably to be signed through India in next 2 months
This agreement is an administrative arrangements facilitating access to military amenities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement
This cooperation simplifies logistical aid and will increase operational turnaround of the military when working away from India.
And, India has signed similar logistics agreements with all Quad countries, Singapore, France, and South Korea starting with LEMOA with the US in 2016.
Mu Variant of CoronaVirus – WHO
The World Health Organization has categorized some other SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.621 as a variant of interest (VOI) and labelled as Mu.
The variant used to be first recognized in Colombia in January, 2021.
The global prevalence of Mu mutations in sequenced cases has declined and is currently less than 0.1%. However, the prevalence rates in Colombia (39%) and Ecuador (13%) have been increasing.
Larger outbreaks have been mentioned from nations in South America and Europe. Cases have additionally been reported in the UK, US and Hong Kong.
Classes of SARS-CoV-2 variants – Variant of Interest, Variant of Concern.