Why in news?

• Japan introduces world’s first dual-mode vehicle that can run on roads and tracks.

About world’s first dual mode vehicle

• The world’s first dual-mode vehicle has hit the ground recently in the town of Kaiyo, Japan. It is said that the vehicle can run on roads as well as rail tracks.
• The DMV looks like a minibus and runs on normal rubber tyres on the road. What makes this vehicle different from the rest is, it also has steel wheels in its underbelly which descend when it hits the rail tracks.
• The front tyres are lifted off the track and the rear wheels stay down to propel the DMV onto the railway. This feature of effectively changing into a train-like module easily on a rail track is the first of its kind.
• According to reports, the DMV can carry upto 21 passengers and runs at a speed of 60km/h on rail tracks and can go as fast as around 100km/h on public roads.
• Powered by diesel, the small fleet of vehicles comes in different colours. It runs along part of the coast of Shikoku island in southern Japan, connecting several small towns and offering passengers attractive seaside scenery.

Why in news?

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) NITI Aayog recently released the second edition of – ‘Innovations for You’- a compendium of innovations focused on agriculture featuring 70 startups supported by Atal incubation Centers (AICs) of AIM and ‘The Ingenious Tinkerers’ – a compendium on the innovations on technology featuring 41 innovations from Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) of India.

About ‘Innovations For You’ & ‘The Ingenious Tinkerers’

• As the nation rejoices the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav – 75th Year of Independence, both the books are celebration of the success stories of young innovators of India. The ‘Innovations For You’ is a compilation of successful innovations by the entrepreneurial minds of India solving problems of present for future, while as ‘The Ingenious Tinkerers’ is a compilation of the top innovations created by young student innovators who participated in the ATL Marathon – which invites school students to address a problem that they see or face on a day-to-day basis.
• ‘The Ingenious Tinkerers’ leveraged the up-and-coming technologies available at ATLs to devise a solution. These young tinkerers took it upon themselves to identify their problem statements by interacting with the members of their community and designing a prototype in a manner that fits their needs and demands.
• Meanwhile, the ‘Innovations For You’ in its second edition, focuses on the startups and innovations in field of Agriculture and Allied services. The book is a compilation of 70 Ag-Tech startups, incubated at Atal Incubation Centres spread across the country. These startups are leveraging frontier technologies such as AI, IoT, ICT and others to provide socially relevant solutions to problems of modern farming. The first edition of this book was focused on innovations in Health Care, which was launched in October, this year.

Why in news?

• The Indian Army is making steady, yet significant strides in the field of emerging technology domains. The Army, with support from the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has recently established the Quantum Lab at Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow (MP) MCTE to spearhead research and training in this key developing field. Gen MM Naravane, the Chief of Army Staff was briefed on the facility during his recent visit to Mhow.

About Quantum Laboratory by the Indian army and other achievements

• Indian Army has also established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centre at the same institution with over 140 deployments in forward areas and active support of industry and academia. Training on cyber warfare is being imparted through a state of art cyber range, and cyber security labs. Ideation for Army’s involvement in Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations was done in a seminar on Electromagnetic Spectrum and National Security organised in October last year. Since then, an impetus has been given to Indian Army’s Technology Institutions for investing in AI, Quantum and Cyber.
• Research undertaken by Indian Army in the field of Quantum Technology will help leapfrog into next generation communication and transform the current system of cryptography in the Indian Armed Forces to Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC).
• Key thrust areas are Quantum Key Distribution, Quantum Communication, Quantum Computing and Post Quantum Cryptography.

Why in news?

• Telangana is the first large state across the country to complete 100 per cent first dose vaccination against Covid-19, said state health minister T Harish Rao recently.

About Telangana having 100% first dose Covid vaccine

• Telangana is the first large state across the country to complete 100 per cent first dose vaccination against COVID-19, said state health minister T Harish Rao recently.
• As per the health minister of Telangana, until now the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Sikkim — only 8 smaller states, Union Territories, have achieved this feat.
• The minister further informed that that state has completed 66 per cent coverage of second dose.

Why in news?

• Bag makers in Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu have welcomed Chief Minister MK Stalin’s ‘Meendum Manjappai’ scheme to reduce the use of plastic bags, and are all set to print yellow bags, among other cloth bags.

About ‘Meendum Manjappai’

• The demand for the traditional yellow cloth bag in Tamil Nadu that has been a landmark for the businessmen and ordinary people of the state is making a major comeback.
• Chief Minister M K Stalin has inaugurated a scheme ‘Meendum Manjappai’ aimed at reducing the use of plastic bags and promoting cloth bags.
• The cloth bag-making units of Pudukottai, Kancheepuram, Salem, Erode, and Dindigul have become vibrant with orders pouring in from wholesale and retail traders across the state.

Why in news?

• Rural women picked up as ‘Krishi Sakhis’ (community resourse persons) for agriculture-related activities under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) have become the messengers of natural farming in Himachal.
• The womenfolk associated with training in natural farming technique, concept seeding at village organisation level, training and promotion of ecological practices, promotion of agri-nutri garden and running seed banks by the Himachal Pradesh Prakritik Khushhal Kisan (PK3Y) Yojana are changing the mindsets, with sustainable agriculture, income, environment and nutrition in focus.

Why in news?

• Education, Arts, Language and Culture Minister of HP Govind Singh Thakur said about 82-km area having width of about 2.5 km from Bhuntar to Kothi in Kullu district had been included in the Amrut scheme to formulate a master plan to meet the basic needs of people by 2041.
• The minister said tourism is the backbone of the district. Adventure tourism, religious tourism and deity culture also need to be kept in mind
• The Government of India has launched the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) with the aim of providing basic civic amenities like water supply, sewerage, urban transport, parks as to improve the quality of life for all especially the poor and the disadvantaged.

Why in news?

• Himachal Pradesh stunned Tamil Nadu to clinch the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time ever.

About

• The Vijay Hazare Trophy, also known as the Ranji One-Day Trophy, was started in 2002-03 as a limited-overs cricket domestic competition involving state teams from the Ranji Trophy plates.
• It is named after the legendary Indian cricketer Vijay Hazare.

Why in news?

• Surat’s noted industrialist Viral Desai, popularly known as Greenman for his love for the environment, has been awarded the prestigious Global Environment and Climate Action Citizen Award in Dubai.

About the awards

• Viral Desai and the other winners were felicitated at Dubai’s Atlantis, The Palm, on December 23, with the Bharat Gaurav Samman by Sanskruti Yuva Sansthan. The UAE’s Foreign Trade And Economic Development Department’s Director-General Sheikh Awad Mohammed Mugrin graced the ceremony with his presence.
• Twenty-eight prominent personalities from 11 countries, including the UK, the US, New Zealand, France, and Malaysia, were felicitated with the prestigious awards on occasion, but Viral Desai was the only one from India to have won the honour for climate action.
• Some of the other awardees include motivational speaker Padma Shri Gaur Gopaldas, polo player Ashvini Kumar Sharma, Akshaya Patra Foundation’s chairman Padma Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, instrumentalist Padma Bhushan Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Padma Shri Ramkishore Chhipa, Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi, investor banker Saket Mishra, and others

Why in news?

• The Gujarat government recently launched ‘Nadi Utsav’, or river festival, to honour rivers for their contribution to the development of the state as well as to raise awareness about their protection.

About Nadi Utsav

• Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel participated in a state-level launch function at a weir-cum-causeway on Tapi river here, where he worshipped Goddess Tapi with Vedic rituals.
• The state government is committed to building a riverfront on the Tapi river in Surat, Patel said at the function, organised as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, being celebrated across the country, to honour rivers.
• ‘Nadi Utsav’ is an attempt to revive the glorious culture scattered along the rivers. Our rivers are a silent witness to the unparalleled development of the state. Rivers are the only source of pure fresh water for many species, including humans. It is our duty to preserve life-giving rivers to protect the environment for our future generations.