Why in news?

• The state’s first flower mandi has been set up at the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) marketing yard, Parwanoo, to facilitate the growers from Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla and Mandi districts.
• The mandi is located on the Kalka-Shimla expressway at Parwanoo.
• The agro-climatic conditions offer apt opportunities for the development of floriculture to serve the internal off-season market

Why in news?

• Himachal Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (HPSIDC) today signed an MoU with Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) for the supply of steel requirements.
• The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who also launched the UNNATI portal and mobile app of the HPSIDC. He also launched the website of the HPSIDC, which will ensure timely project updates to the people at all levels, besides helping in avoiding missing deadlines and keeping workflows tools in one place.

Why in news?

• Scientists in France have identified a new strain of coronavirus with more mutations than the Omicron variant.

About the new variant

• Named IHU, the B.1.640.2 variant was discovered by the academics at institute IHU Mediterranee Infection.
• According to the researchers, the new variant contains 46 mutations – even more than Omicron.

Why in news?

• Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said recently that the different Science Ministries and Departments in Govt of India have been asked to take up joint projects on common themes instead of working in Silos. The Minister said this while launching the theme of National Science Day (NSD) 2022 ‘Integrated Approach in S&T for Sustainable Future’

About the theme

• Dr Jitendra Singh said that NSD Theme has been chosen for the purpose of raising public appreciation of the scientific issues involved and added that celebrations of important scientific days should not remain a one-day event and there is a need to build upon this on a regular basis.

Why in news?

• As part of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav (AKAM) celebrations across the country, the Smart Cities Mission, MoHUA has launched “Smart cities and Academia Towards Action & Research (SAAR)” program, a joint initiative of MoHUA, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and leading Indian academic institutions of the country.

About Smart cities and Academia Towards Action & Research (SAAR)

• Under the program, 15 premier architecture & planning institutes of the country will be working with Smart Cities to document landmark projects undertaken by the Smart Cities Mission.
• The documents will capture the learnings from best practices, provide opportunities for engagement on urban development projects to students, and enable real-time information flow between urban practitioners and academia.

SAAR Process Flow:

• MoHUA and NIUA will facilitate linkages between the Institutions and Smart Cities for specific landmark projects that are to be documented under the program. The Institutes will document the outcomes of these projects, on how they are impacting the lives of urban citizens. Team of students, mentors from these premier institutions will be visiting these 47 smart cities to understand/document these projects in the month of January/February, 2022.
• The workflow of the compendium being prepared by SAAR will include field Investigation, data analysis & documentation, national research methodology workshop for the participating students, peer review of first draft, final submission by research students to their respective institutions, institutional submission of research to NIUA, and leading to the launch of compendium of 75 urban projects by June 2022.

Why in news?

• Amrit Phal, Cori Gold, Kashmiri Mantra, Madhu Mantra, Somdana, & Whole Wheat Cookies of Dilli Bakes launched under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

About the products and the schemes

• Union Minister for Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras and Minister of State, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel and senior officials of NAFED recently launched six, One District One Product (ODOP) brands under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme at Panchsheel Bhawan, New Delhi.
• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has signed an agreement with NAFED for developing 10 brands of selected ODOPs under the branding and marketing component of the PMFME scheme. Out of these, six brands namely Amrit Phal, Cori Gold, Kashmiri Mantra, Madhu Mantra, Somdana, and Whole Wheat Cookies of Dilli Bakes were launched.
• The brand Amrit Phal for amla juice has been exclusively developed under the ODOP concept for Gurugram, Haryana. The product contains pure amla juice and is a natural elixir with added lemon for a unique taste and health benefits. The 500 ml bottle is competitively priced at Rs.120/-.
• Cori Gold brand has been developed for coriander powder which is the identified ODOP for Kota, Rajasthan. The product has a distinct flavour and brings forth a regional speciality. The 100g pack is competitively priced at Rs.34/-.
• Brand Kashmiri Mantra brings out the essence of spices from Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmiri Lal Mirch product has been developed under the ODOP component for spices for Jammu and Kashmir. The product has a distinct flavour and the 100g pack is priced at Rs.75/-.
• Brand Madhu Mantra has been developed under the ODOP concept for honey from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The multiflora honey has been collected by free-range bees and the 500g glass bottle is competitively pricedat Rs.185/-.
• Whole wheat cookies, is the second product developed under the brand Dilli Bakes. The brand and the product have been developed under the bakery ODOP concept for Delhi. According to NAFED, the whole wheat cookie is a unique product as it is made with whole wheat, jaggery instead of sugar, and contains butter instead of vanaspati. The 380 gm pack is competitively priced at Rs.175/-.
• Brand Somdana has been developed under the ODOP concept of milletsfrom Thane, Maharashtra. The ragi flour is a unique product as it is gluten-free, rich in iron, fibre, and calcium. The 500 gm pack is priced at Rs.60/-.
• According to NAFED, for the benefit of consumers, all the products come in unique and attractive packaging that keeps moisture and sunlight at bay, thus ensuring a longer shelf life of the product and keeping it fresh.

Why in news?

• In order to secure Consumer Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), under Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, has released a report “Code of Practice for Securing Consumer Internet of Things (IoT)” as a baseline requirement aligned with global standards and best practices.

About ‘Code of Practice for securing consumer Internet of Things (IoT)’

• These guidelines will help in securing consumer IoT devices & ecosystem as well as managing vulnerabilities. This report is intended for use by IoT device manufacturers, Service providers/ system integrators and application developers etc.
• Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the fastest emerging technology across the globe, providing enormous beneficial opportunities for society, industry, and consumers. It is being used to create smart infrastructure in various verticals such as Power, Automotive, Safety & Surveillance, Remote Health Management, Agriculture, Smart Homes and Smart Cities etc, using connected devices. IoT is benefitted by recent advances in several technologies such as sensors, communication technologies (Cellular and non-cellular), AI/ ML, Cloud / Edge computing etc.
• As per the projections, there may be 26.4 billion IoT devices in service globally by 2026. Out of this approximately 20% will be on cellular technologies. Ratio of Consumer and Enterprise IoT devices may be 45% : 55%.

Why in news?

• Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA) sets a new record of 19000 flying hours in 2021.
• It is set to hit a target of 25000 flying hours in 2022 by inducting a record 121 cadets.

About IGRUA record

• Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA)was established by the Government of India in the year 1986 at Fursatganj Airfield, presently in the district of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
• IGRUA is an Autonomous Body established under the Societies Registration Act 1860 and is administered by a Governing Council under the Ex-officio Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• In line with the spirit of its establishment, IGRUA followed the philosophy of dominance through interminable betterment, disciplined training and modern training infrastructure.
• IGRUA offers a training environment, superior to any other flying training institution in the country. There is no congruence in matters relating to fleet, maintenance, safety standards, ground training, flight training, aerodrome & training aids, instructors and last but not the least the trainees themselves.  An all-India entrance examination, wombat aptitude test for the selection of trainees is conducted with the help of specialized software to verify psychomotor skills and finally an interview.

Why in news?

• A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between AIIMS, Bilaspur, and the Lahaul-Spiti administration today for better health facilities to people of the district through the integrated tele-medicine platform. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR ) Centre at PGI, Chandigarh, will also be involved in it.
• “The tribal district is not only the largest in the state, but geographical and climatic difficulties also remain a major hindrance in providing better healthcare to the people. In such a situation, the agreement will be a great relief for the people. The agreement is based on important components like telemedicine, diagnostic and patient care.”

Why in news?

• Sebi has restructured its advisory committee on market data that recommends policy measures pertaining to areas like securities market data access and privacy.

About the restructured advisory committee

• Rejigging its market data advisory committee, Sebi has said the panel will now be chaired by S Sahoo, Professor at National Law University, Delhi and former chairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), as per the latest information with the regulator.
• The 20-member committee was earlier headed by Madhabi Puri Buch, ex-whole-time member of Sebi.
• Apart from Sahoo, the panel has CEOs of stock exchanges and depositories, representatives of various stakeholders and senior officials of Sebi as members.
• The scope of the work of the committee includes identifying segment-wise data perimeters, data needs and gaps, recommending data privacy and data access regulations applicable to market data.
• It is responsible for recommending appropriate policy for access to securities market data.
• In addition, the committee recommends standardization of data definitions; data identification logic (usage of uniform codes for identifying and storing data – raw data and derived data) and data validation techniques (single source of truth, validation).