WHY IN THE NEWS?

Mini polyhouse which is a kind of greenhouse will be built under the “Krishikarna” project, launched in Kerala, a joint initiative of the National Society for Agricultural Horticulture (SAHS), the Sustainability Foundation and Qore3 Innovations.

About:

• Although SAHS, a government-recognized cooperative, is involved in promoting agricultural and gardening practices, the Sustainability Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Thiruvananthapuram, promotes sustainable development.
• Qore3 Innovations is a start-up company that claims to provide “end-to-end support” for farms.
• Under Krishikarna, a small polyhouse will be built on a 2.5 cent land.
  • The total estimated cost of each plastic house is Rs 2, 35,000.
  • Aneesh N Raj won Kerala’s Best Hi-Tech Farmer Award and is also an agronomist of Qore3 who is implementing Krishikarna’s innovations.
  • Unprecedented climate changes have had a negative impact on Kerala’s agriculture. Hence, it is necessary to promote high-tech agricultural practices so that farmers can farm all year
  • Qore3 has established more than 30 projects successful high-tech farms in Kerala.

  Plan of this project

  The plan is to plant Long beans, tomatoes, salad cucumbers, bell peppers, bell peppers, and green leafy vegetables at the mini polyhouses which will be constructed. Krishikarna covers greenhouses, fish and vegetables and mushroom farming. Work on the lands of those farmers who have signed up for this project has already begun, and seeds can be sown within a few weeks

WHY IN THE NEWS?

On 31st July 2021, a ‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’ for the distribution of assistive devices and aids to ‘Divyangjan’ will be distributed in Madhya Pradesh.

About:

• Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) along with District Administration Chhindwara and ALIMCO will organize this ‘shivir’ under the ADIP Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• This ‘shivir’ will be organized in Chhindwara which is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
• In view of the COVID 19 pandemic, a total of 8,291 assistive devices and assistive devices worth Rs 4.32 crore will be distributed to 4146 Divyangjan’s at the Block/Panchayat level for free.
• The opening ceremony will feature the virtual presence of the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
• Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr Virendra Kumar, will host this function.

About Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

MoSJE is a ministry of the Government of India. It is responsible for the well-being, social justice and empowerment of socially disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including other backward classes (OBC), scheduled castes (SC), transgender and LGBTQ people, the disabled, the elderly and drug abuse victims. Dr. Virendra Kumar is the current minister of this department.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), humanity has again used up all biological resources that our planet regenerates during the entire year by 29^th July 2021.

• Humanity currently uses 74% more than what the planet’s ecosystems can regenerate — or 1.7 Earths.
• From Earth Overshoot Day until the end of the year, humanity operates on ecological deficit spending.

About:

• The day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources (fish and forests, for instance) and services in a given year exceeds what the Earth can regenerate in that year.
• The concept of Earth Overshoot Day was first conceived by Andrew Simms of the UK think tank New Economics Foundation, which partnered with Global Footprint Network in 2006 to launch the first global Earth Overshoot Day campaign.
  • Global Footprint Network is an international non-profit organization founded in the year 2003. Its key strategy has been to make available robust Ecological Footprint data.
  • The Ecological Footprint is a metric that comprehensively compares human demand on nature against nature’s capacity to regenerate.
• Earth Overshoot Day is computed by dividing the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources Earth is able to generate that year), by humanity’s Ecological Footprint (humanity’s demand for that year), and multiplying by 365, the number of days in a year:
  • (Earth’s Bio capacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya students have detected Eight Asteroids as part of the Khagolshala Asteroid Search Campaign 2021.

About Khagolshala Asteroid Search Campaign:

• Khagolshala Asteroid Search Campaign (KASC) is an initiative of the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India, and SPACE Foundation.
• The campaign is the India chapter of an international student research program that has got students involved in the search for asteroids.
• Under the campaign, high-quality astronomical data sets are distributed to students through the PANSTARRS telescope for analysis and identification of asteroids.
• The students then analyze the data using software, which then leads to potential discoveries.
• These observations feed into the Near-Earth Object (NEO) data being compiled by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL).
• As part of the campaign, Space India has established Khagolshala Astronomy and Space Education Labs (ASELs) across 20 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas to date.

About Asteroids:                                     

• Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun. Although asteroids orbit the Sun-like planets, they are much smaller than planets.
• There are lots of asteroids in our solar system. Most of them live in the main asteroid belt—a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

About PANSTARRS Telescope:

• Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) is a telescope located in Hawaii, US.
• The telescope consists of astronomical cameras, telescopes and a computing facility that is surveying the sky for moving or variable objects on a continual basis. It is also producing accurate astrometry and photometry of already-detected objects.

About SPACE Foundation:

• SPACE Foundation was established in 2001. It aims to popularize science and inculcate scientific temperament among the masses, especially students in India.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has said that the Government is taking various steps to undertake the large scale production of COVID BEEP.

• COVID BEEP is the country’s first cost-effective indigenously made wireless physiological parameters monitoring system for patients who are suffering from COVID-19.
• COVID BEEP has been developed by the ESIC Medical College Hyderabad in association with the Department of Atomic Energy and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL).
• 40 COVID-BEEPs were supplied to the Government hospitals in Hyderabad for feedback and deployment.
• Further, another 100 are being prepared to be dispatched by mid-August, 2021.
• A proposal has been submitted to the Ministry of Labour & Employment for the large scale deployment of COVID BEEPS.

COVID BEEP

COVID BEEP which stands for ‘Continuous Oxygenation & Vital Information Detection Biomed ECIL ESIC Pod’ first cost-effective indigenously made wireless physiological parameters monitoring system for the patients who are suffering from COVID-19. COVID BEEP has been developed by the ESIC Medical College Hyderabad in association with the Department of Atomic Energy and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL)

COVID BEEP’s latest version has

NIBP monitoring

Aged people who are affected have the highest COVID-19 death rates and hence, NIBP monitoring is necessary.

ECG monitoring

The drugs which are being used such as prophylaxis or Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin etc have effects on the patient’s heart and hence, it is important for ECG monitoring.

The Respiratory Rate

COVID BEEP calculates the respiratory rate by the Bio Impedance method.

COVID BEEP will help in reducing transmission and will help in saving resources like PPE kits, etc.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

India’s 14 Tiger Reserves have received the Global Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS) accreditation.

The 14 tiger reserves are

• Orang, Manas and Kaziranga in Assam
• Kanha, Panna and Satpura in MP
• Pench in Maharashtra
• Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar
• Dudhwa in UP
• Sunderbans in West Bengal
• Parambikulam in Kerala
• Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka
• Annamalai and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.

Global Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS) accreditation     

CA|TS is a conservation tool that is accepted globally. This tool sets the best standards and practices to manage the tiger population of the world and encourages their assessments for benchmarking of progress. It is being implemented in around 125 sites in seven tiger range countries. India has the highest number of 94 sites, out of which assessment of 20 tiger reserves was completed this year. Currently, the country has 51 tiger reserves which are spread across 18 states.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Intel has collaborated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Ministry of Education to announce the launch of the ‘AI for All’ initiative. This initiative has been launched with the aim of creating a basic understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) for everyone in the country.

About:

• Emerging technologies such as AI plays a crucial role in economic growth.
• NITI Aayog’s National Strategy for AI focuses on leveraging AI for inclusive growth and also to develop AI solutions for various societal needs.
• The National Education Policy 2020 of India also emphasizes preparing the students of the country for an AI-driven economy.
• India is striving to build a digital-ready foundation and to achieve this it is essential to focus on demystifying AI so that it can be used by a broader section of the population and will also help them to understand how AI can impact their lives in a positive manner.

About AI for All

Intel’s AI for All is a 4-hour, learning program. It can be accessed by all and is as much applicable to a student as to a stay-at-home parent or a professional in any field and even a senior citizen of the country. This program of Intel aims to introduce Artificial Intelligence, its usage and function, to 1 million citizens in the first year of the program. This 4-hour program is divided into two sections:  AI Appreciation (2.5 hours) and AI Awareness (1.5 hours).

AI Awareness

The segment on AI Awareness provides an elementary understanding of AI, misconceptions about AI and the potential of application of AI.

AI Appreciation

The AI Appreciation segment will help the learners understand the domains of AI as well as the impact it has across the various industries.

This program is available in 11 vernacular languages. The content has also been made compatible with various talkback applications so that it can also be accessed by visually impaired people

WHY IN THE NEWS?

The 12^th edition of the military exercise INDRA NAVY was held in the Baltic Sea. It is a biennial bilateral maritime exercise that is conducted between the Indian Navy and Russian Navy.

About:       

• It was initiated in the year 2003.
• This exercise further strengthens the long-term strategic relationship between the navies of the two countries.
• This exercise was undertaken during INS Tabar’s visit to St Petersburg in Russia to participate in the Russian Navy’s 325th Navy Day celebrations.
• INDRA NAVY has matured over the years with an increase in scope, the complexity of operations and level of participation.
• The primary aim of this year’s exercise was to further strengthen the inter-operability which has been built up by the Navies of both the countries and also to enhance procedures and understandings of various maritime operations.
• This edition of the exercise includes diverse and wide-ranging activities which have been stretched across the broad spectrum of maritime operations.

Representation by the countries

INS Tabar represented the India Navy whilst the Russian Federation Navy was represented by Corvettes RFS Odintsovo and RFS Zelyony Dol of the Baltic Fleet.

Conclusion

The exercise was conducted over two days and various fleet operations such as underway replenishment drills, boarding drills, anti-air firings, helicopter ops, and seamanship evolutions. This exercise will further strengthen inter-operability, mutual confidence and will also enable the sharing of best practices between the Navies of both countries.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

29^th July 2021, International Tiger Day which is also known as World Tiger Day is observed annually.

About:

• This day is observed to create and spread awareness about the dangers faced by the tiger population of the world.
• It is very important to focus on the conservation of tigers as they play an important role in maintaining and protecting a balanced ecosystem.
• World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) states that since tigers are the top predators, they play a very important role in maintaining the planet’s ecosystems harmony.
• By preying on the herbivore population, tigers have helped to keep the balance between the forest vegetation and the animals.

History of International Tiger Day

In the year 2010, in Russia, the first World Tiger Day was observed at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit. A total of thirteen countries with tiger range banded together and decided upon a global goal to double the wild tiger’s population by the year 2022.

Significance of International Tiger Day

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says that at the beginning of the 20^th century there were around 1,00,000 tigers. In the year 2010, it was observed that the number has drastically reduced to 3,200. Therefore, it is very important to save the tiger population of the world. Hence, International Tiger Day plays an important role by creating and spreading awareness and works for the conservation of tigers.

Tiger Population in India

According to the All India Tiger Estimation Report of 2018, the tiger population in India is 2967.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

 The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) launched Earth System Science Data Portal (ESSDP)

About:

• Dr Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), gave a lecture during this event.
• A report on ‘WMO, Disasters, Climate and COP-26’ was discussed along with the issues relating to climate change.

ESSDP (Earth System Science Data Portal)

Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of the Ministry of Earth Sciences launched the MoES-ESSDP (Earth System Science Data Portal). It is an integrated digital web portal of the MoES institutes. This web portal will make the data regarding the various themes of earth system science available for public usage. This is available at https://incois.gov.in/essdp and it has been developed by using the latest technological tools. This portal has been aligned with the initiative, Digital India, of the Government of India which aims to transform India into a digitally empowered economy and society. This portal will facilitate the retrieval and search of science data on earth systems such as ocean, atmosphere, geosciences, poles, and seismology for benefit of the society.