About:

• Yunqing Tang is an Assistant Professor with the University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.
• According to SASTRA Ramanujan Prize Committee Ms. Yunqing’s works display a remarkable combination of sophisticated techniques, in which the arithmetic and geometry of modular curves and of Shimura varieties play a central role, and her results and methods are bound to have major impact on future research in this area.
• The award, instituted by the Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA) in 2005 with a cash prize of $10,000, is presented annually to individuals aged 32 and below, who made outstanding contributions in the field of mathematics, influenced by Srinivasa Ramanjuan in a broad sense.

• Three scientists jointly won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics for their work on quantum information science that has significant applications, for example in the field of encryption.
• Frenchman Alain Aspect, American John F Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger were cited by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for discovering the way that particles known as photons can be linked, or “entangled,” with each other even when they are separated by large distances.
• “Quantum information science is a vibrant and rapidly developing field,” said Eva Olsson, a member of the Nobel committee. “It has broad and potential implications in areas such as secure information transfer, quantum computing and sensing technology.”
• “Its origin can be traced to that of quantum mechanics. Its predictions have opened doors to another world, and it has also shaken the very foundations of how we interpret measurements,” she said.Speaking by phone to a news conference after the announcement, Zeilinger said he was “still kind of shocked” at hearing he had received the award. “But it’s a very positive shock,” said Zeilinger, 77, who is based at the University of Vienna.
• Clauser, Aspect, and Zeilinger have figured in Nobel speculation for more than a decade. In 2010 they won the Wolf Prize in Israel, seen as a possible precursor to the Nobel.
• While physicists often tackle problems that appear at first glance to be far removed from everyday concerns — tiny particles and the vast mysteries of space and time — their research provides the foundations for many practical applications of science.
• The Nobel committee said Clauser, 79, developed quantum theories first put forward in the 1960s to a practical experiment. — Agencies

• The Solan Municipal Corporation (MC) has bagged the top rank in the state Swachh Survekshan 2022 ranking while attaining the 31st rank at the zonal ranking among the northern states.
• The rankings, released last week, have added a feather in the cap of the city, which falls in the 25,000-50,000-population band.
• The MC consists of 17 wards with a population of 39,256 spread over 6.2 sq/km area.
• In a bid to attain the status, 100 per cent door-to-door garbage collection as well as segregation of solid waste has been ensured by the civic body staff. It has set up a waste-to-energy plant having two dumping sites with one material recovery facility.
• The solid waste collected from the MC area is segregated into dry and wet at the Salogra plant and then the executing company transports it to its facility at Panchkula for scientific disposal.
• The door-to-door collection has also been extended to the merged areas.
• A sewage treatment plant is also functional in the city to ensure scientific disposal of the sewage waste. The city also enjoys a triple plus open-defecation free (ODF) status.
• A loss of about 800 points was, however, suffered on account of some toilets at the bus stand failing to adhere to cleanliness standards.
• The government had also granted five stars to the MC for garbage free cities. The rating, awarded under the Swachh Bharat Mission, had taken into account the working of the solid waste management plant at Salogra. It was accorded earlier this year.
• A Central team had inspected the Salogra-based processing plant of the solid waste management and, based on its functioning, five-star rating was recommended for the MC.
• About 20 tonnes of solid waste are generated on a daily basis in the MC area.

• About 25 per cent of 18,711 villages are not connected with roads while 20 per cent of the villages do not have all-weather road connectivity, said Om Prakash Bhuraita, Director, HP State Resource Centre, Shimla.
• He said this at a special lecture-cum-interaction on ‘Rural Roads in Himachal Pradesh: Challenges and way forward’. The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Himachal Pradesh University, organised the event.
• Bhuraita said the road connectivity had increased from 39 per cent in 1983 to 75 per cent in 2021 with funds under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana’.
• However, 3,484 habitations with less than 250 population in the 2011 Census could not be covered under the scheme.
• Poor road connectivity and low quality of roads were major causes of accidents.
• Baldev Singh Negi, faculty, Rural Development at the HPU, said it was identified in the discussion that the state needs a rural link road policy, simplified forest clearance process, more funds, roads suitable for Himalayan terrain and greater focus on quality and maintenance to improve the quality of rural roads and better connectivity.

• A new Hindu temple constructed in Jebel Ali in Dubai is set to open on 4th October 2022, one day ahead of the Dussehra festival.
• The temple is an extension of the Sindhi Guru Darbar Temple, one of the oldest Hindu temples in the UAE.
• The temple’s foundation was laid in February 2020 and the inauguration fulfils a decades-long Indian dream of having a place of worship in the area.
• The temple, which will be officially open to the public from October 5 — the day of the Dussehra festival, welcomes people of all faiths and has allowed entry to worshippers and other visitors to view the 16 deities and other interior works.
• Welcoming people from all faiths, the temple has already had its soft opening on September 1, 2022, where thousands of visitors were allowed to get a glimpse of the interiors of the temple built with white marble.
• It has ornate pillars, Arabic and Hindu geometric designs on the facade, and bells on the ceiling.
• The temple management activated the QR-code-based appointment booking system via its website on its soft opening.
• From day one, the temple has received many visitors, especially over the weekends. The restricted entry has been regulated through QR-coded appointments for crowd management and to ensure social distancing, the report said.
• Most of the deities are installed in the main prayer hall with a large 3D-printed pink lotus unfurling across the central dome.
• According to the official temple website, Dubai’s new Hindu temple will be open from 6:30 am to 8 pm.
• Visitors who have booked their appointments to visit the temple from Dubai’s official website for October 5, will be allowed entry without being subject to the hourly number restrictions which are currently in place.
• Moreover, the temple in Dubai has a whooping capacity to easily accommodate around 1000 to 1200 worshippers on a daily basis.
• Located in what is described as the ‘Worship Village’ in Jebel Ali which houses several churches and the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara, the temple has also installed the Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Book of the Sikhs, in August.

About:

• This year, World Habitat Day will be observed on October 3.
• Theme: “Mind the Gap. Leave No One and Place Behind”.
• It seeks to draw attention to the growing inequalities and vulnerabilities in cities and human settlements that have been exacerbated by the triple ‘C’ crises — COVID-19, climate and conflict.

History: 

• The day came into existence with a resolution by the UN General Assembly in 1985.
• World Habitat Day was first celebrated in 1986 in Nairobi, Kenya, with the theme ‘Shelter is my right’.

• Navies of India and South Korea participated in a maritime partnership exercise in the Bay of Bengal.
• Indian warship INS Sumedha participated in the exercise with Republic of Korea navy ships Hansando and Dae Cheong on October
• The exercise included helicopter operations, communication drills and tactical manoeuvres. The interaction was aimed at strengthening maritime cooperation and inter-operability between the two navies. The Korean Navy’s cruise training task group consisting of the two naval ships had arrived in Chennai on September 28.
• Professional interactions and sports activities are scheduled between the personnel of the two

• State Bank of India has warned against freebies, saying they have large fiscal costs and cause inefficiencies by distorting prices and misallocating resources.
• Citing an example of just three states, SBI’s chief economic adviser Soumya Kanti Ghosh said the annual pension liabilities of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan are estimated at 3 lakh crore rupees.
• In its economic report, SBI suggested that the Supreme Court-led panel cap such welfare schemes at 1 percent of the state’s GDP or 1 percent of its own tax collection.
• The report said, in relation to these states’ own tax revenues, pension liabilities of Jharkhand are 217 percent, Rajasthan 190 percent, and Chhattisgarh 207 percent.
• The SBI report also flagged the off-budget borrowings of states, which are loans raised by state-owned entities and guaranteed by the states, to have reached around 4.5 percent of GDP in 2022.
• The report further said if we include the contingent liabilities along with freebies, then they come to around 10 percent of the GSDP for all the states combined. We must find a solution to this all-encompassing problem of fiscal hara-kiri.

• Indian-origin, Vivek Lall has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by US President Joe Biden with the citation of ‘With Grateful Recognition’.
• The citation was given to Dr. Lall  by the AmeriCorps, which is a part of the US Government and aims to foster activities that bring Americans closer together to “serve communities.”
• According to the official statement, the citation was personally signed by the President of the United States.
• Lall is an industry leader and Chief Executive Officer of General Atomics.
• The company is a global leader in the specialised fields of nuclear technology and has developed state-of-the-art Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) like the Predator, Reaper, and Guardian drones.

• Prime Minister’s Scheme for Mentoring Young Authors – YUVA 2.0 was launched on October 2, to promote reading, writing, and book culture in the country.
• In view of the significant impact of the first edition of YUVA with large-scale participation from young and budding authors in 22 different Indian languages and English, YUVA 2.0 has been launched.
• Education Ministry said, the launch of YUVA 0 (Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors) is in tune with the Prime Minister’s vision to encourage the youth to understand and appreciate India’s democracy.
• It will help to develop a stream of writers who can write on a spectrum of subjects to promote the Indian heritage, culture, and knowledge system.
• The Ministry said, a total of 75 authors will be selected through an All-India Contest to be conducted through www.mygov.in from 2nd October – 30th November this year.
• The winners will be announced on 28 February next year. The young authors will be trained by eminent authors and mentors from 1st March to 31st August 2023.