• The 4th India-Philippines Strategic Dialogue was held in Manila in which the two sides discussed Defence and Security Cooperation.
• They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest as well as ASEAN-related matters. It was co-chaired by Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar and Under Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines, Theresa Lazaro. External Affairs Ministry in a statement said, both sides co-chaired the 13th Foreign Office Consultations.
• They reviewed the multi-faceted relations between India and Philippines. The two sides also expressed their desire to advance bilateral relations and expand engagement in areas including agriculture, trade, pharmaceuticals, fintech, education, defence and security, and people to people ties.
• It was also agreed to work to expand engagement in other fields such as space, development cooperation and civil aviation and to convene bilateral mechanisms in different sectors at an early date and work towards holding the next Ministerial level Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation at mutually convenient dates.
• Both sides agreed to convene bilateral mechanisms in different sectors at an early date and work towards holding the next Ministerial level Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation at mutually convenient dates.

• The government has prepared the draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022 to consolidate and amend the laws relating to ports.
• The draft bill seeks to repeal and replace the existing the Indian Ports Act, 1908. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has issued Draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022 for Stakeholder Consultation.
• The proposed bill will homogenize and streamline the development of the maritime sector, along with, promoting ease of doing business by eliminating unnecessary delays, disagreements and defining responsibilities.
• It will incorporate State Maritime Boards in the national framework.
• India has a 7,500-kilometre-long coastline, 14,500 kilometer of potentially navigable waterways and strategic location on key international maritime trade routes.
• About 95 per cent of India’s trade by volume and 65 per cent by value is done through maritime transport facilitated by ports.

• Goa has become the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ certified State and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu the first Union Territory in the country.
• In this State and UT, people from all the villages have declared their village as Har Ghar Jal through a resolution passed by the Gram Sabha.
• All two lakh 63 thousand rural households of Goa and over 85 thousand of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have access to safe drinking water through tap connection.
• Jal Shakti Ministry said, despite various disruptions and challenges faced during COVID-19 pandemic, the consistent efforts by Panchayat representatives, Pani Samitis, District and State and UT officials have led to this achievement.
• All schools, Anganwadi centres, public institutions including Gram Panchayat buildings, healthcare centres and community centres and other government offices have now access to potable water through tap connection.
• Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship programme of the Central Government which aims at making provision of potable tap water supply to every rural household of the country by 2024.
• More than 52 percent rural households in the country are now connected with tap water which was only 17 percent at the time of launch of this mission in August 2019.

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has allocated spectrum to telecom operators, paving the way for launch of 5G services.
• Airtel paid 8312.4 crore rupees towards spectrum dues and was provided the allocation letter for the designated frequency bands within hours.
• E band allocation was given along with spectrum.
• With the assignment of frequencies, telecom operators can start the work for rolling out 5G networks.
• Telecos have already placed orders for buying telecom equipment and now will start distributing radios to the identified sites for 5G.
• The government as well as telecom operators are rushing to launch 5G services at the earliest, probably by next month.
• The Centre netted 150,173 crore rupees from the sale of 51,236 MHz in the seven-day auction.
• In all, it had put 72,098 MHz of airwaves on sale. Market leader Jio was the largest bidder in the 5g airwave auctions that ended on August 1, spending 88,078 crore rupees, while Airtel and Vodafone Idea brought airwaves worth 43,084 crore and 18,799 crore rupees, respectively.
• First time bidder Adani Data Networks had won airwaves for 212 crore rupees.

About 5G Technology:

• 5G is the 5^thgeneration mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.
• It enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
• Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G has been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (gigabits per second),while, in most cases, the maximum internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.

Different Bands of 5G:

• 5G mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.

1. Low Band Spectrum:

• In terms of coverage and speed of Internet and data exchange, the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
• This means that telecom companies can use and install it for commercial cellphone users who may not have specific demands for very high-speed Internet.
• However, the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialised needs of the industry.

2. Mid Band Spectrum:

• It offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
• This band may be used by industries and specialised factory units for building captive networks that can be moulded into the needs of that particular industry.

3. High Band Spectrum:

• It offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength.
• This band greatly enhances futuristic 5G technology applications like Internet of Things (IoT) and smart technology but will require considerable infrastructure.

• Dr Rachna Gupta, Member of the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC), was appointed Chairperson of the commission.
• The state government also issued the notification for the filling three vacant posts of members in the commission. The three persons appointed members are IAS Officer Rakesh Sharma, who today sought superannuation, Col Rajesh Kumar Sharma (retd) and Prof Om Prakash Sharma.
• Dr Gupta’s term as member of the HPPSC was to end in January 2023. Her appointment will be for a period of six years or till the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
• Dr Gupta, before assuming the post of member HPPSC, was editor of a vernacular daily. The term of Chairperson of the HPPSC Dr Ajay Kumar got over on August 6.

• Kullu Chief Medical Officer Dr Sushil Chander Sharma has been honoured with the Life-Time Achievement Award. The award was presented to him by Education Minister Govind Singh during the district-level Independence Day.
• Dr Sushil has been dedicated to the healthcare of the district for the past almost two decades.
• The Kullu Regional Hospital had received various awards during the tenure of Dr Sushil. The first award of ‘Kayakalp’ in 2017-18 was received by then Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda for top performance in the state. He again received the first award of ‘Kayakalp’ of the hospital in 2021-22 from the Chief Minister in Shimla.
• The District Hospital has been awarded a certificate by the Ministry of Health, New Delhi, for qualifying the NQAS at the national level and the hospital is receiving Rs 30 lakh every year for three years.
• In 2019, the CMO has also got the state’s first award for making the most cards in Ayushman Bharat and Himcare schemes. The hospital was awarded a silver medal at the national level in the TB-free campaign.
• During his tenure as the District Health Officer and later as the CMO, Dr Sushil had done ‘Kayakalp’ (transformation) of the Kullu hospital.

• Bursa Malaysia Berhad will launch its Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) exchange later this year which will enable companies to purchase voluntary carbon credits from climate-friendly projects and solutions.
• The VCM exchange can serve as an important lever in realizing Malaysia’s net-zero greenhouse gas emissions aspiration, as well as support the private sector’s voluntary climate commitments and decarbonization journey.
• Participation in the VCM will allow companies to offset their carbon emission footprint and meet their voluntary climate goals.
• The VCM exchange will allow buyers and suppliers to transact high-quality carbon credits at transparent prices.
• Bursa Malaysia also intends to offer standardized carbon credit products for trading via a rules-based VCM exchange.
• There will be distinct product categories for carbon credits derived from nature-based solutions and technologies that reduce or remove carbon emissions. The VCM exchange will aggregate carbon credits that share similar traits and fundamentals, with vintages 2016 onwards.
• To ensure the high integrity of carbon credits offered through the VCM exchange, Bursa Malaysia will adopt the Verified Carbon Standard or Verra.
• Verra is a widely recognized standard in the voluntary carbon market, accounting for nearly 70% of voluntary carbon credit issuances globally.

About

• Bursa Malaysia is the stock exchange of Malaysia.
• It is based in Kuala Lumpur and was previously known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE)

• For the first time in India, researchers have successfully 3D printed an artificial cornea and transplanted it into a rabbit’s eye. Led by researchers from L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Indian Institute of Technology – Hyderabad and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, the teams collaborated to develop a 3D printed cornea from the human donor corneal tissue.
• Completely indigenously developed, the product is natural and contains no synthetic components, is also free of animal residues and safe for use in humans, say researchers.

 How did they 3D print the cornea?

• Researchers made use of decellularised corneal tissue matrix and stem cells extracted from the human eye to develop a unique biometric hydrogel that was used as the background material for 3D printing the cornea.
• According to Dr Sayan Basu and Dr Vivken Singh, lead researchers at LVPEI, this innovation can be extremely useful for treating diseases such as corneal scarring or keratoconus.
• It is a made-in-India product by an Indian clinician-scientist team and the first 3D printed human cornea that is optically and physically suitable for transplantation. The bio-ink used to make this 3D printed cornea can be sight-saving for army personnel at the site of injury to seal corneal perforation and prevent infection during war-related injuries or in a remote area with no tertiary eye care facility.”
• Dr Falguni Pati, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering at IIT-Hyderabad, added “we used a biomimicking approach to provide an optimised micro-environment for stromal regeneration while maintaining the curvature and thickness of the bio-printed cornea to facilitate surgical implantation. We are hopeful about the positive outcome of India’s first 3D bioprinted corneal graft.”

• The defence minister recently handed over several indigenously-developed equipment and systems to the Army which includes F-INSAS, the Nipun mines and the Landing Craft Assault (LCA).

About 

 Future Infantry Soldier as a System(F-INSAS):

• It is a programme for infantry modernisation aimed at increasing the operational capabilityof the soldier.
• As part of the project, soldiers are being equipped with modern systems that are lightweight,all-weather-all-terrain, cost-effective and low maintenance.
• The full-gear of the F-INSAS system includes an AK-203assault rifle, which is a Russian-origin gas-operated, magazine-fed, select-fire assault rifle.
• The F-INSAS also comes with hands-free, secured advanced communications set for real-time exchange of information with the command post and fellow soldiers for enhanced situational awareness. modelled on Conceived in the 2000s, F-INSAS is one among many soldiers modernisation programmes across the world. The US has Land Warrior, while the UK has FIST (Future Integrated Soldier Technology).

 Nipun mines:

• They are indigenously designed and developed anti-personnelmines, termed by the DRDO as ‘soft target blast munition’.
• These mines are meant to act as the first line of defence against infiltrators and enemy infantry.
• They have been developed with the efforts of Armament Research and Development Establishment,a Pune-based DRDO facility, and Indian industry.
• Anti-personnel mines are meant to be used against humans as against anti-tank mines that are aimed at heavy vehicles.
• They are smaller in size and can be deployed in large numbers.

Landing Craft Assault (LCA):

• It is meant to serve as a replacement for the boats with limited capabilities currently in use in the Pangong Tso lake.
• The LCA, which has been indigenously developed by Goa-based Aquarius ShipYard Limited, is said to have better launch, speed and capacity to operate across water obstacles in eastern Ladakh.

• The Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA) has conferred its highest honour, the Fellow of the Association, on Pradeep K. Sinha, the Director of International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)- Naya Raipur (NR) in Chhattisgarh.
• Considering Dr. Sinha’s contributions to the advancement of Science and Technology and Technical Education, the Executive Board of the AAIA decided to bestow the honour upon him after recognizing him among the top scientists of the world with outstanding achievements in the area of Distributed Computing.
• Sinha played a vital role in introducing new B. Tech. and M. Tech. programs in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (DSAI) in IIIT-NR, in the year 2019, making IIIT-NR one of the first institutes in the country to have such a program.
• Sinha’s professional career spans more than thirty-five years, during which his technical contributions include building premier academic institutes; building supercomputing systems and facilities; developing healthcare products and solutions; innovating ideas leading to international patents; and authoring six books in the area of Computer Science & Engineering.

About AAIA:

• Based in Hong Kong, the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA) is an academic, non-profit and non-governmental organization voluntarily formed by a large group of academicians worldwide.
• It aims to build a broad AI industry, bringing together scientists and entrepreneurs related to AI applications to develop AI industries, including the AI Ocean, AI Transportation, AI Computing, AI Communication, AI Robot, AI Education, AI Agriculture, AI Finance, AI Medicine, AI Energy, and dozens of AI application fields.
• The main mission of the AAIA is to strengthen scientists in the field of AI and other fields worldwide to promote the development and application of AI through academic research, academic exchanges, science education, science exhibitions, academic conferences, academic publications, summer/winter camps and other activities.
• The fellows of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA) include some of the world’s eminent academicians who come from Stanford University, Princeton University, MIT, California Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Columbia University, University of Oxford etc.