GUJARAT
After FDI, Gujarat sees rise in inflow of foreign students
Gujarat ranks among the top states in the country for attracting foreign direct investment.
Despite the slowdown in economic activities and restrictions in air travel due to Covid-19,
Gujarat has seen the number of foreign students double for the 2020-21 academic year.
Some of the leading universities of the state have so far admitted 2,052 foreign candidates
for 2020-21 as compared to 1,176 candidates in 2019-20.
Goverment officials credit ‘Study in Gujarat’ initiative launched by state government earlier
this year for the high influx of foreign students to state.
“Under this initiative, the government organized roadshows in ten countries earlier this
year.
INTERNATIONAL
International Satavadhanam’ event launched by the Vice President.
The Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu launched the ‘International Satavadhanam’ program
virtually.
‘Avadhanam’ is like a test of the poet’s literary prowess and involves solving tricky literary
posers, improvising poems and tests a person's capability of performing such multiple tasks
simultaneously.
The event was organized by Dr. Medasani Mohan under the auspices of Sri Krishnadevaraya
Satsang in Tirupati.
Avadhanam is a literary performance popular from the very ancient days in India.
Regional Cluster concept of economic development playing important role in Indian
success story: UNIDO Representative
United Nations Industrial Development Organisations (UNIDO) has been closely working
with India to implement UN's activities in harmony with national policy priorities and
development strategies.
The UNIDO Regional Office in New Delhi acts as a focal point to promote UNIDO’s mandate
of inclusive and sustainable industrial development in India.
Regional Cluster concept of economic development is playing an important role in Indian
success story.
UNIDO is the specialized agency of the United Nations.
NATIONAL
Prasar Bharati CEO to head panel to look into TRP system
The Centre announced a four-member committee, to be headed by Prasar Bharati CEO
Shashi Shekhar Vempati, to look into the Television Rating Points (TRP) system and
recommend any changes required to make it more robust and transparent.
The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) wrote to the Prime Minister, seeking a “national-
level independent body” to “deal with misconduct by professional journalists”.
The NBF is an industry body founded last year by Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab
Goswami.
Incidentally, Republic TV is among media organisations being probed in a case of alleged
‘TRP scam’.
Water bears – UV radiation
The Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has found that Water bears found in Bangalore
have a protective fluorescent shield which helps it survive harmful UV (ultraviolet) radiation.
The tiny eight-legged animals have survived all five mass extinctions, endure temperatures
above 150°C and lower than -200°C, and have been on earth for half a billion years.
The tardigrade species, Paramacrobiotus Bengaluru, has a protective fluorescent shield that
aids it to survive harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
The study found this specific Paramacrobiotus Bengaluru strain survived beyond one month
after 15 minutes of exposure to germicidal Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Paramacrobiotus
Bengaluru could have probably evolved this fluorescence mechanism to counter the high
Ultraviolet radiation of tropical southern India.
In a cryptobiotic state, tardigrades can lasts radiation, extreme pressure, heat, and cold,
including temperatures near absolute zero.
♦
Cryptobiosis/anabiosis is a metabolic state of life entered by an organism in response to
adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, freezing, and oxygen deficiency. In
this state, all measurable metabolic processes stop, preventing reproduction, development,
and repair.
Synthetic proteins from Tardigrades could be used to preserve organs needed for
transplants, potentially keeping organs viable for longer than is possible by storing them on
ice. They can help technicians working in nuclear power plants to guard against radiation.
They can help astronauts to survive on long space flights and save them from radiation.
Ultraviolet is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength from 10 to 400
nanometer. UV radiation is present in sunlight, and constitutes about 10% of the total
electromagnetic radiation output from the Sun.
GoI plans to approve Metro Neo
The Government of India is planning to approve national standard specifications and rules
for Metro Neo targeted at tier 2 & tier 3 cities. Metro Neo is a no-frills, low-cost urban rail
transit system.
This Metro Neo is a mass rapid transit system that provides low-cost, energy-efficient, &
eco-friendly transport solutions of urban for tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Metro Neo will draw traction power from overhead wires. So, Metro Neo will not run on
track but road.
This Metro opts for traffic demand places where there are 8,000 passengers or above one
way in peak time.
These Metro systems are smaller and lighter than conventional Metro trains.
Metro Neo costs about 25% of conventional systems but will have similar facilities, and are
cheaper than the other budget option Metrolite, which costs about 40% of the normal
Metro.
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