Facts in News

                         Facts in News

AICTE Lilavati Awards

• These were instituted and are presented by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
  • AICTE was set up in November 1945 as a national-level apex advisory body to conduct a survey on the facilities available for technical education and to promote development in the country in a coordinated and integrated manner.
• The awards are aimed to award the efforts taken in the field of women’s development and create ‘equality and fairness’ for women in all spheres of their lives.
• All the stakeholders would get a unique opportunity to present a solution to the prevalent issues of gender discrimination, such as illiteracy, unemployment, economic and nutritional disparities, maternal mortality, human rights, etc.
• The theme for 2020 awards was ‘Women Empowerment’.
  • Winners competed across 6 sub themes, which include, Women’s Health, Self-Defense, Sanitation and Hygiene, Literacy, Women Entrepreneurship and Legal Awareness.

KAZIND Exercise

• It is the annual military exercise between India and Kazakhstan armies.
• It is conducted alternatively in Kazakhstan and India.
• The aim of the exercise is joint training of troops in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in both jungle and mountainous terrains.
• It will enhance the level of defence cooperation further fostering bilateral relations between the two nations.

Gender Advancement through Transforming Institutions (GATI)

• It is a joint programme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India and the British Council.
  • The British Council is the facilitator, creating ties between Indian stakeholders and UK institutions to achieve the desired transformation.
• Aims
  • To establish a Gender Equality framework in order to counter the gender disparity in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM).
  • To create a new ecosystem that builds competencies of Indian institutions and enables them to establish sustainable partnerships.
  • To nudge higher education institutions (HEIs) and research organisations to better support diversity and inclusion for talent progression.
  • To increase recruitment, retention, and women’s progression throughout their professional journeys.
• Institutions that sign the GATI charter will adopt gender equality principles and create Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound (SMART) action plans for systemic and cultural transformation.

NEERI

• The CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) is a research institute created and funded by the Government of India.
•  It was established in Nagpur in 1958 with a focus on water supply, sewage disposal, communicable diseases and to some extent on industrial pollution and occupational diseases found common in post-independent India.
•  NEERI comes under the Ministry of Science and Technology (India) of the central government.
• It is devoted to research and innovations in environmental science and engineering besides solving a range of problems posed by industry, government and public.

Sputnik V

• Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine — Sputnik V — has been recommended for emergency use authorisation in India following a meeting of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC).
• If approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
  • DCGI under the gamut of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and is responsible for approval of licenses of specified categories of drugs.
• It would be the third vaccine to be made available in India after the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
• Sputnik V, developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.
• It uses two different viruses that cause the common cold (adenovirus) in humans.
• The adenoviruses are weakened so they cannot replicate in humans and cannot cause disease.
• Sputnik V is approved for use in over 55 countries with a total population of over 1.5 billion people.

India Energy Dashboards (Version 2.0)

• Niti Aayog launched India Energy Dashboards (IED) Version 2.0.
  • The first version was launched  1.0 in May 2017.
• It is an endeavour to establish a central energy database of the country.
• IED is an initial step towards building a comprehensive, open and freely accessible energy data portal for India.

• Energy data published/provided by Central Electricity Authority, Coal Controller’s Organisation, and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is compiled in the Dashboards.

• The IED provides time-series data from FY 2005-06 until FY 2019-20.
• IED provides data at sub-yearly frequencies as well.
• This includes monthly data and API linked data from some portals maintained by the government agencies.
  • The monthly data is sourced from the monthly reports that are regularly published for the electricity, petroleum and natural gas sectors. API linked data from Saubhagya
  • It aims to provide single-window access to the energy data for the country,
  • The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insights to inspire those in a position to make a difference.

DGFT ‘Trade Facilitation’ Mobile App

• The Union Commerce & Industry launched the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) India’s ‘Trade Facilitation’ mobile app.
• Features: Provide real-time trade policy updates, notifications, applications, status alert and tracking help requests.
  • Explore item-wise Export-Import policy & statistics, Track IEC Portfolio.
  • AI-based round-the-clock assistance for trade queries.
• Benefits: Promoting ease of doing business and providing quick access to information to importers/exporters.
  • Provide a key role in determining India’s growth and competitiveness.
  • It is a single-window approach which has liberated last-mile beneficiaries.
  • It will significantly contribute to the achievement of India’s export target of $1 trillion by 2025 and GDP target of $5 trillion.
  • It is a symbol of India’s idea of AtmaNirbhar Bharat.