- National Affairs
GoI to launch National Programme on Artificial Intelligence
A National Programme on Artificial Intelligence is going to be launched by the Government of India.
In this programme, high value datasets in PSUs will be identified and put under an Artificial Intelligence control framework to increase their safety and accessibility.
Digital India 2.0 will be launched to support this programme.
- Person in News
Noura al Matroushi becomes first Female Astronaut of UAE
Noura al-Matroushi has been selected as the first female astronaut of UAE
She will be trained by NASA for future space exploration programmes
Her training will take place in Johnson Space Centre of NASA in Texas.
Quick Fact: Hazza al-Mansoori was the first UAE astronaut to enter space
- Science and Technology
World’s first gamified Sanskrit Learning Application created
Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has partnered with the Gamapp Sportswizz Tech Private Limited to launch ‘Little Guru’ application
It is a gamified application for interactive teaching of Sanskrit
It is the world’s first Gamified Sanskrit learning application.
- Environment
Increase in number of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika Lake
The Irrawaddy dolphin population in Odisha’s Chilika lake has increased from 146 to 162 in 2021.
The count was made during an annual dolphin census in the world’s second largest lagoon..
The dolphin distribution in Chilika lake is the highest single lagoon population in the world.
Quick Fact: Irrawaddy Dolphins are listed under the Endangered category in the IUCN Red List.
- Science and Technology
NASA’s Artemis Programme
The Artemis Programme is an international human space flight programme which aims to launch a manned mission to the south pole region of the moon by 2024.
It plans to land the first person of color as well as the first woman of the moon.
Indian American astronaut Raja Chari is one of the finalised 18 astronauts of the programme.
- Awards
AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020 Presented
AICTE Lilavati Awards, 2020 were presented by Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
The main theme of the awards was ‘Women Empowerment’.
The awards are presented every year as a part of AICTE Innovative education programme to empower women.
Quick Fact: The awards are named after mathematician Bhaskara II’s 12th Century book, ‘Lilawati’.
- International Affairs
Bhutan vaccinates 93% of adults in 16 days
Bhutan has completed vaccinating 93% of its adult population in a record time of 16 days.
The success of the vaccination programme has been attributed to:
- Bhutan’s small population
- Its unique Dessuup programme under which trained volunteers helped in the vaccination drives.
Quick Fact: Dessuup is the highest form of voluntary act in Bhutan.