NATIONAL: I.T. / INNOVATION: India’s Easternmost District, Changlang of Arunachal Pradesh gets PM’s Award for Excellence for its Innovative ‘New Age Learning Centre, (NALC)

The award is for a flexible New Age Learning Centre set up at Miao in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh, India’s easternmost district, on Friday received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration for its innovative New Age Learning Centre (NALC).

Sunny K. Singh, the district’s Deputy Commissioner who conceptualised the centre, received the award given in the category of “innovation”.

NALC is a flexible, futuristic, leisure learning space-cum-library set up in a part of the Miao subdivisional office to enable people from all age groups to learn and improve every aspect of their personality.

The space is designed according to the comfort, needs, and demands of the users. Anyone can access the facilities without any membership fee, Mr. Singh said, crediting the project to teamwork.

“Apart from government officials, NGO and community members are involved in the project. It is a proud moment for all of us,” he said.

He said that community involvement has helped NALC run sustainably. The award has motivated those involved to replicate the concept elsewhere in the district, arguably the most geographically challenged in the northeastern part of India.

Prime focus

Mr. Singh said the NALC’s focus is also on e-learning through free Wi-Fi, online training through tablets, e-reading through Kindle, etc.

“It is kept open for children and members on all days and also late at night during exams. The NGO volunteers help the library staff ensure seamless operation. So, the idle time has been significantly reduced and the usage has almost doubled,” he said.

Among the other features at the NALC are free provisioning of books, including those for competitive exams, CCTV surveillance, air conditioning and heating to enable children to learn at ease, recording of videos of all activities for future reference and providing the members first-hand feedback of their activities, promotion of peer-to-peer learning to enable cross-exchange of talent, and ideas and skills.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: IT & WEB : Indian Researcher Anand Prakash Spots Security Flaw in LinkedIn

A security flaw was discovered in LinkedIn application by an Indian researcher that allowed attackers to delete posts from individual and company’s profile.

An Indian security researcher identified a bug in LinkedIn that allows attackers to delete posts on individual and company profiles.

The bug could be exploited to remove important content, which may impact flow of information on the platform.

The bug was found to exist in an insecure direct object reference in LinkedIn’s direct post request and existed due to lack of proper authorisation checks on the deleted post API request on the mobile website.

When notified, LinkedIn investigated the bug and implemented a patch for the security bug. The company awarded Indian security researcher Anand Prakash a bounty of $10,000 for responsibly disclosing the issue.

LinkedIn is a social networking site for the business community and is one of the largest global platforms for job seekers, employers, and recruiters.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: INT’L BUSINESS : Tim Cook launches Apple’s First India Store in Mumbai, April 18,2023

Likely to meet PM Modi tomorrow; open second store in Delhi.

Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook on Tuesday launched the iconic consumer technology company’s first retail store in India, welcoming customers into the facility inside a mall in suburban Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. Hundreds of customers had queued up since last night to be among the first ones to shop or get a feel of the store.

The added attraction of the presence of company’s CEO had added to the buzz and the fact that India will have an Apple store before Malaysia but after Singapore and Thailand.

Despite having 3% market share, the buzz around the Apple store indicated the mind space it has come to occupy. The day began with Tim Cook and his senior vice-president for retail Deirdre O’Brien standing behind the closed glass front doors of the store as co-workers in green shirts began a countdown.

Despite having carved out a special niche for its products, Apple wasn’t taking any chances with its competitors. The 20,000-sq ft space at Jio Mall in BKC has been taken on lease for 11 years at a cost of Rs 42 lakh per month provided there are none of the 22 competing brands in the vicinity. These include Amazon, Facebook, Google LG, Microsoft and Sony.

Cook is expected to open the second store in the national capital at Saket to a similar frenzy on Thursday and call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The first two customers, interviewed by the media, said they had been camping before the store since the previous night because of their love for Apple products. One had flown in from Rajasthan for the occasion and, undaunted after 15 hours spent in front of the Mumbai store, is planning to attend the opening of the Saket store as well. The first lot of customers took selfies with Cook and one of them got more time than the rest after he brought his Mac of 1984 vintage.

However, though there is local iPhone assembly, it still remains extremely expensive with hopes belied of a drop in prices. The base model iPhone 14 Pro costs $1,600 in India as against $999 in the US. Moreover, iPhone owners in India do not get several services such as News+, Fitness+, and Apple Pay.

source/content: tribuneindia.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: BUDDHISM CONFERENCE: India to Host 02-day ‘International Buddhist Conference’

Over 170 delegates from foreign countries and 150 from India would participate in the summit to be held on April 20-21 in the national capital.

India will host an international summit on Buddhism which would be attended by delegates from 30 countries, a notable exception being China. Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was also unlikely to attend the two-day conclave.

The maiden conference being organised by the Union Culture Ministry and the International Buddhist Confederation will discuss contemporary global issues through a Buddhist perspective.

“India is the birthplace of Buddhism. The summit aims to find solutions to problems such as climate change, poverty, and conflict, among others, by exploring the Buddhist teachings and practices,” Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy said.

Over 170 delegates from foreign countries, including Mexico, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Japan, and 150 from India would participate in the summit to be held on April 20-21 in the national capital.

The delegates include prominent scholars, monks, diplomats and members of Buddhist organisations across the globe.

The largest number of delegates are from Sri Lanka (20) and Vietnam (30), Abhijit Haldar, Director General of International Buddhist Confederation, said.

He said that while no delegate had confirmed from China, there would be two participants from Taiwan.

“The invitations were sent to various Buddhist institutions and not to governments,” he added.

He also mentioned that the Dalai Lama might not attend the event due to “health issues”.

The Tibetan spiritual leader has been at the centre of a controversy earlier this month over an incident with a minor boy.

PM to inaugurate conclave

The conference themed “Responses to Contemporary Challenges from Philosophy to Praxis” would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The discussion would be under four themes Buddha Dhamma and Peace, Buddha Dhamma: Environmental Crisis, Health and Sustainability, Preservation of Nalanda Buddhist Tradition and Buddhist Pilgrimage, Living Heritage and Relics.

The conference was expected to produce a document for further academic research and study the viability of Buddhism as a tool for the conduct of international relations on global stage.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: HEALTH, MEDICAL & WELLNESS SERVICES / MEDICAL TOURISM: Over 1.4 million Medical Tourists visited India in past one year, says Tourism Minister

Highlighting India’s efforts in promoting health and wellness tourism, the minister said the country remained one of the top destinations in this regard.

Over 1.4 million medical tourists visited India in the past one year, making it one of the top destinations for medical tourism, said Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Naik on Monday.

Highlighting India’s efforts in promoting health and wellness tourism, the minister said the country remained one of the top destinations in this regard.

Foreign tourists travelling to India for medical tourism saw a 66 percent rise in 2021, despite the Covid pandemic. In 2020, at the peak of the Covid outbreak when India was in lockdown and travel was restricted, 1.83 lakh tourists came for medical treatment. The number went up to 3.04 lakh in 2021, the Centre had informed Parliament in March.

Speaking at the second G20 Health Working Group Meeting in Goa, Naik called for a collaborative and sustainable global health strategy.

He also appealed to the delegates to engage in meaningful discussion on various aspects of the global health architecture.

Deleivering the keynote address, Union Minister of State for Health Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar emphasized India’s priorities and contributions to global health preparedness.

“India’s G20 priorities focus on reformed multilateralism that creates an accountable, inclusive, equitable and representative forum fit for addressing the many challenges in the 21st century,” she said.

She said India is striving to converge ongoing initiatives towards building resilient healthcare delivery systems supplemented with equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics to ensure that no one is left behind.

She noted that there is a need to leverage the momentum of ongoing discussions in the global health field and focus on critical aspects such as collaborative surveillance, community protection, access to medical countermeasures and emergency coordination. “We cannot be sure of when the next health emergency may hit us,” she said.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan underscored the need to invest in health systems substantially more than in the past through the “One Health” approach in order to reduce the drivers of pandemic risks.

He emphasised on continuing with the containment and control of Covid-19 by ensuring availability of vaccines and therapeutics.

He also highlighted that while all aspects of pandemic emergency preparedness and response are important, prevention is usually underfinanced relative to preparedness and response.

Towards this, he stated that India welcomes the proposal by the Pandemic Fund focusing on surveillance, lab systems and strengthening the public health workforce.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: Miss. INDIA: Rajasthan’s 19-year-old Nandini Gupta Wins ‘Femina Miss India World 2023’

Nandini Gupta was crowned by the former Femina Miss India 2021 winner, Sini Shetty.

Rajasthan’s Nandini Gupta was crowned Femina Miss India World 2023 in a grand ceremony on Saturday, 15 April.

The 19-year-old beauty queen, who hails from Kota, will represent India at the 71st edition of the grand Miss World Pageant in the United Arab Emirates.

Along with Nandini, Delhi’s Shreya Poonja was announced as the first runner-up, and Manipur’s Thounaojam Strela Luwang was crowned the second runner-up.

Femina Miss India also made the big announcement on their official Instagram handle and wrote, “WORLD – here she comes! Nandini Gupta has conquered our stage and taken over our hearts with her magnetism, charm, endurance and beauty! We’re so proud and can’t wait to see her on the Miss World stage! We’re so proud of your journey and all the hard work you’ve undertaken to earn the crown to your full credit. May you shine always! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome your new reigning queen, Nandini Gupta, Femina Miss India World 2023. Heartiest congratulations to you @nandiniguptaa13.”

Here, take a look:

The 59th edition of Femina Miss India was held in Manipur this year. The grand finale of the pageant was held on 15 April in a star-studded ceremony that celebrated the ethos of beauty in diversity.

The evening kicked off with performances by the former winners of the pageant, including Sini Shetty, Rubal Shekhawat, Shinata Chauhan, Manasa Varanasi, Manika Sheokand, Manya Singh, Suman Rao, and Shivani Jadhav.

Several Bollywood actors, including Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday, also performed at the ceremony.

Whereas, Manish Paul and Bhumi Pednekar kept the audience engaged with their witty hosting.

source/content: thequint.com (headline edited)

WORLD RECORDS: ARTS & CULTURE / DANCE: Assam’s Bihu Dance sets 02 World Records with over 11,000 Dancers and Musicians taking the stage

With over 11,000 dancers and musicians, Assam’s Bihu dance breaks two world records and is inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Assam’s Bihu dance has made history by setting two world records with over 11,000 dancers and musicians taking the stage at the Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati. More than 7,000 dancers, most of whom were female, and more than 3,000 drummers and musicians from all districts of the state performed the popular traditional dance style, which is practised across Assam, particularly during the spring festival of Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, posted unforgettable moments of the MegaBihu rehearsal on Twitter. He added that two world records set in Sarusajai had earned them entry into the Guinness Book of World Records today.

The event sought to break two world records: the largest Bihu dance performance and the largest performance by traditional folk musicians employing instruments including the “dhol,” “pepa,” “gogona,” and “toka.”

Rishi Nath, the official Guinness World Records judge, claimed that 500 Bihu dancers made up the previous record-breaking crowd before the event. He described the event as “mesmerising.”

Speaking at the event, the Assam chief minister expressed his belief that the people of Assam need to present themselves as a proud race on the world stage, and that their mentality of limiting themselves to certain boundaries has held them back.

He also spoke about the need to showcase the bravery and valour of historical figures from Assam, such as Lachit Barphukan, to the rest of the world. The event was well-received, with Guinness World Record adjudicator Rishi Nath describing it as “absolutely fantastic.”

While the exact number of musicians who participated in the second performance is yet to be determined, officials have indicated that it will be recorded in the official certificates.

The event was organised by the Assam government, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present them with their official Guinness World Records certificates during a similar performance on Friday.

source/content: indiatvnews.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: Indigenous Chip for NavIC-based Satellite Navigation launched

The processor will give India a huge edge as both government and private sector can move away from their dependence on the American Global Positioning System, says founder of Elena Geo Systems.

In a step towards expanding usage of indigenous satellite-based Navigation, NavIC, a chip that can form the core of the Navigation, Positioning and Timing applications developed by Elena Geo Systems, a Bengaluru-based space technology company, was unveiled at the Defence Space Symposium on Thursday. The chip works using Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) or the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) satellites.

A chip was formally handed over by Lt. Col. V.S. Velan (retd.), founder and Chief Technology Officer of Elena Geo Systems, to Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan.

“We are thrilled to present India’s first fully designed and developed NavIC chip. The processor will give India a huge edge as both the government and private sector can move away from their dependence on the American Global Positioning System (GPS). Elena is in the process of patenting the technology and the product which has been developed by our dedicated R&D team,” Lt. Col. Velan said.

The chip has many cores that service the requirements of signal acquisition, regeneration, processing and the output interface and hence it is has been named as the NavIC processor, he stated. “We will be manufacturing 10,000 chips in the first batch,” he told The Hindu. He said they had demonstrated several of their products to the armed forces and were supplying 200 NavIC receivers to the Army through Bharat Electronics Limited.

High precision

The chips will enable high precision and accuracy for all the three types of applications such as navigation, positioning and timing, providing self-reliance, Lt. Col. Vasan said, adding that they have been pursuing advance technologies to manufacture these chips and modules; some of which have been supplied to the Indian Army and some private entities.

Elena Geo Systems was incubated at IIT-Kharagpur in 2012 and is now a member of the Delhi-based Indian Space Association (InSA) which organised the symposium in association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Elena demonstrated its first processor in April 2019, which could receive and process signals of NavIC S-band, L5 band, GAGAN, GPS and Russian GLONASS. In the last two years, Elena successfully demonstrated its capability across devices and applications for reference stations, DSM map display system with IRNSS for the Army, map display system for patrol boats, marine NavIC receivers, intelligent vehicle tracking devices, NavIC drone navigation units and NavIC-based atomic clock, Lt. Col. Velan added.

source / content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL TRADE: NATIONAL: India’s Mobile Phone Export crosses USD 11 bn in FY23, Apple clocks 50 per cent share

With iPhone maker Apple accounting for around half of the total mobile phone exports, handset exports from India reached close to $11.12 billion, according to industry body ICEA.

With iPhone maker Apple accounting for around half of the total mobile phone exports, handset exports from India reached close to $11.12 billion, according to industry body ICEA.

The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) said mobile phone export from the country has doubled to surpass Rs 90,000 crore, about $11.12 billion (91,000 crore) in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from Rs 45,000 crore in FY22. The government has set a target of $10 billion worth of mobile phone exports from the country.

ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said, “No economy or sector in the economy can become a great and vibrant global economy without large exports. Riding on the 100% growth in mobile phone exports, which have crossed Rs 90,000 crore for FY 23, electronics exports have also grown by 58% to Rs 1,85,000 crore. It is satisfying that we have crossed the targeted figure of Rs 75,000 crore for the year.”

According to a PTI report, citing industry sources, Apple is estimated to have clocked 50% share with export of ‘made in India’ iPhones worth $5.5 billion, about Rs 45,000 crore while Samsung accounts for about 40% share with export worth Rs 36,000 crore. 

“With the doubling of exports of smartphones to more than $11 billion, India is well on its way to become a leader in the mobile device market of the world and play a major role in India’s electronic exports. This is a major win for PM Modijis Make in India program,” said telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on record smartphone exports from India.

The government has set the target of achieving $300 billion worth of electronics manufacturing by 2025-26, with $120 billion expected to come from exports. Mobile phones are expected to contribute more than $50 billion worth of exports by 2025-26. 

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: Kolkata’s First Underwater Metro starts its trial run below bed of Hooghly

Tunnels under the bed of river Hooghly, running 32 metres below water level, are considered an engineering marvel; Metro station at Howrah too is deepest in the country; commercial services on the stretch expected to begin later this year .

Kolkata Metro on Wednesday achieved a new milestone when a Metro rake completed a journey under the bed of river Hooghly through a tunnel 32 metres below water level.  

“P. Uday Kumar Reddy, General Manager, Metro Railway, travelled from Mahakaran to Howrah Maidan station in Rake No. MR-612 to witness this historic event. This rake crossed river Hooghly at 11:55 hrs. H.N. Jaiswal Additional General Manager, Metro Railway and MD, KMRCL [Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Limited] as well as other senior officers of Metro Railway and KMRCL accompanied him during this journey,” a press statement by Metro Railway, Kolkata said. General Manager Reddy offered puja at Howrah station once the Metro rake reached there, the statement added.

Describing the development as a “historic event’ Mr. Reddy informed that the trial runs from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade will be conducted for the next seven months and after that regular services on this stretch will begin. It is expected that commercial services on this stretch will begin this year. 

Two Metro rakes had been taken to Howrah Maidan station from Esplanade station, for the trial runs along the 4.8-km underground section from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade. Tunnels under the bed of river Hooghly, 32 metres below the water level, are considered an engineering marvel and are part of East West Metro Project that aims to connect Howrah Maidan with Rajarhat along the 16.6-km route. The process of laying the tunnel was completed in 2017. The underwater tunnels will connect Kolkata and Howrah with a Metro station at Howrah which will be the deepest Metro station (33 metres below surface) of the country. The Metro is expected to cover the 520-metre stretch under the river Hooghly in a span of 45 seconds.

At present about 9.1 km of the East West Metro line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah is operational. Services of East West Metro Railway was started in phases with first phase in February 2020 and the latest in July 2022.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)