1.IT Minister Launches National AI Portal of India
News: Union Minister for Electronics and IT has launched India’s National Artificial Intelligence(AI) Portal called www.ai.gov.in and National Program for the youth called “Responsible AI for Youth”.
Facts:
National Artificial Intelligence(AI) Portal:
- Bodies Involved: It has been jointly developed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT and IT Industry.
- The National e-Governance Division of Ministry of Electronics and IT and NASSCOM from the IT industry will jointly run this portal.
- Purpose: To work as a one stop platform for AI related developments in India, sharing of resources such as articles, investment funds in AI, resources, companies and educational institutions related to AI in India.
Responsible AI for Youth Programme:
- Objective: To empower the youth to become Artificial Intelligence(AI) ready and help reduce the skill gap while enabling youth to create meaningful social impact solutions.
- Bodies involved: It has been created by the National e-Governance Division, Ministry of Electronics & IT in collaboration with Intel India with support from Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of HRD.
- Coverage: The Programme is open to students of classes 8 – 12 from Central and State government-run schools (including KVS, NVS, JNV) from across the country.
2.Indian National Supermodel to predict the future of coronavirus spread
News:Department of Science and Technology(DST) has begun work on the creation of a Covid -19 Indian National Supermodel.
Facts:
- Aim: To forecast the spread of coronavirus and also monitor the future transmission of infection with the aim to assist governments in enhancing disease surveillance measures.
- Bodies Involved: Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and Indian Institute of Science(IISc) Bangalore will coordinate on this project.
3.Proxima Centauri b confirmed as nearest Earth Sized Planet
News:Scientists have confirmed the existence of Proxima Centauri b as an Earth-sized planet.
Facts:
- Proxima Centauri b is an exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of the star Proxima Centauri.
- It is located approximately 4.2 light-years from Earth making it the closest known exoplanet to the Solar System.
Additional Facts:
- Proxima Centauri:It is the red dwarf star closest to the Sun lying just four light years away in the southern constellation of Centaurus.
- Exoplanet: It is a planet outside the Solar System.The first confirmation of detection of exoplanet occurred in 1992.
- Habitable Zone(Goldilocks zone): It is the area around a star where it is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to exist on the surface of surrounding planets.Our Earth is in the Sun’s Goldilocks zone.
4.Madhya Pradesh launches ‘Rozgar Setu’ scheme
Facts: Madhya Pradesh Government has announced the launch of the ‘Rozgar Setu’ scheme to help secure employment for skilled workers who have returned back to their homes and were employed at industries elsewhere.
5.Energy access goals need greater effort in post-COVID-19 world: Report
News: The Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report has been released by International Energy Agency(IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency(IREA), the United Nations Statistics Division, World Bank and the World Health Organization.
Facts:
- Aim: To guide international co-operation and policy-making to achieve universal, sustainable energy access by 2030 by focusing on four key SDG 7 energy targets:
- 7.1: Ensuring universal access to electricity and clean cooking solutions;
- 7.2: Substantially increasing the share of renewable energy;
- 7.3: Doubling progress on energy efficiency;
- 7.A: Increasing international collaboration in support of clean and renewable energy.
Key Takeaways:
- The global electrification rate progressed steadily from 2010 to 2018, rising to 90% of the world’s population in 2018 from 83% in 2010.
- In 2018, India was among the top three countries with largest deficits regarding access to electricity.The other two countries were Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC).
