Fintech Open Hackathon

The leading digital payments platformPhonePeannounced that, will host the first ever Fintech Open Hackathon by collaborating with it.

The first-ever open-to-all hackathon will be organised with the aim of showcasing path-breaking solutions for fintech

The Hackathon will provide an opportunity for digital creators, developers and innovators, from across India to think, ideate and code.

At the hackathon, Participants are required to use any open-data APIs such as PhonePePulse along with frameworks like Account Aggregator as a foundation to power use cases, such as:

Alternate risk models for lending,

Insurance or investments with a focus on Financial Inclusion

Innovative products that use power data signals for demographics and goes for broader adoption of financial Services;

Improved visualisation and derived intelligence based on digital payments data.

DefExpo 2022 Scheduled In March

The DefExpo 2022 is planned to be held from 10 March to 13 March 2022.

Highlights

DefExpo exhibition is India’s biennial marquee event for the defense manufacturing .

It has received confirmation from quite 900 exhibitors.

The final number is predicted to cross quite 1000. The event is held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, for the primary time.

During the event, drone shows are organized for the general public on the theme of the Expo.

INDIAN NAVY also will showcase a number of its assets and capabilities at the Sabarmati riverfront for a larger audience.

Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill

The central government has proposed a law to empower it to repair Fertilizers‘ maximum asking price and control their quality and distribution.

Highlights:

All stakeholders have been asked to comment on the Department of Fertilizers’ proposed Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022.

It is the convenient public interest that the central government should take under its control on distribution, price, and quality of standards of fertilizers.

The bill seeks to determine India’s Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Authority.

It aims to promote the development and sustainable use of balanced fertilizers, including , nano-fertilizers, bio-stimulates, and organic fertilizers.

INSACOG Network Extend To Neighbor Countries

Recently, India announced to increase its “SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) Network” to neighbor countries to fight against Covid-19.

Highlights

INSACOG may be a network of laboratories for genomic sequencing and surveillance.

India will also implement the “TRIPS waiver,” which is co-sponsored with South Africa to diversify its local manufacturing in regional markets.

As a part of India’s development assistance package amid pandemic, it’s conducted 17 training modules for around 60 countries focused on the entire spectrum of COVID management.

India will take its experience in testing, treating, and vaccinating an outsized Population across different geographies and terrains to make customized and tailor-made capacity building and technical training programs for healthcare and frontline workers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Munich Security Conference

Since 1963, the Munich Security Conference has been held in Munich, Germany, as an annual conference on international security policy. Mnchner Konferenz fr Sicherheitspolitik and Wehrkundetagung were the previous names for the conference. It is the largest meeting of its kind in the world.

The Munich Security Conference has developed into the most important independent venue for international security policy decision-makers to exchange ideas during the last four decades.

Every year, it brings together over 350 top officials from over 70 countries to engage in a discussion on various security concerns. Heads of state, international organizations, and governments as well as members of parliament, ministers, high-ranking military representatives, civil Society, science, the media, and business are among those expected to attend this conference.

The conference takes place every year in February in the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, Germany.

CRISP-M Tool For Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Scheme Launched

Giriraj Singh, Minister of Rural Development & , launched the CRISP-M tool virtually.

Highlights:

The CRISP-M tool has been launched to combine the Climate information in the Geographic Information System (GIS) based watershed planning under the MGNREGA and develop climate resilience.

This tool will help fix climate information in GIS-based planning and implement Mahatma Gandhi NREGA (MGNREGA).

CRISP-M tool has created this tool with the help of the British Government and all the stakeholders.

This tool will start up new opportunities for rural communities in dealing with the Climate Change issue.

PLI Scheme Launched For Telecom Products

Production Linked Incentive Scheme was launched on 14 October, for Telecom & Networking Products.

Highlights:

The PLI Scheme was launched by the Minister of State of the Ministry of Communication, Devusinh Chauhan.

This scheme was launched to help reduce India’s dependence on other countries for importing telecom and networking products.

The PLI Scheme in the telecom sector is being launched by DoT to boost the Home Manufacturing of telecom and networking products.

Manufacturing will be supported by incentivising incremental expenses and turnover. This scheme was launched with a total expenditure of Rs 12,195 crore.

The scheme is effective from 1 April 2021. The made by applicants in India between 1 April 2021 to FY 2024-25 will be eligible.

The scheme provides support for 5years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26.

Tea & Banana Waste Used In Developing Non-Toxic Activated Carbon

A team of scientists from India have used tea and banana waste to prepare non-toxic activated carbon.

This is useful in industrial pollution control, water purification, food and beverage processing, and odour removal.

The newly developed process avoids using any toxic agent for synthesizing activated carbon, thus making the product cost-effective and non-toxic.

The structure of tea was beneficial for conversion to high-quality activated carbon, but it involves using solid acid and bases, which is toxic; hence a non-toxic method of conversion was needed.

India 101 Rank In Global Hunger Index

The Global Hunger Index 2021 was released on 14 October, and India is 101 rank in the Index with an alarming hunger level.

Highlights:

The Global Hunger Index is published by an Irish aid agency called Concern Worldwide and a German organisation called Welt Hunger Hilfe.

India has been placed in the 101st position out of 116 countries, while in 2020, it was in the 94th position.

The GHI Score of India is 28.8 27.5 between 2012 and 2021, decreased from 38.8 in 2000.

India has improved concerning indicators like under-5 mortality rate, the prevalence of undernourishment and prevalence of stunting among children.

GHI is a means to measure and track hunger across the world, by region and country.

It is calculated yearly, and its results are published in a report issued in October.

GHI score is calculated based on four-pointers,

Undernourishment

Child wasting (share of children under five who are wasted, i.e., those with low weight for their height.

Child stunting (children aged under five who have low height for their age.

Child mortality (mortality rate of children aged under five).

Eco Oscars Awarded To Indian Project

Takachar’s Innovations, an Indian Project, won the “Prince William’s inaugural Earth shot Prize”, also called “Eco Oscars.

Highlights:

The Project recycled the agricultural waste into Fuel and was led by Vidyut Mohan.

The project was awarded for its affordable technology and reduction of smoke emissions by 98 per cent.

Vidyut Mohan was awarded for this technology in the “clean our air category”.

This technology will mitigate the challenge of getting rid of USD 120 billion of agricultural waste generated around the world annually.