KERALA

VST Mobility Solution, a startup backed byKerala Startup Mission(KSUM) has come up withBIN-19, a medical device that enables the collection of used facemasks.

BIN-19 has been successfully installed in all the District Administration offices of the state with the support ofCSRfunds. Recently, the company received orders from a European mask manufacturer for deploying the mask disinfection device in hospitals.

The Kochi-based startup had in June last year developed BIN-19 using IoT (Internet of things), using knowhow from the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Science Technology at Thiruvananthapuram. Amid a fresh spread of the pandemic, BIN-19 is playing a vital role in handling the disposal of used facemasks.

The Digital UniversityKerala(DUK), along with CMET-Thrissur, is gearing up to set up India Innovation Centre for Graphene, the countrys firstgrapheneR&D incubation centre in Kerala.

The ministry of electronics and IT has given approval for the Rs 86.41-crore-project. The centre, which will be implemented with the support of , has the potential to accelerate Keralas Growth in the knowledge Industry sector.Tata Steel Ltdwill be the industrial partner of the centre. Often referred to as the wonder material for its extraordinary electrical and electronic properties, graphene, as per latest research, could replace indium and thereby bring down cost of OLED (organic Light-emitting diode) screens in smartphones.

Graphene is the thinnest and strongest material in the world ever known and has good chemical stability, high electrical conductivity and a large surface area while being transparent and lightweight, the university authorities have said.

In keeping with the IPCC report on developing adaptation and mitigation policies, Kerala state action plan on https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change (2023-30) has initiated anticipatory action to deal with future risks. The action plan has put the focus on reducing vulnerability and exposure to the present climate variability and its impact on the natural ecosystem and socio-Economic Systems as a coastal state.

The 187-page document proposed to prioritize the hotspot districts for Investment and develop targeted interventions to lower sensitivity and build adaptive capacity. It has proposed mitigation strategies estimated at Rs 52,238 crore and the adaptation outlay is Rs 38,407 crore. The states share is estimated at 5%, and the central governments share at 23% while the remaining will be the consumers share.

Kerala is the fifth-least greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting state in India. It calculates that emissions from energy sectors, which account for 80% of the emissions, had seen a growing trendincreasing at a compounded annual Growth rate of 5.5% between 2005 and 2015. Within the Energy sector, transport (54%) was the highest contributor to GHG emissions, followed by buildings (21%).

Using 17 indicators, a composite vulnerability index (CVI) was developed in which the top eight factors, namely Population density, BPL, inherently-sensitive groups like below 6 years, above 65 years and disabled persons, air, water, groundwater, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and communicable diseases, were categorized as sensitive.

Wayanad was ranked the most vulnerable in the state. Kozhikode, Kasaragod, Palakkad, Alappuzha, Idukki, Kannur, Malappuram, and Kollam are the other highly-vulnerable districts. Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram are the medium vulnerable districts. Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, and Thrissur districts are classified as having a low vulnerability, with Pathanamthitta having the least vulnerability.

The vulnerable districts have high disease prevalence, a large population of very young, very old, and differently-abled, and reduced availability of healthcare facilities and relief shelters. In most districts, insufficient Irrigation coverage and poor groundwater/surface water quality are fuelling the decline in adaptive capacity.

An entire paradigm shift to alternative energy sources has been proposed by 2030 including increasing RE-installed capacity to 3.46 GW. A higher share of EVs in public transport and intermediate public transport, increased installation of solar based and energy efficient agricultural supports and improving the Energy Efficiency of Non- PAT (perform, achieve and trade) industries and Micro, Small and Medium enterprises.

To ensure resilient andsustainable development, state has devised a new five-point framework, said industries ministerP Rajeevewhile inaugurating the 10th edition of TiEconKerala 2021 on Thursday. The three-day conference attended by industrial leaders, policymakers, startups, entrepreneurs is organized by Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE)KeralaChapter.

The new five-point framework are responsible industries and , reducing regulatory compliance burden, robust industrial Infrastructure, renewed Logistics ecosystem and resilient thrust sector focus

The Health department has prepared an action plan as part of the upcoming Sabarimala pilgrimage season that begins on November 15. The action plan was prepared to control and prevent Covid-19 spread, protect the health of devotees and officials who are on duty in Sabarimala during the pilgrim season. It also will cover control and prevention of other communicable diseases.

In view of the pandemic, all pilgrims with co-morbidities who have been infected with Covid-19 in the past three months have been asked to defer their visit and the trek to Sannidhanam due to the high risk of cardiomyopathy.

Treatment facilities, Services have been arranged with Pathanamthitta as the core area and the same will be extended to nearby districts like Kottayam, Alappuzha and Idukki.

In a bid to ease the procedure for consumers interested in setting up grid connectedsolarrooftop power generatingsystem, theKerala State Electricity Board(KSEB) has decided to set up a single point of contact at the corporate office level.

The board would also set up a user-friendly, convenient and transparent web portal for solarrooftopapplications so that applicants can monitor the status of their requests without any difficulty.

The single point of contact comes as per the provisions envisaged in theElectricity(Rights of Consumers) Rules 2020 passed by the Union Government. KSEB has given shape to various mechanisms for enabling hassle-free implementation of the rules, which came into force on December 31, 2020.

Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, has announced to conduct Kerala Migration Survey 2022-23, in order to prepare a data bank on Malayali expatriates across the world.

Data bank will be prepared, because lack of data affected the governments welfare measures for expatriates.

As a part of the survey, a Malayali Pravasi Portal will be launched.

This portal will be used to link Insurance and other welfare schemes for expatriates.

An elaborate global registration campaign will also be held, to prepare the Database.

Kerala government will explore the possibility to set up a legal assistance system for expatriates, with the participation of lawyers in host countries. Government will consult with experts on formulating a comprehensive Health insurance scheme for them, in order to cover their treatment as well as treatment of their families, including accidents and childrens Education.

The first ever survey in 1998 showed that, around 1.5 million Keralites were then living outside India, while 750,000 former emigrants having returned. According to Kerala Migration Survey 2018, there are an estimated 2.12 million emigrants from Kerala worldwide. It is 149,000 less as compared to 2016 survey.

The higher Education department is on a mission to pivot on the devastating Covid-19 pandemic to recast the way academic transaction and evaluation of students andteacherstakes place in higher education institutions in the state.

As a first step towards ushering in change in the sector, the government has taken an in-principle decision to encourage the use of customised and computer-basedLearning Management System(LMS) in all higher education institutions. At least 300 colleges, irrespective of the government/aided distinction, would soon be given access to the computer-based Learning system that would hopefully stave off the adverse impact of rote learning system entrenched in the academic discourse.

Sources said the higher education council has agreed to take forward the initiative to make customised LMS available to at least 300 select colleges on a pilot basis. It would also ramp up the teacher training process to help college/ university faculties to learn how to use thedigitalmedium for mentoring students.