Working on policy to make organ donation easier: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to people to donate organs, and said his government was working on a uniform policy to make the process easy and to encourage the life-saving exercise.

In this direction, it has also been decided to remove the condition of domicile of the states, that is, now the patient will be able to go to any state of the country and register themselves for receiving the organs, the PM said. In 2013, India recorded less than 5,000 cases of organ donation;

but in 2022, this number increased to over 15,000, Modi said.

India develops own model for estimating TB cases in country

India has become the first country in the world to have developed a country-level mathematical model to estimate the prevalence oftuberculosis(TB) cases, official sources said.

Using this model, TB incidence and mortality estimate data for India will be available by March every year, months before the annual WHO estimates are released in October, they said, adding that India can also prepare similar estimates at the state level in future.

The model was presented before the delegates from 40 countries taking part in the 36th Stop TB PARTNERSHIP Board meeting in Varanasi last week. Most of them lauded it saying they would want to implement it in their countries.

According to WHO, the TB mortality rate (per 10,000) in 2021 was estimated to be 35, which reduced to 23 in 2022 as per the Indian model. WHO’s TB mortality absolute numbers were estimated to be 4.94 lakh in 2021. The Indian model suggested it was

3.20 lakh in 2022

Indian Government issues First Sovereign Green Bond

HDFC Asset Management manager of HDFC (MF) recently filed for Indias first target maturity funds in order to track Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs).

It includes tracking of the HDFC Nifty India Sovereign Green Bond Jan 2028 Index Fund as well as the HDFC Nifty India Sovereign Green Bond Jan 2033 Index Fund.

The Government of India issued these sovereign green bonds which will be used in public sector projects. It can help to curb the carbon intensity of the economy.

Bangladesh commissions its first submarine base

Prime MinisterSheikh Hasinainaugurated the first submarine base of Bangladesh BNS Sheikh Hasina atPekua in Coxs Bazar. Hailing the newly inaugurated naval base as an ultra modern submarine base, Prime Minister called the event a proud chapter in the HISTORY of Bangladesh navy.

It will allow for safe and swift movement of the submarines in case of emergency, as the base is located at the Bay of Bengal.

The Government of Bangladesh signed an agreement with China inSeptember 2019 for the construction of the submarine base.

The government of Bangladesh is working on Forces Goal 2030 to transform its military force into a modern organization appropriate for the times

CERC approves proposal to start new market segment for ‘expensive’ power

India’s power regulator has approved a proposal to start a separate spot market segment for ‘expensive’ power, according to an order handed down to the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), with record demand levels expected this summer.

The approval from the (CERC), given to the country’s largest spot power market, is for electricity derived from costlier sources of imported coal and gas, as well as battery storage.

Other power Plants operating on low-cost fuel will not be allowed to sell electricity on the new market segment, according to the order, a move seen as ensuring increased electricity availability.

The power regulator fixed a ceiling of 50 rupees ($0.6042) per unit of electricity (kWh), according to the order.

Most of the plants based on costlier fuel operate at low capacity for lack of buyers. However, until last year states purchased electricity at 20 rupees per unit to meet high demand during summer months and crop sowing seasons.

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India top country in AI skill penetration globally: Nasscom report

India currently ranks first in terms of AI skill penetration and AI talent concentration and fifth in AI scientific publications, aNasscomreport said.

India’s ‘AI Skills Penetration Factor’ has been reported to be 3.09 — the highest among all and OECD countries.

It shows that India’s tech talent is 3X more likely to

have or report AI skills than other countries, according to the report by the National Association of Software and ServicesCompanies(Nasscom) in PARTNERSHIP with Salesforce and Draup.

India is also expected to witness high Growth in the demand for data science and AI professionals with an estimate of more than 1 million professionals by 2024.

More than 1,900 AI-focused startups are providing innovative solutions, primarily in the areas of conversational AI, NLP, video analytics, disease detection, fraud prevention and deep fakes detection.

Astronomers detect radio signal from atomic hydrogen in distant galaxy

Astronomersfrom McGill University in Canada and theIndian Institute of Science(IISc) in Bengaluru have used data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune to detect a radio signal originating fromatomic hydrogenin an extremely distant galaxy.

The astronomical distance over which the signal was picked up is so far the farthest. This is also the first confirmed detection of strong lensing of 21 cm emission from a galaxy.

Israel approves law to strip Arab attackers of citizenship

Israel’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a law to strip Arabs convicted in nationalistic attacks of their Israeli or residency and deport them if they have accepted stipends from the Palestinian Authority.

The decision, which could potentially affect hundreds of Palestinian citizens and residents of Israel, was condemned as racist by Arab lawmakers as well as Palestinian officials in the occupied West Bank.

The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has long provided stipends to the families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned for attacks on Israelis.

Prisoners are widely seen as heroes in Palestinian Society, and the PA considers these payments as a form of welfare to needy families. But Israel says they reward violence and serve as an incentive for others to carry out attacks.

17th Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2023 announced

17th Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award:27 Indians living overseas have been chosen by the Indian government for thePravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards(PBSA), for outstanding achievements both

in India and abroad. The award is the highest honour conferred upon Indians living abroad, including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) or organisations/institutions established and run by them.

Food and fertiliser subsidies alone account for aboutone-eighth of Indias total budgetary spendingof 39.45 trillion this fiscal year, but reducing these subsidies could be politically sensitive given theimpending elections.

The government anticipates allocating roughly 2.3 trillion for food subsidies in the upcoming fiscal year as opposed to 2.7 trillion for the year that has just ended on March 31.

The amount spent on fertiliser subsidies will probably decrease to roughly 1.4 trillion in contrasts to

2.3 trillion this year.