25.04.23

20 years of Panjab Digital Library: 6.5 crore manuscripts & counting

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For years, Sikh studies scholar Madanjit Kaurs vast collection lay stacked in a storeroom in her Mohali house. Little did she realise that the guard had been selling the priceless heritage she had collected over years, bit by bit. As age caught up, she worried about what would happen to the treasure trove of knowledge. Around this time, she came to know of the Panjab Digital Library (PDL), which had been digitising manuscripts. Realising that if whatever remained of her books, manuscripts, coins, photographs and paintings was digitised in time, all knowledge might not be lost.

PDL turns 20 this month and has digitally preserved over 65 million pages, a monumental achievement towards safeguarding Punjabs memory for future generations. Among those whose collections have been digitised are poet Harnam Singh Shan, Dr Gurdev Singh Sidhu, Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, photographer SB Durga, Giani Gurdit Singh, Bhai Sikander Singh, Kulwant Singh Musafir and many more.

Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar pens book on cyber crime

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Uttarakhand director general of Police Ashok Kumar’s book on cybercrime – ‘Cyber Encounters-Cops Adventures with Online Criminals – was launched at an event in IIT-Delhi.

An Ips officer of 1989-batch and alumnus of IIT-Delhi, Kumar’s book gives an account of actual cybercrime related to fake identity on Social Media, ransomware, card cloning, sextortion and phishing among others.
The book was co-authored by former DRDO scientist OP Manocha and its foreword is written by iconic actor Amitabh Bachchan. At the event, Kumar highlighted the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies in combating cybercrime and the need for increased awareness and capacity building in the field.

UP to have driver training centres across state: Govt

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The Yogi Adityanath government is not only making arrangements for a comfortable journey for the passengers traveling by UP State Road Transport Corporation buses, but is also taking several measures for the safety of passengers.

In this regard, the government has decided to start driver training and counseling centres in all areas of the state. Under this, the first centre has already commenced in Gorakhpur and soon there is a plan to operate such centres in the entire state.

The objective of opening these centres is not only to motivate and train the drivers for safe driving but also to prepare them to face various challenges through counseling by assessing their mental state.

Jharkhand steps up fight against anaemia

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Jharkhand, which is confronted with a high prevalence of anaemia among Women and children, has decided to embark on an ambitious mission to eradicate it from the state.

Ayush is an acronym forAyurveda, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathyand is a department under the Union Health ministry.

The Ayush official said the kits would be distributed even in the remotest of blocks in Jharkhand through health and wellness centres.

Nearly 67.5 per cent of children aged between five months and five years were anaemic according to the NFHS report. Around 65.5 per cent children living in rural areas and 67.9 per cent in urban areas were found to be anaemic. Of all the expecting mothers, 67.5 per cent have been found to be anaemic. Anaemia among women aged between 15 and 49 years was found to be 65.3 per cent.

All eyes on Bihar caste census

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With the second phase of the caste based census underway in Bihar, the people of the state are starting to analyse its positives and negatives.

The ‘intellectual community’ believes that it has some loopholes like the sub-castes in the Extremely Backward Class (EBC), Other Backward Castes (OBC), Dalit and Muslim communities will be counted but there is no provision to count sub-castes in upper castes.

It has created suspicions in the minds of the people about the intentions of the , or this loophole being used for political purposes.

The first phase of the caste based census was completed in March this year where every house had a unique house code. The second phase kicked off from April 15 and will end in one month.

In the second phase, Bihar government employees will go to every house and ask 17 questions printed on one sheet. The same will also be uploaded digitally as well so that anyone can access it from the Internet.

The employees will ask the name of the family head, his/her father’s name, age, sex, marital status, religion, caste, sub-caste (In case of EBC, OBC, minority) followed by code, educational qualification, profession, residential status (Staying in own house or rent), temporary Migration status, owning computer, laptop, motor vehicles, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture land, residential land and income from all sources.

Chhattisgarh gets mineral revenue of Rs 12,941 Cr

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The Chhattisgarh government has received a record revenue of Rs 12,941 crores from mining activities in 2022-23, which is Rs 636 crore more than the previous fiscal.

Geology and Mining Department Director Jai Prakash Maurya said the maximum revenue of Rs 3,607 crore came from iron Ore. The state mainly receives revenue from coal, iron ore, limestone and bauxite Minerals.

Another Rs 3,336 crore was earned from mineral coal, Rs 392 crore from limestone and Rs 31 crore from bauxite, an official Communication on Sunday quoted him as saying.

Dantewada district was in first place with Rs 6,419 crore, Kobra followed with Rs 2,361 crore, then came Raigarh Rs 1,717 crore, Balod Rs 760 crore, Baloda Bazar Rs 315 crore, Kanker Rs 286 crore and Surguja Rs 286 crore.

The minerals mined in the state are contributing to the development of , production of electricity and operation of industries

IIT-I inks MoU with ICAR-CIAE to work in agriculture sector

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The Indian Institute Technology, Indore (IIT-I), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ICAR-CIAE (Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering), Bhopal to extend expertise in farming and Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture sector by collaborative research work and programmes.

The institutes have signed a long-term collaboration to work in broad domains of agriculture engineering, rural development, corporate social responsibility and other allied areas.

IIT-I, in a statement issued on Monday said, both the institutes will collaborate on academic programmes, research projects, training, capacity building and consultancy.

The MoU was signed by IIT-I director professor Suhas Joshi and ICAR- CIAE director Dr CR Mehta.

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‘Rajasthan plans to develop 23 old airstrips on PPP mode’

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State tourism minister Vishvendra Singh said that the government is planning to re-develop 23 old airstrips in public-private PARTNERSHIP (PPP) mode to promote tourism in rural areas of the state.

Singh said that Rajasthan has formulated a path-breaking rural tourism policy which other states should emulate. “The policy is expected to boost wildlife tourism, cultural and religious tourism across the state,” said Singh. Union tourism secretary Arvind Singh said that about 70 million direct and indirect jobs were generated through tourism in the country in 2021-22.

He said that besides this job-generating potential, the tourism sector has huge impact on the GDP of the country. Keeping the importance of the sector in view, the Centre is trying to improve rail, road and air connectivity which are key to the Growth of the sector, said Singh.

Namami Gange Flagship Programme Passed 8 Projects, Outlays Rs 638 Crore to Revive National River

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The Ministry of Jal Shakti has recently announced 8 projects for the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Government of India. In a 48th meeting that was held on April 18, 2023 (Tuesday) between members of the Executive Committee of NMCG, the mission has been decided for an amount of Rs 638 crore.

This flagship programme was first brought up in June 2014 funding Rs 20,000 crore. This was launched to rejuvenate Goddess Ganga and at the same time subside pollution levels. Along with the mission to clear the National River Ganga, the officials also approved 4 projects worth Rs 407.39 crore to polish River Hindon.

RAPIDX name given to Regional Rail with Minimum Travelling Time, To Operate on RRTS Corridors

The National Transport Corporation launched the first-ever Rapid Rail in the country. Its name has been decided as RAPIDX. This metro will run on the RRTS Corridors

Also, the letter X in RAPIDX is to signify the next-age technology which has been used in order to ensure a comfortable and fast ride.

The Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors are a new concept which is somewhat different from the traditional forms of Railways. RRTS Corridors provide high speed and capabilities.

Ministry of Health plans to launch 100 Food Streets Nationwide

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The Union Health Ministry and the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs have made a noteworthy and inventive decision to urge states and Union Territories to establish 100 food streets in 100 districts throughout the country. This pilot project is intended to serve as a model for other streets to follow and promote hygienic and safe food practices

The objective of this initiative is to encourage food businesses and community members to adopt safe and healthy food practices, ultimately leading to a decrease in foodborne illnesses and an enhancement in overall health outcomes