18th August, 2023 Current Affairs

18th August, 2023 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
More than 75 nations participates in the first-ever global Summit on Traditional Medicine

• The first World Health Organization Global Summit on Traditional Medicine was inaugurated today at Gandhinagar, Gujarat alongside the G20 health ministerial meet. Director-General of WHO Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the Union Minister of Ayush, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya were invited to light the ceremonial lamp to the accompaniment of auspicious hymns dedicated to Dhanvantari, the god of Ayurveda.
• The outcome of the historic WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit will help to propose recommendations for a dedicated forum within future G20 presidencies.
• With the WHO GCTM leading the way towards a more prominent role of traditional medicine in mainstream healthcare, India is well-positioned to become a knowledge hub and unlock the full potential of TM. The pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries are both showing significant interest in traditional medicine and more than 170 countries around the world are utilizing it.

Government makes biometric verification of mobile SIM card dealers mandatory and discontinues bulk connection mechanisms

• The government has taken decisions to make biometric verification of mobile SIM card dealers mandatory and discontinue the bulk connection mechanism.
• Registration will also be compulsory for all point-of-sale dealers.
• According to the new initiative, if a Point of Sale indulges in any illegal activities, it will be terminated and blacklisted for a period of 03 years. To prevent misuse of printed Aadhaar, the demographic details will mandatorily be captured by scanning QR code of printed Aadhaar.

Central Water Commission Launches Mobile App ‘Floodwatch’ To Provide Real-Time Flood Forecasts To Public Using Interactive Maps

• The Chairman, Central Water Commission (CWC), Shri Kushvinder Vohra today launched the mobile application, "FloodWatch” with the aim of using mobile phones to disseminate information related to the flood situation and forecasts up to 7 days on a real-time basis to the public.
• The in-house developed user-friendly app has readable and audio broadcast and all the information is available in 2 languages, viz. English and Hindi. Key feature of the app includes real-time flood monitoring where users can check up-to-date flood situation throughout the country. The app utilizes near real-time river flow data from various source.
• Other key features include forecast using an Interactive Map where users can check the CWC Flood Forecast (up to 24 hours) or Flood Advisory (up to 7 days) either by directly selecting the station from map or the user can also search for the name of the station in the search box. The location will be zoomed in on the map when the name of the station will be selected from the dropdown. The app will also provide State-wise/Basin-wise Flood Forecast (up to 24 hours) or Flood Advisory (up to 7 days) which can be accessed by selecting specific stations, state wise or basin wise from the dropdown menu.

INTERNATIONAL
India Signs MoU with Trinidad and Tobago on sharing INDIA STACK

• India and Trinidad and Tobago have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on sharing of INDIA STACK — a collection of open APIs and digital public goods that aim to facilitate identity, data, and payment services on a large scale.
• Both sides agreed to cooperate in the areas of digital transformation by means of capacity building, training programmes, exchange of best practices, exchange of public officials and experts, development of pilot or demo solutions, etc.
• Since June 2023, India has already signed MoUs with countries namely Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, and Antigua & Barbuda to share India Stack while many countries like Mauritius, Saudi Arabia have shown interest and are at an advanced stage of finalizing cooperation on IndiaStack. A similar MoU was signed with Papua New Guinea also last month, showcasing the growing interest and acceptance of the initiative on a global scale. The UPI which is also a part of India Stack, has been accepted in France, UAE, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Indian scientist develops novel method to improve accuracy and precision of nanomechanical testing technology

• A novel method to test nanomechanical properties of materials at very minute scales with high precision and accuracy has been developed by an Indian scientist in collaboration with two international institutions.
• The new methodology not only significantly improves the precision and accuracy of what is known as nanoindentation technique or testing of mechanical strength, but enables testing at much higher rates, thus facilitating high throughput.
• With Conventional testing methods not always feasible at nano scales, which are usually of the order of 1/100th of the diameter of a human hair, the nanoindentation technique was invented by Dr. Warren Oliver (KLA Corp.) and Dr. John Pethica (Oxford University) in the 80s and the analysis procedure was proposed by Dr. Warren Oliver and Dr. George Pharr (Texas A&M University) in their seminal work which had a huge impact on a broad spectrum of scientific research.
• The technique has been widely used to measure the strength of semiconductor devices and structural materials that have ubiquitously penetrated every aspect of our daily life through electronic gadgets. The technique has been used for a wide range of applications from identifying cancerous cells to establishing how meteorites are formed in deep space.

‘Pibot,’ the humanoid robot that can safely pilot an airplane

• The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) is making groundbreaking advancements in aviation with the development of “Pibot,” a humanoid robot designed to fly aircraft using its own dexterity and advanced AI capabilities. Pibot’s ability to manipulate flight instruments, understand complex manuals, and react quickly to emergency situations showcases its potential to transform aviation and other industries.
• Pibot boasts state-of-the-art robotic arms and fingers integrated with cutting-edge high-precision control mechanisms. This enables Pibot to adeptly handle flight instruments and oversee cockpit switches, even when faced with challenging conditions such as intense vibrations.

SPORTS
Priya Malik wins Gold medal at Under20 World Wrestling Championships in Jordanian

• Indian grappler Priya Malik won Gold medal at the 2023 U20 World Wrestling Championships in Jordan. Priya  became just the second woman wrestler from India to be crowned U20 world championship.
• Antim Panghal had been the first woman from India to win a junior world title in wrestling at last year's edition. Priya, the 22-year-old from Haryana, beat Laura Celine Kuehn  of Germany  by 5-0 in the women's 76kg freestyle wrestling final.
•  In a true stamp of authority, Priya went the whole tournament without conceding a single point in any of her matches. Priya has now won both the U17  2021,and 2022  and U20 world titles in her short but promising career.

Published date : 21 Aug 2023 10:41AM