National Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2023 observed on 11th January
The National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is observed every year in the United States on 11th January. The day is dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking.
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
The National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is observed every year in the United States on 11th January. The day is dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking. Even though the entire month of January has been recognised as the National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, January 11 specifically aims towards the prevention of illegal practices. Since the US Senate established this day of observance in 2007, it has drawn massive public support from individuals as well as government-organised events.
Significance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
Human Trafficking Awareness Day is significant as it has a long-term impact on human lives, families and households, as well as communities across the globe. The day is also commemorated to aid in detecting human trafficking red flags so that many lives can be saved. Human trafficking is the exploitation of an individual for labour, domestic servitude, or commercial sexual activity by force, fraud, or coercion. The act of enslaving or exploiting unwilling people also comes under the definition of human trafficking. Unfortunately, slavery in some form has existed for hundreds of years.
History of Human Trafficking Awareness Day
It was in the late 20th and early 21st centuries when the movement against human trafficking received support. In 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act addressed modern-day slavery and was also the first federal law to do so. It was in 2007 when the United States Senate ratified the resolution establishing January 11 as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Later, in 2010, President Barack Obama dedicated the entire month of January to awareness and prevention of human trafficking. Currently, there are over 50 established organisations that are working towards combating the illegal practice.
Space Kidz India satellite made by 750 school Girls to be launched by ISRO
Space Kidz India satellite made by 750 school Girls: ISRO launch vehicle will carry a satellite built by 750 girls attending government schools across the nation.
ISRO to launch Space Kidz India satellite made by 750 school Girls
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launch vehicle will carry a satellite built by 750 girls attending government schools across the nation, according to Space Kidz India, a Chennai-based space tech business.
Space Kidz India satellite made by 750 school Girls: Key Points
Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-S launch vehicle carried Space Kidz’s payloads, as the first Indian private rocket to launch into orbit last year,
The AzaadiSAT satellite has a target launch date of January 16, however this date may vary for a variety of reasons.
Space Kidz India chose 10 female students from 75 government schools across the nation.
The website for Space Kidz India stated that “the selected youngsters are primarily from class VIII to XII.”
Lumina Datamatics has collaborated with Space Kidz India, and Niti Aayog also supports the project.
ISRO and Microsoft Signed MoU to Boost Indian Space Tech Ecosystem
Who all are the part of this Space Kidz India satellite?
Students also created the payloads for Space Kidz aboard board Vikram S. 160 students from India, the US, Indonesia, and other nations completed 80 experiments as part of the payload, known as FunSAT.
Delhi Most Polluted City in India in 2022, Report says
Delhi was the most polluted city in India in 2022 with PM 2.5 levels more than double the safe limit and the third highest average PM10 concentration.
Delhi was the most polluted city in India in 2022 with PM 2.5 levels more than double the safe limit and the third highest average PM10 concentration, according to an analysis of Central Pollution Control Board data. PM2.5 pollution in the national capital has reduced by over 7 per cent in four years, from 108 micrograms per cubic metre in 2019 to 99.71 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022.
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Among the most polluted cities with respect to PM2.5 levels, Delhi (99.71 micrograms per cubic metre) ranked first, Haryana’s Faridabad (95.64 micrograms per cubic metre) ranked second and Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad (91.25 micrograms per cubic metre) third.
What is National Clean Air Program (NCAP):
National Clean Air Program (NCAP) is a long-term, time-bound, national-level strategy to tackle the air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner, Launched by the central government in 2019.
What are the targets under NCAP:
To achieve a 20% to 30% reduction in Particulate Matter (PM) concentrations by 2024 keeping 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration.
NCAP Tracker is a joint project of news portal Carbon Copy and a Maharashtra-based start-up ‘Respirer Living Sciences’ and is designed to track India’s progress in achieving clean air targets. Now there are 131 cities which are called non-attainment cities, as they did not meet the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for the period of 2011-15 under the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme. In September 2022, the government set a new target of a 40 per cent reduction in particulate matter concentration by 2026.
Particulate Matter(PM):
Also called particle pollution, it is a term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air.
It includes:-
PM10: inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller; and
PM2.5: fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.
Sources of PM:
Some are emitted directly from a source, such as construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks or fires. Most particles form in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are pollutants emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles.
BharatPe Gets in-principle nod from RBI to Operate as Online Payment Aggregator
Fintech platform BharatPe said it has received in-principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator (PA).
Fintech platform BharatPe said it has received in-principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator (PA). The company said that an in-principle nod was awarded to Resilient Payments Private Ltd, a 100 percent subsidiary of Resilient Innovations Private Ltd (BharatPe).
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RBI’s nod comes amid a slew of high profile exits the Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global-backed firm, which has been battling controversies since last year. It is currently fighting a court battle with its former co-founder Ashneer Grover alleging financial misappropriation. Grover was ousted last year in March.
About the payment aggregator framework:
Payment aggregators are entities that facilitate e-commerce sites and merchants to accept various payment instruments from the customers. The merchants do not need to create a separate payment integration system of their own.
The payment aggregator framework, introduced formally in March 2020, mandates that only firms approved by the RBI can acquire and offer payment services to merchants. RBI has been strict in its evaluation of entities that have applied for the payment aggregator licence.
Multiple online payment gateways seeking the aggregator licence came under intense scrutiny from the central bank for – know-your-customer (KYC) related issues, past dealings with cryptocurrency exchanges and gaming apps, and for not complying with the net worth criteria that RBI had set out.
Some fintech firms like Razorpay, Pine Labs, Open, Cahfree, 1Pay have already received RBI approval for PA in the last few months. Over 185 fintech enterprises and startups which had submitted their proposals for a payment aggregator licence.
Under SPRINT Scheme Indian Navy to Get Autonomous Weaponised Boat Swarms
iDEX has signed its 50th SPRINT contract with Sagar Defence for Autonomous Weaponised Boat Swarms for the Indian Navy.
iDEX has signed its 50th SPRINT contract with Sagar Defence for Autonomous Weaponised Boat Swarms for the Indian Navy. Autonomous Weaponised Boat is one of the technologies introduced out of the 75 challenges by the Indian Navy under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in 2022.
Sagar Defence has developed the country’s first Autonomous Weaponised unmanned boat with the capability for swarming. The contract was signed under an Indian Navy project of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC 7) SPRINT initiative.
Under SPRINT Scheme Indian Navy to Get Autonomous Weaponised Boat Swarms- Key Points
DRDO has tested 3 remote unmanned weaponized boats in Pune ahead of Defence Expo.
The Autonomous Weaponised Boats were developed in collaboration with Sagar Defence Engineering, a private start-up.
The vessel is capable of relying on the video feed to the ground control station and can be very useful for surveillance and patrolling.
It can be mounted with a machine gun for insurgence operations.
The Autonomous Weaponised Boats have an endurance of about four hours.
Currently, the boat can sail at a maximum speed of 10 nautical miles/hour.
The mission of Sagar Defence is “Boat in a Box” to facilitate easier and safer Unmanned Marine Surface Vehicles (UMSV), vessel command control technology, Navigation instruments, and telemetry systems.
About iDEX
iDEX is an initiative by the Government of India to build an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging innovators and entrepreneurs to deliver technologically advanced solutions to India’s armed forces.
The objective of iDEX is to engage industries including MSMEs, Startups, individual innovators, R&D institutes, and academia to provide them with funding and support to carry out R&D development.
‘Naatu Naatu’ from epic drama ‘RRR’ wins Best Song at Golden Globe Awards 2023
Composer MM Keeravani, along with singers Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj, has won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, for the track “Naatu Naatu,” from epic drama "RRR".
Golden Globe Awards 2023
Composer MM Keeravani, along with singers Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj, has won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, for the track “Naatu Naatu,” from epic drama “RRR“. “Naatu Naatu,” a dance number featuring stars Jr NTR and Ram Charan, was competing against Taylor Swift’s “Carolina” from Where the Crawdads Sing, “Ciao Papa” from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, and “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, performed by Rihanna.
The historical epic has also been nominated in the Best Non-English Language Film category at the 80th Golden Globes. In the ‘best picture–non English segment’, “RRR” will face off with Korean romantic mystery film “Decision To Leave”, German anti-war drama “All Quiet on the Western Front”, Argentine historical drama “Argentina, 1985”, and French-Dutch coming-of-age drama “Close”.
Notably: India previously made its presence felt in the Best Original Score category over a decade ago, when AR Rahman won for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire.
About the RRR:
SS Rajamouli’s ”RRR” follows a pre-Independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem – in the 1920s. The film stars Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in key roles. Released theatrically last March, ”RRR” reportedly made over Rs 1,200 crore at the global box office.
DRDO Develops Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Operations in Himalayan Frontier
The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has developed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to carry out logistic operations in the Himalayan frontier.
The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has developed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to carry out logistic operations in the Himalayan frontier. The DRDO-developed UAV is capable of flying in the Himalayan Environment with 5kg of payload and even dropping bombs in the areas required.
DRDO Develops Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Operations in Himalayan Frontier- Key Points
The UAV was displayed at the 108th Indian Science Congress by DRDO.
The organization has carried out successful trials of the multi-copter conducted at Sikkim at an altitude of 14,000 feet.
The UAV will be ready for induction into the Armed forces after two remaining trials.
The UAV developed by DRDO has been developed with a payload capacity of 5 kg to 25 kg and it is working on increasing the capacity up to 30 kg.
The Multi-copter can carry out the autonomous mission with waypoint navigation within up to a 5 km radius.
It can also travel to a designated location in auto mode and release payload and return to the home location.
It can be used to drop a bomb at an enemy site without any risk of human loss.
The payload UAV can be helpful to drop medicines for soldiers deployed at high altitudes or war zones.
DRDO’s celebrated its 65th foundation day
About Defence Research and Development Organization
The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production of the Indian Ordinance Factories with the Defence Science Organization. Defence Research and Development Service (DRDS) was established in 1979 as a service of Group A officers under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.