India’s First Hybrid Rocket launched in Chengalpattu
India’s first hybrid sounding rocket by private players was successfully launched from Pattipulam village in the Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu.
India’s first hybrid sounding rocket by private players was successfully launched from Pattipulam village in the Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu. Martin Foundation, in association with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation and Space Zone India, launched the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission- 2023.
Key Information About This Hybrid Rocket Launch:
The organisations mentioned that 5,000 students were involved in the project.
The selected students designed and constructed a student satellite launch vehicle (rocket) and 150 PICO satellite research experiment cubes that contained different payloads.
The reusable rocket was made by the selected top 100 students, while the rest made the satellites.
The rocket can be used for research in weather, atmospheric conditions and radiation.
What are sounding rockets:
Sounding rockets are one or two stage solid propellant rockets used for probing the upper atmospheric regions and for space research.
They also serve as easily affordable platforms to test or prove prototypes of new components or subsystems intended for use in launch vehicles and satellites.
A hybrid-propellant rocket is a rocket with a rocket motor that uses rocket propellants in two different phases: one solid and the other either gas or liquid.
With the establishment of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in 1963 at Thumba, a location close to the magnetic equator, there was a quantum jump in the scope for aeronomy and atmospheric sciences in India.
The launch of the first sounding rocket from Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 21 November 1963, marked the beginning of the Indian Space Programme.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde named Shiv Sena chief
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was named the Shiv Sena chief leader following the national executive meeting of the party.
Eknath Shinde named Shiv Sena chief
Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, was elected as the Shiv Sena’s supreme leader during the party’s national executive meeting. The Election Commission of India (ECI) recognised his faction as the true Shiv Sena and gave him the “bow and arrow” insignia during the first national executive meeting following that recognition. The MLAs, MPs, and other Sena leaders who had joined Shinde after he split from the group headed by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray were present at the meeting.
Many important proposals were presented in this meeting, including the proposal to give Bharat Ratna to Veer Savarkar. Apart from this, a proposal was presented to give maximum employment opportunities to the local youth in all the projects in the state and to give the status of elite language to Marathi language.
About Eknath Shinde
Eknath Shinde, who was born on February 9th, 1964, left college before receiving his diploma. He is 58 years old, a native of the western Maharashtra region of Satara, and began his political career in Thane, Mumbai. Shinde was an auto-rickshaw driver before becoming the Shiv Sena leader. He was an urban development and public works minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration under Uddhav Thackeray. He has served as a member of the legislature four times. For a brief time in 2014, Shinde served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Eknath Sambhaji Shinde is an Indian politician currently serving as the 20th and Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 2022..
Vignesh and Visakh NR become India’s first brothers to become Grandmasters
After winning the 24th NordWest Cup 2023 at Bad Zwischenahn in Germany and defeating German IM Ilja Schneider, Indian chess player Vignesh NR became the 80th Grandmaster of India.
India’s 80th Grandmaster
After winning the 24th NordWest Cup 2023 at Bad Zwischenahn in Germany and defeating German IM Ilja Schneider, Indian chess player Vignesh NR became the 80th Grandmaster of India. The Chennai boy reached the milestone after crossing 2500 in the live ratings. Vignesh’s elder brother Visakh NR had become India’s 59th GM in 2019. Thus, Visakh and Vignesh become India’s first brothers who are Grandmasters.
Vignesh earned his first GM-norm at Qatar Masters in 2015 at the age of 17 years. A little over one and a half years later, he scored his second GM-norm at 24th Abu Dhabi Masters in 2017. He secured his final GM-norm at 1st Gujarat GM Open 2018. A fourth GM-norm was scored at Asian Continental 2019 at Xingtai, China.
Telefónica Germany Selects TCS as Transformation Partner to Build Future-Ready Operations Support
India’s largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced that it has won a deal to digitally transform Telefonica Germany’s specific operations.
India’s largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced that it has won a deal to digitally transform Telefonica Germany’s specific operations. The latter is a leading German telecom company. The Indian IT services exporter announced that the partnership would entail building service assurance applications and processes within the Operations Support Systems (OSS) landscape of the German telecom company.
TCS and The Operations Support Systems (OSS):
TCS will leverage best-in-class methodologies – Agile, DevOps, Continuous Integration, and Continuous Deployment, and Continuous Testing (CI/CD/CT) framework and its deep cloud expertise to modernise the OSS service assurance application estate using cloud-native technologies and AI/ML to predict and pre-empt network faults, the company said in a statement
Significance of This Partnership:
According to the statement, this will enable Telefónica Germany to implement zero-touch cloud-based operations and provide consumers with a more resilient network service.
The reimagined service assurance processes will result in faster turnaround times and a transformed customer experience, the statement said.
Additionally, the new future-ready, simplified service assurance systems within Telefónica Germany’s OSS landscape will help accelerate the launch of newer products, including new 5G-based growth areas, with near-zero downtime, it added.
TCS and Germany:
TCS has been present in Germany since 1991 and partners with over 100 leading German corporations in their growth and transformation journeys. TCS has also been ranked as the fastest-growing IT service provider in Germany and recognized as a top employer in Germany by the Top Employers Institute.
Dharmendra Pradhan introduces “Jaadui Pitara,” Learning and Teaching Material
Dharmendra Pradhan introduces "Jaadui Pitara": At least 1,200 central government-run schools will be required to use "Jaadui Pitara," a play-based learning resource for kids aged three to eight.
Dharmendra Pradhan introduces “Jaadui Pitara”
At least 1,200 central government-run schools will be required to use “Jaadui Pitara,” a play-based learning resource for kids aged three to eight, starting in the upcoming academic session, according to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“Jaadui Pitara,” Learning and Teaching Material: Key Points
According to Pradhan, it is a cutting-edge, child-centered learning philosophy that would equip early children for a lifetime of learning and carry out one of the most important objectives of the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The government introduced a national curriculum framework (NCF) for foundation or early childhood care in October of last year in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advises against using textbooks with children between the ages of three and six.
Also, it placed a focus on encouraging learning based on play, lived experience, and the usage of one’s mother tongue.
The ministry consequently introduced play-based materials for kids enrolled in Balvatika, which includes classes for nursery, lower kindergarten (LKG), and upper kindergarten (UKG).
Power Minister launches SADUN to modernise power distribution utilities in South Asia
About the “Jaadui Pitara” Initiative
Textbooks will only be introduced in classes 1 and 2, and they will also be illustrative in nature. There won’t be any books for Balvatikas 1 (nursery) and 2 (LKG), however pupils in Balvatika 3 (UKG) will be introduced to a playbook. The textbooks for Classes 1 and 2 will be released by the NCERT by the end of this month.
Playbooks, activity books, workbooks, toys, manuals for teachers and trainers, flashcards, narrative cards, posters, puzzles, puppets, and kid-friendly publications are all included in the “Jaadui Pitara” (magic collection). The play-based teaching and learning materials provide a strong emphasis on the five areas of child development: physical, socio-emotional and ethical, cognitive, language and literacy, and aesthetic and cultural.
India, Seychelles sign pact on information sharing in maritime security
The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region of India and the RCOC (Regional Coordination Operations Centre) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on maritime cooperation.
India and Seychelles signed six agreements in key areas, including maritime security, and on sharing of white shipping information that would enable the two countries to exchange data regarding identity and movement of non-military commercial vessels.
More About the Maritime Security MoU:
According to the MoU, the countries will work together and improve maritime safety in the Indian Ocean Region. The safety provisions will be based on the SAGAR initiative – Security and Growth for All in the Region. With this, they will be able to correlate better and can share information in a more compressed way.
More About The Agreements:
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Department of Information Communications Technology of Seychelles on cooperation in the area of cyber security.
Significance of These Agreements:
It is essential for India to sign this agreement with Seychelles to learn about the maritime safety measures being implemented in this region. The Western Indian Ocean is governed by the “Maritime Security architecture”.
This architecture is implemented by Indian Ocean Commission. The IOC is supported by Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre, RCOC, and other countries like Djibouti, Comoros, Kenya, Mauritius, France, Seychelles, and Madagascar. India has no maritime agreements related to this part of the Indian Ocean with these countries except Seychelles. Even if it does, those agreements do not talk about sharing information! Thus, it is essential to sign the MoU with the country.
About Indian Ocean Commission:
The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) is an intergovernmental body created in 1984 to protect the interests of the Western Indian Ocean islands.
It consists of Madagascar, Comoros, La Réunion (French overseas territory), Mauritius and Seychelles.
The Commission has five observers — India, China, European Union (EU), Malta and International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).
Note: India is only an observer at the Indian Ocean Commission; not a full member.
Dr. Mahendra Mishra awarded the International Mother Language Award in Dhaka
Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra, an Indian educator and social worker for the advancement of indigenous languages in Odisha, received the World Mother Language Award from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
International Mother Language Award
Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra, an Indian educator and social worker for the advancement of indigenous languages in Odisha, received the World Mother Language Award from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Mishra has worked over three decades on the language, culture and education of the marginalised languages of Odisha. Inaugurating a four-day programme of the International Mother Language Institute and conferring the award, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stressed the need ‘for research to preserve, revitalise and develop the mother languages of the world as many languages are being lost’.
In Dhaka, four awardees received the two national prizes and the two international awards from Prime Minister Hasina. The national prizes went to Habibur Rahman and Ranjit Singha of Bangladesh, while Mahendra Kumar Mishra and Mother Language Lovers of Global Society, Vancouver, received honourable mentions. The prize was established by UNESCO in 2021 and is granted to those who have made exceptional contributions to the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of mother tongues.
International Mother Language Day observed on 21st February
History of the Day:
February 21 is celebrated as the International Mother Language Day, as declared by the United Nations in 2000. As per the UNESCO, this day aims to celebrate the ways of expressing the world in its multiplicity, committing to the preservation of the diversity of languages as a common heritage, and working for quality education in mother tongues for all. The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh and was approved at the 1999 UNESCO General conference.