Garuda Aerospace Receives Type Certification and RTPO Approvals from DGCA
Drone manufacturer Garuda Aerospace has received the Type Certification and RPTO (Remote Pilot Training Organisation) approvals from the Director General of Civil Aviation for the indigenously designed kisan drones.
How DGCA Gives Approvals:
DGCA Type certification is provided on the basis of the quality check and is issued after a rigorous testing process of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
About Kisan drones:
The kisan drones are developed for agricultural purposes and with the Type Certification received for the GA-AG model, Garuda Kisan drones were eligible for Rs 10 lakh unsecured loans from the agri-infrastructure fund offered by the Centre.
About Remote pilot training organisation:
According to DGCA, a remote pilot training organisation is an organisation authorised by the DGCA to impart remote pilot training to any individual seeking for a remote pilot certificate under Rule 34 of Drone Rules 2021.
Its Significance:
The elusive double certification by DGCA for Type and RPTO certification is a testament to the indigenous Made in India drone manufacturing capacities. The Company is powered and blessed with strong demands of manufacturing 5,000 drones in the next five months.
RBI’s Revised Bank Locker Rules to Come Into Effect from 1st of January
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently said that all leading banks should issue the locker agreement to its holders before January 1, 2023, as the new locker rules will be implemented from that date. Earlier, the RBI had announced revised guidelines on August 8, 2021, which became effective from January 1, 2022. And now, all the locker owners must display their eligibility for a new locker arrangement and sign a renewal agreement prior to January 1, 2023.
Highlights of the RBI’s Revised Guidelines:
Banks shall ensure that any unfair terms or conditions are not incorporated in their locker agreements.
Further, the terms of the contract shall not be more onerous than required in the ordinary course of business to safeguard the interests of the bank.
Banks shall renew their locker agreements with existing locker customers by January 1, 2023.
All banks need to circulate a new locker agreement to their safe deposit locker holders under the new rules.
According to the Central bank, all the lenders can use the IBA-drafted model locker agreement, which should comply with the updated instructions and Supreme Court’s directives.
The bank customers can get up to 100 times the bank charges if the valuables stored in the vaults are robbed or destroyed due to fire or building collapse.
It is mandatory for banks to install CCTV to monitor the locker rooms. Apart from this, the RBI has also asked the banks to keep the data of CCTV for 180 days. This will help in checking if any discrepancy occurs.
To protect customers from banking fraud, the RBI directed that the respective banks should send SMS and e-mails every time a customer accesses his locker. This alert will protect customers from fraud.
The banks can now demand a term deposit at the time of allocation of a locker that would be taken as the rent for three years. However, for the existing locker holders, banks cannot insist on such Term Deposits or from those who have satisfactory operative accounts.
Indian Scientist Prof. Thalappil Pradeep Awarded VinFuture Special Prize 2022
Professor Thalappil Pradeep, Indian Scientist, India Institute of Technology, Madras received VinFuture special Prize on 20th December 2022 in Hanoi. Prof Thalappil Pradeep was awarded for the innovation of a low-cost filtration system to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater.
About Professor Thalappil Pradeep
Thalappil Pradeep is an Indian scientist and professor of chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He has received the Padma Shri award in 2020 for his distinguished contribution to the field of science and technology.
He received the Nikkei Asia Prize in 2020, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Prize in 2018, and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in 2008. Thalappil Pradeep was born on 8th July 1963 in Panthavoor, Kerala.
VinFuture Prize 2022
The VinFuture Grand Prize is valued at US $3 million, which is one of the largest ever annual prizes globally.
Three special prizes are awarded to female innovators, developing country innovators, and innovators with outstanding achievements in emerging fields.
These three prizes are valued at US $500,000 each.
Winners demonstrate their breakthrough innovations that contribute to promoting global recovery and post-pandemic restructuring.
The recipients of the VinFuture Prize 2022 were selected from nearly 1,000 nominations across 71 countries.
The VinFuture Prize 2022 was held in Hanoi on 20th December 2022.
Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) Signs Agreements with MSMEs
Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) signed agreements with MSMEs for incubation of newer technologies into commercial products. The agreements were signed to commemorate the launch of the AIC at the BARC to hasten conversion of products from research labs to the market.
Why the Agreements are Signed:
The incubation agreements are signed specifically for technologies aligned with India’s global commitments of achieving Net Zero (carbon neutrality) such as access to safe drinking water, and growth of potential import substitutes for advanced and affordable healthcare in the country.
The technologies include Alkaline Water Electrolyser for Green Hydrogen production, DC Accelerator for Wastewater Treatment, novel Gamma Monitoring, and X-Band LINAC-based X-ray source for radiotherapy machines.
About This New Development & Its Transition Period:
The launch of AIC-BARC was announced in the 2020 Budget Speech of the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and will complement the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat initiative of the government. Moreover, the incubation centre will help promote start-ups and other emerging businesses and create new employment opportunities for people.
AIC-BARC is introduced as one of the three projects for self-reliance of DAE and is established under the aegis of Atal Innovation Mission, a flagship initiative of the union government to create and promote the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
Significance of This:
As per the framework of AIC-BARC, the scientists of BARC will mentor the incubatee industries for further improvisation and development of market-ready products with the help of DAE technologies. For development work, incubatee industries will be able to access advanced laboratories at BARC.
About Atal Incubation Centre (AIC):
To create an ever-evolving ecosystem of start-ups and entrepreneurs, AIM has been establishing world-class incubators called Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) at universities, institutions, and corporates among others. These Centres aim to foster and support world-class innovation and dynamic entrepreneurs who want to build scalable and sustainable enterprises.
About Bhabha Atomic Research Centre(BARC):
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India’s premier nuclear research facility headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) was established by the government of India in 1954 to consolidate all the research and development activity for nuclear reactors and technology under the AEET.
As a result, all the scientists and engineers engaged in the fields of reactor design and development, instrumentation, metallurgy and material science etc. were transferred with their respective programmes from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) to AEET, with TIFR retaining its original focus for fundamental research in the sciences.
After the demise of Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha in 1966, AEET was renamed Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
Over the years, BARC has emerged as the multi-disciplinary research centre with extensive infrastructure for advanced research and development.
Its R&D covers the entire spectrum of nuclear science, engineering and related areas.
BARC’s core mandate is to sustain peaceful applications of nuclear energy, primarily for power generation.
Spain passes new transgender law, anyone above 16 can change their gender
Spain passes new transgender law: The lower house of the Spanish Parliament approved a measure allowing individuals over the age of 16 to change their legally recorded gender without the need for medical supervision. According to the law, drafted by the center-left coalition government, minors between the ages of 14 and 16 must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians and those between the ages of 12 and 13 will require a judge’s permission to make the move.
Spain passes new transgender law: Key Points
The law also abolishes a restriction that banned lesbian couples from registering their children under both parents’ names and forbids the use of so-called conversion therapies to repress sexual orientation or gender identity.
Up until recently, transgender individuals required the diagnosis of gender dysphoria, a psychological disorder in which the patient does not feel that their biological sex matches their gender identity.
They occasionally also required paperwork proving they had taken hormones or evidence that they had lived for two years as the gender they identified with.
The bill, according to transgender rights organisations, is a “before and after” for LGBT rights.
The concept of biological sex is threatened by gender self-determination, according to certain feminism campaigners.
Voting for Transgender Law in Spain
Dozens of transgender rights advocates gathered in front of the building to watch the debate on their phones as the voting session was scheduled to take place in Parliament.
The bill will change many of the members of the Euforia Trans Family Alliance organization’s daily life, according to vice president Saida Garca.
The far-left Unidas Podemos (United We Can), the minor party in the ruling coalition, sponsored the law, which was the subject of a protracted 18-month legislative debate.
Opposition to the Transgender Law in Spain
Right-wing opposition groups vehemently opposed it, and it also caused some friction with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist party.
Ring-wing attempted to submit an amendment that would have required court supervision for those under 16 who wanted to change their recorded gender.
Only those who are younger than 13 will ultimately be subject to this restriction.
Irene Montero, a member of United We Can and the Minister for Equality, expressed her pride in Congress for stating that “trans rights are human rights.”
The Scottish parliament is currently discussing a similar bill providing gender self-determination as the Spanish Congress votes on it. Similar laws have previously been passed in over a dozen other nations.
‘Bomb Cyclone’ Winter Storm hits US with Life Threating Extremely Cold Climate
US Severely Affected by Bomb Cyclone
Bomb Cyclone: Bomb Cyclone has thrashed US and Canada with extreme climate and has trapped the residents inside their houses with snow and power outages. During the Christmas season, the bomb cyclone occurred due to a low temperature of -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Thousands of flights have been canceled and several highways have been blocked. People are advised not to step outside their homes as it can be life-threatening.
Due to Artic Blast, the US has been experiencing an extremely cold climate, heavy snow, and intense wind. The authorities have ordered to put a halt on traveling during the Christmas season because of the Bomb Cyclone.
What is Bomb Cyclone?
Bomb Cyclone is created when the air of different masses whether cold or dry comes together. The warm air rises and makes a cloud system which lowers the air pressure. These cloud system forms storms and circulates counterclockwise in the low-pressure area. A bomb Cyclone is a mid-latitude storm in which the central pressure drops fast at one millibar per hour for 24 hours.
What are the effects of the Bomb Cyclone?
During the Bomb Cyclone, within a few hours, the temperature may drop by more than 11 degrees Celsius. The air pressure is predicted to drop from 1003 millibars to 968 millibars.
The temperature could also drop to a certain low point which can be dangerous and life-threatening enough to frostbite in minutes. During Bomb Cyclone the cold winds are intense and could pick up speed.
Traveling affected due to Bomb Cyclone
During the Christmas season, the travel plans of millions were affected due to the Bomb Cyclone. Approximately 7,423 flights were delayed and 3,400 were canceled. The roads are considered extremely dangerous to travel and the government has also urged people to expect zero visibility and snow drifts. Highways are closed completely, and people are advised to avoid traveling.
FAQs related to Bomb Cyclone
1. How does a bomb Cyclone form? Ans. A bomb Cyclone is created when the air of different masses whether cold or dry comes together. The warm air rises and makes a cloud system which lowers the air pressure and forms a storm.
2. How has the bomb cyclone affected the US? Ans. Due to the bomb cyclone more than lakh people are affected in the US. People are experiencing blackouts and power outages. The US is also experiencing live loss due to the Bomb Cyclone.
3. How many people died in the bomb cyclone? Ans. In the US, 34 people have lost their lives in the bomb cyclone. The nation is suffering from power outages and no electricity for several days.
NSE Gets Sebi Nod to Set up Social Stock Exchange
One of the leading stock exchanges in India – The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) received in-principle approval from the capital markets regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to set up a Social Stock Exchange (SSE) as a separate segment.
What is Social Stock Exchange (SSE):
First floated by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech for the financial year 2019-20, SSE is a novel concept in India and the framework for this was notified in July this year based on the recommendations of a working group and technical group constituted by Sebi.
It is meant to serve the private and non-profit sectors by availing more capital to them. The union government issued a gazette notification declaring a new security ‘zero coupon zero principal‘ under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956.
An SSE allows the listing of non-profit or non-government organisations on stock exchanges, providing them with an alternative fund-raising structure.
Countries like the UK, Canada and Brazil have SSEs.
The fund-raising is proposed through several instruments such as zero-coupon-zero-principal bonds, social venture funds and mutual funds.
India’s Market Size: India has over 31 lakh NPOs more than double the number of schools and 250 times the number of government hospitals which amount to one NPO for 400 Indians.
Eligibility criteria for SSE: About The New Rules:
Under the new rules, SSE will be a separate segment of the existing stock exchanges. Social enterprises that are eligible to participate in the SSE will have to be NPOs and for-profit social enterprises having social intent.
The social enterprises aspiring for SSE will have to engage in a social activity out of 16 broad activities listed by Sebi. The eligible activities include promoting healthcare, education, employability, and livelihoods; eradicating hunger, poverty, malnutrition, and inequality and supporting incubators of social enterprise and gender equality empowerment of women and LGBTQIA+ communities.
What Are The Constraints:
The entities not eligible under the present rules include corporate foundations, professional or trade associations, political and religious organisations, infrastructure and housing companies, except affordable housing.
As of now, Sebi permits the minimum issue size as Rs 1 crore and the minimum application size for subscription at Rs 2 lakh.
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