Science and Technology
Aquaponics

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Aquaponics facility) + Mains ( GS III e-technology in the aid of farmers +farmer's welfare + awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• A pilot ‘Aquaponics facility' developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) Mohali
• Aquaponics and related alternative farming techniques are highly required to improve the status of farmers.
• This technique will help the farmer in increasing the productivity of his land and also augment his income

Aquaponics facility

• The state-of-the-art facility, that is the first of its kind in region, is equipped with advanced sensors for monitoring and automated controls.
• It has been developed with the funding support from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Govt. of India.
• The facility is nearly 100% organic, need much less land for a give yield of crop, consumes 90% less water, the fish and plants so grown are more nutritious.

Know! about Aquaponics

• It is an emerging technique in which both fishes as well as the plants are grown in an integrated manner.
• The fish waste provides fertilizer for growing plants.
• The plants absorb nutrients and filter the water. This filtered water is used to replenish the fish tank. This is an environment friendly technique.
• The supercomputing power being provided by C-DAC will go a long way in developing agriculture technology.

Prelims Factoids
Deh Vechwa Karani

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil + Pravara Rural Education Society
What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister released the autobiography of Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil titled ‘Deh Vechwa Karani'
• He renamed Pravara Rural Education Society as ‘Loknete Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural Education Society'.

Balasaheb Vikhe Patil

• He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India.
• He was a prominent leader of Maharashtra and eldest son of Vithalrao Vikhe Patil, who started Asia's first Co-operative sugar factory at Loni in Maharashtra.
• He was awarded the prestigious civilian award Padma Bhushan on 31 March 2010 for his outstanding work in the field of Social Work.
• He was seven time MP, former Union Minister of State (Finance) and Union Cabinet Minister (Heavy Industries), Government of India.

Pravara Rural Education Society

• Pravara Rural Education Society was established in 1964 at Loni in Ahmednagar district, with the aim to provide a world-class education to the rural masses and empower the girl child.
• The Society is currently serving with the core mission of educational, social, economical, cultural, physical and psychological development of students.

Environment
Fishing cat - ambassador of Chilika Lake

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about fishing + about Chilika lake)
What's the NEWS

• The Chilika Development Authority (CDA) designated the fishing cat as ambassador at a meeting held to conclude the ongoing wildlife week.
• The fishing cat will be the ambassador of Chilika Lake, the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia and India's oldest Ramsar Site

Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance (FCCA)

• A study conducted by the Fishing Cat Project (TFCP) and the Indian wing of Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance (FCCA) in collaboration with the CDA.
• The study show that the fishing cats are mostly found in marshlands fringing the north and north-eastern sections of the lake
• The fishing cat is the only wild cat species in India that is a wetland specialist, and it's found all around Chilika.
• Chilika has one of the country's largest extensive marsh-ecosystems, spanning around 100 sq. km.
• Projecting the fishing cat as the face of the marshlands will raise the profile of the fishing cat and marshland ecosystems globally and nationally

Know! about fishing cat

• The fishing cat is a Schedule I species
• The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia.
• Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
• Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declined severely over the last decade.
• Management interventions are required to prolong the life of this marshland so that it can continue to provide for the globally endangered fishing cat
• The CDA has also decided to have a rescue and rehabilitation centre for birds, Irrawaddy dolphins, fishing cat and otters with the help of the Wildlife Trust of India inside the Chilika lagoon.
• This centre will cater to a long-standing need for rescue and rehabilitation of migratory birds and other flagship species of the lagoon.

Wildlife Week 2020

• 66th Wildlife Week being observed in India from 02 to 08 October 2020
• The Wildlife Week is celebrated in India every year from 02 to 08 October to conserve and protect the fauna or animal life of the country.
• Wildlife Week was conceptualized in 1952 to raise awareness of safeguarding the lives of wildlife through critical action.
• Theme 2020- RoaR (Roar and Revive) - Exploring Human-Animal Relationships.
• The Week is celebrated by several organizations all over India,but the celebrations are mainly organized by National Board of Wildlife.

Science and Technology
INAI (INtel AI.)

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the initiative - INAI + Mains GS III - awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• Intel India has collaborated with the Government of Telangana, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) to launch INAI, an applied artificial intelligence research centre in Hyderabad.

Know! all about INAI

• INAI is an initiative that applies AI to population-scale problems in the Indian context, with a focus on identifying and solving challenges in the healthcare and smart mobility segments through strong ecosystem collaboration.
• INAI AI is Artificial Intelligence. It is a national level Research Centre.
• The centre will take initiative to apply artificial intelligence to population scale problems in India. The centre will focus on identifying and solving challenges in smart mobility segment and Healthcare.
• The initiative will create National assets such as computing infrastructure curated data sets tools and frameworks to attract Global talent to achieve social sector development.
• The initiative will bring together multiple Institutions and is anchored by IIIT-Hyderabad.
• INAI will act as a catalyst to accelerate India's leadership in AI by driving innovation and entrepreneurship, creating national assets such as curated datasets, computing infrastructure, tools and frameworks with the aim to attract global talent for high impact research towards social sector development.
• PHFI is the founding healthcare partner in this initiative.
• In the smart mobility domain, INAI will advance research in the area of road safety to use AI to reduce road accidents and fatalities in the country.
• In the area of public health, the centre will work to enable solutions to extend health coverage to every individual and advance research for better prediction of non-communicable diseases.

Know! about all.ai 2020 Virtual Summit and AI For Youth Symposium

• The all.ai 2020 Virtual Summit on Oct. 12-16 has been brought together by Intel India in collaboration with the industry, academia and government to offer a deep dive into leveraging AI to solve problems at population scale.
• The virtual summit will focus on India's massive potential to develop AI solutions through large-scale skilling, applied research and supportive policy, with dedicated days focused on youth skills, healthcare, mobility and the future of work.
• The program also includes the AI For Youth Virtual Symposium that will enable over 10,000 youth to learn AI readiness skills, gain an immersive experience and witness AI social impact projects created by their peers.

Prelims Factoids
Stevie Awards For Women In Business

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Stevie awards)
What's the NEWS

• Mrs. Seema Gupta, Director (Operations), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, a PSU under Ministry of Power, has been named the winner of GOLD Stevie® Award in the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT- BUSINESS category in the 17th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Know! about Stevie Awards

• The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honour women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and the companies they run- worldwide.
• The Stevie Awards have been hailed as the world's premier business awards. For this year, the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 180 business professionals around the world, working on seven juries.
• The Stevie® Awards are the world's premier business awards.
• They were created in 2002 to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide.

Health
Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Thalassemia + HSCT program) + Mains ( GS II Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare launched the second phase of "Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna" for the underprivileged Thalassaemic patients

Know! about the Scheme

• Launched in 2017, this scheme is a Coal India CSR funded Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) program that aims to provide a one-time cure opportunity for Haemoglobinopathies like Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell Disease for patients who have a matched family donor.
• The CSR initiative was targeted to provide financial assistance to a total of 200 patients by providing a package cost not exceeding Rs. 10 lakhs per HSCT.

Know! about Thalassemia

• Thalassemia is an inherited (i.e., passed from parents to children through genes) blood disorder caused when the body doesn't make enough of a protein called haemoglobin, an important part of red blood cells.
• When there isn't enough haemoglobin, the body's red blood cells don't function properly and they last shorter periods of time, so there are fewer healthy red blood cells traveling in the bloodstream.
• Red blood cells carry oxygen to all the cells of the body. Oxygen is a sort of food that cells use to function.
• When there are not enough healthy red blood cells, there is also not enough oxygen delivered to all the other cells of the body, which may cause a person to feel tired, weak or short of breath. This is a condition called anaemia. People with thalassemia may have mild or severe anaemia.

Different types of thalassemia

• Haemoglobin, which carries oxygen to all cells in the body, is made of two different parts, called alpha and beta.
• When thalassemia is called "alpha" or "beta," this refers to the part of haemoglobin that isn't being made.
• If either the alpha or beta part is not made, there aren't enough building blocks to make normal amounts of haemoglobin. Low alpha is called alpha thalassemia. Low beta is called beta thalassemia.

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT)

• It involves the intravenous infusion of autologous or allogeneic stem cells collected from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood to re-establish hematopoietic function in patients whose bone marrow or immune system is damaged or defective.

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