Bihar Affairs
Motihari worst among 3 Bihar towns most polluted in country
In an alarming reflection of deteriorating air quality in the state, the top three most polluted towns out of 177 in the country on Sunday were fromBihar, with the air quality index (AQI) plunging to severe (above 400) level.Motihariwas on top of the list withAQIat 423, closely followed by 411 in Darbhanga and 401 in Siwan.
The air quality of 12 cities monitored nationally figured in the very poor list, of which 10 were from Bihar. Patnas AQI level jumped 21 notches, from 299 (poor) on Saturday to 320 (very poor) on Sunday, according to the data compiled by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at 4pm, which is the Average of the past 24 hours.
The other cities experiencing very poor day included Begusarai (399), Buxar (362), Samastipur (357), Katihar (355), Purnia (348),Saharsa(326), Muzaffarpur (322), Bhagalpur (319) and Chhapra (317).The overall AQI of Patna was based on the readings of six air monitoring stations, out of which five were in the very poor category, including Patna City (341), BIT-Mesra (320), Eco Park (320), DRM office-Khagaul (309) and Planetarium (304). SK Memorial Hall recorded the AQI at 290 (poor zone). The average concentrations of PM 2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 micron) stood at 102 micrograms per cubic metre (g/m3) while the PM 10 (particulate matter less than 10 micron) was recorded at 174 g/m3 on Sunday. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.
National and International Affairs
National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) and 1M1B Foundation signed MoU to train teachers and students of EMRSs
AMemorandum of Understandinghas been signedon 7thNovember, 2022 between National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS),an autonomous organization established under Ministry of Tribal Affairs and 1M1B Foundation (1M1B) at NESTS headquarters, New Delhi.The MoU was signed by Shri. Asit Gopal, Commissioner, NESTS and Shri Manav Subodh, Managing Director, 1M1B in presence of 1M1Band NESTS team.
The program will capacitate the teachers & students with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) skills using the AR-VR skills curriculum launched by CBSE. The programme objectives include conduct of training and capacity-building programs for teachers and students of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs). In pilot phase, as part of MoU,programmeis being implemented in EMRSs of 2 states, namely Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
1 Million For 1 Billion (1M1B), is a Bengaluru based Not for Profit Company accredited to United Nations Organization with special consultative status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications and also is a registered credible organization with NGO Darpan Portal of . Itis a social innovation and future skills initiative aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
NESTS in PARTNERSHIP with the implementing agency, 1M1Baims to engage students of EMRSs in nation-building by enabling teachers and students to understand the world of possibilities offered by emerging technologies and become creators using Augmented reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to build Indias Metaverse.In congruence with NEP 2020, it is believed that this collaboration will go a long way in providing students of EMRSs an exposure to immersive,visual, and experiential Learning that shall enhance human Infrastructure resource for the nation.
India’s first privately built rocket, Vikram-S, launched by ISRO
India’s first privately built rocket – Vikram-suborbital (VKS)- was launched by the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) on Friday. The rocket – developed by Skyroot Aerospace –has been named after Vikram Sarabhai, hailed as the father of India’s space sector. In a bid to symbolise a new start, the mission has been named ‘Prarambh‘, which literally translates as begining.
This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had opened the space sector for participation by private players in June 2020. The government had called it a big reform amid the push for Make-in-India scheme.
COP27 – France contributes to the Global Shield against Climate Risks
The Global Shield Against Climate Risks, a joint initiative of the and the V20 Group of 20 vulnerable countries, was launched at the COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
This new initiative aims to respond to the call from the most climate vulnerable countries to improve the response to Climate Change-related loss and damage. In 2023, France will contribute 20 million in subsidies to the Global Shield Against Climate Risks. Germany, Canada, Denmark, the United States, France and Ireland will contribute a combined total of 210 million to the Global Shield. Other countries contribution announcements are forthcoming.
Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Fiji, Ghana, Pakistan, the Philippines and Senegal will be among the first countries to benefit from the Global Shield.
The Global Shield is structured around two pillars: a coordination platform tasked with designing Insurance solution packages together with the beneficiary countries and a financing structure that will support the deployment of these solutions. Frances contribution will go to the Global Shields financial vehicle.