Published on: November 8, 2024
Snippets : 8 NOVEMBER 2024
Snippets : 8 NOVEMBER 2024
- The Bengaluru Traffic Police is launching ASTraM (Actionable Intelligence for Sustainable Traffic Management), a super-app designed to centralize real-time traffic updates and various services for Bengaluru commuters. ASTraM aims to simplify route planning, report traffic incidents, and streamline fine payments, all within a single platform. It features real-time congestion alerts, user reporting for traffic violations, and integration with existing services, such as Public Eye. Additionally, police-specific functionalities include digital traffic mapping and virtual scenario testing to improve traffic management. Complementary projects, like upgraded road safety measures, body-worn cameras, and signal reallocations, support the city’s comprehensive traffic improvement plan, funded with ₹55 crore, with completion expected by January.
- Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has launched “Tiger Wings,” an impressive vertical garden in Terminal 2 that merges modern infrastructure with nature, conceptualized by the distinguished botanist Patrick Blanc. Standing 30 feet tall and spanning 160 feet in width, this installation is Blanc’s largest project in India, symbolizing KIA’s commitment to integrating greenery within architectural spaces. With over 15,000 plants from 153 species, it emphasizes Karnataka’s and the Western Ghats’ botanical richness. Using specially designed felt layers for soilless growth and an advanced irrigation system to conserve water, “Tiger Wings” embodies sustainability while enhancing travelers’ experiences with a nature-inspired aesthetic that celebrates the region’s biodiversity.
- The zonal agricultural research center at VC Farm, Mandya, under the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bangalore, has successfully cultivated 11,290 paddy varieties, including unique local types like Karichippiga and Gowri Sanna, as well as varieties from other states such as Ambemohar and Kalanamak. The research aims to analyze the characteristics and pest resistance of these diverse strains, preserving local varieties endangered by the Green Revolution’s focus on high-yield crops. In collaboration with the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) and supported by the Department of Biotechnology, this initiative seeks to conserve indigenous varieties, enhance disease resistance, and transfer beneficial traits to new varieties, contributing to biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and the development of robust crops.
- Bengaluru’s first digital population clock, located at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), is designed to provide real-time population estimates for both Karnataka and India. Developed in partnership with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the clock aims to raise awareness about population growth and its impact, offering reliable demographic data for researchers to aid in policy planning. Updating every one minute and 10 seconds for Karnataka and every two seconds for India, this clock uses satellite-based technology for accuracy and functions independently. A Census Data Research Workstation also accompanies the clock at ISEC, offering researchers access to comprehensive census data with advanced tools for demographic analysis, supporting evidence-based policy decisions. Similar population clocks have been established by MoHFW at 18 Population Research Centers across India, reinforcing the significance of understanding demographic shifts for sustainable development.
- In the recently released EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL Technologies, led the list of India’s top philanthropists by donating Rs 2,153 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2024. The list ranks India’s most generous philanthropists, with notable figures including Mukesh Ambani, who contributed Rs 407 crore personally and an additional Rs 900 crore through Reliance Industries’ CSR, and Nandan Nilekani, who ranked sixth with Rs 307 crore, marking the highest incremental increase in donations. The 2024 list features a record 203 philanthropists, including 96 newcomers, with the total donations reaching Rs 8,783 crore—a 55% increase from two years prior. City-wise, Mumbai leads with 30% of the list’s philanthropists, followed by New Delhi at 19%, and Bengaluru at 9%, including the notable philanthropists Nandan and Rohini Nilekani. This year’s minimum donation to enter the top 10 doubled to Rs 154 crore, while 18 individuals donated over Rs 100 crore, highlighting India’s growing culture of large-scale philanthropy.
- Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), University of Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered an ultra-low energy method to convert crystals into glass, using only one-billionth of the energy required by traditional techniques. Published in Nature, this breakthrough involves Indium Selenide, a material with unique properties that enables solid-to-glass transformation through internal “self-shocks” when an electric current is applied. This process bypasses the need for high temperatures, making it a game-changer for phase-change memory (PCM) technology, which stores data without power and is used in cache memory and high-performance computing. The discovery has the potential to transform memory technology, offering faster write speeds, improved endurance, and greater energy efficiency, and paves the way for integrating these devices onto CMOS platforms.
- Researchers have found a new species of jumping spider on Baner Hill, yet again highlighting the region’s rich biodiversity and the need to protect the city’s natural landscapes.
- Recently, an 11-member expert committee has recommended urgent conservation and management for habitat improvement and prey base development before designating Rajasthan’s Kumbhalgarh-Todgarh Raoli sanctuaries as a tiger reserve.
- The 2nd edition of the annual Indian Military Heritage Festival (IMHF) was held in New Delhi on November 8, 2024. The two-day festival aims to engage global and Indian think tanks, corporations, public and private sector undertakings, non-profits, academicians, and research scholars focusing on India’s national security, foreign policy, military history and military heritage.
