Current Affairs – March 12, 2021

 

India

PM launches kindle version of Swami Chidbhavanandaji’s Bhagavad Gita

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the kindle version of Swami Chidbhavanandaji’s Bhagavad Gita on March 11, 2021. The Prime Minister lauded the efforts to bring out e-book version as this would connect more youngsters with the noble thoughts of the Gita.

Brahma Kumaris’ Chief Dadi Hriday Mohini dies at 93 in Mumbai

Spiritual organisation Brahma Kumaris’ chief administrator Dadi Hriday Mohini died on March 11, 2021 in Mumbai. She was 93. After the death of its former chief Dadi Janki a year ago, Dadi Mohini was appointed as the chief administrator of the organisation.

ISRO, JAXA join hands for air quality monitoring using satellite data

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have decided to join hands to take up activities on rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data.

Economy & Corporate

PLI scheme for pharmaceuticals approved by Chemicals & Fertilizers Ministry

Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry has accorded approval for Promotion of Domestic Manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials, Drug Intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients under Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme. The Scheme will benefit domestic manufacturers, help in creating employment and is expected to contribute to the availability of a wider range of affordable medicines for consumers.

3000 HP Cape Gauge locomotive flagged off for export to Mozambique

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on March 10, 2021 flagged off a 3000 HP Cape Gauge locomotive indigenously developed by the Banaras Locomotive Works to be exported to Mozambique. Indian Railways is exporting the first batch of two locomotives as part of a total order of six 3000 HP Cape Gauge locomotives and 90 stainless steel passenger coaches to Mozambique.

CAIT launches vendor onboarding mobile app for ‘Bharat e Market’

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on March 11, 2021 launched a vendor onboarding mobile app for its upcoming e-commerce portal ‘Bharat e Market’. The app will enable businesses and service providers to register on the portal and create their own “e-dukaan”. It is ‘purely Indian’ Bharat e Market portal and will comply with all the rules & regulations of the country.

ICAR allowed trials to evaluate drone spraying solution on sugarcane crop

Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation have granted a conditional exemption to ICAR – Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research (IISR), Lucknow for conducting the trials to evaluate drone spraying solution for controlling pest and diseases of sugarcane crop using drones. The exemption is valid until November 30, 2021.

World

PM, Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman speak over phone

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke over phone on March 11, 2021 during which the PM expressed his desire to further expand bilateral trade and investment, and highlighted the opportunities that the Indian economy offers to Saudi investors.

The Indian Economic and Social History Review: Table of Contents

 Volume 58 Issue 1, January–March 2021

Obituary: Professor Sunil Kumar (1956–2021) First Published February 4, 2021; pp. 5–5 Abstract

Articles

Sweet, sweet language: Prakrit and Maṇipravāḷam in premodern Kerala Sivan Goren-Arzony First Published January 17, 2021; pp. 7–27 Abstract Preview

Idiom and innovation in the ‘Gupta Period’: Revisiting Eran and Sondhni Elizabeth A. Cecil, Peter C. Bisschop First Published February 22, 2021; pp. 29–71 Abstract Preview

Narratives of a place named Ellora: Myths, culture and politics Mahesh Sharma First Published February 22, 2021; pp. 73–111 Abstract Preview

Grape wine in ancient and early Medieval India: The view from the centre James McHugh First Published February 10, 2021; pp. 113–144 Abstract Preview

Why a career in Human Resource Management can bring out the best in you

 As a profession, Human Resources (HR) has consistently ranked high on the lists of best career options. The U.S. News & World Report ranks the role of HR specialist at #17 on their list of Best Business Jobs and as one of the 100 Best Jobs overall for 2020. Here are prime reasons why a career in human resources stands out:

Make a difference: HR is responsible for organisational outcomes and managing the most valuable business asset — people. Working in HR can help shape the employee work experience at every stage and create an organisational culture. You may have access to insider views on how the entire organisation works and the opportunity to participate in its growth and development.

Challenging: Finding, hiring, and retaining top talent is an art. The stakes are even higher depending on the sector, as new norms emerge with the entry of millennial generation along with new expectations, leading it to be a truly strategic function.

Endlessly interesting: The function combines many attributes to create value, such as a combination of academics and skills on one side, psychology, behaviour and finance on the other. Each day brings in new activities, tasks, and people to interact with.

Promises growth: Depending on one’s knowledge and specialisation, there is opportunity to learn and growth, along with ample advancement opportunities and high job satisfaction.

Competitive and clear entry criteria: HR requires clear qualities of integrity because of access to confidential employee information. In addition, you will need business management, finance and accounting knowledge, and relevant education. While it is also possible to transition into HR after working for several years in an operational role, pursuing a formal HR education is becoming increasingly important in today’s competitive job market.

Indira Ramchandra

The writer is CHRO, AscentHR.

Source: The Hindu, 16/01/2021

Humanities in the era of coding

 

The interdisciplinary aspect of Social Sciences and Sciences will pave the way for education of the future

Should Social Science embrace data or should Science embrace qualitative theories? In India, the quest for academic excellence, evidenced through quantitative exam scores, has deepened the divide between data and theory. The continuing existence of this notion confirms that our academia and industry are operating in silos and, in some verticals, are drifting farther apart.

The problems of today and the complex world of tomorrow need to be viewed from multiple lenses — of the past and future. Interestingly, Social Science and Science are distinct areas that need to come together, as one lies in the past and other in the future.

In the words of Steve Jobs, “Technology alone is not enough. It is technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hearts sing.” For years, Jobs repeatedly emphasised that, to create a better world, the focus needs to be both on humans and technology; in other words both humanities and sciences.

In today’s complex global setting, critical thinking and creativity is imperative for technological advancements that also uphold pillars of equity, inclusiveness and diversity. To cite an example, as more and more countries embrace facial recognition technologies to maintain law and order, it is increasingly being discovered that some of these facilities are not designed to accommodate diverse facial features. This makes such technologies discriminatory and entire populations of diverse races are possibly at risk of wrongful action by law enforcement agencies.

While the future of the world heavily relies on the merit of technology, humanities bring in empathy and ethics, which lead to a seamless integration of technology into lifestyles. The interdisciplinary aspect of humanities and technology paves the way for education of the future.

Perfect marriage

Scott Hartley, a venture capitalist and author of The Fuzzy and the Techie, calls for an urgent marriage between those who study social science and the techies. This 2017 book cites success stories of those who obtained social science degrees and then went on to create history in Silicon Valley and other fields.

Among the few examples Hartley mentions are Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal who studied philosophy and law, and Alex Karp, co-founder and CEO of Palantir, who has a law degree and a doctorate in neoclassical social theory.

He suggests that, while techies will be in demand, a specific advantage that social science graduates had was their differentiation. According to Hartley, the humanities involves a study of human nature and larger societies and that this allows students to develop a diverse toolkit to analyse and decode most of the fundamental problems plaguing our societies. Thus, innovation in science and technology must be accompanied by an understanding of the human condition.

In India, the hiring trends are in favour of an interdisciplinary approach to learning. In one of his talks, Dr. Manish Gupta, Director of Google Research India, once said, “For all the tough problems that arise as we apply AI in the real world, we will need a lot of help from the ethicists, philosophers, economists, lawyers and psychologists.” Hence, while STEM jobs will only gain momentum, investing in an education that only teaches computing languages and not the depth of science may not be useful in the long run.

In 2021, as the world emerges from the unprecedented challenges, problem solving will need to be viewed through an interwoven lens where innovations are anchored firmly within a framework of liberal education values. Both the social and technical bugs within discriminatory algorithms will need to be fixed. Sciences and social sciences will need to work in harmony for the world of the future, as one is incomplete without the other.

Kala Anand

The writer is Director, Career Services, at Krea University

Source: The Hindu, 7/03/21

Frontier politics: On identity issues in Assam polls

 

Identity issues have taken centrestage in the Assembly election in Assam

The BJP’s rise to power in Assam in 2016 was remarkable, and the party has set an even higher goal this time, to win 100 of the 126 Assembly seats along with its allies, the Asom Gana Parishad, United People’s Party Liberal and the Rabha Joutha Mancha. The electoral landscape is significantly different this time, with rearranged alliances and the emergence of new issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Going by 2016 figures, the Mahajot of parties including the Congress, the All India United Democratic Front, and the Bodoland People’s Front has 48.81% share of the votes. The combined vote share of the Congress and AIUDF was higher in 17 seats the BJP had won last time. An alliance of regional parties, the Assam Jatiya Parishad and Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal, both formed six months ago following the anti-CAA movement, could make the contest triangular, at least in the eastern parts. The Congress is facing a leadership vacuum and tussle at the same time; and the BJP has to reconcile with the friction arising out of the fact that its most effective and popular leader is Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, a former Congressman. The BJP claims Assam saw fast-paced development and there is no noticeable anti-incumbency. The outcome will be determined by other issues, and particularly identity questions that have become more fraught this time.

Regional variations in political trends are sharp, and the BJP’s attempt is to construct a Hindu identity that subsumes ethnic and linguistic ones. Mr. Sarma has been targeting Muslims in his rhetoric. The CAA, along with the National Register of Citizens, got the religious fault line intertwined with the ethnic one, denying the BJP any clear advantage. The fear of illegal migrants overrunning indigenous populations has been a perennial issue; but this time, the focus has shifted from migrant “Bangladeshi” Muslims to “Bangladeshi” Hindus, whose side the BJP sought to take through the new citizenship regime. The party is now trying to underplay the CAA as an electoral issue, but the other two alliances are trying to keep the focus on it, and put the BJP on the back foot among the indigenous population. The issue is also a red flag for a majority of Muslims, who constitute 34% of Assam’s population. The BJP has been trying to mobilise sentiments around the encroachment by ‘Bangladeshis’ of forests and swathes of land belonging to Vaishnav monasteries. Floods that wash away farmland and dwelling areas, and the distress among plantation workers — a voting block, particularly in 45 seats in eastern and southern Assam — are also campaign issues. Sadly, such material questions are only secondary in a campaign overwhelmed by identity issues.

Source: The Hindu, 12/03/21

Quote of the Day March 11, 2021

 

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
Herman Cain

“सफलता खुशी की चाबी नहीं है। खुशी सफलता की चाबी है। आप जो कर रहे हैं उससे अगर आप प्यार करते हैं, तो आप जरूर सफल होंगे।”
हरमन केन

What is Space Hurricane?

 The scientists have discovered a “space hurricane” for the first time. The hurricane swirled for eight hours over the North Pole in the upper atmosphere of Earth.

Key facts

These hurricanes are usually occurred in the lower atmosphere of the Earth. It was never observed in the upper atmosphere. Earlier, the space hurricane was detected in August 2014 during a retrospective analysis which was led by the researchers at Shandong University of China. Its findings were published in February 2021 in Nature Communications.

About the discovery

The tech of scientists from USA, Norway, China and United Kingdom observed and produced the image of space hurricane using the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites and a 3D magnetosphere modelling. The hurricane that was detected over North Pole comprises of plasma with multiple spiral arms. It was spinning in an anticlockwise direction. The hurricane has the diameter of 1,000 kilometres while in altitude it reached from 110 kilometres to 860 kilometres. It has the speed of up to 2,100 metres per second.

What is space hurricane?

The swirling mass of plasma that rains electrons into the ionosphere instead of water is called as “Space Hurricane”. The hurricane results into the stunning effect that is a huge, cyclone-shaped glowing green aurora can ve observed below it. The astronomers have spotted hurricanes in space on Mars, Saturn and Jupiter.

Significance of the study

The study of space hurricane will help the scientists to understand the important space weather effects like disturbances in high frequency radio communication, satellite drag, satellite navigation, errors in over-the-horizon radar location and communication systems.