1. 250 Indians were Rescued from cyber fraud in Cambodian
The union government is collaborating closely with Cambodian authorities and has rescued about 250 Indians from Cambodia, who had been lured there by cyber fraud and fake online recruitment scams, the Ministry of External Affairs was said in recent press meet, About 75 of them have returned to India over the past three months.
Our Embassy in Cambodia has been promptly responding to complaints from Indian nationals who were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were force to undertake illegal cyber work. The MEA said that We are also working with Cambodian authorities and with agencies in India to crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes.
The return of the Indians comes as investigating agencies launched a nationwide operation against agents many of them believed to be linked to companies in china that operate in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to recruit job seekers across South East Asia on the promise of working in the information technology industry. Once they go abroad the recruits are instead forced to work in cyber fraud centres, and coerced into defrauding others over the online and telephone.
2. IRRI-ISARC develop the low-methane rice varieties
ISARC is dedicated to transforming and strengthening the rice-based agri-food system in the South Asia Region by developing and disseminating climate-resilient, biofortified, nutritious and stress tolerant rice varieties for consumers and farmers. 7th ISARC Coordination Committee (ICC) meeting held at ISARC Varanasi.
The meeting was attended by top officials from the agriculture departments of India. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. The ICC meeting serves as an annual governance session for ISARC to review the previous year work and plan for the upcoming year. The interim director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Dr Ajay Kohli said that the focus of the IRRI- South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) for this year is to develop rice varieties with low methane emissions and enhance the productivity of premium quality nutrious rice. To achieve these goals ISARC is promoting the adoption of best agronomic and management practices such as Dry Seeded Rice (DSR) and alternate wet and Drying.
This technique enables faster planting and maturing, conserves scarce resources like labour and water is more conducive to mechanization and reduces emission of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change compared to the convention puddled transplanted rice technique.
3. 100 years of Remembering Vaikom Satyagraha
Vaikom, a temple town in the princely state of Travancore, saw the start of a non violent agitation on March 30, 1924 the first among temple entry movements that would soon sweep across the country, The satyagraha foregrounded social reform amidst the growing nationalist movement, Bringing Gandhian methods of protest to the state of Travancore. It was a century later we recall this movement.
The second half of the 19th century saw several and political developments ushering in unprecedented social change. Christian missionaries converted large sections of lower castes seeking to escape the clutches of caste oppression. The reign of Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma (1860-80) saw many progressive reforms, such as universal free primary education including for the lower castes.
Also, while a small Ezhava elite started to emerge in many cases the ritual discrimination, overrode material and educational progress, Take for instance the story of Aloommootil Channar, ab Ezhava, and one of these the few people in Travancore to own a car in the 20th century. Whenever the automobile reached a road where the Ezhava were not allowed to pass channar had to get out of his vehicle and take a detour on foot.
4. Chennaiyin FC and Norwich FC join forces for football development
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the clubs in Chennai during a press meeting that was attended by Ekansh Gupta, Vice president of Chennaiyin Fc, alongside Sam Jeffery, commercial director at Norwich FC. Chennaiyin FC and Norwich FC bring to the partnership a wealth of experience, expertise and unique footballing philosophies. By joining forces, the clubs will create a platform for the exchange of knowledge, technical expertise, player development strategies and coaching methodologies.
Commenting on the partnership Sam Jeffery, Commercial Director at Norwich FC said that this is an extremely exciting moment for Norwich city as we enter into our partnership with Chennaiyin FC, and with it the Indian football market. Chennaiyin FC bring to the partnership a deep understanding of the Indian football landscape, offering valuable insights into the unique challenges and opportunities of operating in this market. Additionally, the club is eager to facilitate cultural exchange programmes and collaborate on joint marketing initiatives to engage diverse audiences and promote the vision of both clubs
India has fastest growing sports economy in the world, and football is the fastest growing participation sport here too. We believe there’s significant commercial opportunity in this fantastic part of the world. And we are really excited to build a mutually beneficial and culturally authentic collaboration with our mates at chennaiyin FC.
5. WHO launches S.A.R.A.H AI health campanion
The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced it is launched S.A.R.A.H, smart AI Resources Assistant for Health, a generative AI assistant designed to provide information on major health topics such as mental health and healthy lifestyle habits. Topics it touches on include cancer, lung disease, diabetes, and heart disease.
S.A.R.A.H can help people learn more about quitting tobacco, living an active lifestyle, eating a healthy diet and stress relief. It is powered by generative AI rather than a preset algorithm, which provides more accurate responses in real-time as well as nuanced, empathetic responses, Sarah runs on Soul Machine’s Biological AI platform.
The future of health is digital, and supporting countries to harness the power of digital technologies for health is a priority for WHO. Sarah gives us a glimpse of how artificial intelligence (AI) could be used in future to improve access to health information in a more interactive way. The research community to help us continue to explore how this technology could narrow inequities and help people access up-to-date, reliable health information WHO director general Tedros Adhanom.
6. India’s PRATUSH want to set around the moon
On the earth, optical telescopes (collects the visible light at longer wavelengths), and radio telescopes (collects the radio waves with the shortest wavelengths) have the peer through layers of the planet’s atmosphere. While it is becoming increasingly difficult for optical instruments to see through the polluted skies, radio telescope contend with radio an TV signals adding to the cacophony of the electromagnetic “hiss” from the communications channels used by radar systems, aircraft, and satellites.
It also does not help that the earths ionosphere blocks radio waves coming from outer space. As earlier cosmologists, believe everything in the cosmos was condensed into an infinitesimally small, incredibly dense blob in the void that exploded with a “Big Bang”. The resulting fireball cooled as it spread and its blinding light faded into a gathering darkness. At some point the young universe resembled a formless sea of murky matter, highlighted only by traces of primordial helium and hydrogen.
The pristine airless desolation of the moon provides optical telescope crystal clear seeing conditions throughout the long lunar night, which lasts two weeks at a time. Radio telescope on the lunar far side will also be protected by a 3475km thick wall the moon that blots out radio transmissions from the earth and electrically charged plasma winds blowing from the sun.
7. Open AI’s new voice engine
Open AI the company behind AI chat box ChatGPT introduced a new AI model that can replicate any voice in any language by simply using a brief audio sample which is known as Voice Engine it lets users upload the 15- second audio sample and uses it to generate audio in the same voice and manner of speaking.
If we upload the man’s voice sample and add a text prompt saying “Make him to sing the song” the model will analyse the sample and create an output in his voice. The company has yet to release it for public use reportedly over safely issues. Voice Engine is a text to audio tool that can generate new audio using a voice sample, based on a user’s written quickly. Voice Engine is also capable of replicating voice across languages.
Open AI said it has been working on this model since 2022 and reportedly kept mum about it due to safety concerns when they made small available of previews. There have been numerous instances where AI voice cloning has been used to dupe people. These AI tools use deep learning algorithms to analyse voice samples to create speech. Owing to refinement in models overtime they generate realistic voices made the dangerous tools.
8. Army introduces indigenous Akashteer system
The Army has started the induction of control and reporting systems under ‘project Akashdeep’ to bolster its air defence capabilities sources. The deployment of the systems began with flagging off of the first batch of control centres from BEL Ghaziabad. Developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The project is aimed at significantly enhancing the operational efficiency and integration of the Army’s air defence mechanisms.
The source was added that with 2024 designated as the ‘year of Tech Absorption’ induction of Akashteer Control Centre will meet the current and futuristic requirements of complex air defence operations. It was created under the banner of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative the Akashteer project is a testament to India’s growing technology powers According to sources in the Indian Army “spearheaded by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) this cutting edge endeavour is poised to revolutionize the operational landscape of India’s Air Defence mechanisms.
9. UPI Transactions Surge 56%
Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions in India have recorded a significant increase of 56% between July and December 2023, according to a report by the central government.
In the second half of last year, with the volume of being at 65.77 billion from 42.09 billion the report shows. The value of transactions in the same period surged by 44 percent from Rs 69.36 trillion to Rs 99.68 trillion, according to the report by global payment services leader Worldline.
In terms of volume and value, Phonepe, Google Pay and Paytm were the dominant UPI app players. In December 2023, the three apps accounted for 94.8 percent of all the transactions in terms of volume which was 94.8 percent in December 2022.
The report indicates an 8% decline in the average ticket size (ATS) for UPI transactions, dropping from Rs 1648 to Rs 1515. This decline reflects the growing integration of UPI in smaller transactions, particularly person to merchant (P2M) transactions, showcasing evolving consumer preferences towards digital payment methods.
10. India tops WADA Anti-Doping report
As per the World Anti-Doping Report released by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), India has emerged as the country with the highest percentage of doping offenders, followed by South Africa at 2nd. In the recent report, based on the testing figures for 2022, India’s doping violations outnumbered those of major sporting nations such as the US, Russia and France.
India was 2nd in the previous edition of the report based on testing figures for 2020. The findings of this report raises the concern of widespread issue of doping among Indian athletes as well as the lack of knowledge about banned supplements among Indian coaches, doctors and physiotherapists.
India also ranked first among nations with the highest percentage of failed EPO-Receptor Agonists (ERA) tests conducted per laboratory (blood), which stood at 1.8 percent or 11 cases of adverse analytical findings.
