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** India ranked fourth most powerful country in Asia

 India is the fourth most powerful country in Asia, as per the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2021.

The annual Asia Power Index — launched by the Lowy Institute in 2018 — measures resources and influence to rank the relative power of states in Asia. The project maps out the existing distribution of power as it stands today, and tracks shifts in the balance of power over time.

India is ranked as a middle power in Asia. As the fourth most powerful country in Asia, India again falls short of the major power threshold in 2021. Its overall score declined by two points compared to 2020. India is one of eighteen countries in the region to trend downward in its overall score in 2021, the report said.

The top 10 countries for overall power in the Asia-Pacific region are the US, China, Japan, India, Russia, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, Lowy Institute said.

** Assam’s highest civilian award for Ratan Tata

The Assam Saurav award will be conferred on professors Kamalendu Deb Krori and Dipak Chand Jain, Director of the National Health Mission, Assam, Lakshmanan S., champion boxer Lovlina Borgohain and artist Neel Pawan Baruah.

Assam Gaurav awardees

Mr. Sarma also announced the names of 13 Assam Gaurav awardees. They are Director of Health Services Munindra Nath Ngatey, professor of pulmonary medicine Basanta Hazarika, entrepreneurs Akash Jyoti Gogoi, Manoj Kumar Basumatary and Bobby Hazarika, mountaineer Khorsing Terang, weaver Hemoprabha Chutia, auxiliary nurse midwife Namita Kalita, ASHA worker Bornita Momin, retired forest officer Dharanidhar Boro, farm exporter Kaushik Boruah, anganwadi worker Kalpana Boro and hematologist-oncologist Asif Iqbal.

** Manu Bhaker crowned women’s air pistol national champion

Haryana’s Manu Bhaker was crowned the women’s 10m air pistol champion for the second successive time, shooting 241.6 in the final of the ongoing 64th National Shooting Championship here on Saturday.

Bhaker has now won three of the last four nationals in the event, losing once to Esha Singh in the 62nd edition of the tournament.

** PepsiCo loses rights to special Lays variety potato in India

The company’s registration of the variety has been revoked by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights’ Authority.

Two years after PepsiCo India provoked outrage by suing nine Gujarati farmers for allegedly infringing patent rights by growing its registered potato variety, the company’s registration has been revoked by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights’ Authority (PPV&FRA).

** Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passes away

Vinod Dua, a Hindi broadcast journalism pioneer with stints in Doordarshan and NDTV, was moved to the ICU of Apollo Hospital on Monday.

Veteran journalist Vinod Dua, who was admitted to Apollo Hospital’s intensive care unit, has died, his daughter and actor-comic Mallika Dua said on Saturday. He was 67.

The last rites of the well-known journalist, who was hospitalised with COVID-19 earlier this year and lost his wife, radiologist Padmavati ‘Chinna’ Dua, to the virus in June, will be performed at the Lodhi crematorium here on Sunday, she said.

* IISc. to establish partnerships with 21 French institutions

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), on Thursday, announced that it has entered into an MoU to establish a four-year partnership with 21 French institutions under the aegis of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Government of France. IISc. has had many formal collaborations with France in fields ranging from mathematics and solid state chemistry to high energy physics and the interdisciplinary field of water research.

On November 22, at an event to celebrate the 20-year existence of the Indo-French Cell for Water Sciences established at IISc. in 2001, a completely renovated building with two new floors dedicated to the Cell, was inaugurated by Thierry Berthelot, Consul General of France in Bengaluru