Category: Amazing Feats

** Prez Kovind to confer Nari Shakti Puraskars to 29 women

On International Women’s Day on Tuesday, President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the Nari Shakti Puraskars to 29 outstanding individuals for the years 2020 and 2021.

The Nari Shakti Puraskar recipients are from fields such as entrepreneurship, agriculture, innovation, social work, education and literature, linguistics, arts and crafts, STEMM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), disability rights, merchant navy and wildlife conservation.

The awardees include social entrepreneur Anita Gupta, organic farmer and tribal activist Ushaben Dineshbhai Vasava, innovator Nasira Akhter, Intel-India head Nivruti Rai, down syndrome affected Kathak Dancer Saylee Nandkishor Agavane, first woman snake rescuer Vanita Jagdeo Borade and mathematician Neena Gupta.

** ISSF World Cup: Rhythm, Anish win gold on final day, India top medals tally

Indian shooters won two medals on the final day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup 2022 in Cairo, Egypt on Monday.

The Indian team finished on the top of the medals tally with a total of seven medals comprising of four gold, two silver and one bronze.

In the last event of the ISSF World Cup, Rhythm Sangwan and Anish Bhanwala won the 25m rapid fire pistol mixed team gold medal match against Thailand by defeating them 17-7.

** Indian-origin expert helming first 4G network on Moon for NASA

Indian-origin Nishant Batra working as Chief Strategy and Technology Officer (CSTO) at smartphone maker Nokia is helping NASA to build the first ever cellular network on the Moon.

Batra joined Nokia as CSTO and a member of the Nokia Group Leadership Team in January 2021.

He holds an MBA from INSEAD, a master’s degree in telecommunications and a master’s degree in computer science from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and a bachelor’s degree in computer applications from Devi Ahilya University in India.

***

** Praveen Kumar launches 300-day yatra

Good response to Khilashapur meeting

Former IPS officer and coordinator of Bahujan Samaj Party in Telangana R. S. Praveen Kumar launched his 300-day State-wide yatra, christened ‘Bahujana Rajyadikara Yatra’, from Khilashapur village in Jangaon district on Sunday.

Along with dozens of leaders from various fronts representing SC/ST, BCs and minority groups, he addressed a well-attended public meet to announce his plans about the journey, timed with the next State elections.

** Govt to aid startup using daylight to illuminate basements 24×7

The solar energy spectrum has 45 per cent energy as visible light, and this can be used to harvest building illumination for about 9-11 hours a day.

The Technology Development Board (TDB) under the Ministry of Science and Technology will provide Rs 5 crore as support to a startup called Skyshade Daylight Private Limited for developing new technologies for 24×7 basement illumination. The company works on lighting technologies to reduce carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency.

** International Women’s Day: Odia scientist Dr Mamoni Dash invents polymer for pest control

This new invention in the field of agriculture has made her one of the 75 achievers under 50 in the field of Science and Technology in India.

A native of Baripada, Dash has done her post graduate from NIT, Rourkela and PhD from University of Pisa, Italy. After her post-doctoral degree from Belgium, she had joined ILS as a Ramalingaswami Fellow in 2018 and as a faculty in 2021.

** Bombay Blood: how the rare blood type was discovered

Why is it called Bombay Blood, and how was it discovered? Dr Durgadas Kasbekar of CDFD Hyderabad has written a detailed and lucid article about it in the forthcoming issue of the journal Indian Journal of History of Science , and I give a short summary of it here.  It was in 1952 that Drs. Y.M. Bhende, C.K. Deshpande and H.M. Bhatia of the Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College, Mumbai published a note in The Lancet (pp. 903-4, May 3, 1952) about two patients (X, a railway worker and Y, a stab wound victim) who needed blood transfusion. None of the blood types known until then worked for them. The moment their blood samples were mixed with any of the above types, the blood coagulated or clumped up. The doctor trio tried the blood of over 160 donors and found at last that one from Mr. Z, a resident of Bombay, suited the type of both patients X and Y. This donor blood type was then named by Dr. Bhende and others as the ‘Bombay Blood Type.’ Technically it is now termed the (hh) type of blood.