November 2022 – Page 2 – Global Records India

WHEN IS CONSTITUTION DAY OF INDIA – November 26th, 1949

Constitution Day, also known as Samvidhan Divas or National Law Day, is celebrated in India on November 26 every year.

Why is the Constitution Day celebrated?

On November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India. It came into force on January 26, 1950. Constitution Day aims to bring awareness about the importance of the Constitution and Dr B R Ambedkar.

Who started the Constitution Day?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked November 26 as the Constitution Day of India in 2015.

What is the Constitution of India?

The Constitution is a set of written principles and precedents of the Government of India. It frames fundamental political principles, procedures, rights, directive principles, restrictions and duties of the government and the citizens of the country. The Constitution of India declares the country a sovereign, secular, socialist and democratic republic. It assures its citizens equality, liberty and justice.

Who wrote the Constitution of India?

B R Ambedkar, chairman of the drafting committee, is considered to be the chief architect of the Constitution of India. He is also called the Father of the Indian Constitution. The Constitution of India was drafted by the members of the Constituent Assembly.

What is the preamble to the Constitution of India?

Preamble is a brief statement which records the aims and aspirations of the people of India. The preamble to the Constitution of India reads:

“We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic, and to secure to all its citizens:

Justice, social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; equality of status and of opportunity, and to promote among them all — fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

In our Constituent Assembly this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this constitution.”

How did Constitution of India come into being?

From 1947 to 1950, India continued to use the legislation implemented when it was a dominion of Britain. In the meantime, the Constituent Assembly drafted the Constitution of India, which would replace the Government of India Act, 1935, as the country’s fundamental governing document. The Constitution was drawn from a number of sources, while India’s needs and conditions were given paramount importance. B R Ambedkar studied the Constitutions of over 60 countries before drafting the Constitution of India.

A brief timeline:

On December 6, 1949 the Constitution Assembly was formed and its first meeting was held on December 9. Rajendra Prasad was appointed its President and H C Mukherjee its vice-chairman. On August 29, 1947, the drafting committee appointed Ambedkar as its chairman and six other members — Munshi N Gopalaswami Ayyangar, Khaitan, Mitter, Muhammed Sadulla, Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer. The members of the Constituent Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on January 24, 1950. On November 26, 1949, the Constitution of India was adopted by the Assembly. On January 26, 1950, the Constitution was enforced.

It took almost three years to write the constitution.

business-standard.com

PSLV-C54 carrying earth observation satellite and co-passenger satellites lifts off

The eight nanosatellites include ISRO Nano Satellite-2 for Bhutan (INS-2B), Anand, Astrocast (four satellites), and two Thybolt satellites.

A polar satellite launch vehicle carrying earth observation and eight co-passenger satellites successfully lifted off from this spaceport at 11.56 a.m. on Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation said.

ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said, “The Performance were excitingly good in this mission.” The mission is said to be the last one undertaken by ISRO this year.

PSLV-C54 carries an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-06) or Oceansat as its primary payload and eight co-passenger satellites are expected to be placed into sun synchronous orbits in over a two-hour time frame.

The entire separation of satellites is expected to take place in two hours after lift-off.

The Earth Observation Satellite-6 is the third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series. This is to provide continuity services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as application areas.

The eight nanosatellites include ISRO Nano Satellite-2 for Bhutan (INS-2B), Anand, Astrocast (four satellites), and two Thybolt satellites. The INS-2B spacecraft will have two payloads namely NanoMx and APRS-Digipeater.

While the NanoMx is a multi-spectral optical imaging payload developed by Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, the APRS-Digipeater payload has been jointly developed by the Department of Information Technology and Telecom-Bhutan and the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru.

The Anand nanosatellite developed by Bengaluru-based space start-up, Pixxel, is a technology demonstrator to demonstrate the capabilities and commercial applications of miniaturized Earth-observation cameras for Earth observation using a microsatellite in Low Earth Orbit.

Astrocast, developed by Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space, is a 3U spacecraft. It is a technology demonstrator satellite for the Internet of Things (IoT).

The U.S.-based Spaceflight has developed Thybolt which is a 0.5U spacecraft bus that includes a communication payload to enable rapid technology demonstration and constellation development for multiple users.

This is the 56th flight of PSLV and 24th Flight of PSLV-XL version with 6 PSOM-XLs. PSLV-C54 launch is planned from First Launch Pad (FLP), SDSC, SHAR.

Thousands of school students from Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad and Bengaluru gathered at ISRO to watch this rocket take off.

(With inputs from PTI)

thehindu.com

Telangana scores a double win at Unesco heritage conservation awards

The 17th century stepwells inside the Qutb Shahi tombs complex were in a state of ruin and were disused until the Aga Khan Trust for Culture signed an agreement with the State Government that the wells were restored.

Telangana scored a double win at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation with a Distinction of Merit for the restoration of the stepwells inside the Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex in Hyderabad and an Award of Merit for the conservation work on the Domakonda Fort in Kamareddy district. The awards were announced today at Bangkok.

The 17 ^th century stepwells inside the Qutb Shahi tombs complex were in a state of ruin and were disused. It was only after the Aga Khan Trust for Culture signed an agreement with the State Government that the wells were restored, beginning with the Badi Baoli. The latest restoration was that of the eastern baoli whose restoration function was attended by Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K.T. Rama Rao.

“It is an incredible feeling that AKTC has won an award for the third year in running. There is a nature and culture linkage that heritage sites demonstrate. They can address climate change with net-zero water requirement. The restoration of wells show how conservation of heritage sites can have multiple objectives,” said Ratish Nanda, CEO of Aga Khan Trust for Culture which is restoring the Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex with a private-public partnership model which includes the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Tata Trusts, US Ambassadors Fund and other partners.

In contrast, the Domakonda Fort is a private property and was built in the 18 ^th century with an amalgam of styles including stucco work, arched pillars, flat ceiling, and a courtyard with a water garden pond. The fort was part of the celebration of the marriage function of Upasana Kamineni (a scion of the family that built the fort) and actor Ram Charan in 2012.

“I am feeling very proud as it was a challenging project and its has been a rewarding experience. I worked with local craftsmen, sourced local materials, so that it is a sustainable project with low-carbon footprint. We trained the craftsmen and had workshops from the time I began working on the project in 2011,” said conservation architect Anuradha Naik about the award for Domakonda Fort.

The citation for Domakonda fort recognises: “The project applied original construction techniques and authentic materials and trained local artisans in traditional building skills. The involvement of villagers during the restoration process and in the operations of the fort ensures direct benefit for the community.”

thehindu.com

Himalayan yak gets FSSAI food animal tag

The categorisation is expected to check the decline in the population of the high-altitude bovine, the National Research Centre on Yak said.

The Himalayan yak has earned the food animal tag from the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).

The categorisation is expected to help check the decline in the population of the high-altitude bovine animal by making it a part of the conventional milk and meat industry.

Mihir Sarkar, the director of the National Research Centre on Yak (NRC-Y) based in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dirang, said his institution had submitted a proposal to the FSSAI in 2021 for considering the yak as a food animal.

The FSSAI responded with an official approval a few days ago after a recommendation from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

“The yak plays a multidimensional socio-cultural-economic role for the pastoral nomads who rear it mainly for earning their nutritional and livelihood security due to the lack of other agricultural activity in the higher reaches of the Himalayan region where it is difficult for animals except the yak to survive,” Mr. Sarkar said

Yaks are traditionally reared under a transhumance system which is primitive, unorganised and full of hardship. But the yak population in the country has been decreasing at an alarming rate, data provided by the NRC-Y said.

According to a census carried out in 2019, India has some 58,000 yaks – a drop of about 25% from the last livestock census conducted in 2012. Apart from the government and the local users, the drastic drop in the yak’s number has become a major cause of concern for animal genetic diversity conservationists.

The drastic decline in yak population could be attributed to less remuneration from the bovid, discouraging the younger generations from continuing with nomadic yak rearing. It is mainly because yak milk and meat are not a part of the conventional dairy and meat industry, their sale is limited to local consumers.

NRC-Y scientists believe the commercialisation of yak milk and meat products will lead to entrepreneurship development. But for that the yak has to be included as a food producing (milk and meat) animal in the Food Safety and Standards Regulation, 2011, they said.

“The FSSAI’s recognition will help farmers rear the yak economically and open up several vistas of economic benefits for both farmers and food processors,” Mr. Sarkar said.

Nutrient-loaded

Research at the NRC-Y has revealed yak milk is highly nutritious, rich in fat, contains essential minerals and has medicinal values. According to the nutritional analysis, yak milk contains 78-82% water, 7.5-8.5% fat, 4.9-5.3% protein, 4.5-5.0% lactose and 12.3-13.4% solids-not-fat. The products which are traditionally produced from yak milk are churkum, churpi, ghee and paneer.

Mostly consumed locally, yak meat is known to be lean. The meat contains 74.8% moisture, 21.7% protein, 1.5% crude fat and 1.2% ash.

Specialists said yak husbandry needs to be more remunerative for attracting the younger generations.

“NRC-Yak has developed a semi-intensive model of yak-rearing in which yaks are maintained in an open area as well as in paddock round the year. Now that the yak is a food animal, this model can go a long way in making yak-rearing a commercial success,” Mr. Sarkar said.

thehindu.com

TVS Motor Company expands its global footprint; launches its first TVS Experience Centre in Singapore

TVS Motor Company, a reputed manufacturer of two-wheelers with sales of over three million units globally, today inaugurated its first state-of-the-art TVS Experience Centre in Singapore.

This launch is in line with the company’s global expansion plans. The new TVS Experience Centre will offer a range of TVS Motor’s premium motorcycles including the flagship model, TVS Apache RR310 for racing enthusiasts, and the TVS Apache RTR range for the performance seekers.

The company will introduce diverse products offerings, catering to both personal commuting as well as the delivery premium segment in Singapore. This centre will additionally have vehicle servicing facility, spare parts, and the full range of merchandise to choose from.

The TVS Apache series was born on the racetrack, incorporating learnings from more than 40 years of TVS Racing experience-the factory racing team of TVS Motor Company with a history of 40 years in motorsports. Offering superior products into the market that connect with customers who are also racing enthusiasts, TVS Apache series have always been at the forefront of technology and innovation since its launch in 2005. Through the years, the brand has introduced first-in-segment features & technology to the customers, recording strong year on year export volumes across 80 countries.

TVS Apache has redefined the sports segment by focusing on race performance, making it a highly desirable product for sports enthusiasts. This has resulted in creating a customer base of over 4.8 million across the globe.

Speaking at the occasion, Vimal Sumbly, Head Business-Premium at TVS Motor Company said, “The TVS Apache Series have always been at the forefront of technology & innovation since its launch in 2005 and continue to set a benchmark in the performance segment. The vehicles under the stable of TVS Apache series have offered multiple first-in-segment & best-in-class features & technology to the customers, starting from Fuel injection, ABS, Dual Channel ABS, Slipper Clutch, to the most recent SmartXonnectTM, Ride Modes, LED Headlamp, and democraticing racing. Our expansion into Singapore, with the launch of the TVS Apache series, is instrumental in our premiumisation story and we are confident of widening our community of Apache owners in the country.”

Commenting on the Singapore launch, Rahul Nayak, Vice President-International Business, TVS Motor Company, said, “With many years of commitment to building the international business portfolio, TVS Motor Company has set the benchmark in catering to diverse needs of buyers across the globe. Our launch in Singapore is one step further in expanding globally in achieving our global ambitions.”

Commenting on the showroom launch, J Thangarajan, President Director-PT TVS Motor Company, said, “We are delighted to expand our presence in the ASEAN region, with our new TVS Experience Centre in Singapore with Motorsport Pte Ltd. They have a rich experience in the region and share our values of keeping customers at the core of our offerings. This state-of-the-art experience centre inaugurated here in Singapore will further consolidate our presence in the region. It will pave the way for us to explore newer opportunities in the world of mobility, as we introduce our premium range of two-wheelers: the flagship model TVS Apache RR310 and the TVS Apache RTR series along with a slew of other experiences for the auto enthusiasts in Singapore.”

Herbert Teh, Director- Motorsport Pte Ltd. said, “We will be representing TVS Motor Company with great pride to cater to the Singapore customers. With the product technology and quality of TVS Motor products, combined with our market presence and reach, we are confident that we will meet the customer expectation in the country.”

TVS Motor Company has partnered with ‘Motorsport Pte Ltd (part of the Chong Aik Group)’ who will be the distributors for Singapore Market. Motorsport has strong presence in the region with 6 retail outlets and 8 warehouses. Established in 1994, they currently have exclusive distributorship for more than 40 brands, whilst also being the stockiest for genuine parts, apparels, and motorcycle accessories.

TVS Motor Company is a reputed two and three-wheeler manufacturer globally, championing progress through Sustainable Mobility with four state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Hosur, Mysuru and Nalagarh in India and Karawang in Indonesia. Rooted in our 119-year legacy of Trust, Value, and Passion for Customers and Exactness, we take pride in making internationally aspirational products of the highest quality through innovative and sustainable processes.

We are the only two-wheeler company to have received the prestigious Deming Prize. Our products lead in their respective categories in the J.D. Power IQS and APEAL surveys. We have been ranked No. 1 Company in /the J.D. Power Customer Service Satisfaction Survey for consecutive four years. Our group company Norton Motorcycles, based in the United Kingdom, is one of the most emotive motorcycle brands in the world. Our subsidiaries in the personal e-mobility space, Swiss E-Mobility Group (SEMG) and EGO Movement have a leading position in the e-bike market in Switzerland. TVS Motor Company endeavours to deliver the most superior customer experience across 80 countries in which we operate.

For more information, please visit www.tvsmotor.com.

This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

theprint.in

Prototypes of world’s highest rail bridge among others displayed at Indian International Trade Fair

India’s first underwater (subaqueous tunnel) rail system and the world’s highest railway arch bridge, built across the Chenab Bridge in J&K has sparked curiosity among the public.

The ongoing Indian International Trade Fair (IITF) at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan, witnessed the Ministry of Railway setting up a sprawling pavilion showcasing all of the railway’s technical advancements on the ironic rail bridge over Chenab and water tunnels. The ministry has highlighted many first-of-its-kind and marvellous facets of Indian Railways, which are attracting crowds of curious visitors.

Exhibiting prototypes of various mega projects, the railway has also exhibited the prototype of the re-developed ‘Ayodhya city railway station, of which the designs are inspired by the Ram Janambhoomi temple’s design.

Sharing details with the media on Tuesday, the Ministry of Railway claimed that various themes have been exhibited with their technological and structural advances through photos, translates and models.

“The model showing the world’s highest rail bridge on Chenab and India’s first underwater rail system, which is being built as part of the East-West Metro corridor of the metro railway in Kolkata, has been drawing huge crowds of curious visitors”, said a senior railway official.

The sports gallery exhibits awards won by the railway teams and an earmarked space showing the historic march of Indian Railways from the old days to the days of manufacturing and running high-speed Vande Bharat trains to the working of bullet trains, has also gathered a lot of onlookers.

“Another most interesting part of the railway’s pavilion is that it has made side walls based on the theme of ‘Azadi Ki Rail Gadi aur Station’ which throws light on the strong connection between freedom struggle and association of railways”, said a railway official. They also added adding that the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station with the design inspired by Lord Rama Janambhoomi temple has proved to be one of the huge crowd-pulling parts at the pavilion.

Besides this, the Ministry of Railways has also displayed the prototypes of its mega Sabarmati multimodal passenger hub and the casting yard of India’s first Bullet train project as part of the Mumbai-Ahmadabad high-speed rail corridor.

Not only this but the country’s first-of-its-kind solar plant at Bina in MP that generates solar power directly to 25 kV overhead electrical equipment to haul trains was displayed apart from the country’s first indigenous semi-high speed Vande Bharat train.

To make the visit of people at the railway pavilion memorable, the Ministry has created a special selfie booth titled ‘I am at Railway station’ for people to click pictures.

newindianexpress.com

Indian wildlife biologist honoured with UN’s highest environmental award

Dr Purnima Devi Barman leads the “Hargila Army”, an all-female grassroots conservation movement dedicated to protecting the Greater Adjutant Stork from extinction.

UNITED NATIONS: Indian wildlife biologist Dr Purnima Devi Barman is among the honourees of this year’s Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour, accorded for their transformative action to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation.

Barman has been honoured with the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 2022 Champions of the Earth award in the Entrepreneurial Vision category.

A wildlife biologist, Barman leads the “Hargila Army”, an all-female grassroots conservation movement dedicated to protecting the Greater Adjutant Stork from extinction.

The women create and sell textiles with motifs of the bird, helping to raise awareness about the species while building their own financial independence.

Barman is also Senior Project Manager of the Avifauna Research and Conservation Division, Aaranyak.

The UNEP website said that at the age of five, Barman was sent to live with her grandmother on the banks of the Brahmaputra River in Assam.

“Separated from her parents and siblings, the girl became inconsolable. To distract her, Barman’s grandmother, a farmer, started taking her to nearby paddy fields and wetlands to teach her about the birds there. I saw storks and many other species. She taught me bird songs. She asked me to sing for the egrets and the storks. I fell in love with the birds,” said Barman, who has devoted much of her career to saving the endangered greater adjutant stork, the second-rarest stork species in the world.

“Barman’s pioneering conservation work has empowered thousands of women, creating entrepreneurs and improving livelihoods while bringing the greater adjutant stork back from the brink of extinction,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

“Dr Barman’s work has shown that conflict between humans and wildlife can be resolved to the benefit of all. By highlighting the damaging impact that the loss of wetlands has had on the species who feed and breed on them, she reminds us of the importance of protecting and restoring ecosystems.”

According to information on the UNEP website, to protect the stork, Barman knew she had to change perceptions of the bird, known locally as “hargila” in Assamese (meaning “bone swallower”) and mobilised a group of village women to help her.

Today the “Hargila Army” consists of over 10,000 women.

They protect nesting sites, rehabilitate injured storks which have fallen from their nests and arrange “baby showers” to celebrate the arrival of newborn chicks.

The greater adjutant stork regularly features in folk songs, poems, festivals and plays.

Since Barman started her conservation programme, the number of nests in the villages of Dadara, Pachariya, and Singimari in Kamrup District have risen from 28 to more than 250, making this the largest breeding colony of greater adjutant storks in the world, UNEP said.

“In 2017, Barman began building tall bamboo nesting platforms for the endangered birds to hatch their eggs. Her efforts were rewarded a couple of years later when the first greater adjutant stork chicks were hatched on these experimental platforms,” it added.

Barman said on the UNEP website that one of her biggest rewards has been the sense of pride that has been instilled in the Hargila Army and she hopes their success will inspire the next generation of conservationists to pursue their dreams.

“Being a woman working in conservation in a male-dominated society is challenging but the Hargila Army has shown how women can make a difference,” she said.

UNEP said that since its inception in 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth award has been awarded to trailblazers at the forefront of efforts to protect our natural world.

It is the UN’s highest environmental honour.

To date, the award has recognised 111 laureates: 26 world leaders, 69 individuals and 16 organisations.

This year a record 2,200 nominations from around the world were received.

The other honourees include Arcenciel (Lebanon); Constantino (Tino) Aucca Chutas (Peru); Sir Partha Dasgupta of the United Kingdom and Cecile Bibiane Ndjebet (Cameroon).

newindianexpress.com

Through madness and mayhem, Suryakumar Yadav activates GOD-mode to make ridiculous look easy

Every great sportsperson goes through a phase in career where nothing he seems to do goes wrong. It is, as people call, GOD-mode, a period where irrespective of whatever a player does, he is near invincible. Nothing can stop him. For the great Sachin Tendulkar, it was 1998 and 2010; Virat Kohli experienced the same in 2016. In fact, for years, no one personified this term more than Roger Federer, as he would activate a near cheat-code like comeback en route to asserting dominance over his opponents. He did it for years – ask his fiercest rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Even the younger generation felt his wrath. No one was spared.

Cut to 2022, and the mantle has been taken over by Suryakumar Yadav. He is defining GOD-mode in batting, and how? Playing the kind of cricket only AB de Villiers was known to play. On occasions, even better than ABD. Tim Southee was fielding at long-on when Suryakumar took Lockie Ferguson on, walloping him for four boundaries and a six in the 19th over. By the time he once again defied physics to loft the ball over deep point, Suryakumar had already played a scoop, a ramp and a cut in that over itself, all three shots bringing boundaries. You would imagine that even for Suryakumar, this is the limit. But apparently not, that near impossible shot left Southee stunned as he turned back and shrugged his head in disbelief, while Ferguson could be seen ruffling his hair.

Welcome to modern-age T20 batting. The Suryakumar Yadav school of madness and mayhem. A template of batting where nothing is impossible. Swirl your bat around like a stick and it will still bring you results. At least, that is what a No. 3 should do in T20Is, and not score 40 off 40. Terms like ‘form’ and ‘in the zone’ are highly cliched, but watching Suryakumar bat actually makes you wonder if they are true. And if that doesn’t suffice either, replay the celebration between Surya and Hardik Pandya when he reached his hundred. After the long brotherly hug, Surya, with a beaming smile, raised his bat and took a moment before resuming. But in between that five-second gap during acknowledging the crowd and taking back guard, time stood still. Suryakumar has already reached the summit of the T20 rankings; here he was on top of the world.

A placard held by one of the fans during the match summed it up. There are only three things guaranteed in this word – death, taxes and Suryakumar Yadav scoring runs irrespective of the opposition. And as corny as it may sound, Surya has not given any reason to think otherwise. The consistency with which he has piled runs in T20Is this year is jaw dropping. In 30 matches, 1151 runs with nine fifties, two centuries, 105 fours and 67 sixes. The second best is 83 and 43 respectively, which portrays the huge gulf between Surya and the rest. Out of 191, 111 were Surya’s, while the remaining seven combined to put 69. Of the 27 boundaries struck by India, he hit 18. Just one of the many gobsmacking, godly Surya trivias.

“The confidence is always there. Yeah, I have a few runs behind my back but at the same time, there is a very thin line between you getting complacent also, when you’re coming into any game after scoring runs. I think you have got to do all your processes and routines the same way what you have been doing when you have done well. 99 per cent I try to do the same things on match days like, for example, if I have to do a gym session or I have to eat lunch on perfect timing or I have to take a nap for 15-20 minutes. These are small, small routines I try to do on game days,” Suryakumar replied during the press conference while answering a query from Hindustan Times.

“And when I come to the ground, it feels good and that is my zone. And also, I spend a lot of time with my wife on off days, speak to my parents a lot, the one thing that keeps me grounded always is they don’t talk about the game, we don’t talk about the game at all, and they keep me in a good space. That is the most important thing and I’m happy to stay in that zone for a long time from here on.”

Among all the stunning range of jaw-dropping Suryakumar played at the Bay Oval or even usually plays for that matter, was the flat six he smoked off Southee through the open mid-wicket. The New Zealand quick took pace off but Surya read it almost immediately at the time of release and whipped it over cow corner. At the first glimpse, it was almost as if Hardik Pandya was the one playing it, with that impeccable initial trigger movement of rocking back. In a rarity, the scoop wasn’t Surya’s most eye-catching stroke of the evening.

The frenzy was such that even members from the New Zealand media and support staff couldn’t help but marvel at the genius that was unfolding. Suryakumar creamed inside out sixes off Southee, the lofted thump off pacer Adam Milne and even against the left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner, the one bowler who has always troubled India in the past with his variation of speed. During the T20 World Cup, Nasser Hussain mentioned how left-arm spin could be the one weakness Suryakumar has. Clearly, the former England captain would reconsider trusting the WhatsApp ground he got all his information from.

“I also get amazed after seeing some strokes when I go back to the room. I obviously watch all the highlights every time even if I don’t do well. I do watch the highlights but yes, even I get surprised sometimes after seeing some shots that I played,” Suryakumar added.

The way Suryakumar is going, it is near-impossible for the selectors to ignore him for the ODIs, maybe even Tests. At 32, Suryakumar has at max three more good years ahead of him and with the 50-over World Cup knocking, and amid all the change that might transpire in Indian cricket in the time to come, Suryakumar can remain the one constant. In an ever-evolving game, Surya is tweaking the definition of range with almost every innings, and if in him, the world gets to witness the first 720-degree player (360 is passé), then so be it. GOD-mode Suryakumar is what is best for Indian cricket.

hindustantimes.com

With 177 million, India largest contributor to global population milestone of 8 billion: UN

India is expected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by next year.

As the world population touched 8 billion on Tuesday, India was the largest contributor to the milestone, having added 177 million people, while China, whose contribution to the next billion in the global population is projected to be in the negative, the UN said.

India is expected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by next year.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in a special graphic to mark the global population reaching eight billion, said Asia and Africa has driven much of this growth is expected to drive the next billion by 2037, while Europe’s contribution will be negative due to declining population.

The world added a billion people in the last 12 years. UNFPA said that as the world adds the next billion to its tally of inhabitants, China’s contribution will be negative.

“India, the largest contributor to the 8 billion (177 million) will surpass China, which was the second largest contributor (73 million) and whose contribution to the next billion will be negative, as the world’s most populous nation by 2023,” UNFPA said.

The UN said that it took about 12 years for the world population to grow from 7 to 8 billion, but the next billion is expected to take about 14.5 years (2037), reflecting the slowdown in global growth.

World population is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and is expected to remain at that level until 2100.

For the increase from 7 to 8 billion, around 70 per cent of the added population was in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.

For the increase from 8 to 9 billion, these two groups of countries are expected to account for more than 90 per cent of global growth, the UN said.

Between now and 2050, the global increase in the population under the age 65 will occur entirely in low income and lower-middle-income countries, since population growth in high-income and upper-middle income countries will occur only among those aged 65 or more, it said.

The World Population Prospects 2022, released in July this year said that India’s population stands at 1.412 billion in 2022, compared with China’s 1.426 billion.

India is projected to have a population of 1.668 billion in 2050, ahead of China’s 1.317 billion people by the middle of the century.

According to UNFPA estimates, 68 per cent of India’s population is between 15-64 years old in 2022, while people aged 65 and older were seven per cent of the population.

The report had said that the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 per cent in 2020.

The world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050.

China is expected to experience an absolute decline in its population as early as 2023, the report had said.

At the launch of the report in July, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin had said that countries where population growth has slowed must prepare for an increasing proportion of older persons and, in more extreme cases, a decreasing population size.

“China provides a clear example. With the rapid ageing of its population due to the combined effects of very low fertility and increasing life expectancy, growth of China’s total population is slowing down, a trend that is likely to continue in the coming decades,” Liu said.

The WHO pointed out that China has one of the fastest growing ageing populations in the world.

“The population of people over 60 years in China is projected to reach 28 per cent by 2040, due to longer life expectancy and declining fertility rates,” the WHO said.

In China, by 2019, there were 254 million older people aged 60 and over, and 176 million older people aged 65 and over.

In 2022, the two most populous regions were both in Asia: Eastern and South-Eastern Asia with 2.3 billion people (29 per cent of the global population) and Central and Southern Asia with 2.1 billion (26 per cent).

China and India, with more than 1.4 billion each, accounted for most of the population in these two regions.

More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania.

Countries of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050, the report added.

PTI

telegraphindia.com

Award for understanding of galaxy, statute

14th edition of Infosys Prize awarded to six persons who each will get a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.

The Infosys Science Foundation on Tuesday announced the winners who include a mathematician tackling challenges in a field sometimes called “the queen of mathematics”, an economist working on governance and accountability, and a law school professor and expert on the Indian Constitution.

The winners are Suman Chakraborty at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for engineering and computer science; Sudhir Krishnaswamy the vice-chancellor at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, for humanities; Vidita Vaidya at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, for life sciences; Mahesh Kakade at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for mathematical sciences; Nissim Kanekar at the National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune, for physical sciences; and Rohini Pande at Yale University in the US for social sciences, the foundation said.

This is the 14th edition of Infosys Prize. The prize for each category includes a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.

Chakraborty has studied how fluids behave in tiny channels to design novel medical devices, including low-cost tools, to detect infectious diseases and a hand-held torchlike device for early diagnosis of oral cancer.

The technology has drawn commercial interest within and outside India. Krishnaswamy was awarded the prize for “his insightful understanding of the Indian Constitution, especially his carefully argued account of the importance of the landmark ‘basic structure doctrine’ adopted by the Supreme Court in 1973 that guides and constrains efforts to amend it, while also ensuring its stability in the face of executive and legislative outcomes,” the foundation said.

Vaidya has contributed to understanding the brain mechanisms that underlie mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, including the role of a neurotransmitter called serotonin in causing persistent changes in behaviour induced by early life stress.

The foundation said Kakde has made “outstanding contributions” to algebraic number theory, often called the queen of mathematics that has practical applications in areas such as cryptography or secret communications.

“But I don’t do things with any applications in mind,” Kakde said on Tuesday. His work has yielded proofs for several key conjectures at the heart of modern numbertheory. The conjectures serve as tools to address hard math problems involving so-called polynomial equations.

Kanekar has received the award for his study of star formation in galaxies eight billion years ago and especially for his work on elusive signatures of atomic hydrogen in distant galaxies that has resolved along-standing astronomical puzzle — why have star births in galaxies declined over time?

Pande’s research on governance, accountability, women’s empowerment, the environment, and the role of credit in the lives of the poor “offer major promise and potential for policy design in emerging economies”, the foundation said.

telegraphindia.com