Eminent Indian painter Lalitha Lajmi passes away

Why In News

Eminent Indian painter and late filmmaker Guru Dutt's sister Lalitha Lajmi passed away at the age of 90. She was born to a poet father and a poly-linguistic writer mother in Kolkata in 1932.

Key Points

·         Eminent Indian painter and late filmmaker Guru Dutt’s sister Lalitha Lajmi passed away at the age of 90. She was born to a poet father and a poly-linguistic writer mother in Kolkata in 1932.

·         She was a self-taught artist with a keen interest in classical dance. Over the decades, Lajmi has held several exhibitions at international art galleries in Paris, London and Holland.

·         She also featured in Aamir Khan’s film Taare Zameen Par, which was released in 2007. Lajmi’s daughter, Kalpana Lajmi was also a well-known Indian filmmaker who had made award-winning films like Rudali and Daman.

·         Kalpana Lajmi passed away in 2018 due to multiple illnesses. She is survived by her son Devdas.

·         NGMA described Ms Lajmi as an “unparalleled watercolourist”. Through her work, she usually narrated a layered history of the modern Indian woman in the decades that followed Independence.

·         Her works had an element of melancholy and performance, seen here in her artwork, ‘Dance of Life and Death'”. 

Indian Army Gets ‘World’s First’ Fully Operational SWARM Drone System

Why In News

·         NewSpace Research, a Bengaluru-based start-up has delivered SWARM drones to Indian Army, which makes the Army the first major armed force in the world to operationalise these high-density SWARM drones

Key Points

·         NewSpace Research, a Bengaluru-based start-up has delivered SWARM drones to Indian Army, which makes the Army the first major armed force in the world to operationalise these high-density SWARM drones.

·         This delivery may possibly be the world’s first operational high density swarming UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) induction for military applications, especially given that most swarm drone research is yet to be operationalised across the world.

·         The swarm of 100 drones is capable of hitting targets at least 50 kms away into enemy territory.

About the drones

·         The swarming systems were ordered under the emergency procurement (EP) and show that India has taken a global lead with induction of a cutting edge ‘Made in India’ technology which is at par, if not ahead, of its peers across the world. They added that this is a part of the government’s Aatmanirbhar effort to indigenise critical and disruptive military technologies.

·         These drones are capable of carrying bombs of a particular weight and can home into a target, like moving armoured columns, artillery positions, and infantry bunkers and attack. Swarm drones are the solution for a closely contested airspace where individual drones can be taken down.

·         The IAF will also induct operational swarming UAS in the near future. The drones delivered by NewSpace, and a follow-on homogeneous swarm drone delivery from Raphe Mphibr in days ahead, will be inducted into the mechanised forces where they will be used for surveillance and attack missions.

IIT Indore Students Awarded with Global Best M-GOV Awards by Egyptian President

Why In News

·         The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore Students won AED 1 million by winning the gold medal at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

Key Points

·         The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore Students won AED 1 million by winning the gold medal at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

·         Niyati Totala and Neel Kalpeshkumar Parikh of The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore, were awarded the prestigious medal by Egyptian President Abel Fattah Al-Sisi.

·         The IIT students were the creators of the ‘Blockbill’ app. Blockbill is a blockchain-based receipt generation app that generates digital receipts for all of its users’ transactions.

·         This app solves multiple problems, which aids the transition away from the production of thermal papers for printing receipts.

·         Thermal papers which are ubiquitous and found in most retail locations cannot be recycled because of the chemicals that are used to create them. Blockbill is conceptualized to solve this issue.

·         The “M-Gov Award” and the “GovTech Award” are annual awards organized by the UAE government as part of the World Government Summit.

·         These awards are designed to encourage pioneering students, researchers, government agencies & institutions, private sector companies, and startups to develop innovative solutions using the latest technologies to address evolving local and global challenges and explore new opportunities for a better future for humanity.

About M-Gov Award 2023

·         It is the eighth edition of “The Global Best M-Gov Award” which is presented to students and researchers worldwide enrolled and registered in public and private universities, as well as graduates of the “One Million Coders” Program, to highlight the pioneering role of universities and creative and innovative youth in addressing local and global challenges.

·         The award aims to recognize solutions that adopt novel approaches and techniques efficiently leveraging technology to solve problems affecting a large segment of the population and provide tangible benefits with the ability to expand geographically across borders.

International Energy Agency Reports Asia to Use Half of World’s Electricity by 2025

Why In News

·         Asia is to use half of the world's electricity for the first time by 2025, even as Africa continues to consume far less than its share of the global population.

Key Points

·         Asia will use half of the world’s electricity for the first time by 2025, even as Africa continues to consume far less than its share of the global population, according to a new forecast released by the International Energy Agency.

·         Most of Asia’s electricity use will be in China. It is a country with 1.4 billion people whose share of global consumption will rise from a quarter in 2015 to a third by the middle of this decade.

·         The IEA’s director of energy markets and security, Keisuke Sadamori informed that China will be consuming more electricity than the European Union, United States, and India combined.

·         Africa, home to almost a fifth of the world’s nearly 8 billion inhabitants, will account for just 3% of global electricity consumption in 2025.

·         The IEA’s annual report predicts that nuclear power and renewables such as wind and solar will account for much of the growth in global electricity supply over the coming three years.

·         The report also informs that this will prevent a significant rise in greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.

·         Scientists inform that it is possible to keep average global temperatures from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

·         One hope for meeting the goal is a wholesale shift away from fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil toward low-carbon sources of energy.

·         But while some regions are reducing their use of coal and gas for electricity production, in others consumption is increasing.

·         The 134-pag report also warned that electricity demand and supply are becoming increasingly weather dependent, a problem it urged policymakers to address.

Women’s Premier League: Sania Mirza joins Royal Challengers Bangalore as team mentor

Why In News

·         Women's Premier League: Sania Mirza has been roped in as mentor of Royal Challengers Bangalore for the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL).

Key Points

·         Sania Mirza has been roped in as mentor of Royal Challengers Bangalore for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL), to be played in Mumbai from March 4 to 26. The franchise also announced the signing of Australian Ben Sawyer as head coach.

·         Sawyer is the head coach of New Zealand Women and was part of the Women’s World Cup-winning side with Australia last year as the assistant coach.

·         Royal Challengers put together a star-studded line-up at the inaugural auction, headlined by Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Sophie Devine, Dane van Niekerk and Richa Ghosh.

·         The team will open its WPL campaign on March 5, the second day of the tournament, against Delhi Capitals at Brabourne Stadium.

·         Mirza, the first Indian woman to win a major title – she finished with six across women’s doubles and mixed doubles – is expected to join the squad following the conclusion of the ATP Dubai Open, which is likely to be her last professional tournament. 

·         Mirza, 36, announced her decision to retire from professional tennis prior to the Australian Open, where she and her partner Rohan Bopanna finished runners-up in the mixed doubles.