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INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL: EDUCTION / MATHEMATICS WORLD RECORDS: Two Mumbai Students Aadhya Shetty & Pratham Mehta Bag ‘Top in the World’ For Mathematics Award

Two students from Mumbai’s Kanakia International School were awarded the “Top In The World” title for Mathematics at the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards.

Aadhya Shetty and Pratham Mehta received the “Highest Mark In The World” for the Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (without coursework) category.

Cambridge Assessment International Education recognizes the achievements of exceptional Cambridge Learners worldwide through the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards. The title ‘Top in the World’ is given to students who have attained the highest global standard in a specific subject. Aadhya Shetty and Pratham Mehta have been acknowledged for achieving a perfect PUM score of 100 in mathematics in the June 2023 Cambridge Examination.

Ms. Shuchi Shukla, the principal of Kanakia International School, Chembur, emphasising the school’s dedication to holistic education said,”Aadhya and Pratham have etched their names in the institution’s history with this remarkable feat. Additionally, I would like to thank Ms. Priya Pathak and Mr. Prashant Kamble, our math teachers, for their contribution in guiding our students towards this exemplary achievement.”

source/content: freepressjournal.in (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL: EV : Yamaha Motor leads $40 million funding in e-scooter startup River

The company entered the domestic EV market with its first e-scooter, Indie, in October last year, and in January it opened its first River store in Bengaluru.

Electric scooter startup River on Tuesday announced it has raised USD 40 million (Rs 335 crore) in Series B funding led by Japan’s Yamaha Motor Co, Ltd. The funds will be utilised for scaling up the distribution and service network, among others.

“The investment is a significant boost for our plan to build a billion dollar global utility-lifestyle brand by 2030. We have built a great base in R&D and manufacturing over the last two years and now, it’s time to grow,” said Aravind Mani, Co-founder and CEO of River.

The company entered the domestic EV market with its first e-scooter, Indie, in October last year, and in January it opened its first River store in Bengaluru.

The Series B funding round also saw participation from existing investors Al-Futtaim Automotive, Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures and Maniv Mobility, River said.

With the latest capital infusion, the total funding secured by the company since its inception in March 2021 stands at USD 68-million (Rs 565 crores), according to River.

With this funding, the company plans to scale the distribution and service network across the country and invest further in R&D for future lineup of products.

“The collaboration with Yamaha will help us leverage the design and technology capability that we have built at River.”, said Vipin George, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, River.

The company said its maiden e-scooter, Indie, has been fully designed and developed at its R&D facility in Bengaluru and manufactured at its Hoskote manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Bengaluru. 

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: NATIONAL: DEFENCE / NAVY: 46 nations have confirmed their participation in MILAN-2024 to be conducted in Vizag, says Navy Chief Admiral Hari Kumar

Hopefully, there will be meaningful discussions on the naval activities that will benefit the participating counties during the exercise to be organised from February 19 to 27, says Admiral Hari Kumar.

Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral R. Hari Kumar has said that 46 counties have confirmed their participation in MILAN-2024 to be conducted in Visakhapatnam from February 19 to 27, and four more will be confirming their participation soon.

Admiral Hari Kumar was speaking to the reporters onboard INS Sandhayak, the Navy’s survey vessel, which was commissioned by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh here on February 3 (Saturday).

“The Navy has invited 60 counties. Hopefully, it will have a meaningful discussion on naval activities that will benefit the counties and the city as well,” he said.

Admiral Hari Kumar said that MILAN would also include visits to local sites by the participants.

Referring to the recruitment of women in the Navy, Admiral Hari Kumar said, “Now, all roles and ranks are open to women in the Navy. Women can join any role in the Navy. We look at the individual’s ability and commitment, not gender,” he added.

INS Sandhayak would double as a hospital at sea in case of any casualty in the ships, he said, and added that three more Sandhayak-class ships would be inducted by next year.

“The Navy is very particular about the nation’s security and its network. The Anti-Piracy Act brought in during December 2022 gives more power to the Navy to counter any anti-national activities,” he said.

“We have indigenously developed anti-drone equipment. We have also deployed ships for anti-drone operations,” Admiral Hari Kumar added.

Talking about the status of Indian Navy in the Maldives, he said, “We have good military relations with the Maldives.”

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: ARTS & CULTURE / MUSIC: Grammy Awards 2024: India takes centre-stage at the 66th Grammy Awards 2024 as Shankar Mahadevan, Zakir Hussain Win Laurels

In a post on X, Indian music composer Ricky Kej said that this is a great year for India at the Grammys.

The most coveted award ceremony of all time, the Grammys, is here. And currently, we see Indian talent shining on the prestigious platform. Our homeland took centre-stage at the 66th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles after Zakir Hussain was named the Best Global Music Performance for his work in Pashto alongside Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer, featuring Rakesh Chaurasia.

Shankar Mahadevan also took home the award for Best Global Music Album at the Grammys for This Moment. Taking to X, Grammys shared the post and wrote: “Congrats Best Global Music Album winner – ‘This Moment’ Shakti. #GRAMMYs.”

In his acceptance speech, Mahadevan said, “Thank you boys. Thank you God, family, friends, and India. India, we are proud of you…Last but not the least, I would like to dedicate this award to my wife whom every note of my music is dedicated to.” 

In a post on X, Indian music composer Ricky Kej said that this is a great year for India at the Grammys. He wrote: “Ustad Zakhir Hussain, the living legend creates history by winning 3 Grammys in one night!!! Rakesh Chaurasia wins 2!! .. and I am blessed to witness it.”

Kej added, “SHAKTI wins a GRAMMY! Through this album 4 brilliant Indian musicians win Grammys!! Just amazing. India is shining in every direction. Shankar Mahadevan, Selvaganesh Vinayakram, Ganesh Rajagopalan, Ustad Zakhir Hussain. Ustad Zakhir Hussain won a second Grammy along with virtuoso flute player Rakesh Chaurasia. Brilliant!”

The artistes mentioned were nominated for the Grammy Awards alongside others such as Susana Baca, Bokante, Burna Boy, and Davido.

source/content: indulgexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: HEALTH & MEDICINE: RESEARCH: British Indian Doctor Tony Dhillon to undertake ‘ground-breaking’ Cancer Vaccine trial

Dr Tony Dhillon, a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, proposed the idea for the trial and has worked with Professor Tim Price in Australia for the last four years to develop the vaccine.

A British Indian doctor is the chief investigator of a “ground-breaking” trial of a vaccine to treat early bowel cancer for patients worldwide, following a UK-Australia collaboration between scientists and doctors.

Dr Tony Dhillon, a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, proposed the idea for the trial and has worked with Professor Tim Price in Australia for the last four years to develop the vaccine.

The trial, announced recently, will be run by the Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Southampton in collaboration with Royal Surrey and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, Australia.

“This is the first treatment vaccine in any gastrointestinal cancer and we have high hopes that it will be very successful. We think that for a lot of patients, the cancer will have gone completely after this treatment,” said Dr Dhillon.

“This is ground-breaking. I feel as if we are on the edge of something really big here. The vaccine makes the immune system go after the cancer. It will be life-changing because it means that potentially, patients may not need to have surgery – they may just have the vaccine,” he said.

There will be 10 sites for patients to be enrolled – six in Australia and four in the UK, with 44 patients to be enrolled in the study over an 18-month period.

The vaccine will be used to treat patients before surgery, in the hope that it will cause the body to attack the cancer. It would mean any surgery would be less invasive. It is also hoped that the strength of the vaccine could support the immune system to respond if there is a relapse and the cancer returns later on.

“We are hugely proud to have been involved in the launch of this ground-breaking new vaccine. As the fourth-largest cancer centre in the UK, helping to fight cancer is a huge part of what we do and this will really provide an opportunity for bowel cancer patients and give them real hope of beating the disease,” said Louise Stead, Royal Surrey Foundation Trust Chief Executive.

Patients will have an endoscopy, and then a tissue sample will be tested to see if they are eligible for the trial. If they are, they will have three doses of the vaccine before having surgery to remove the cancer.

The trial will be available for just 44 patients around the world. After the trial finishes, the vaccine will either be licensed for use or if it’s successful, a bigger study will be carried out.

Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the third most common cancer, with a worldwide annual incidence of over 1.2 million cases and a mortality rate of approximately 50 per cent. 

source/content: tribuneindia.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: PARLIAMENT – Firsts : Sengol added to Ceremonial Procession to Welcome President to Parliament

PM Modi had installed the Sengol in the new Parliament building on the day of its inauguration.

For the first time in the history of Parliament, the Sengol (sceptre), considered a symbol of power of monarchs, was added to the ceremonial procession welcoming the President to the House.

Rajeev Sharma, a senior marshal in the Lok Sabha, who was dressed in traditional attire with scarf and a turban, carried the Sengol in his hand and accompanied President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Speaker Om Birla during the parade.

It was kept in front of the Speaker’s podium during the President’s Address to the Joint Session of Parliament.

Mr Modi had installed the Sengol in the new Parliament building on the day of its inauguration.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said last year, before the inauguration of the new building, that on the night of August 14, 1947, India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, received the Sengol  from the priests of the Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam in Tamil Nadu.

“It was precisely the moment in which power was transferred by the British into the hands of Indians. What we are celebrating as independence is actually marked by the very moment of handing over the ‘Sengol’,” Mr. Shah had said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

REGIONAL: ASIA : SPORTS/ATHLETICS : Asian Half Marathon Championship 2023: Sawan Barwal Wins Bronze Medal; Men’s team Bags Gold

The Indian women’s team also won the bronze medal at the inaugural edition of the event in Dubai.

Indian long-distance runners won three medals – one gold and two bronze – at the Asian Half Marathon Championship 2023 in Dubai on Saturday. This was the inaugural edition of the athletics event.

India’s Sawan Barwal clocked 1:04:30 to win the bronze medal in the men’s individual category. The Indian athlete was 13 seconds short of his personal best of 1:04:17 timed at the Delhi Half Marathon in New Delhi last month.

Japan’s Daisuke Doi claimed the gold medal with 1:03:43 while the silver medal went to the People’s Republic of China’s Kegu Yang, who timed his run at 1:04:04.

Among the other Indians in the fray, Kartik Kumar, the silver medal winner in men’s 10,000m at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, clocked 1:05:21 to come fifth, while Abhishek Pal, who won the 10,000m bronze at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 in Bangkok earlier this year, was 13th with 1:08:05.

The Indian trio of Sawan Barwal, Kartik Kumar and Abhishek Pal combined to take the gold medal in the men’s team event.

In the women’s category, Poonam Dinkar was the best Indian finisher at ninth with a time of 1:19:28. Kavita Yadav, with 1:19:33, and Rima Patel, with 1:19:40, finished 10th and 11th, respectively.

India also won the bronze medal in the women’s team event.

Asian Half Marathon Championship 2023: Indian medal winners

  • Sawan Barwal – bronze medal in men’s individual event
  • Sawan Barwal, Kartik Kumar and Abhishek Pal – gold medal in men’s team event
  • Poonam Dinkar, Kavita Yadav and Rima Patel – bronze medal in women’s team event

source/content: olympics.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: HERITAGE : ‘Maratha Military Landscapes’ to be India’s Nomination for UNESCO tag for 2024-25

The ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’ was included in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2021 .

‘Maratha Military Landscapes’ representing extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers will be India’s nomination for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List for the 2024-25 cycle, the Culture Ministry said on January 29.

The twelve components of this nomination are— Salher Fort, Shivneri Fort, Lohgad, Khanderi Fort, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijay Durg, and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, and Gingee fort in Tamil Nadu, it said in a statement.

These components, distributed across diverse geographical and physiographic regions, showcase the strategic military powers of the Maratha rule, officials said.

The ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’, which developed between 17th and 19th centuries, “represent an extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers”, the statement said.

This will be India’s nomination for inclusion into the UNESCO World Heritage List for the year 2024-25, it added.

“This extraordinary network of forts, varying in hierarchies, scales and typological features, is a result of integrating the landscape, terrain and physiographic characteristics distinctive to the Sahyadri mountain ranges, the Konkan Coast, Deccan Plateau and the Eastern Ghats in the Indian Peninsula,” the statement said.

The ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’ was included in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2021, it said.

There are more than 390 forts in Maharashtra, out of which only 12 forts are selected under the ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’, and eight of these forts are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The forts under ASI are Shivneri fort, Lohgad, Raigad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala fort, Vijaydurg, Sindhudurg and Gingee fort; whereas Salher fort, Rajgad, Khanderi fort and Pratapgarh are protected by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, government of Maharashtra, the statement said.

“In the Maratha Military Landscapes of India, Salher Fort, Shivneri Fort, Lohgad, Raigad, Rajgad and Gingee fort are hill forts, Pratapgad is hill-forest fort, Panhala is hill-plateau fort, Vijaydurg is coastal fort whereas Khanderi fort, Suvarnadurg and Sindhudurg are island forts,” the Ministry said.

The inception of the Maratha military ideology dates back to the 17th century during the reign of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by 1670 and continued through subsequent rules until Peshwa rule till 1818, the statement said.

‘Maratha Military Landscapes’ nomination is in the category of cultural property, the ministry said.

At present, there are 42 World Heritage Sites in India, out of which 34 are cultural sites, seven are natural sites whereas one is mixed site.

In Maharashtra, six sites have a UNESCO tag— five cultural and one natural. These are Ajanta Caves (inscribed in 1983), Ellora Caves (1983), Elephanta Caves (1987), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) (2004), Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai (2018), and Western Ghats of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala is serial property in natural category (2012), the statement said.

There are six criteria for sending a nomination— i to vi— for cultural sites, and four criteria— vii to x— for natural sites for inclusion in the World Heritage List, it added.

The ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’ is nominated under criterion iii— to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization that is living or which has disappeared; criterion iv— to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble, or landscape that illustrates significant stage(s) in human history; and criterion vi— to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance, the statement said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)