Category Archives: World Opinion

INTERNATIONAL: During its Current Presidency of the UN Security Council, India Launches ‘Group of Friends’ to Promote Accountability for Crimes against UN Peacekeepers (Blue Helmets)

India, Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Morocco and Nepal are co-chairs of the ‘Group of Friends to Promote Accountability for Crimes Against Peacekeepers’.

India has launched a ‘Group of Friends’ to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar  announcing that New Delhi will soon have a database that will record all crimes against the Blue Helmets.

India, Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Morocco and Nepal are co-chairs of the ‘Group of Friends to Promote Accountability for Crimes Against Peacekeepers’ launched on Thursday during India’s current presidency of the U.N. Security Council.

“UN Peacekeeping today has become more challenging than ever before. Peace operations are also being conducted in an ambiguous and complex environment,” Mr. Jaishankar said in his keynote address at the launch of the Group of Friends.

“Today’s peacekeeper is not mandated to keep the peace but to take on robust mandates in extremely hostile conflict zones. The involvement of armed groups, terrorists and transnational organised crime has adversely impacted their operations,” he said.

Mr. Jaishankar said that the Group of Friends represents the “political will” of member states, particularly of the troop and police contributing countries, to champion the implementation of the provisions of U.N. Security Council resolution 2589, which was adopted in August last year under India’s Presidency of the Council.

Resolution 2589 had called upon member states, hosting or having hosted United Nations peacekeeping operations, to take all appropriate measures to bring to justice perpetrators of the killing of, and all acts of violence against United Nations personnel, including, but not limited to, their detention and abduction.

The resolution had also called on member states to take all necessary measures to investigate such acts and arrest and prosecute perpetrators of such acts in line with their national law, consistent with applicable international obligations, including under international humanitarian law.

Mr. Jaishankar said the UNSC resolution was co-sponsored by more than 80 member states and unanimously adopted by the Council.

“It is, therefore, very befitting that this ‘Group of Friends’ being launched today under India’s ongoing Presidency of the UNSC, will seek to promote accountability in practical terms both within and outside the UNSC,” he said.

He noted that technology can be a force multiplier in achieving these goals. Comprehensive databases and analytical tools for recording and assessing crimes against peacekeepers will be key to addressing impunity.

“India has facilitated the launch of a database that will record all crimes against UN peacekeepers. I am glad to note that it will soon be ready for launch as well,” he said. Mr. Jaishankar said that upholding accountability for crimes against U.N. peacekeepers is a “multi-stakeholders” task.

“It is also a fact that in some cases, the host States do not have the political will or the necessary capabilities to ensure such accountability when crimes are committed against Peacekeepers.” Mr. Jaishankar cited data that shows that in the last three years alone, 68 peacekeepers belonging to 20 countries have lost lives for the cause of peace.

India, among the largest troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping, has lost 177 of its peacekeepers in the line of duty, the largest by far from any troop-contributing country.

Mr. Jaishankar also voiced concern that disinformation campaigns about peacekeeping missions and their mandates have also led to an increase of risks for peacekeepers.

“All these factors have seen an exponential increase in the number of crimes committed against peacekeepers in recent years,” he said.

“Peacekeeping is one of the key tools available with the Security Council to maintain international peace and security, to practically stabilise conflict zones and move towards peace building.”

“Peacekeepers from across the world contribute to this endeavour. They venture forth into hostile conflict zones to protect those who are unable to protect themselves. As those member states, who send them in that cause, it is our solemn duty to ‘Protect the Protectors’,” he said.

A concept note on the Group of Friends said that it will seek to facilitate the promotion of accountability for all acts of violence against United Nations peacekeepers; seek facilitation of capacity building and technical assistance to the host state authorities.

It will actively engage and share information with the Secretary-General and assist the member states hosting or those who have hosted peacekeeping operations, in bringing to justice the perpetrators of such acts; serve as an informal platform at the United Nations to exchange information, share best practices and mobilise resources directed at facilitating accountability for crimes committed against peacekeepers; and monitor progress on bringing accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.

The Group of Friends will convene two meetings of its members per year, organise and host one event per year involving Permanent Missions and other stakeholders, designed to inform and galvanise support for promoting accountability for crimes against peacekeepers; and organize and hold other meetings, briefings, and events as needed, based on the annual work plan and developments relevant to safety and security of peacekeepers.

The Group will convene and be moderated by representatives of the Permanent Missions of Bangladesh, Egypt, France India, Morocco and Nepal as co-chairs and include all interested Member States and United Nations partners.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / MACHINE LEARNING : Rishi Rajpopat, Indian PhD student at Cambridge University solves 2,500-year-old Sanskrit puzzle making it possible, for the first time, to accurately use Panini’s so-called “language machine”.

Rishi Rajpopat solved the 2,500-year-old Sanskrit puzzle by decoding a rule taught by Panini, known as the father of linguistics.

A grammatical problem that has defeated Sanskrit scholars since the 5th Century BC has finally been solved by an Indian PhD student at the University of Cambridge, it emerged as his thesis was published on Thursday.

Rishi Rajpopat made the breakthrough by decoding a rule taught by Panini, known as the father of linguistics, and is now encapsulated in his thesis entitled ‘In Panini, We Trust: Discovering the Algorithm for Rule Conflict Resolution in the Astadhyayi’.

According to the university, leading Sanskrit experts have described Rajpopat’s discovery as “revolutionary” and it could now mean that Panini’s grammar can also be taught to computers for the first time.

“I had a eureka moment in Cambridge,” recalls Rajpopat.

“After nine months of trying to crack this problem, I was almost ready to quit, I was getting nowhere. So, I closed the books for a month and just enjoyed the summer, swimming, cycling, cooking, praying and meditating. Then, begrudgingly I went back to work, and, within minutes, as I turned the pages, these patterns started emerging, and it all started to make sense. There was a lot more work to do but I’d found the biggest part of the puzzle,” said the 27-year-old scholar.

Over the next few weeks, he was so excited that he couldn’t sleep and would spend hours in the library, including in the middle of the night, to check what he’d found and solve related problems. It would take another two and half years before he would get to the finish line.

“Panini had an extraordinary mind and he built a machine unrivalled in human history. He didn’t expect us to add new ideas to his rules. The more we fiddle with Panini’s grammar, the more it eludes us,” says Rajpopat.

The 2,500-year-old algorithm decoded by him makes it possible, for the first time, to accurately use Panini’s so-called “language machine”.

Rajpopat’s discovery makes it possible to “derive” any Sanskrit word, to construct millions of grammatically correct words, using Panini’s revered language machine, which is widely considered to be one of the greatest intellectual achievements in history.

Panini’s system – 4,000 rules detailed in his renowned work, the Astadhyayi, which is thought to have been written around 500 BC – is meant to work like a machine. Feed in the base and suffix of a word and it should turn them into grammatically correct words and sentences through a step-by-step process.

Until now, however, there has been a big problem. Often, two or more of Panini’s rules are simultaneously applicable at the same step leaving scholars to agonise over which one to choose. Solving so-called “rule conflicts”, which affect millions of Sanskrit words including certain forms of “mantra” and “guru”, requires an algorithm. Rajpopat’s research shows that Panini’s so-called language machine is also self-sufficient.

“My student Rishi has cracked it – he has found an extraordinarily elegant solution to a problem that has perplexed scholars for centuries. This discovery will revolutionise the study of Sanskrit at a time when interest in the language is on the rise,” said Professor Vincenzo Vergiani, Sanskrit professor and Rajpopat’s PhD supervisor.

Six months before Rajpopat made his discovery, Professor Vergiani gave him some prescient advice: “If the solution is complicated, you are probably wrong”. A major implication of Rajpopat’s discovery is that now there is the algorithm that runs Panini’s grammar, it could potentially teach this grammar to computers.

“Computer scientists working on Natural Language Processing gave up on rule-based approaches over 50 years ago. So teaching computers how to combine the speaker’s intention with Panini’s rule-based grammar to produce human speech would be a major milestone in the history of human interaction with machines, as well as in India’s intellectual history,” said Rajpopat.

Sanskrit is an ancient and classical Indo-European language from South Asia. While only spoken in India by an estimated 25,000 people today, it has influenced many other languages and cultures around the world.

“Some of the most ancient wisdom of India has been produced in Sanskrit and we still don’t fully understand what our ancestors achieved. We’ve often been led to believe that we’re not important, that we haven’t brought enough to the table. I hope this discovery will infuse students in India with confidence, pride, and hope that they too can achieve great things,” added Rajpopat.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: ARTS & CULTURE / OVERSEAS: India Restoring Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar

‘Today, we are restoring and renovating the temples in Angkor Wat. These are contributions which we are making outside because the civilisation of India has gone beyond India’.

The Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia is being restored by India because our civilisation is not limited to India, but is spread across countries, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday said.

Addressing the Kashi Tamil Sangamam on the subject ‘contribution of temples in society and nation building’ being held here, Mr. Jaishankar said, “There are temples not only in India, not only in the Indian subcontinent, but in many regions beyond.”

“I had gone with the Vice President to see the biggest temple in the world—the Angkor Wat temple complex. Today, we are restoring and renovating the temples in Angkor Wat. These are contributions which we are making outside because the civilisation of India has gone beyond India,” he said.

“So, today when we are restoring, rebuilding, and re-energising Indian civilisation, our task is not only in India. Our task is all over the world. But, it is not only where our civilisation went, it is also where our travellers went, our traders went, our people of faith went,” he said.

Recalling his days as India’s ambassador to China, the minister said, “Some of you know that for many years, I have been an ambassador to China. I have seen the remnants of Hindu temples even in China on the east coast.” He said that there is a very special connection between Ayodhya and Korea, whose people want to be associated with the developments in Ayodhya, he said.

He also mentioned that Shrinath jee temple in Bahrain, and said, “All these were established by our people, when they went out. It is a matter of pride for us that we are building a temple in UAE, that we got approval to built a temple in Bahrain. We have done a lot of work in Vietnam.”

“So, how do we today take our culture out, take our values, our philosophy, our way of life and share it with the rest of the world through activities outside. We are very committed in the foreign ministry to doing that. We also support what people of India are doing outside … There are more than 1,000 temples in the US,” he said.

He said that there are 3.5 crore Indians and people of Indian origin abroad, who have taken Indian culture with them abroad. “So, it is also our efforts today to support them, and we do it in different ways.” Mr. Jaishankar also informed the audience that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged ₹200 crore to build a Ramayan Circuit into Nepal, “so that all of us will have an opportunity to visit our heritage in close quarters.”

“Even in Sri Lanka, we restored the Thiruketheeswaram Temple in Mannar. This temple was closed for 12 years. So the fact that we took interest, made efforts, has made it possible for the revival of that temple,” he said.

Thiruketheeswaram Temple, one of the five sacred Ishwarams dedicated to Lord Shiva, is venerated by Shaivites throughout the subcontinent and the temple was testimony to the most difficult period in the history of Sri Lanka as it was closed for 12 years during the armed conflict and reopened in 2002.

The minister also said that in Nepal after the 2015 earthquake, many temples were damaged because they were old. “We have committed $50 million for restoration of cultural heritage in Nepal.”

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: HEALTH & MEDICAL SCIENCES / ALTERNATIVE: 9th World Ayurveda Congress 2022: Experts pitch for Innovations and Research in Ayurveda

Anirudha Joshi said he was envisaging developing wearable devices that could provide vital information about anatomy.

Ayurveda has an enormous potential for innovation but that requires an extensive technology-based research and a concrete roadmap to make it a global brand and its products effective and successful, said experts at the 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) here.

“There are great possibilities of innovations in Ayurveda. There are challenges to develop techniques more advanced than supercomputers. We will have to work on those areas of computing which have not been heard of,” Padma Bhushan Vijay Bhatkar said, while chairing a plenary session on ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurs in Ayurveda’.

Anirudha Joshi, who is credited with developing award-winning ‘Nadi Tarangini’, an Artificial Intelligence-based instrument for pulse-reading, said he was envisaging developing wearable devices that could provide vital information about the human body.

“It will be very helpful if we can develop wearables which can do ‘Astha-vidha-pariksha’. Our vision is to go into prediction of different stages of a disease so that we can defer a disease if we cannot prevent it,” he explained.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Bhatkar said, “There is a need to develop new devices like `Nadi Tarangini’. We will have to think of ways of marketing, packaging, advertising our products and how they can be shown to the world.’‘ According to Kartikeya Baldva, CEO, Ixoreal Biomed Inc, Ayurveda, a traditional wellness system, had finally arrived but there was still a long way to go.

“It is very important to ensure the success of products but that would require quality, efficacy, branding, marketing and innovation,” he emphasised.

Ajit Kolatkar, Founder- Director of Pune- based Gastrolab India Pvt Ltd, said Ayurveda had to move in such a fashion that a doctor could diagnose the ailments of a patient by using minimum devices.

”We will have to start with fundamental research from Ayurvedic perspective. There has to be a concrete roadmap. There is a need to revisit Ayurveda in the context of contemporary science,” he said, adding there were many key areas where Ayurveda could contribute significantly.

Rishabh Chopra, founder of Ayurveda Experience, an Ayurvedic health and wellness platform, said ‘Ashwagandha’ had now become a popular product in the West.

However, there were several challenges to make Ayurvedic products globally acceptable. He also said Ashwagandha, turmeric and Yoga were some of the most online searched words in the West.

“Our vision is to go into prediction of different stages of a disease so that we can defer a disease if we cannot prevent it”Anirudha Joshi,Inventor,  ‘Nadi Tarangini’

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SECURITY: New Delhi Hosts ‘1st India-Central Asia Meeting of National Security Advisers (NSAs) 2022’ ; Asserts Connectivity with Central Asian Countries remains Key Priority for India

National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on Tuesday said that connectivity with Central Asian countries remains India’s key priority.

Speaking at the first India-Central Asia meeting of the National Security Advisers, in New Delhi, Mr Doval said, peaceful, secure and prosperous Central Asia is in our common interest.

He added that countering terror financing should be everyone’s equal priority and urged all UN members to refrain from providing support to entities involved in terrorist acts.

He also spoke on the security situation in Afghanistan and said that it is an important issue concerning us all.

This is the first time India is hosting a conclave of top security officials from Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan focussing on the evolving security situation in Afghanistan and ways to deal with the threat of terrorism emanating from that country.

In an apparent message to Pakistan, Doval said that India should appeal to all UN members to fulfill obligations enshrined in relevant counter-terror conventions. 

source/content: newsonair.gov.in (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORTS/ POWER LIFTING: Steel City’s Powerlifters M Durga Prasad & B Anil Kumar make Nation Proud, Securing 4 Gold Medals at the ‘Commonwealth Powerlifting & Bench Press Championship 2022’ New Zealand

Secure four gold medals each at Commonwealth C’ship held from Nov 28 to Dec 4.

Two powerlifters from Visakhapatnam made the country proud as they won four gold medals each during the Commonwealth Powerlifting and Bench Press Championship held in New Zealand from November 28 to December 4.

M Durga Prasad, a final year BA student, and B Anil Kumar, a first-year MBA student, won gold in bench press, squat, deadlift and overall championship in the 93 kg and 83 kg categories, respectively. Both the champions’ journeys may be different, but the feeling of joy they felt while representing their country on a foreign land and acing at it was the same.

Hailing from a farmer’s family, Anil never dreamt of becoming a powerlifter until his college lecturer encouraged him.  Summing up his journey, Anil said, “The last four years have been really difficult in terms of training and recovering from injuries. I did not realise that winning the medals in New Zealand was a great feat until I returned home and was welcomed by overwhelming appreciation and encouragement.”

In 2019, Anil had injured his wrists during training and was on bed rest for three months.Speaking about his international win, he said, “I have won several medals at the national level, but nothing matches the feeling of representing the country and winning medals on a foreign land.”

South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, North America, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Canada, England, Scotland, and Sri Lanka were among the other countries that took part in the powerlifting championship.


In the case of Durga Prasad, he watched his uncle powerlift and always wanted to try his luck at it. He started training at the age of 16.

“The weight of the bars seem nothing when compared to the happiness of representing my country amongst a number of foreign countries. I always wanted to succeed in the sport, but never expected it to be this big. We fail a lot of times in this journey, but that should not stop or create a negative impact on our willpower,” Prasad said and added, “To excel in powerlifting, one must have the zeal and patience. It is not something that can be achieved over night. It comes with practise, patience, and a proper diet. Frequent injuries should not discourage one from quitting in between.”

“I come from a marginalised background. A single training kit costs nearly `2 lakh. Spending lakhs of rupees to compete in such competitions is a burden for me and my family. Gaining international recognition brings happiness, but it should not be at the expense of incurring debt,” Anil rued.

Both Anil and Prasad aim to take part in the World Junior Powerlifting Championships scheduled to be held next year.

In recognition of their achievements, Dr Lankapalli Bullayya College is supporting the two powerlifters by providing them with free education until they complete their post-graduation.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: OLYMPICS: P.T. Usha creates History, becomes First Woman President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOC). Making her the 1st Indian Olympian and 1st International Medallist Heading the IOA.

P.T. Usha, fondly known as the ‘Payyoli Express’, is being seen as a candidate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which had nominated her as a Rajya Sabha member in July.

Ushering in a new era in the country’s sports administration, the legendary P.T. Usha was on December 10 elected as the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

The 58-year-old Ms. Usha, a multiple Asian Games gold medallist and fourth-place finisher in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 400m hurdles final, was declared elected unopposed for the top post in the polls.

The elections were held under the supervision of Supreme Court-appointed retired SC judge L Nageswara Rao.

The election of Ms. Usha to the top job marked an end to the long drawn crisis in the faction-ridden IOA, which was warned of a possible suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) if elections are not held this month.

The polls were originally due to be held in December 2021.

Ms. Usha’s anointment to the top post was a forgone conclusion late last month after she emerged as the lone candidate for the top post.

Nobody was willing to fight against Ms. Usha, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in July.

Ms. Usha, fondly known as the ‘Payyoli Express’, is being seen as a candidate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which had nominated her as a Rajya Sabha member in July.

She also became the first Olympian and first international medallist to head the IOA in its 95-year-old history, adding another feather in her cap after dominating Indian and Asian athletics for two decades before retiring in 2000 with a bagful of international medals.

Ms. Usha is the first sportsperson to have represented the country and also become IOA chief since Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, who played a Test match in 1934. Singh was the third IOA president who held office from 1938 to 1960.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: WOMEN LEADERS: 6 Indians Make the Leadership List : Nirmala Sitharaman, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Madhabi Puri Buch, Soma Mundal & Falguni Nayar among ‘Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’

Nirmala Sitharaman has made it to the list for the fourth time in a row.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar are among six Indians who have made it to the Forbes’ annual list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

Ranked at number 36, Ms. Sitharaman has made it to the list for the fourth time in a row. In 2021, the 63-year-old minister was ranked at number 37 on the list, while she was in the 41st spot in 2020 and 34th in 2019.

The other Indians to feature on the list are HCLTech Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra (rank: 53), Securities And Exchange Board Of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch (rank: 54), and Steel Authority Of India Chairperson Soma Mondal (rank: 67).

Ms. Malhotra, Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw and Ms. Nayar made it to the prestigious list last year also at 52nd, 72nd and 88th spots respectively.

This year Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw is ranked 72, while Ms. Nayar is at 89th spot, according to the list released by Forbes on Tuesday.

The list includes 39 CEOs; 10 heads of state; and 11 billionaires worth a combined $115 billion.

The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women

FORBES 2022

Highlighting Ms. Nayar’s profile, the Forbes list noted that the 59-year-old businessman “worked as an investment banker for two decades, leading IPOs and helping other entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. In 2012, she decided to work for herself, investing $2 million of her own savings to launch the beauty and retail company Nykaa. She took it public in 2021 and became India’s richest self-made woman”.

According to the Forbes website, 41-year-old Ms. Malhotra is responsible for all strategic decisions for the $12 billion technology company.

“Founded by her father, Shiv Nadar, in 1976, HCL became a central player in India’s rise as an IT hub,” it noted.

On March 1, 56-year-old Ms. Buch became the first female chair of the SEBI, which oversees India’s more-than $3 trillion stock market ecosystem.

Ms. Mondal, 59, who became the first woman to chair the state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) in January 2021, has led the company to record financial growth since taking over. The company’s profits surged threefold to 120 billion rupees in her first year at the helm, according to the Forbes website.

It described 69-year-old Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw as one of India’s richest self-made women. She founded India’s largest listed biopharmaceutical firm by revenue, in 1978. The firm has successfully forayed into the lucrative U.S. market. The company has Asia’s largest insulin factory in Malaysia’s Johor region, it noted.

“The list was determined by four main metrics: money, media, impact and spheres of influence. For political leaders, we weighed gross domestic products and populations; for corporate leaders, revenues and employee counts; and media mentions and reach of all. The result is a collection of women who are fighting the status quo,” according to the website.

For her leadership during the Ukraine war, as well as her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen sits atop the 19th annual Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

“Her influence is unique — no one else on the list formulates policy on behalf of 450 million people — but her commitment to a free and democratic society is not. Von der Leyen is just one face of the biggest storyline of 2022: women acting as stalwarts for democracy,” the website underlined.

While European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is placed in 2nd position, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris ranked 3rd in the list.

At rank 100, Iran’s Jina ‘Mahsa” Amini has posthumously made it to the influential list. Her death in September sparked an unprecedented women-led revolution for their rights in the Islamic nation.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: BUSINESS LEADER : Sundar Pichai, CEO Google & Alphabet, Awarded with Padma Bhushan, says, ‘India is a part of me…’

India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu handed over the award to Pichai.

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai was awarded the Padma Bhushan – India’s third-highest civilian award – for 2022 in the Trade and Industry category on Friday in the presence of his close family members in San Francisco. India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu handed over the award to Pichai and said that his “inspirational journey reaffirms Indian talent’s contribution to global innovation”.

“Delighted to hand over Padma Bhushan to Google CEO Sundar Pichai in San Francisco. His inspirational journey from Madurai to Mountain View, strengthening India-America economic and tech ties, reaffirms Indian talent’s contribution to global innovation,” Sandhu wrote on Twitter.

Upon receiving the prestigious award, Pichai in his blog said India is a part of him.

“India is a part of me and I carry it with me wherever I go. I was fortunate to grow up in a family that cherished learning and knowledge, with parents who sacrificed a lot to make sure I had opportunities to explore my interests,” he said.

Pichai added, “I am deeply grateful to the Indian government and the people of India for this immense honour. It is incredibly meaningful to be honoured in this way by the country that shaped me.”

Pichai also recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of technology to combine the 3s -speed, simplicity, and service.

“We recently announced that we’ll be investing USD 10 billion in India’s digital future, working to enable more affordable internet access, building products for India’s unique needs, helping businesses of all sizes in their digital transformation, and using AI to tackle big societal challenges,” the Google CEO said.

“I look forward to continuing the great partnership between Google and India, as we work together to bring the benefits of technology to more people,” Pichai added.

(With inputs from agencies)

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL RECORDS : SPORTS / WEIGHT LIFTING: Mirabai Chanu Wins Silver Medal at ‘World Weightlifting Championships 2022’ Bogota, Colombia

Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu bagged a silver medal in the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships in Bogota, Colombia.

Mirabai lifted a total of 200kg (87kg snatch + 113kg clean & jerk), 2kg more than the Olympic champion from China Hou Zhihua (198kg) and 6kg behind another Chinese, Jiang Huihua (206kg: 93+113) who won the gold medal.

Hou Zhihui of China took bronze with 198 (89kg plus 109 kg). 

Mirabai’s wrist problem became apparent when she struggled with the overhead lift in her second clean-and-jerk attempt, but she recovered fast to finish with the best lift of 113kg. She had the best attempt of 87kg in the snatch event. Mirabai took home the silver in the clean and jerk category with her 113kg attempt.

This was Mirabai’s second Worlds medal, having previously won gold at the 2017 World Championships with a lift of 194kg (85kg plus 109kg). She came in fourth place in the 2019 edition.

Olympic champion Hou appeared to be labouring on the day, lifting significantly below her personal bests of 96 kg in snatch and 118kg in clean and jerk (Mirabai holds the world record in that, at 119kg).

According to the Paris Olympics qualifying system, a lifter needs to compete in two compulsory events – the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup. The 2022 World Championships are the first qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where weightlifting events will be cut from 14 at Tokyo Games to 10. (ANI)

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)