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By admin: July 6, 2022

Ukrainian mathematician becomes second woman to win Fields Medal

Tags: Science and Technology International News

On July 5, a jury of the International Mathematical Union awarded the prestigious Fields Medal to four mathematicians, including Ukraine's Marya Vyazovska.

• Marya Vyazovska

• Wiazowska is the head of number theory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne.

• Wiazowska is the second woman to win the award in its 80-year history.

• She is known to be an expert in solving spherical packing problems.

• She was awarded the prize for solving a version of a centuries-old mathematical problem where she proved the densest packing of equal regions in eight dimensions.

• Wiazowska was born in 1984 in Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union, and has been a professor at the cole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland since 2017.

• The other three winners are -

1. James Maynard - number theorist at the University of Oxford, UK

2. June Huh - specialist in combinatorics at Princeton University in New Jersey 

3. Hugo Duminil Copin - studies statistical physics at the Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies (IHES) near Paris. 

• 35-year-old James Maynard was presented this award for his contribution to "analytical number theory".

• June Huh, 39, was awarded the prize for "changing" the field of geometric combinatorics.

• Duminil-Coppin was awarded for solving "long-standing problems in the probabilistic theory of phase transitions".

• First women winner

• The first woman to win the prize was Mariam Mirzakhani in 2014, an Iranian-born mathematician who died of cancer three years later in 2017.

• Indian-origin winners

• Two of the winners are of Indian origin.

• Akshay Venkatesh of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton – was awarded the award in 2018.

• Manjul Bhargava of the Department of Mathematics at Princeton University was honored in 2014.

•  About Fields Medal

• Fields Medal is often described as the Nobel Prize in mathematics.

• This highest honours in mathematics is conventionally awarded to people aged under 40.

• The medal, along with $15,000 Canadian dollars ($11,600), is awarded every four years to between two to four candidates for “outstanding mathematical achievement”.

• Of the 60 mathematicians who won the Fields Medal earlier this year, 59 were men.

• The prizes are normally announced at the opening of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). 

• This year’s congress was scheduled to begin on 6 July in St. Petersburg, Russia, but the plan was scrapped following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

• The award ceremony was held in Helsinki and the Congress concluded as a virtual event.

•  International Mathematical Union

• It is an international non-governmental and non-profit scientific organization.

•  Its purpose is to promote international cooperation in mathematics.

• It is a member of the International Science Council (ISC).

• founded - in 1920 and has existed in its current form since 1951

• Location - Berlin, Germany

• President - Carlos E. Kenig

Finland, Sweden sign protocol to join NATO

Tags: International News

30 NATO allies have signed the protocol to make Sweden, Finland members.

• It will allow them to join the nuclear-armed alliance once parliaments of all NATO countries ratify the decision.

• It is the most significant expansion of the alliance since 1990.

• The signing at NATO headquarters follows an agreement with Turkey at the NATO summit in Madrid last week.

• The protocol means that Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in NATO meetings and obtain intelligence, but will not be protected by a NATO defence clause.

• NATO defence clause means that an attack on one ally is an attack against all until ratification.

• It is likely to take up to a year to become part of the NATO defence clause.

• All 30 allies signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland at a ceremony in Brussels on 5 July, making the countries formal invitees and allowing them access to almost all NATO meetings.

• Russia warning

• Moscow has repeatedly warned both countries against joining NATO.

• On 12 March, the Russian Foreign Ministry said there would be "serious military and political consequences".

• Turkish warning

• Turkey is threatening to veto NATO membership for Sweden and Finland.

• Turkey will not ratify membership of the NATO for these countries if they don’t fufill their promises to combat terrorism and extradite suspects under a memorandum of understanding reached at an alliance summit in Madrid last week.

• About North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) 

• NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance consisting of 30 member states belonging to Europe and North America (28 European states, the US and Canada).

• NATO aims to guarantee the security of its members through political and military means.

• According to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against any NATO member in Europe or North America shall be deemed an attack against all NATO members.

• Article 5 has been invoked only once so far after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the US.

• The last country to join NATO was North Macedonia in 2020.

• Headquarters- Brussels, Belgium

Kindly also see 23 May 2022 post

Odisha tops first national food security ranking, Tripura best among smaller states

Tags: Popular National News

Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal released on 5 July the first State Ranking Index for implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013.

• Odisha has been placed at the top position in the 'State Ranking Index for NFSA' among the general category states.

• In the ranking, Uttar Pradesh is second and Andhra Pradesh is at third position.

• Tripura ranks first among special category states/UTs followed by Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim respectively.

• In addition, among the 3 union territories where Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)-cash driven, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu are in top position.

• Three key pillars for ranking

• The index for ranking of states and union territories is built on three major pillars-

1. NFSA - Coverage, Targeting and Provisions of the Act

2. Delivery platform

3. nutritional initiatives

• These pillars cover end-to-end implementation of NFSA through TPDS.

• State Ranking Index for NFSA

• It attempts to document the status and progress of implementation of NFSA across the country and various reform initiatives in consultation with the states.

• It highlights the reforms undertaken by States and UTs and creates a cross-learning environment and scale-up reform measures by all States and UTs.

• The index largely focuses on NFSA distribution and will include future buyouts, PMGKAY distributions.

• National Food Security Act (NFSA)

• It was enacted on July 5, 2013.

• NFSA provides a legal right to persons belonging to "eligible households" to receive food grains at subsidized prices under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

• It provides rice at Rs 3/kg, wheat at Rs 2/kg and coarse grain at Re 1/kg under the TPDS.

• Overall, the NFSA caters to 67% of the total population.

• It is responsible for the provision of subsidized food grains to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population of all states and union territories.

• The Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS), Public Distribution System (PDS), and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) are covered under this Act.

Three new Exotic subatomic particles discovered with the Large Hadron Collider

Tags: Science and Technology

The Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment has  discovered three never-before-seen particles.

• What is the discovery?

• CERN, (European Organization for Nuclear Research) was investigating the slight differences between matter and antimatter by studying a type of particle called the “beauty quark”, or “b quark”.

• The three “exotic” particles, a new kind of “pentaquark” and the first-ever pair of “tetraquarks” were found.

• These are a kind of new hadrons.

• The discovery will help physicists understand how quarks bind together in these composite particles.

• What are Quarks?

• Quark is a fundamental component of matter and is defined as an elementary particle.

• These quarks combine to produce composite particles called hadrons.

• They usually combine together in groups of twos and threes to form hadrons.

• The most stable of these are neutrons and protons which are components of the atomic nucleus.

• They can also combine into four-quark and five-quark particles, called tetraquarks and pentaquarks.

• These exotic hadrons were predicted by theorists nearly six decades ago.

• Tetraquarks and Pentaquarks

• Atoms contain smaller particles called neutrons and protons, which are made up of three quarks each.

• Most of the exotic hadrons discovered in the past two decades are tetraquarks or pentaquarks.

• They contain a charm quark and a charm antiquark. 

Australia is Killing Millions Of Bees To Save Its Honey Industry

Tags: International News

Australian authorities have killed millions of bees over the past two weeks in an effort to stop a devastating parasitic plague called the Varroa mite.

• The parasite named Varroa mite has spread to the south-eastern part of the country. 

• Now because of this, the honey industry worth crores of rupees is under threat.

• In view of this, an alert was issued for the beekeepers.

• The decision to kill bees could adversely affect the development of many crops including almonds, macadamia nuts and blueberries that depend on bees for pollination.

• Bees are the most important pollinators. 

• What is Varroa Mite?

• It is a parasitic insect that infects and feeds on honeybees.

• It is often known as the varroa destructor.

• It is reddish-brown in color and is capable of destroying entire colonies of bees.

• This organism can spread five types of viruses in the hive which can destroy the entire colony of bees.

• After clinging to one bee, it reaches another and thus takes the entire hive under its control.

Assam Cabinet approves ‘indigenous’ status for five Muslim communities

Tags: State News

The Assam government has decided to grant 'swadeshi' status to five Assamese-speaking Muslim communities in the state. Now the identity of these communities will be different from the Bengali speaking Muslims.

• These Assamese Muslim communities includes Goria, Moria, Deshi, Jolah and Syed.

• This step has been taken in line with the recommendation of sub-groups/committees constituted by the State Government.

• This group has often expressed the need for a separate identity.

• The decision has been taken following the recommendations of a panel constituted by the Assam government last year to discuss socio-economic issues related to the Assamese Muslim community of the state.

• The panel was constituted in July last year after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's meeting with Assamese Muslims from different regions.

• Why was this decision taken?

• This step has been taken to identify the 'illegal infiltrators' in Assam.

• This will help in identifying the origin of Assam i.e. Indian Muslims.

• Bangladeshi infiltrators can be driven out of the country after Indian Muslims are identified.

• Infiltration has been a major issue in Assam and other states of the Northeast.

• The most affected by these infiltrators has been in Assam.

• The move will ensure their development in health, cultural identity, education, financial inclusion, skill development and women empowerment.

• Muslims population in Assam

• Muslims constitute 34% of Assam's 3.12 crore population, of whom 4% are indigenous Assamese Muslims and the rest are mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims.

CBSE has launched the Pariksha Sangam portal

Tags: Popular National News

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched the Pariksha Sangam portal for the convenience of the students.

• Pariksha Sangam will provide at one place various examination related procedures to be conducted by the School Regional Offices and CBSE Headquarters.

• It has 3 parts – School (Ganga), Regional Office (Yamuna) and Head Office (Saraswati).

• Here complete information will be given from the registration of the student to the declaration of the board's examination results.

• Almost all the processes of CBSE are online which is going on through various portals. Now all these activities will be integrated in the Pariksha Sangam portal by CBSE.

• Students will be able to register their request for revaluation, photocopy of answer sheets through this portal.

• Apart from all this, this portal will also be used in the registration process of class 9th and 11th.

• About Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)

• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India.

• The first education board to be set up in India was the Uttar Pradesh Board of High School and Intermediate Education in 1921

• Formation- 2 July 1929

• Headquarters- New Delhi

• Chairperson- Nidhi Chibber

Start-Up Ranking of States 2021

Tags: National News

The results of the third edition of the Ranking of States on Supporting the Startup Ecosystem were released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been conducting the Startup Ranking of States since 2018.

• The Startup India initiative of the Government of India envisages building a strong startup ecosystem in the country to foster innovation and provide opportunities to budding entrepreneurs.

• This exercise plays a vital role in easing the business environment for startups in the country.

• Classification: States and Union Territories are classified into 5 categories best exhibitor

1. top performers

2. Leader

3. aspiring leader

4. Emerging Startup Ecosystem.

• About Ranking 2021

• In terms of developing the 'Start-up Ecosystem for Entrepreneurs', Gujarat, Karnataka emerged as the best performers among the states.

• Meghalaya ranks first among union territories and north-eastern states.

• Gujarat has been recognized as the best performing state for the third consecutive year.

• The states of Kerala, Odisha, Maharashtra and Telangana were the top performers.

• Among the union territories and northeastern states, Jammu and Kashmir was ranked as the top performer.

• Assam, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh emerged as the winners in the “leaders category” among the states.

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa emerged as the winners in the "leader's category" among union territories and northeastern states.

• This year's ranking was given on the basis of the period 1 October 2019 to 31 July 2021.

World Zoonoses Day

Tags: Important Days

World Zoonoses Day is observed every year on 6 July to raise awareness about the risk of zoonotic diseases.

• Important facts

• The day began on July 6, 1885, when Louis Pasteur successfully administered the first vaccine against the rabies virus.

• Zoonoses are infectious diseases (viruses, bacteria, and parasites) that spread from animals to humans.

• Some examples of zoonotic diseases are Ebola, swine flu, encephalitis, covid 19 etc.

• COVID 19 is also a zoonotic disease.

• Globally, approximately one billion cases of disease, and millions of deaths, are caused by zoonoses, and 60% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses, according to the WHO.

• Other important health related days 

• February 4- World Cancer Day

• March 21 - World Down Syndrome Day

• March 24- World Tuberculosis Day

• April 7- World Health Day

• April 17 - World Haemophilia Day

• April 25 - World Malaria Day

• July 28- World Hepatitis Day

• September 28 - World Rabies Day

• October 12- World Arthritis Day

• November 12 - World Pneumonia Day

• November 14 - World Diabetes Day

• December 1- World AIDS Day

Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022

Tags: Economy/Finance

According to the findings of the recently released Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022 by Hurun Research Institute, Bengaluru continues to be the start-up capital of India. It is home to 46 possible unicorns.

• After Bangalore, Delhi NCR has 25 potential unicorns.

• Mumbai is in third place with 16 possible unicorns.

• Important facts of the index 

• According to this index, there will be 122 new unicorns in India in the next two to four years.

• Startups Zepto, Shiprocket, Turtlemint are in the top list of potential unicorns according to this report.

• Classification of companies

• Will-Be Unicorns – Companies that were founded after 2000 and were valued at least US$1 billion.

• Gazelles – Companies that are likely to become unicorns in the next two years.

• The Gazelles are expected to be valued between USD 500 million and USD 1 billion.

• The Gazelles pack is led by Shiprocket, a five-year-old logistics tech start-up.

• Shiprocket is followed by Zepto, Turtlemint, Ather Energy and Vivriti Capital.

• The other five start-ups on the list include Ninjakart, Rapido, Dunzo, Cleartax and Twin Health.

• Cheetah – The start-up that could turn into a unicorn in the next four years.

• Pepperfry leads the cheetah pack. After this comes the number of Juspay and Mswipe Technologies.

• Sugar Cosmetics, ZestMoney, Waycool, QMath, Bluestone, Winzo are other startups in this list.

• What is a Unicorn Company?

• A unicorn is a private start-up company, valued at over USD 1 billion.

Anthrax Outbreak In Kerala’s Athirappilly Forest

Tags: State News

Kerala Health Minister Veena George recently confirmed the outbreak of anthrax after several carcasses of wild boar were found at Athirapally in Thrissur district.

• Important facts

• Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by bacteria.

• It is commonly found in the southern states of India. It is found less in the northern states.

• The disease has been reported in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Orissa and Karnataka.

• Anthrax

• Anthrax is also called Woolsorter's disease or malignant pustules.

• It is a rare but serious disease caused by a rod-shaped bacteria called Bacillus anthracis.

• These bacteria are naturally found in the soil.

• According to WHO, anthrax is a disease of herbivores that affects wild and domestic animals.

• It is a zoonotic disease; Thus, it is transferable from animals to humans.

• When wild and domestic animals come in contact with contaminated soil, water, they can become infected.

• Anthrax infection in humans

• Humans become infected with anthrax disease directly or indirectly from animals or animal products.

• Humans can become infected when they enter the body through eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated water, breathing or scratching the skin.

• Symptoms of anthrax

• The first sign is the sudden death of one or two animals within a herd of livestock species such as cattle, sheep or goats.

• Symptoms of high fever may be seen.

• Swelling, and sudden death with the absence of blood clots are common symptoms in wildlife.

PM launches Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Agradoot Newspaper Group

Tags: National News

Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Agradoot Newspaper Group were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conference on July 06, 2022.

• Important facts

• Agradoot is an Assamese language newspaper published in India.

• The Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Bishwa Sharma is the Chief Patron of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations Committee of the pioneer.

• Agradoot started as an Assamese fortnightly.

• It was founded by Kanak Sen Deka, a senior journalist from Assam.

• It started publication as a regular daily newspaper in the year 1995 and soon became the trusted and influential voice of Assam.

• The headquarters of Dainik Agradoot is at Dispur, Guwahati.

• Newspapers in india

• India's first newspaper was published by James Augustus Hickey in 1780 AD, whose name was 'The Bengal Gazette' or 'The Calcutta General Advertiser'.

• The 'India Gazette' was the second Indian newspaper published in November 1780.

• Udand Martand is India's first Hindi newspaper published in Hindi by Jugalkishore from Kanpur in 1826.

• Sulabh Samachar published by Keshavchandra Sen was an important Hindi daily paper in Bangla.

• Balakrishna Bhatt's 'Hindi Pradeep' was published from Allahabad in 1877.

• The credit for the establishment of the national press is given to Raja Rammohun Roy.

• Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar published the weekly newspaper Som Prakash.