Professor Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and Dr. Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, today (June 25, 2024) attended the 23rd Foundation Day of the Society for Electronic Transactions and Security (SETS) in Chennai. Prof. Sood also inaugurated the Quantum Security Research Lab on the occasion.

Conceived by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2002, SETS, an initiative of the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, is a cybersecurity R&D organization pursuing research in the core areas of cyber security, cryptology, hardware security, quantum security, and network security.

The celebration kicked off with Dr. N Subramanian, Executive Director, SETS extending a warm welcome and delivering a brief on SETS’ research and development activities. He mentioned that SETS has developed futuristic solutions like Post Quantum VPN, Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG), Key Distillation Engine (KDE) for Quantum Key Distribution, PKI solution, Ransomware Early Detection Solution, Security for Blockchain, etc. SETS is working with various academic institutions including IITs and IISc Bangalore, government agencies, national R&D organizations, and user agencies such Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and state governments for collaborative research and innovation.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs commemorated today the 9th anniversary of three landmark initiatives: the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the Smart Cities Mission, and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U). These initiatives, launched on June 25, 2015, by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, have collectively transformed urban infrastructure and improved the quality of life for millions of residents across India.

While briefing the media on the occasion, Additional Secretary, AMRUT, Smt D Thara, and Joint Secretary, PMAY- Urban Shri Kuldeep Narayan, outlined the progress of the respective missions since their inception. Smt Thara emphasised on capacity building and involvement of women and youth in the implementation of AMRUT projects at the grassroots.

Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry is rolling out Safai Apnao, Bimaari Bhagao initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 from 1st July to 31st August. This initiative seeks to enhance the preparedness of Urban Local Bodies to handle the challenges posed by heavy rainfall and heightened health risks during the months of June to August. It aligns with the Health Ministry’s ‘STOP Diarrhoea Campaign’. The initiative seeks a collaborative effort among various line Ministries and Departments and inter-sectoral convergence to deal with challenges associated with cleanliness and diseases during the monsoon season. The Safai Apnao, Bimaari Bhagao initiative calls for comprehensive interventions focusing on cleanliness, advocacy and inter-departmental convergence to be implemented by all Urban Local Bodies.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing on Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement with the All India Council for Technical Education to create an ecosystem for human resource development in high-performance computing and allied areas.

Around 2,500 faculty members from about 1,000 engineering colleges across India will be trained through 50 faculty development programmes under the joint initiative by C-DAC and AICTE.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology plans to teach high-performance computing-related topics to about 50,000 students as a part of their curriculum.

Ladakh has become the first administrative unit to achieve full functional literacy under the ULLAS-Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (New India Literacy Program). Lieutenant Governor Dr. BD Mishra made this announcement during a celebration at Sindhu Sanskritik Kendra in Leh on Tuesday.

The Union Territory has surpassed 97% literacy, marking a major success for the centrally sponsored scheme aimed at empowering adults aged 15 and above with foundational literacy, numeracy, and critical life skills.

At the event, which included the felicitation of neo-literates and volunteer teachers, Dr. Mishra encouraged new learners and volunteers to embrace lifelong learning. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for introducing the National Education Policy 2020, which he said “paves the way for the future growth of the country.”

Indian Air Force today conducted a capstone seminar marking the culmination of the No. 3 Warfare and Aerospace Strategy Program, WASP at the Air Force Auditorium in New Delhi. The seminar with the theme “India’s Strategic Culture and Imperative for Contemporary National Security’ was conducted under the aegis of the College of Air Warfare and Centre for Air Power Studies. WASP is a strategic education programme of 15 weeks’ duration which was started in 2022 to provide the participants with a deep understanding of geo-politics, grand strategy and Comprehensive National Power. The broader aim is to nurture critical thinkers who can blend cross-domain knowledge to generate policy-driving ideas at the strategic level.

The participants underwent intensive training in the fields of Strategy, Military History, Civil-Military relations, Higher Defence Organisation, Aerospace Power, Information Warfare, Technology and Hybrid Warfare. The program was guided by an external faculty consisting of accomplished practitioner-scholars with extensive teaching and research experience. The graduates of the program were awarded a PG diploma in Strategic Studies by Rashtriya Raksha University.

This edition of WASP saw tri-services participation for the first time. The participants comprised fourteen officers from Indian Air Force, two officers from the Indian Navy, one officer from the Indian Army and a research scholar.

THE CONGRESS announced on Tuesday evening that senior party leader and MP Rahul Gandhi will be the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.

Announcing the decision after a meeting of the INDIA bloc floor leaders at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, party general secretary in-charge of organisation K C Venugopal said CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi had written to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, informing him about the decision. “Other office-bearers will be decided later,” he said.

This will be the first time in 10 years that the Lok Sabha will have a Leader of Opposition. The Congress failed to get the required 10 per cent seats (54) to secure the post in the last two elections. While it had 44 Lok Sabha members in 2014 and 52 in 2019, it now has 98.

The government has appointed Girija Subramanian as chairman and managing director (CMD) of the largest general insurer, New India Assurance, effective from June 19, 2024, until she attains the age of superannuation or until further orders.

Subramanian holds a bachelor's degree in statistics. She is a fellow member of the Insurance Institute of India and also an associate member of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London.

She started her career as a direct recruit officer in GIC Re in 1988. In a career spanning over 34 years, she worked in reinsurance departments across various lines of business, including aviation, life, health, and property classes. Subramanian was the CMD of AIC of India (from September 2022) before assuming charge as CMD, New India Assurance.

Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani is set to be the next Vice Chief of Army Staff with the government clearing his appointment to the post, official sources said on Thursday. The officer, who is presently helming the Army's Central Command, will succeed Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi.

Lt Gen Dwivedi, currently serving as the Vice Chief, will be the next Chief of the Army Staff when incumbent Gen Manoj Pande retires on June 30.

Lt Gen Subramani has been appointed as the next Vice Chief, military sources said.

Taking a significant step towards India and Bangladesh academic jointness encompassing the strategic and operational matter, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two countries.

“Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington and Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC), Mirpur, Dhaka have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation concerning Military Education in the field of Strategic and Operational Studies,” the Defence Ministry said on Monday.

This MoU, added MoD, will assist in enhancing professional acumen, provide deep insight into strategic affairs, assist in sharing best practices and expertise as well as augment the academic capabilities of student officers and faculty members. It will facilitate conduct of training packages, Joint Seminars, faculty exchanges, reciprocal instructor visits to name a few.