Union Minister for the Development of the North East Region Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday launched the North East Region Agri Commodity E-Connect (NERACE) designed to benefit the farmers of the region and help position it as a hub of high-value horticultural products in the international market.

The NERACE app is intended to support agricultural and horticultural products such as spices, fruits, vegetables, pulses, cereals, and minor forest products.

Furthermore, the NE-RACE App is designed to promote Northeast as a reliable partner in the international agricultural value chain.

The two-day-long Foundation and Technology Day of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) began in New Delhi today. On the first day today, school students were invited to get knowledge about agriculture and allied technologies. The students also saw an exhibition organised on the occasion based on Agri-innovations and technologies.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan will officially inaugurate the foundation day event tomorrow in the presence of Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Bhagirath Choudhary and Ram Nath Thakur.

In a press conference today, the Secretary (Agriculture Research and Education) and DG ICAR Himanshu Pathak emphasized the Council’s key initiatives such as ‘100 Days 100 Varieties’, ‘100 Days 100 Technologies’, and ‘One Scientist One Product’. He highlighted recent developments in technologies related to water management, soil health, organic farming, seed technology, and agricultural tools.

The two-day-long Foundation and Technology Day of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) began in New Delhi today. On the first day today, school students were invited to get knowledge about agriculture and allied technologies. The students also saw an exhibition organised on the occasion based on Agri-innovations and technologies.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan will officially inaugurate the foundation day event tomorrow in the presence of Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Bhagirath Choudhary and Ram Nath Thakur.

In a press conference today, the Secretary (Agriculture Research and Education) and DG ICAR Himanshu Pathak emphasized the Council’s key initiatives such as ‘100 Days 100 Varieties’, ‘100 Days 100 Technologies’, and ‘One Scientist One Product’. He highlighted recent developments in technologies related to water management, soil health, organic farming, seed technology, and agricultural tools.

The past few years have brought many challenges, including health, economic, and geopolitical instability, as well as increasing social and environmental pressures worldwide. These changes have significantly impacted the world of work and will continue to shape the demand for specific skills in the future.

According to a recent LinkedIn report, the skills needed for jobs in India have already shifted by 30% due to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), and this rapid transformation projects the demand for new skills globally will increase by a staggering 68% by 2030 as AI continues to reshape the workplace.

As technologies continue to emerge with their rapid adoption, Upwork, an American freelancing platform, indicates that data science and analytics are experiencing rapid growth. At the same time, generative AI modelling and machine learning are the fastest-growing skills within this domain.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi felicitated sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik at his residence in Bhubaneswar on Saturday for winning the Golden Sand Master Award with a gold medal at the International Sand Sculpture Championship held in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Chief Minister's office said.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said that while Pattnaik's talent has made him famous at the individual level, it has also made Odisha proud. "He is Odisha's and the country's pride," the CM added.

CM Majhi noted that having won numerous national and international competitions, Pattnaik continues to excel in sand art. The Chief Minister expressed hope that he will achieve even greater fame in the coming days.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working on a novel approach to its artificial intelligence models in a project code-named “Strawberry,” according to a person familiar with the matter and internal documentation.

The project, details of which have not been previously reported, comes as the Microsoft-backed startup races to show that the types of models it offers are capable of delivering advanced reasoning capabilities.

Teams inside OpenAI are working on Strawberry, according to a copy of a recent internal OpenAI document seen by Reuters in May. Reuters could not ascertain the precise date of the document, which details a plan for how OpenAI intends to use Strawberry to perform research. The source described the plan to Reuters as a work in progress. The news agency could not establish how close Strawberry is to being publicly available.

G20 Sherpa of India, Amitabh Kant today said that India has achieved in 9 years what would have taken 50 years without Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). Mr Kant said this on the occasion of the release of the final Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure. He said India is far ahead in terms of digitisation and with UPI being used from street vendors to large shopping malls, the country has the highest digital transactions globally. Mr Kant highlighted that with the transfer of 4.5 billion dollars into the bank accounts of 16 crore beneficiaries, India’s DPI proved to be a building block in steering the country through the pandemic. He also said that the report will be the guiding North Star for the world to follow.

Speaking on the occasion, Co-Chair of Task Force, Nandan Nilekani said that Governments and businesses around the world are increasingly realising that if they really want to achieve SDGs and social goals like inclusive growth, they have to have underlying DPI to make that happen.

India is hosting for the first time the UNESCO’s prestigious World Heritage Committee meeting from 21st-31st July, 2024 in New Delhi. As an integral part of the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee, and in the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, the Ministry of Culture is hosting the 2024 World Heritage Young Professionals Forum.

Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology, a sub-office under the Archaeological Survey of India is hosting the Young Professionals Forum under the theme of World Heritage in the 21st Century: Building Capacities and Exploring Opportunities for Youth from 14th to 23rd July 2024, at New Delhi.

The event was inaugurated today in the presence of Chief guest, Sh. Govind Mohan, Secretary Ministry of Culture along with Sh. Yadubir Singh Rawat, Director General, ASI, Sh. Vishal Sharma, Ambassador to UNESCO, Sh. Alok Tripathi, ADG (Archaeology), ASI, Sh. Janhwij Sharma, ADG, ASI, Ms Ines Yousfi, Project Officer from UNESCO.

The All-India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in New Delhi successfully concluded its Second National Seminar SAUSHRUTAM Shalya Sangoshti, marking the celebration of Sushruta Jayanti-2024. The three-day event, which began on July 13, honored Sushruta, widely regarded as the father of surgery.

The seminar featured an impressive lineup of dignitaries, including Prof. Sandeep Kumar, Founder Director of AIIMS Bhopal, as the Chief Guest, and Padamshri Prof. Manoranjan Sahu, Founder Director of AIIA Delhi, among others as Guests of Honor.

AIIA Director Prof. (Dr) Tanuja Nesari and Prof Dr Yogesh Badwe, HoD Shalyatantra, welcomed the attendees and provided an overview of the seminar.

A highlight of the event was the live demonstration of 25 complex surgical procedures, offering participants a unique opportunity to observe and learn from renowned surgeons.

Vikram Misri assumed the charge of Foreign Secretary of India on Monday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) expressed warm regards and best wishes to Foreign Secretary Misri for a successful tenure ahead.

“Shri Vikram Misri assumed charge as Foreign Secretary today. #TeamMEA extends a warm welcome to Foreign Secretary Misri and wishes him a successful tenure ahead,” said MEA spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal in a post on X.

Misri, 59, succeeds Vinay Mohan Kwatra, whose tenure was marked by notable achievements in foreign policy and national security. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar acknowledged Kwatra’s contributions, particularly highlighting his strategic acumen in shaping and executing key policies over the past decade.X