Tamil writer Perumal Murugan’s novel ‘Fire Bird’, translated into English by Janani Kannan, won the 2023 JCB Prize for Literature, which was announced in New Delhi on Saturday. The book was published by Penguin Random House India. As neither Murugan nor Kannan were present at the award ceremony, publisher and author Manasi Subramaniam received the prize on their behalf.

The chair of the five-member jury of the JCB Prize, author Srinath Perur, said, “In ‘Fire Bird’, Murugan takes a universal story of lives that are tied to land and tells it with astonishing particularity. Janani Kannan’s translation carries into English the rhythms not only of Tamil but of an entire way of being in the world.”

NeevCloud, has today announced the launch of the country's first AI SuperCloud. The company aims to make India self-reliant on AI and Supercomputing and help users in resolving India's core challenges by deploying AI cloud infrastructure including 40,000 GPUs and storage worth $1.5 billion by 2026.

MeitY's India AI 2023 report expects AI to add USD 967 billion to the Indian economy by 2035 and $450-500 billion by 2025 accounting for 10% of the $5 trillion GDP target by 2027. MSMEs are expected to be the major contributors to the growth in India, however there are challenges in terms of affordability, billing, transparency, and personalized support.

NeevCloud aims to solve these challenges and democratize access to AI and supercomputing for all enterprises, startups by introducing 'AI Supercomputing as a Service' model and providing the world's lowest prices for Cloud GPUs at $1.69/hour reducing costs by up to 50%. It can enable companies to leverage Generative AI and deploy Large Language Models (LLM) across various use cases capable of solving India's unique challenges.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

The World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) is a global campaign to raise awareness and understanding of AMR and promote best practices among One Health stakeholders to reduce the emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. WAAW is celebrated from 18-24 November every year.

The theme for WAAW 2023 will remain "Preventing antimicrobial resistance together", as in 2022. AMR is a threat to humans, animals, plants and the environment. It affects us all.

That is why this year's theme calls for cross-sectoral collaboration to preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials. To effectively reduce AMR, all sectors must use antimicrobials prudently and appropriately, take preventive measures to decrease the incidence of infections and follow good practices in disposal of antimicrobial contaminated waste.

The platform, consisting of comprehensive information on incubators and accelerators, will help start-ups navigate an uncertain entrepreneurial ecosystem.

IIT Madras’ Centre for Research on Start-ups and Risk Financing (CREST) has developed India’s first information platform on incubators and accelerators in collaboration with YNOS, an IIT Madras-incubated start-up.

According to a press release, the AI-powered platform consists of comprehensive information on incubators and accelerators, which play an important role in helping start-ups navigate an uncertain entrepreneurial ecosystem. The primary objective of the platform is to enable entrepreneurs to identify, compare, and analyze the incubator most suitable for their start-up.

A specialized Teacher Training Workshop convened at CSIR-CSIO in Chandigarh on November 20th, 2023 marked a significant milestone in the realm of science education. The workshop, organized as part of Knowledge and Awareness Mapping Platform (KAMP)'s third Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program for educators in collaboration with the CSIR – Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), brought together over 40 enthusiastic teachers from diverse schools.

The central theme of the workshop, "Nano Quest – A Journey of Exploration through Nanoworld," underscored the commitment of educators to enhance their knowledge and teaching skills in the field of science education. The diverse training modules covered various facets of science education, providing a unique opportunity for educators to learn from esteemed scientists and experts associated with CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh.

The 2-week Capacity Building Programme (CBP) for civil servants of Arunachal Pradesh unveiled at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) Mussoorie on 20th November, 2023. This is in furtherance to further improve the governance and public service delivery in North-East and Border States as per the guidance and directions of Honorable Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. An MoU was signed with NCGG in 2022 to train 500 officers of Arunachal Pradesh over the next five years. As part of the agreement, NCGG has already imparted training to 113 officers including the 30 participants of the ongoing 4th Capacity Building Programme.

The two-week capacity building programme has been scientifically tailored by the NCGG team and included the exchange of vast information, knowledge, new ideas, and best practices that promote citizen-centric governance. The sessions for each training programme were firmed up by the NCGG faculty based on the need of the state and in consultation with Government of Arunachal Pradesh. This capacity-building programme will help the civil servants in putting up dedicated efforts to fill in the gaps between policies and implementation in their respective work places.

Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) began today in Goa. The 25 Feature films and 20 Non-Feature films will be screened in this section. The opening film of Indian Panorama section was Malayalam movie Aattam, directed by Anand Ekarshi. ‘Andro Dreams,’ a Manipuri documentary directed by Longjam Meena Devi, was the opening film in the Non-Feature film section.

Other movies to be showcased in the Indian Panorama section include Vivek Agnihotri directed Hindi film ‘The Vaccine War’, Sudipto Sen directed The Kerala Story, Kannada film Kantara directed by Rishab Shetty and Bengali film Ardhangini directed by Kaushik Ganguly. Since its inception in 1978, the Indian Panorama is devoted to showcasing the best Indian films of the year distinguished by cinematic, thematic and aesthetic excellence.

Often called the fabric of the nation, S.Kumars, one of the most enduring brands in the country since 1948, turns 75 in 2023. A book, Thread by Thread, on the life of Shambhu Kumar or ‘the’ S Kumar will be released by Kapil Dev, on November 24, 2023 at The Palace Halls, NSCI, Mumbai; the cover of the book was launched at the company’s fashion show in Indore on October 27th. Kapil Dev has been a brand ambassador for S.Kumars for their tv and print campaigns in the 80s and 2000s. The book has been written by noted journalist and author Sathya Saran and published by Penguin Random House. The book launch will include readings by Sathya and Sharon Prabhakar who is also the host for the evening.

Shambhu Kumar pioneered the introduction of Polyester Blends in India, which boosted the manufacturing and consumption of affordable, long-lasting fabrics for the middle class and the lower income groups. He lived by the motto “Best Possible Quality at the Lowest Possible Price.” With his dynamism, zeal, and vision, he soon established S.Kumars as the Fabric of India.

An amount of ₹18,624 crore is estimated to be spent on the establishment of the unit to be set up by Meja Utpadan Nigam Ltd, a joint venture of Uprvunl and NTPC

LUCKNOW The UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (Uprvunl) and the NTPC will jointly set up 1,600mw Anpara-E thermal power plant in Sonbhadra district to boost availability of electricity in the state.

The Uprvunl board on Monday gave approval to a proposal in this regard in a meeting chaired by Ashish Kumar Goyel, chairman of all the energy corporations in the state. The proposal will be sent to the state government for further approval.

World Fisheries Day is observed annually on November 21st to raises awareness about the importance of fisheries and advocates for sustainable fishing practices to preserve marine ecosystems and support the livelihoods of millions dependent on fisheries worldwide.

Theme

The theme for World Fisheries Day 2023 is ‘Celebrating the Wealth of Fisheries and Aquaculture'.

To celebrate the contribution and achievements of fishers and fish farmers and other stakeholders and reinforce commitment towards sustainable and equitable development of the Fisheries sector, Department of Fisheries, GoI is hosting the Global Fisheries Conference India 2023. This two-day conference is scheduled for November 21st and 22nd, 2023, to take place at Gujarat Science City in Ahmedabad.

History

In 1997, the "World Forum of Fish Harvesters & Fish Workers" met in New Delhi, leading to the establishment of the "World Fisheries Forum." Representatives from 18 countries signed a declaration advocating for global adoption of sustainable fishing practices and policies.