National Startup Advisory Council''s 4th meeting

• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had constituted the National Startup Advisory Council to advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country.
• Besides the ex-officio members, the council has non-official members, representing various stakeholders such as founders of successful startups.
• The Minister also launched NavIC Grand Challenge which aims at promoting adoption of NavIC as geo-positioning solution, a key proponent for digital Aatmanirbharta.
• The applications for the grand challenge are open on Startup India’s website and it aims to identify and handhold solutions of startups which are engaged in developing NavIC enabled drones.

India should be ready to launch 6G services in 10 years: PM Narendra Modi

• In telecommunications, 6G is the sixth generation standard currently under development for wireless communications technologies supporting cellular data networks.
• It is the planned successor to 5G and will likely be significantly faster.
• Like its predecessors, 6G networks will probably be broadband cellular networks, in which the service area is divided into small geographical areas called cells.
• 6G networks are likely to support applications beyond current mobile use scenarios, such as virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), ubiquitous instant communications, pervasive intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Urban heat islands: why are cities hotter than rural areas

• An urban heat island is a local and temporary phenomenon experienced when certain pockets within a city experience higher heat load than surrounding or neighbouring areas on the same day.
• These are not the typical islands around water bodies, but urban heat islands that record higher day temperatures than other localities.
• The temperature variation can range between 3 to 5 degrees Celsius.
• For example, a greener locality like Pashan in Pune often records cooler temperatures than urban areas like Shivajinagar, Chinchwad or Magarpatta.
• The variations are mainly due to heat remaining trapped within locations that often resemble concrete jungles.
• Rural areas have relatively larger green cover in the form of plantations, farmlands, forests and trees as compared to urban spaces. This green cover plays a major role in regulating heat in its surroundings.
• Cities usually have buildings constructed with glass, bricks, cement and concrete — all of which are dark-coloured materials, meaning they attract and absorb higher heat content.

Indian delegation lights up red carpet at Cannes

• Mame Khan, a traditional Manganiyar singer from Rajasthan, became the first folk artiste to open the red carpet event for the Indian contingent. He will also perform at the festival.
• He belongs to the Manganiyar community, a Muslim community found in the desert of Rajasthan, mostly in the districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer.
• Manganiyars along with the, Langha community, are known for their folk music.
• Their songs are passed on from generation to generation as a form of oral history of the desert.
• Their key Instruments are Kamaicha, Khartaal and Dholak.

Record spike in WPI inflation

• The heatwave led to a spike in prices of perishables such as fruits, vegetables and milk, which, along with a spike in tea prices, pushed up primary food inflation.
• The core-WPI inflation rose to a four-month high of 11.1% in April, with producers forced to pass on the input price pressures. Fuel inflation rose to 38.66 per cent, while inflation for manufactured products rose to 10.85 per cent.
• Much of the inflation spike is being seen as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the contribution in retail inflation being seen at three-fourths of the index.
• WPI inflation has been in double digits for the thirteenth months in a row now.
• With WPI inflation remaining in double-digits, the probability of a repo hike in the June monetary policy has risen further.

Vadnagar’s ties with Buddhism, and Govt’s push to make it a heritage site

• In 2006, the Gujarat state archaeology department began excavations in Vadnagar, a small town in Mehsana district of north Gujarat.
• In 2014, the excavation work was taken over by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the combined efforts have thrown up Buddhist relics and around 20,000 artefacts, some dating back to the 2nd century.
• Among these, senior ASI officials revealed, are an elliptical structure and a circular stupa along with a square memorial stupa of 2×2 metres and 130 centimetres in height with a wall enclosure.
• Vadnagar is mentioned often in the Puranas and even in the travelogue of the great Chinese traveler, Hiuen Tsang (7th century), as a rich and flourishing town.
• Gujarat government has also launched the Tana-Riri annual music festival at Vadnagar in the name of two sisters, who were gifted singers, and who, by Gujarati folk lore, gave up their lives instead of agreeing to sing in the court of Emperor Akbar.

Indians’ preference for sons, and Meghalaya women prefer more daughters

• The number of married people (age 15-49) who want more sons than daughters is several times the number who want more daughters than sons. In spite of these preferences, most Indians still believe an ideal family should include at least one daughter.
• Among the states and UTs, men in Mizoram (37%), Lakshadweep (34%) and Manipur (33%), and women in Bihar (31%) show the strongest preference for more sons than daughters.
• The only exception is women in Meghalaya, among whom the preference for more daughters than sons is more prevalent than the preference for more sons than daughters.
• The explanation for Meghalaya women’s preference for daughters is that it is a matrilineal society.

How pollution continues to be a giant killer in India

• This is the largest number of air-pollution-related deaths of any country, according to a recent report on pollution and health published in The Lancet Planetary Health.
• The majority of the 16.7 lakh air pollution-related deaths in India – 9.8 lakh — were caused by PM2.5 pollution, and another 6.1 lakh by household air pollution.
• According to the report, air pollution is most severe in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This area contains New Delhi and many of the most polluted cities.
• Burning of biomass in households was the single largest cause of air pollution deaths in India, followed by coal combustion and crop burning.
• Globally, air pollution alone contributes to 66.7 lakh deaths, according to the report, which updates a previous analysis from 2015.