Esteemed Tamil author, Sivasankari, has been recently conferred with the esteemed Saraswati Samman 2022. The prestigious award was bestowed upon her for her memoir titled “Surya Vamsam.” This two-volume memoir is a reflection of the author’s literary journey and societal transformations witnessed over seven decades.
The Saraswati Samman is awarded each year to Indian literary works published within the past ten years in any of 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Presented by the K.K. Birla Foundation, the award includes a citation, plaque, and a cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh. Regarded as one of the highest accolades in Indian literature, it stands alongside other foundation instituted awards like the Vyas Samman and the Bihari Puraskar.
NASA Detects Carbon and Water in Asteroid Bennu Samples
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has confirmed the presence of high-carbon content and water-bearing clay minerals in samples retrieved from the asteroid Bennu. Discovered in 1999 by the NASA-funded Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research team, Bennu is an ancient asteroid with an estimated age of 4.5 billion years that passes close to Earth every six years.
The samples from Bennu serve as a ‘time capsule’ from our solar system’s early days, providing vital information about the origins of life and the nature of asteroids. The retrieval of these samples was made possible through NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx), launched in 2016. The findings from these samples are expected to further our understanding of asteroids, including potential threats to Earth.
Passport to Earning (P2E) Initiative by UNICEF
UNICEF’s Passport to Earning (P2E) program is a global learning-to-earning solution that has skilled and certified over a million youngsters in India in areas such as financial literacy and digital productivity. The initiative, which aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, provides free access to courses in digital productivity, financial literacy, employability skills, and other sought-after, job-ready skills.
Interestingly, adolescent girls and young women make up 62% of P2E’s beneficiaries in India. With its objective of providing sustainable long-term skills to 5 million Indian youth aged between 14-29 by 2024 and connecting them to employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, P2E is making significant contributions to India’s educational and economic sectors.
INS Sagardhwani Sets Sail for Mission Sagar Maitri
INS Sagardhwani, the oceanographic research vessel under the Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi affiliated with the DRDO, recently embarked on the Sagar Maitri (SM) Mission-4 from Southern Naval Command (SNC), Kochi. The mission involves scientific deployments in the Northern Arabian Sea and collaborative research programs with international institutions, including Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.
Launched in July 1994, INS Sagardhwani is an indigenously constructed marine acoustic research ship. The vessel’s mission and collaboration efforts are aimed at fostering stronger working relationships between Indian and IOR ocean researchers.