Headlines at a Glance – 29th December 2021
PM launches blockchain-based digital degrees at IIT Kanpur
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a system to award blockchain-based educational degrees in digital form to students. These digital degrees can be verified globally and are unforgeable, according to the IIT Kanpur director. The technology has been developed by the institute under the National Blockchain Project. The blockchain system works on the principle of decentralisation. This means that the control is not in the hands of a central agency, but to a distributed network of nodes.This will help in keeping the data safe even if any specific node is compromised. The blockchain technology can simplify the tedious task of maintaining the records of students by making them digitised. Also, the students will be able to access their records remotely.
SOURCE: Hindustan Times
Home Minister Chairs 3rd meeting of Apex Level Committee of Narco Coordination Center
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Narendra Modi’s government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs. He said, it should be ensured that the drug supply network in the country must be destroyed. Mr. Shah today chaired the third meeting of the Apex Level Committee of the Narco Coordination Center organized by the Narcotics Control Bureau in New Delhi today. On this occasion, the Union Home Minister said, it has to be ensured that the vision of drug-free India given to us by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to be realized during the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. He said the government believes that the problem of drug addiction is a big challenge for national security and it can be tackled only with close coordination among different agencies.
SOURCE: The Hindu
RBI releases report on “Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21”
Despite the pandemic, asset quality in the banking sector has improved. The gross non-performing asset ratio (GNPA) for scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) decreased to 6.9% as at the end of September from 7.3% in March, and 8.2% in FY20, due to lower slippages, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday. In absolute terms, the gross bad loans of banks stood at Rs 8.37 lakh crore at the end of March, lower than Rs 8.99 lakh crore a year ago. With the decline in delinquencies, the provisioning requirements of banks have also dropped and the net NPA ratio of both public and private sector lenders decreased to 3.1% and 1.4%, respectively, as per the RBI’s report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21.
SOURCE: Financial Express
DRDO hands over technology of extreme cold clothing system to 5 Indian firms
Technology for indigenous extreme cold weather clothing system (ECWCS) was handed over to five Indian companies by Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Dr G Satheesh Reddy in the national capital on Monday, informing the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday. As per the ministry, the extreme ECWCS is required by the Indian Army for its sustained operations in glacier and Himalayan peaks. The Army, till recently has been importing extreme cold weather clothing and several Special Clothing and Mountaineering Equipment (SCME) items for the troops deployed in high altitude regions.
SOURCE: The Indian Express
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