Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
On the sidelines of the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention,the PM has announced a scheme to skill Indian youth seeking jobs abroad.
Details:-
- It is aimed at skilling Indians seeking employment abroad.
- The programme is also aimed at boosting the confidence of the Indian youth so that they don’t feel like strangers when they land in a country of their choice for vocation.
- PKVY will train and certify Indians, who are keen on overseas employment in select sectors, in line with international standards.
- It will be implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation through its training partners and in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Skill Development Ministry.
Humanoid robot Jia Jia, created by a team of engineers from the University of Science and Technology of China, is pictured following a presentation at a conference in Shanghai on January 9, 2017. Jia Jia can hold a simple conversation and make specific facial expressions when asked, and her creator believes the eerily life-like robot heralds a future of cyborg labour in China. She is billed as China’s first human-like robot
New fault in Indian Ocean may trigger quakes in future: study
A new plate boundary may be forming on the floor of the Indian Ocean as a result of the largest earthquake that shook the Andaman-Sumatra region in 2012, according to scientists who warn that the new fault system could trigger more quakes in the future.
Researchers, including those from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, have found evidence of a possible new plate boundary forming on the floor of the Indian Ocean in the Wharton Basin.
A slip-strike quake occurs when two plates slide horizontally against one another. Such quakes can be caused by deformations that occur in plates distant from fault lines as pressure builds up across a plate. They can lead to inter-plate earthquakes and cause a plate to break, resulting in a new boundary and this in turn can lead to even more quakes. It is this scenario that the researchers believe happened in 2012 when two earthquakes struck the Andaman-Sumatran region (north-west part) of the Indian Ocean — the largest inter-plate earthquakes ever recorded.
Pre-historic camping site found in Ladakh
In what is considered “a new opening in Indian archaeology”, an ancient camping site used by pre-historic man and datable to circa 8500 BCE, has been found at an altitude of about 4,200 metres near Saser La in the Nubra Valley, Ladakh. Saser La leads to the Karakoram Pass.
A camping site is a place where hunter-gatherers stayed temporarily before they moved on to another place. S.B. Ota, Joint Director General, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), found the camping site during an exploration there in 2015-16. Charcoal pieces from hearth activity and remains of bones associated with it were found at the site.
Rakesh Tewari, Director General, ASI, called it “the earliest camping site in Ladakh”. Such an early antiquity on the basis of a scientific date is the very first for that region. This date has generated a lot of in-house discussion and excitement in the ASI.”
“a camping site” is “a seasonal settlement, not a permanent settlement.” The camping site found near Saser La was “an ideal place for camping in a picturesque setting”.
Ladakh is famous for its Himalayan mountain ranges, its spectacular glaciers, passes, valleys and the Buddhist monasteries. But not much archaeological importance was attached to the region.
‘Remarkable discovery’
Only 6th century CE to 7th century CE remains were reported in Ladakh. Rough terrain, high altitudes and extreme weather made it difficult for any explorer to undertake archaeological expeditions in the region.
‘Missing element’ in earth’s core identified; scientists say it is silicon