System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting Research (SAFAR) operates under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
It facilitates information on air quality, weather and radiation (Ultraviolet index).
The UV index is a rough measure of the amount of harmful ultraviolet radiation in the sunlight reaching the earth.
SAFAR has been operational in Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi and will also be set up in Ahmedabad.
SAFAR’s recent data shows that Delhi faced a high risk of ultraviolet radiation.
Mumbai has been at medium risk while Pune is in the low-risk zone.
In Pune, although the temperature was high, the UV index remained in low risk zone as there are still a lot of aerosol particles in the atmosphere which scatter back the ultraviolet dose.
In Delhi, there is not much variation between maximum and minimum temperatures and, hence, the UV index has been high.
Urumin
Researchers has identified a new “Peptide” and named it as “Urumin”.
Peptide is a chemical compound that is composed of a chain of two or more amino acids and is usually smaller than a protein.
Many hormones and antibiotics are peptides.
Researchers found the new peptide from Skin mucus secreted by a frog species native to Kerala.
The new peptide can be used to develop an anti-viral drug that can destroy various strains of flu, especially H1 flu virus which is responsible for swine flu pandemic.
BCIM Corridor
The negotiations on the stalled Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic corridor are set to resume.
BCIM corridor aims to connect Kolkata with Kunming, capital of the Yunnan Province in China through Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Starting from Kunming, the route passes through nodal points in Myanmar (Mandalay and Lashio), Manipur & Silchar, Bangladesh (Sylhet and Dhaka) and extending towards Cox Bazaar and Chittagong.
The corridor envisages formation of a thriving economic belt, focusing on cross border transport, energy and telecommunication networks.
Sahitya Akademi Award
The English translation of writer Perumal Murugan’s novel Mathorubhagan (One Part Woman) has won the Sahitya Akademi’s award for translation in English.
Sahitya Akademi award is conferred on the writers of outstanding of literary works published in any of the 24 Indian languages (including the 22 listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, along with English and Rajasthan) recognized by the Akademi.
Sahitya Akademi Award is the second highest honor conferred by the Sahitya akademi next to Sahitya akademi Fellowship.
