Monthly Roundup: Bihar's gold deposits, the world's largest plant, and the world's oldest settlement, among other things!
GSI survey says: 230 mn tonnes of Gold reserve found in Bihar's Jamui district
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) in a survey has found that around 222.88 million tonnes of gold reserve, including 37.6 tonnes of mineral-rich ore, are present in Jamui district of Bihar. The state government has now decided to accord permission for exploration of the "country's largest" gold reserve in Jamui district,
Union Minister of Mines Pralhad Joshi had last year informed the Lok Sabha that Bihar holds the highest share of India's gold reserves. In a written reply, he had said that Bihar has 222.885 million tonnes of gold metal, which amounts to 44 per cent of the total gold reserves in the country.
IIT Madras, Indian Railways collaborate to develop India’s first Indigenous hyperloop
IIT Madras and the Indian Railways have announced a collaboration as a part of which they will develop India’s first indigenous hyperloop. In addition to this, they will also help set-up a Centre of Excellence for Hyperloop Technologies in India.
As a part of collaboration, the Indian Railways will provide manufacturing assistance and an estimated financial suppory of Rs 8.34 crores. This project will not only provide a faster and low-cost alternative to traditional commutation but it will also prove to be a major step in making India Carbon Neutral.
Indians knew the use of iron 4200 years ago: Excavations in Tamil Nadu show
The Iron Age in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu stretches back 4,200 years, according to iron implements discovered during excavations in a small hamlet named Mayiladumparai, potentially making it the oldest in India for the time being.
Archaeologists also discovered that black and red ware pottery were introduced during the late Neolithic period, rather than the Iron Age, as previously thought.
State of the World’s Birds Report 2022
In the recently released State of the World’s Birds Report by Birdlife International, environmentalists have reported that expanding human footprint on the natural world and climate change is one of the major reasons of population decline of birds.
Approximately 48 per cent of extant bird species worldwide (5,245) are known or suspected to be undergoing population declines, compared with 39 per cent (4,295) with stable trends, 6 per cent (676) showing increasing populations trends, and 7 per cent (778) with unknown trends. Threatened species are concentrated in the tropics, which host the richest avian diversity.
NASA's InSight Mars lander running out of power
The InSight lander is losing power because of all the dust on its solar panels. NASA said on May 17 that it will keep using the spacecraft’s seismometer to register marsquakes until the power peters out, likely in July. Then flight controllers will monitor InSight until the end of this year, before calling everything off.
NASA's two other functioning spacecraft on the Martian surface — rovers Curiosity and Perseverance — are still going strong thanks to nuclear power.
Mysterious Metal Balls Fall From Space In Gujarat
Locals of three villages of Anand district in Gujarat rushed out of their homes after they heard a loud thud that shook the ground. They saw ‘meteorite’ like objects crashing onto the ground that fell from space.
Around 4.45 pm on May 12, the first large, black metal ball, weighing around five kg, fell in Bhalej, and thereafter in Khambholaj and Rampura — all located within 15 kilometers from each other.
Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar took charge as the 25th chief election commissioner (CEC) on Sunday and the first major task before him will be to hold the president and the vice president elections, which are due shortly.
Rajiv Kumar Appointed 25th Chief Election Commissioner of India
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday appointed Rajiv Kumar, the senior-most Election Commissioner, as the new Chief Election Commissioner.
A retired Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer of the 1984 Jharkhand cadre, he replaced Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa in August 2020. Kumar served as the union finance secretary from September 2017 to February 2020. He was then appointed as Chairperson of the Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
Historic Sawa Lake disappears from Iraqi map
Lake Sawa, located in Muthanna governorate in southern Iraq, has completely dried up, and so this unique water spot that was located in the middle of the arid desert for thousands of years has disappeared.
The name of this lake was mentioned in history books and religious novels, some of which mention that its waters raged on the day of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Iraqis call the salty lake the Pearl of the South, and its water contains minerals used for medicinal purposes.
GRSE launches Fast Patrol Vessel, ICGS Kamla Devi
The Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, which has built and delivered over 100 ships to the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard and the 1st shipyard in the country to have exported a warship,GRSE has already completed construction of five ships of this series well within schedule. HThese ships are used for anti-smuggling, anti-poaching and rescue operations at sea.
These ships are equipped with 03 nos Main Engines with advanced control systems, Water Jet units and an ‘Integrated Bridge System’ integrating all Communication and Navigation Systems. These ships are also fitted with 40/60 Gun as main armament and will also have improved habitability features with fully air-conditioned modular accommodation for 35 personnel.
Odisha’s Oldest Fortified Settlement
The Asurgarh fortified settlement, which was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Odisha’s Kalahandi district, has been ascertained to be the oldest among the major fortified settlements in the State. It dates back to the ninth century BC.
A total number of 417 antiquities have been retrieved from the site. Beads of coral, lapis lazuli, carnelian, glass, jasper, garnet, shell, agate, milky quartz, terracotta, kaolin, and soft stone, and circular discs made out of potsherds and stone, form the richest collection among the antiquities.
Indian Navy gets second large survey vessel with state of the Art Hydrographic Equipments
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd launched the Survey Vessel (Large) on May 26, 2022. The Indian Navy's hydrographic and oceanographic survey capabilities will be enhanced by all four survey vessels. The 110m long ships will be equipped with state-of-the-art hydrographic technology and have a displacement of roughly 3,400 tonnes, according to the statement.
Scientists Discover 4500-year-old World's Largest Plant Off Western Coast
The world's largest plant, three times the size of Manhattan, has been identified by scientists. Surprisingly, the world's largest plant was discovered in the shallow waters of Shark Bay, near Carnarvon in Western Australia, rather than on land. Researchers used genetic tests to discover that the massive plant grew from a single seed at least 4,500 years ago.
India has set up World's 1st Liquid-Mirror Telescope at Devasthal Obsevatory in Uttarakhand
India has built a one-of-a-kind liquid-mirror telescope atop a mountain in Uttarakhand's Himalayan range to track transitory or variable phenomena like supernovae, gravitational lenses, space junk, and asteroids. The International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is the first and largest liquid-mirror telescope in the country, as well as the largest in Asia.
The one-of-a-kind device, developed by astronomers from India, Belgium, and Canada, gathers and concentrates light using a 4-meter-diameter spinning mirror with a thin covering of liquid mercury. It's on the Devasthal Observatory site of the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an independent institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India in Nainital, Uttarakhand, at a height of 2450 metres.
India Breaks Qatar's Record, NHAI Builds 75-km Highway In 5 days
According to Nitin Gadkari, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) set a Guinness World Record by installing 75 kilometres of bituminous concrete in a single lane on NH53 in 105 hours and 33 minutes.
Earlier record was hold by Doha, Qatar, with a length of 25.275 kilometres. The assignment took ten days to finish. He extended the Amrawati to the Akola stretch of NH 53, which connects key cities like Kolkata, Raipur, Nagpur, and Surat.
Asia’s Largest Naval Base will be in India
By 2025, an Indian navy base in Karwar, Karnataka, would be home to 30 vessels and submarines, making it Asia's largest naval base. The facility will be established over 11,000 acres as part of Project Seabird, with the goal of providing fleet support and repair to warships. The lone aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, is based in Karwar.
Sikkim makes blue Duke state butterfly
On Sunday, Chief Minister P.S. Golay designated Blue Duke the State Butterfly of Sikkim during the World Environment Day celebrations. The news was made during an event hosted by the Forest Department at Saramsa Garden in Ranipool.
Blue Duke, a Sikkim native butterfly species, defeated another nominee, Krishna Peacock, to be named Sikkim's State Butterfly. Among the 720-plus butterfly species, the two butterflies had been shortlisted for the State Butterfly nominations.
1st Time in History, Dostarlimab Miracle Drug for Cancer 100% Success Rate
Cancer, a dreadful disease that is feared for the sheer number of lives it claims, may soon be eradicated. A medication trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, New York, has proven 100 percent cancer eradication in patients for the first time.
Despite its tiny size, the experiment has raised expectations that cancer can be totally eradicated without the need for lengthy and unpleasant chemotherapy or surgery. According to The New York Times, the medicine, dostarlimab, was given to 12 rectal cancer patients who appeared to have healed entirely because the disease could not be identified by physical examination, endoscopy, positron emission tomography (PET), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
0 Comments