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Crowded at the top: On strong domestic base propelling Indian chess\

A strong domestic base is propelling Indian chess to great heights.

When a 17-year-old beats the five-time World champion and strongest chess player of all time in three games in a row, it is bound to attract attention. R. Praggnanandhaa did that at Miami on Sunday, the final day of the FTX Crypto Cup. His stunning victory over Magnus Carlsen, however, was not enough to win the tournament; he had to settle for the runner-up spot behind the Norwegian. But this is more than creditable, as all his seven rivals in the round-robin event had higher Fide ratings. And it was not the first time that he was beating Carlsen, having scored wins in online tournaments earlier this year. The great show at Miami should no doubt be a huge morale-booster for the Chennai lad. He had flown to Miami soon after helping India 2 win the bronze medal at the Chennai Chess Olympiad. He was not the biggest star at Mamallapuram, though. His teammate, D. Gukesh, also from Chennai and also a teenager, had created a sensation at the Olympiad, posting eight wins on the trot. A few months earlier, it was yet another Indian teenager, Arjun Erigaisi, who was hitting the headlines.

Apart from Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh and Erigaisi, two other young Indians — Nihal Sarin and Raunak Sadhwani — had also come up with excellent performances at the Olympiad. Sadhwani then won the blitz title at the Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival, a few hours before Praggnanandhaa’s victory against Carlsen. At the Masters section of the tournament, Sadhwani shared the second spot after five rounds with Erigaisi and Sarin, among others. As for Gukesh, he is busy improving his rating at the Turkish Chess Super League in Ankara. That all these hugely talented youngsters are making their Grand-masterly moves at the same time augurs well for Indian chess. And there are a few more youngsters waiting in the wings, such as V. Pranav and Bharath Subramaniyam. Rarely has India threatened to take the world on, in any sport, with a group of promising teenagers. Viswanathan Anand, the man who began it all, may have been the lone Indian at the top, but his successors are likely to have company. He is now mentoring the young Indians, who have acknowledged how much they have gained from working with him. These days, quality coaches, some of them Grandmasters, are available across the country. A strong domestic base, made possible by, among other things, parental support and the rise in the popularity of the game, promises even brighter days ahead for Indian chess.

India to become world’s number one producer of steel: Scindia

He was of the view that India has moved from becoming the net importer of steel to the net exporter of steel.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Tuesday exuded confidence that India will become the number one producer of steel in the world in the days to come. India is the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel after China.

The minister was speaking during a conference on the Indian minerals and metals industry organised by NMDC and Ficci.

He was of the view that India has moved from becoming the net importer of steel to the net exporter of steel.

He said India’s per capita consumption of steel has increased from 57.8 kg in 2013-14 to 78 kg. The government intends to achieve 300 million tonnes (MT) of steel production target by 2030, Scindia said.

Steel across the world is the primary sector which results in economic, capital and infrastructure growth.

“Our target policy and focus also have been to turn India from just another player in the steel sector to becoming a force to reckon with,” he added.

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Google Doodle pays tribute to Indian physicist and meteorologist Anna Mani

Anna Mani was an Indian physicist and meteorologist, who retired as the Deputy Director General of the Indian Meteorological Department

Google is paying tribute to Indian physicist and meteorologist Anna Mani, who made significant contributions to meteorological instrumentation, conducted research and published papers on solar radiation, atmospheric ozone and wind energy measurements.

Google has depicted a Doodle dedicated to Mani, to celebrating her 104th birth anniversary.

Anna Modayil Mani was born in 1918 in Peermade, Kerala, and obtained her B.Sc. (Hon.) in 1939 from the Madras Presidency College. A voracious reader since childhood, Mani initially wanted to pursue dancing, but eventually decided in favour of physics since she liked the subject.

She began her scientific career with C.V. Raman at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, where she studied the fluorescence and absorption patterns and spectra of diamonds. In 1945, she went to the Imperial College, London, and later to the British Meteorological Office, studying the evolution of weather instruments. She visited several field observatories and manufacturers of meteorological instruments in England and Scotland. and later joined the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

She made significant contributions to meteorological instrumentation, conducted research, and published papers on solar radiation, atmospheric ozone and wind energy measurements. She was a member of a number of organizations including the International Ozone Association, Indian National Science Academy, American Meteorological Society, International Solar Energy Society, World Meteorological Organisation, among others.

She retired as the Deputy Director-General of the IMD in 1976. She passed away in 2001.

Jaishankar unveils bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Paraguay

The visit of the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is aimed at exploring new areas of cooperation in the post-pandemic era

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Paraguay and visited the historic Casa de la Independencia from where the South American country’s Independence movement started more than two centuries ago.

Mr. Jaishankar arrived in Brazil on the first leg of his six-day visit to South America aimed at boosting overall bilateral ties with the region. Mr. Jaishankar, who is on his first-ever official visit to South America, is also visiting Paraguay and Argentina.

“Honoured to unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi ji in Asuncion, Paraguay. Appreciate the Asuncion Municipality’s decision to locate it at the prominent waterfront of the city. This is a statement of solidarity that was so strongly expressed during the Covid pandemic,” S. Jaishankar said in a tweet on Sunday.

Paralympic champ Sumit Antil breaks world record again; sometimes pain is like a stab to the stump, he says

Competing in the Indian Open National Para Athletics Championships, Antil rewrote the world record with a throw of 68.62 metres, breaking his own mark of 68.55 metres.

TOKYO PARALYMPIC champion javelin thrower Sumit Antil, like Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, has a target on his mind — in metres. While Chopra’s goal is 90 metres, Antil’s is 80. Chopra, the World Championship silver medallist, is six centimetres short of his goal. At the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru late on Friday, Antil moved a little closer to achieving his target.

Competing in the Indian Open National Para Athletics Championships, Antil rewrote the world record for the fourth time in a year with a throw of 68.62 metres, breaking his own mark of 68.55 metres. Three of these marks were astonishingly set during the final of the Tokyo paralympics en route to winning gold.

Govt awards GI tag to Mithila Makhana for ‘farmer’s profit’

Once a product gets this tag, any person or company cannot sell a similar item under that name. This tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.

The government has awarded Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Mithila Makhana, a move which is expected to help growers get the maximum price for their premium produce.

“Mithila Makhana registered with GI Tag, farmers will get profit and it will be easier to earn. Due to Geographical Indication Tag to Mithila Makhana in the festive season, people outside Bihar will be able to use this auspicious material with reverence,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet.

Once a product gets this tag, any person or company cannot sell a similar item under that name. This tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.

The other benefits of GI registration include legal protection to that item, prevention against unauthorised use by others, and promoting exports.

‘GRSE making seven vessels for foreign countries’: Defence PSU official

Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd is making seven vessels for foreign countries, out of the 23 ships that are in the different stages of construction, its chairman and managing director Commodore (retd) P R Hari said.

GRSE, which had bagged the prestigious Rs 19,294-crore order for the construction of three advanced stealth frigates under Project 17A for the Indian Navy, has already launched two of these ships and the construction of the third one is in full swing.

“Of the 23 ships being developed by GRSE, seven are for foreign countries,” Hari told PTI.

The Kolkata-based warship maker is constructing six patrol boats for Bangladesh and an ocean-going passenger and cargo ferry vessel for Cooperative Republic of Guyana, he said.

After having launched P17A advanced frigate INS Himgiri and large survey vessel INS Sandhayak, GRSE is doing outfitting work on these ships at its FOJ (fitting out jetty) unit before handing these over to the Indian Navy, Hari said.

The second stealth frigate Dunagiri made by the shipyard was launched on July 15 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Among the ships under construction at its sprawling facilities on the bank of the Hooghly river are four large survey vessels, of which Sandhayak is undergoing outfitting.

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Collision impact reducer developed by woman dentist in Kerala gets U.K. patent

Device cuts severity of impact during accidents

Collision Impact Reducer, a device developed by a Thrissur-based woman dentist and intended for reducing the impact of collisions involving automobiles, has received patent granted in the United Kingdom.

The invention by Dhanya R.S. has already been granted patent in India. The device has been developed with an objective of saving lives, reducing injuries and lessening other damage during accidents.

In addition to vehicles, the device can be used on crash guards, pillars of bridges, railway lines, culverts of bridges, road medians, hand rails, ships, harbours, boats, boat jetties, seaports and on most areas with increased probability for collisions.

Dr. Dhanya says everyday reports about accidents and casualties prompted her to develop such a device. “It can be installed on the front, rear and sides of light, medium and heavy vehicles. It effectively reduces the severity of impact by absorbing the intense energy generated during collisions. The system also has technology to prevent the ‘recoil effect’ that occurs when the absorbed energy attempts to get released. Technically, it is a mechanical system, so it is more reliable and relatively inexpensive,” she says.

The dentist had applied for patent in the United States and the United Kingdom after receiving a favourable International Search Report on the application submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

Dr. Dhanya has also secured a U.S. patent grant for a technology named ‘digitalised high value paper currency’ meant for preventing counterfeiting of currency.

Hailing from Chavakkad in Thrissur, Dr. Dhanya holds an MDS in Public Health Dentistry and is a teaching faculty of Public Health Dentistry at PSM Dental College, Akkikavu, Thrissur.

Manisha Kalyan becomes the first Indian to play in UEFA Women’s Champions League

20-year-old became the fourth Indian woman footballer to sign for an overseas club when she landed a multi-year contract with Cypriot top division winners Apollon Ladies

Young striker Manisha Kalyan became the first Indian footballer to play at the UEFA Women’s Champions League when she made her debut for Apollon Ladies FC in the European Club competition in Engomi, Cyprus.

Kalyan replaced Cyprus’ Marilena Georgiou in the 60th minute at the Makareio Stadium, as Apollon Ladies FC beat Latvian top flight club SFK Rīga 3-0 in their UWCL opener on Thursday.

The 20-year-old became the fourth Indian woman footballer to sign for an overseas club when she landed a multi-year contract with Cypriot top division winners Apollon Ladies.

Kalyan had produced impressive performances for the national team and Gokulam Kerala in the Indian Women’s League (IWL).

She was recently awarded the AIFF Woman Footballer of the Year for the 2021-22 season.

India’s first portal on arrested narco offenders gets operational

It is part of the narcotics coordination mechanism (NCORD) portal that was launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 30 in Chandigarh

A first-of-its kind database of arrested narcotics offenders has been made operational for use by various central and State prosecution agencies tasked to enforce anti-drugs laws in the country, officials said.

The portal — NIDAAN or the National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-offenders — has been developed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

It is part of the narcotics coordination mechanism (NCORD) portal that was launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 30 in Chandigarh during the national conference on ‘Drug trafficking and national security’.

The NIDAAN platform sources its data from the ICJS (inter-operable criminal justice system) and the e-Prisons (a cloud-based application) repository and it is planned to integrate it in the future with the crime and criminal tracking network system or CCTNS, a senior officer said.

The ICJS, an initiative of the Supreme Court e-committee, was created to enable seamless transfer of data and information among different pillars of the criminal justice system, like courts, police, jails and forensic science laboratories, from one platform.

“NIDAAN is a one-stop solution for all narcotics offenders’ related data and will help investigative agencies as an effective tool to connect the dots while probing narcotics cases,” NCB Director General S.N. Pradhan told PTI.

The idea to create such a portal was to enhance the capability of all the law enforcement agencies working against drug crimes, he said.

NIDAAN hosts data about those accused who have been arrested and jailed for drugs offences and those who are “directly or indirectly involved in the produce, manufacture, possession, selling, purchase, transport, warehousing, usage, consumption, inter-state import and export, import into India, export from India or transhipment of any narcotics or psychotropic substance.”

According to the blueprint prepared for the operation and usage of the portal, any agency can search for the crime history, personal details, fingerprints, court cases and appeals made etc. with regard to a drug offender from any part of the country.

The login ID and password for the portal for use by various central and State anti-drugs units can either be obtained from the CCTNS administrator and those agencies who already have login credentials at the ICJS portal can use the same to operate NIDAAN, a senior officer said.

A distinct feature called ‘criminal network’ on the portal can also be accessed by agencies, as part of which specific links of an accused to other crimes, linked police FIRs and those who visited them in jail can also be accessed, the officer said.

The NIDAAN portal is a vertical envisaged under the NCORD and was mooted during a national meeting on drug issues chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah in December last year in Delhi.

Mr. Shah, during the meeting, had also spoken about various other plans for strengthening the coordination mechanism on narcotics issues like asking all states to create a dedicated anti-narcotics task force (ANTF) which can also function as the NCORD secretariat at the State level, the statement said.

The Minister had also directed the agencies to “take some important measures such as creation of a national NCORD portal (NIDAAN being a part of it), constitution of inter-ministerial standing committees (IMCs) to devise effective policies with regard to dual use prescription drugs and precursors, raising of a national narco-canine pool and establishment of drug de-addiction centres in all prisons of 272 most drugs affected districts etc.”