NITI Aayog launches SDGs Urban Index 2021-22
NITI Aayog launched “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Urban Index and Dashboard 2021-22”. Shimla has topped the list of cities by scoring highest on the index.
Important Points
- Coimbatore and Chandigarh have been ranked at second and third position.
- Thiruvananthapuram, Panaji, Pune, Kochi, Tiruchirappalli, Ahmedabad and Nagpur are among top 10 cities on the index.
SDG Urban Index
The SDG Urban Index & Dashboard (2021-22) was launched by NITI Aayog on November 23, 2021. It ranks 56 urban areas on 77 SDG indicators across targets like zero hunger, ending poverty, quality education, good health and wellbeing, gender equality etc in the SDG framework. The index and dashboard will help in strengthening SDG localization as well as institute robust SDG monitoring at the city level. The index highlights strengths and gaps of ULB-level data, monitoring as well as reporting systems.
Ranks
Out of total 56 urban areas ranked in the index, 44 are having the population of more than one million. Twelve are state capitals having population of less than one million.
Top 10
Top ten urban areas in the index are: Shimla, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Panaji, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Ahmedabad and Nagpur, in that order.
Bottom 10
Bottom ten urban areas in the index are: Faridabad, Kolkata, Agra, Kohima, Jodhpur, Patna, Guwahati, Itanagar, Meerut and Dhanbad.
Atal Tinkering Labs & Engage with Science to collaborate for perennial activities
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), a flagship initiative of NITI Aayog announced to collaborate with Vigyan Prasar which is an autonomous organization of the Department of Science & Technology, to drive synergies between Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) of AIM and ‘Engage With Science (EWS)’ of Vigyan Prasar.
Important Points
- As a part of collaboration, ‘Engage with Science’ will onboard all the ATL-enabled schools and engage their principals, teachers & students in perennial activities.
- These activities will help in accumulating points on the basis of which, incentives and certificates will be provided to motivate students and teachers regarding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) content consumption.
Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs)
- Atal Innovation Mission has set up more than 9200+ Atal Tinkering Laboratories across schools in India, with an objective of ‘cultivating one Million children in India as Neoteric Innovators’.
- ATLs were set up with the aim of fostering curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds as well as inculcating skills like computational thinking, design mindset, physical computing and adaptive learning, etc.
- ATL is a workspace where young minds learn skills through hands on ‘do-it-yourself mode’ and give shape to their ideas.
- Children get a chance to work on tools and equipment in order to understand the concepts of STEM.
Significance
Collaboration between AIM and Vigyan Prasar will play a significant role in reviving and updating education practices for keeping up with technological advances. Engage with Science program with ATLs will help in fostering culture of STEM innovation. It will also serve as a platform where young minds are exposed to experiential learning while focusing on innovation, invention, and collaborative problem-solving to maximize impact.
Sagar Shakti Exercise conducted in Kutch Peninsula
The Sagar Shakti Exercise was held from November 19 to 22, 2021 in creek sector of the Kutch peninsula.
Important Points
- It was a four-day mega military exercise.
- During the exercise, capability and readiness of India to confront any multidimensional security threat was elaborately tested.
Participants
- The exercise witnessed participation of the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Gujarat Police, Border Security Force, and the Marine Police.
- Southern Command of Indian Army organised high-intensity exercise with the aim of testing combat readiness of the agencies in real-time.
- Exercise also involved the insertion of troops and complex manoeuvres by forces to deal with any possible security challenges simultaneously in land, water and air domain, in an integrated manner.
- During the exercise, agencies practiced ‘comprehensive coordination incorporating contemporary technology for including response mechanism in real-time communication, multi-domain environment’ as well as sharing of operational data in order to overcome emerging multi-dimensional threats.
- Participating agencies also deployed key assets in the exercise in order to simulate ways of combating several threats that India might face.
Significance
This exercise was held at the time when India has bolstered its maritime combat capability in light of evolving security scenarios in Indian Ocean Region.
Sir Creek
Sir Creek was originally called as Ban Ganga. It is a 96-km tidal estuary in uninhabited marshlands of Indus River Delta, at the border between India and Pakistan. The creek separates Gujarat state in India from Sindh province of Pakistan. It flows into the Arabian Sea.
