News Digest: Is the IFS missing the woods for trees in a time of climate change, global warming?

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Friday, June 16, 2023
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Is the IFS missing the woods for trees in a time of climate change, global warming? FCI grain-buy ban on states to check price rise: Centre Karnataka cabinet to repeal APMC Act amended by BJP govt More India News»

		Science
		Now, IN-SPACe drafting BIS standard for pvt Space firms; DPIIT's FDI Policy in the last leg Bengaluru institute joins elite club with experimental lab that will help build new quantum technology Sat tech to monitor, do surveillance of 99.9k fishing boats; NSIL to roll out national project More Science News»

		Technology
		Amazon Prime Lite launched in India: 9 things that subscribers get and don't in this new plan Amazon India has launched a new membership plan called Amazon Prime Lite, offering an affordable alternative to its regular Prime membership. The Amazon Prime Lite membership plan provides similar benefits but at a lower price point. Available to select users initially, the membership is now accessible to all customers. Prime Lite membership plan is priced at Rs 999 for a 12-month subscription, Ra 500 less than the regular Amazon Prime membership that is priced at Rs 1499. The membership offers a single plan without any monthly or quarterly options. Here’s all that subscribers of Amazon Prime Lite will get and not with the membership. ChatGPT will be available in Mercedes cars in the US Mercedes-Benz is partnering with Microsoft to test OpenAI-powered ChatGPT in their cars starting on June 16 for a period of three months. The partnership will offer almost 900,000 Mercedes Benz users in the US the chance to interact with the chatbot, enabling drivers to converse with their cars more naturally. Instagram Broadcast Channels are now available globally: How it works and new features Instagram has launched broadcast channels worldwide, offering creators a public one-to-many messaging tool to increase engagement with followers. With this tool, creators can use the tool to share text, video and photo updates as well as voice notes, polls and live chats. Broadcast channels are discoverable by anyone, but creators control messaging while new followers get a one-time notification when a creator starts a new channel. More Technology News»

		Business
		BSE mcap hits record Rs 295 lakh crore on foreign funds' buying spree Freeze Mehul Choksi's accounts, Sebi tells banks, MFs Exports decline 10.3% to $35 billion in May, trade deficit at 5--month high More Business News»

		Sports
		Asia Cup to be held in Pak, SL in hybrid model from Aug 31 to Sept 17 The dates of the Asia Cup are finally out. In a media release on Thursday, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced that Asia Cup 2023 will be played from August 31 to September 17. Protesting wrestlers tight-lipped about future of suspended stir The wrestlers engaged in the protest chose not to disclose any information regarding the continuation or potential outcomes of their suspended agitation against the outgoing president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Pat Cummins predicts a 'different' David Warner in Ashes Australia captain Pat Cummins expressed his belief that David Warner would showcase a transformed version of himself and emerge victorious in his personal battle against Stuart Broad, dominating England's bowlers in the upcoming Ashes series set to commence at Edgbaston on Friday. More Sports News»

		Education
		Gujarat Technological University postpones exams due to cyclone Biparjoy The Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has decided to postpone the exams originally planned for June 15-17 across the entire state due to cyclone Biparjoy. Initially, the university had only postponed exams in the districts expected to be impacted by the cyclone. NEET UG 2023: No takers for NEET exam in Odia language Only 1.7% of students taking the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-2023 have chosen the Odia language to be their medium of instruction this year, down from 2.1% last year. Lack of educational materials in Odia and the use of English as a medium of instruction are seen as factors. In addition, teachers are not qualified to teach science students in Odia, putting students at a disadvantage. Without Odia language textbooks, students have struggled to prepare adequately for the exams, needing to keep up with medical, biology and chemistry terminologies that they have previously studied in English. NCHM Counselling 2023: Round 1 seat allotment result declared on nchmcounselling.nic.in The National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT) has released the Round-I seat allotment result for NCHM Counselling 2023. Candidates who have applied for M.Sc. in Hospitality Administration 2023 can download their provisional allotment letter containing personal details, rank details, and allotment details. They must confirm their seats and submit seat acceptance payment. Candidates must visit nchmcounselling.nic.in, enter their roll number and password to check the seat allotment result. They must take a printout of the result for future use. More Education News»

		Environment
		IMD issues orange alert in eastern states for five days amid continuous heatwave With the continuous heatwave in the eastern part of the country, the India Meteorological Department on Tuesday issued an orange alert for the coming five days, said an official. IMD scientist Naresh Kumar also informed that temperature will reach nearly 40-45 in the coming days in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. Skymet Weather predicts bleak monsoon in India over next four weeks The central and western parts of India, which form the core monsoon zone, may face challenges in coping with the drying effects due to inadequate rainfall early in the season, Skymet Weather said.The southwest monsoon reached Kerala on June 8, a week after the usual date of June 1. Climate change making air travel more bumpier, study finds More Environment News»

		World
		Fed's reverse repos fall below $2 trillion for first time since June 2022 Pakistan allows women Haj without male guardian Social media profiles of Imran Khan, leaders from his party shared with FIA for forensic tests over anti-state content: Report Pakistan government has shared with the Federal Investigation Agency the social media profiles of former prime minister Imran Khan and several other leaders of his party to conduct a forensic test for allegedly sharing controversial anti-state content between March 8 and May 9, a media report said on Thursday. More World News»

		Environment
		IMD issues orange alert in eastern states for five days amid continuous heatwave With the continuous heatwave in the eastern part of the country, the India Meteorological Department on Tuesday issued an orange alert for the coming five days, said an official. IMD scientist Naresh Kumar also informed that temperature will reach nearly 40-45 in the coming days in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. Skymet Weather predicts bleak monsoon in India over next four weeks The central and western parts of India, which form the core monsoon zone, may face challenges in coping with the drying effects due to inadequate rainfall early in the season, Skymet Weather said.The southwest monsoon reached Kerala on June 8, a week after the usual date of June 1. Climate change making air travel more bumpier, study finds More Environment News»

		Hyderabad
		Heavy parasite presence poses health risks to Amrabad tigers A recent study conducted by wildlife biologists at Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) has shed light on the alarming health risk posed by heavy parasite presence to tigers and other wild animals. The research said lack of proper vaccination for cattle grazing in the forest had resulted in parasite species entering the food chain of tigers and leopards. Around 16% of tiger prey is cattle. Groom dies of heatstroke hrs before wedding Hours before his marriage was to be solemnised, a bridegroom died of a heat stroke in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district on Wednesday. Gundla Thirupathi, 32, suffered a severe sunstroke while distributing wedding invitation cards in his Gudlabori village in Kouthala mandal and was taken to a hospital on Tuesday. Biz deals snap: Man kills friend & gets life term A man who killed his childhood friend and business partner in a software training firm in 2019 in his flat in KPHB colony has been sentenced to life by a local court here on Thursday. More Hyderabad News»

		Chandigarh
		DAYALU scheme: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar digitally transfers more than Rs 6 crore into accounts of 223 beneficiaries Taking yet another significant decision for the families covered under DAYALU Yojana, the chief minister, in the meeting only directed the officers to change the age category, so as to ensure that maximum families can be benefitted. Bhupinder Singh Hooda accuses Haryana govt of forcing solar power pumps on farmers seeking regular tubewell connections Hooda claimed that government agencies have so far forcefully given solar pump connections to 20,000 farmers such farmers who had applied for 10 BHP electric tubewell connections. Election programme announced for bye-elections in Haryana's Panchayati Raj Institutions More Chandigarh News»

		Ahmedabad
		Cyclone to pour woes over Kutch Though deserted, Kutch stands firm, bracing to meet Biparjoy head-on. Except for the police and government vehicles, all roads were free of private vehicles, big and small, and all eateries and favourite hangout places were shut down. The only commercial establishments that remained open were medicine and milk shops. Gujarat firm launches first remote sensing satellite In a boost to the Indian space startup industry, Gujarat-based aerospace firm Azista BST Aerospace launched its maiden satellite, Azista BST Aerospace First Runner (AFR), also called ABA First Runner, on Tuesday. States may slash intake for CPS-run med courses The future of courses conducted by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) remains uncertain as the National Board of Examinations (NBE) has rejected their inclusion within its jurisdiction. Instead, NBE has allowed institutes offering CPS courses to independently seek its accreditation if they so wish. More Ahmedabad News»

		Chennai
		AIADMK urges Tamil Nadu governor to drop Senthil Balaji from cabinet A delegation of former ministers, including C Ve Shanmugam and Jayakumar, met the governor at Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum seeking his intervention. Five-year plans followed by Congress govt in the past not suited for India: Tamil Nadu governor Dilapidated resettlement tenements in Chennai's Royapuram to be reconstructed More Chennai News»

		Bangalore
		Karnataka govt defers Gruha Lakshmi scheme by 5 days On Thursday, hours after women and child development minister Laxmi Hebbalkar said that eligible women heads of families could begin submitting their applications online for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme from Friday, she did a U-turn saying that they had decided to defer receiving applications by 4-5 days. Cybersecurity conference held in Bengaluru Karnataka govt decides to remove chapters on RSS founder and Savarkar in school textbooks More Bangalore News»

		Bangalore
		Karnataka govt defers Gruha Lakshmi scheme by 5 days On Thursday, hours after women and child development minister Laxmi Hebbalkar said that eligible women heads of families could begin submitting their applications online for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme from Friday, she did a U-turn saying that they had decided to defer receiving applications by 4-5 days. Cybersecurity conference held in Bengaluru Karnataka govt decides to remove chapters on RSS founder and Savarkar in school textbooks More Bangalore News»

		Mumbai
		Man sells flat for Rs 1.3 crore, loses it all to cyber crooks A 53-year-old central Mumbai resident who recently sold his flat for Rs 1.27 cr and wanted to invest in a new flat, lost the money to cyber fraudsters. 48-day stock in lakes; water cut decision by Jun 30 The BMC on Thursday said that the supplying lakes have 48 days of water stock left and any decision on a water cut would only be taken by the end of June. Sexual assault on local train: Chargesheet likely in 10 days A day after a 20-year-old student was sexually assaulted in a running Harbour line local between CSMT and Masjid stations, GRP commissioner Ravindra Shisve said they are likely to file the chargesheet within 10 days and request the court to fast-track the case. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Trapped by fire and smoke, coaching centre students rappel down to safety NDMC to organise events at eight places on yoga day New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has finalised eight locations in the city where yoga events will be organised to mark the International Day of Yoga on June 21. Centre has built many flyovers, roads, more to come: MP Manoj Tiwari North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari said that several new flyovers and roads were built by the central government in the past nine years and many others are in the pipeline, including an elevated highway from Akshardham that will cross several parts of North East Delhi before reaching Uttar Pradesh. More Delhi News»

		Delhi
		Trapped by fire and smoke, coaching centre students rappel down to safety NDMC to organise events at eight places on yoga day New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has finalised eight locations in the city where yoga events will be organised to mark the International Day of Yoga on June 21. Centre has built many flyovers, roads, more to come: MP Manoj Tiwari North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari said that several new flyovers and roads were built by the central government in the past nine years and many others are in the pipeline, including an elevated highway from Akshardham that will cross several parts of North East Delhi before reaching Uttar Pradesh. More Delhi News»

		Delhi
		Trapped by fire and smoke, coaching centre students rappel down to safety NDMC to organise events at eight places on yoga day New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has finalised eight locations in the city where yoga events will be organised to mark the International Day of Yoga on June 21. Centre has built many flyovers, roads, more to come: MP Manoj Tiwari North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari said that several new flyovers and roads were built by the central government in the past nine years and many others are in the pipeline, including an elevated highway from Akshardham that will cross several parts of North East Delhi before reaching Uttar Pradesh. More Delhi News»

		Allahabad
		Groom tied to tree for asking bride to wear goggles at 'jaimala' The family members of a bride tied the groom to a tree in Harakhpur village for asking her to put on goggles during 'jaimala' (garland ceremony), on Wednesday night. 'High Court can interfere in sexual offence matter in genuine cases' The Allahabad high court has held that the high court should normally not interfere with the criminal proceeding involving sexual offence against women and children only on the basis of settlement though it is not completely barred in exercising its inherent powers under section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to quash such proceedings in genuine cases. Woman hatches conspiracy to kill husband, arrested A woman along with her lover was arrested by Pratapgarh police on Wednesday on the charges of plotting and killing her husband near Bariyawa village on June 11, police said. More Allahabad News»

		Bhopal
		Karnataka anti-conversion bill: BJP to make repeal of law an election issue in Madhya Pradesh State BJP president VD Sharma took to twitter late on Thursday night and said, "By withdrawing the anti-conversion law in Karnataka, the Congress has shown its real thinking. I allege that Madhya Pradesh Congress and Kamal Nath also support conversions. And if they do not, then they should oppose the decision taken by the Karnataka government." Parts of Madhya Pradesh school in hijab row demolished The administration in MP's Damoh is demolishing a part of the school that is at the centre of a hijab controversy. Police rolled in with JCBs on Tuesday but the heavy vehicles couldn't enter the area marked for demolition and turned back. Around 40 labourers then started taking apart the second floor of the school rod by rod and brick by brick. The dismantling work resumed on Wednesday morning. Hydraulic fire engine only for demo? Parked aside in Satpura fire More Bhopal News»

		Bhubaneswar
		3 boys, aged about 1, picked as Puri temple servitors, to get Rs 1-2 lakh a year Baladeb Dasmohapatra and Ekanshu Dasmohapatra are close to a year old only but will offer priestly service at the famous Jagannath Temple in Puri, and become eligible to receive a one-time annual remuneration ranging between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh. Man kills uncle, cousin over family feud in Balasore A man allegedly killed his uncle and cousin following a dispute between two families at Kabataghati village under Raibania police limits in Balasore district on Wednesday night. Train tragedy: Six missing complaints lodged with GRP Another family has filed a missing complaint with Balasore Government Railway Police (GRP), raising the number of families lodging such complaints of missing relatives after the Bahanaga Bazar train tragedy on June 2 to six. More Bhubaneswar News»

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