- MakhaBucha: MakhaBucha Day (Magha Puja) is a religious celebration marking Lord Buddha’s teachings to his disciples. It is celebrated according to the traditional lunar calendar, on the day of full moon of the third lunar month. The term makha comes from the word “Magha” in Pali and it refers to the third lunar month, while bucha can translate as “to worship,” both of which are derived from the Pali language used in Buddhist scripture. The term MakhaBucha refers to a day intended for worshiping on the third lunar month. The aim of this day is to purify one’s mind and do only good. Some celebrate by offering food to monks and also attend candle light processions in the evening. It is the first important religious festival in the Buddhist calendar, takes place in nations including Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, where the majority of Buddhists practice Theravada Buddhism, also known as “Buddhism of the south”.
- PSiFI System: The system, known as the personalized skin-integrated facial interface (PSiFI), features a first-of-its-kind bidirectional triboelectric strain and vibration sensor that enables the simultaneous sensing and integration of verbal and non-verbal expression data. The PSiFI system is self-powered, facile, stretchable, and transparent.
Coupled with a sophisticated data processing circuit, the system facilitates seamless wireless data transfer, enabling the instantaneous recognition of emotions.
Empowered by machine learning algorithms, the technology showcases remarkable efficiency in recognizing human emotions accurately and promptly, even in scenarios where individuals wear masks. Science behind the PSiFI technology:
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- The technology is based on the phenomenon of “friction charging,” where objects separate into positive and negative charges upon friction.
- Notably, the system is self-generating, requiring no external power source or complex measuring devices for data recognition.
- This innovative technology is poised to revolutionize various industries, including next-generation wearable systems that provide services based on emotions.
- Household Consumption Expenditure Survey: For the first time in about 11 years, the government released the broad findings of the All India Household Consumption Expenditure Survey carried out between August 2022 and July 2023.
It is usually conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) every five years.
This survey aims at generating estimates of household Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) and its distribution separately for the rural and urban sectors of the country, for States and Union Territories, and for different socio-economic groups.
The average monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) in Indian households rose by 33.5% since 2011-12 in urban households to ₹3,510, with rural India’s MPCE seeing a 40.42% increase over the same period to hit ₹2,008.
The proportion of spending on food has dropped to 46.4% for rural households from 52.9% in 2011-12, while their urban peers spent just 39.2% of their overall monthly outgoes on food compared with 42.6% incurred 11 years earlier.
This reduction could translate into a lower weightage for food prices in the country’s retail inflation calculations.Among the States, the MPCE is the highest in Sikkim for both rural
(₹7,731) and urban areas (₹12,105). It is the lowest in Chhattisgarh, where it was ₹2,466 for rural households and ₹4,483 for urban household members. The data will play a key role in reviewing critical economic indicators, including the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), poverty levels, and the Consumer Price Inflation (CPI).
- Nordic-Baltic cooperation: It is a regional cooperation format that brings together five Nordic countries and three Baltic countries in order to discuss important regional and international issues in an informal atmosphere. In 2000, it was decided that the Nordic-Baltic cooperation format would be called the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8).
Member countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Nordic countries are members of the European Union (except Iceland and Norway which are members of EFTA).
India and NB8: The Nordic-Baltic cooperation with India spans fields as diverse as innovation, green transition, maritime, health, intellectual property rights, new technologies, space cooperation and artificial intelligence, student exchanges, culture and tourism. Trade and investment figures between the Nordic region and India are steadily increasing.
