11.05.23 Daily [Andhra Pradesh] APPSC Current Affairs

The One Station One Product outlets have turned out to be a hit across 72 RAILWAY stations within the jurisdiction of South Central Railway covering the states of Andhra Pradesh, , Maharashtra and Karnataka. Within AP, 35 railway stations are selling unique products in their areas.

One Station One Product scheme had been introduced by the Ministry of Railways with a mission to promote local/indigenous products, with the railway station becoming the market for promoting the products famous around the areas of the station, particularly the arts and crafts of people belonging to marginalised sections.

In Andhra Pradesh, 35 stations are promoting such products, including Vijayawada, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Ongole, Gudivada, Tirupati, Guntur and Guntakal. Some of the products include handlooms by local weavers, such as traditional Kalamkari sarees, jute products, imitation jewellery, wooden handicrafts, Girijan products and local delicacies, like pickles, masala powders, papads, shell paintings and rice art.

Andhra Pradesh is renowned for Kalamkari, which are hand-painted Cotton textiles of two distinctive styles Srikalahasti and Machilipatnam. Their theme is largely mythological. Making a Kalamkari product involves as many as 15 steps. Eight railway stations in AP have been dedicated to Kalamkari and other handloom sarees and textiles. They help local weavers sell their products directly to people, thereby benefitting both sellers and buyers.

AP is also known for its various handicrafts, particularly wood carvings, ranging from dolls and other figurines. Six One Station One Product (OSOP) outlets market these, including wooden cutlery and Etikoppaka lacquerware toys.

The Union Minister for Communications,Ashwini Vaishnaw, launched theSanchar Saathi Portalduring a function held inNew Delhi. This citizen-centric portal aims to empower mobile phone users by providing essential Services, such as tracking and blocking lost mobile phones.

The Union Minister further emphasized how several reforms have positively impacted the telecommunications sector. The is now more robust and Investment-oriented due to these transformations.

The main objective of this workshop is to promote the adoption of the NeVA platform by all State and Union Territory Legislatures. By utilizing technology, the aim is to bring transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to their legislative proceedings.

NeVA is part of the Digital India Programme initiated by the Government of India and is classified as one of the 44Mission Mode Projects (MMPs). Its purpose is to eliminate the need for paper-based operations in all State Legislatures, transforming them into digital entities. Currently, 21 State legislatures have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implementNeVA.

Funding has been allocated for 17 Legislatures, and they have received the necessary funds to implement the project.

Microsofthas launchedJugalbandi,a generative AI-driven multilingual chatbot accessible via popular messaging platform, WhatsApp. The bot has been especially made to cover areas of rural India which arent easily penetrated through media and lack access to governments welfare activities. The chatbot has been developed by AI4Bharat in collaboration with IIT Madras. It is aimed at providing personalised assistance by understanding user queries in multiple languages, whether spoken or typed. The chatbot was launched in April and has been tested inBiwan,a village near Indias capital city of New Delhi.

According to Microsoft, Jugalbandi combines AI models from AI4Bharat and Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, allowing seamless conversation between users and the chatbot.

These generative AI tools can synthesise vast amounts of data to generate text and other forms of content.

The online rural educationinitiative Pahalwas officially launched by Chief Secretary DurgaShankar Mishraat Government UP Sainik Inter College in Sarojini Nagar. This program, developed through a PARTNERSHIP between theDepartment of Secondary Education and IIT Kanpur,aims to provide education to rural communities through online platforms.

Mohammed Shahabuddin Chuppuhas become the22nd president of Bangladesh,taking over from Abdul Hamid, in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, politicians, judges, and senior officials. The event was held at the historic Durbar Hall of Bangabhaban, where Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administered the oath to Shahabuddin. He was elected unopposed in February this year as the candidate of the ruling party, and after the ceremony, he signed the documents for the office of the president.

There are growing disputes between the ruling Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) regarding the as Bangladesh prepares for general Elections. The elections are scheduled for December or January next year.