ANDHRA PRADESH

Buddhism travelled to Lanka from coastal Andhra Pradesh, claims book

An in-depth research and survey-oriented book on the Buddhist legacy of North Coastal Andhra Pradesh – ‘Tathagathuni Adugujadalu’, written by city-based Buddhism experts E Rani Sarma and Unudurti Sudhakar, will be released this weekend at the Public Library. The archaeological site of Thotlakonda has been taken as the central point of the narrative.

According to the authors, there are perhaps more Buddhist remains in north coastal AP more than any other region in the country. Most of the Buddhist sites are found along the coast of Bay of Bengal and along streams.

It is believed that it is from the port cities of Kalinga Janapada and north coastal AP, Buddhhism travelled to countries like Myanmar, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. As such, traces of Buddhism still survive in the surnames people, places, traditions and customs apart from archaeological ruins.

INTERNATIONAL

Google achieves ‘quantum supremacy’

Google has officially announced that it has achieved quantum supremacy with its advanced processor that was able to surpass the world’s most powerful supercomputer.

Google says that its 54-bit Sycamore processor was able to perform a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken the world’s most powerful supercomputer 10,000 years.

The search giant has made the details of its research public for the scientific community to fully scrutinize its achievement.

India jumps 14 places on World Bank’s Ease of Doing business ranking

India has jumped 14 places to take the 63rd position on the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking.

The country was 77th among 190 countries in the previous ranking.

In its Doing Business 2020 report, the World Bank commended the reform efforts undertaken by the country.

India has improved its rank in 7 out of 10 indicators and has moved closer to international best practices.

New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong topped the list this year.

· White bellbird is the worlds loudest bird

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts in the U.S. have found that the White Bellbirdsare theloudest bird in the world. They also found that the mating songs by the white male bellbird cause sound of thrice the decibels (dB) than the Screaming Piha during the mating period. The screaming Piha held the record by making the loudest call of around 125 dB.

The white bellbird or Procnia albus is a bird species in the familyCotingidae. The bird is found in Guianas forest, Venezeula, Pará of Brazil. The male birdis white in colour, and the female is olive with yellowish streaks in colour.

NATIONAL

Ayurveda Day 2019: 25 October

The fourth Ayurveda Day is being organised on October 25 at National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India decided to celebrate Ayurveda Day every year on the day of Dhanvantari Jayanti (Dhanteras) since 2016.

On this occasion, Ministry also facilitates 3-4 Ayurveda experts with ‘National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Award’ comprising of citation, trophy (Dhanwantari Statue) and a cash reward of rupees five lakh.

National Unity Day to be celebrated on Oct 31

National Unity Day will be celebrated on 31st of this month to mark the birth anniversary of Ironman Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Preparations are in full swing to celebrate the day in a grand manner.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kevadia in Gujarat to pay homage to the great leader at the Statue of Unity.

To celebrate the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, celebrations will be held in more than 600 districts of the country.

· Centre launched the 1st National Protocol on Snow Leopard Population Assessment

Centre launched the First National Protocol on Snow Leopard Population Assessmentin India on 23 October. It was launched by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Shri Prakash Javadekar on the International Snow Leopard Day at the inaugural session of the 4th steering committee meeting of the GSLEP Program – Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program.

The government is conducting the Snow Leopard enumeration of the Nation for the first time

The protocol was developed by scientific experts in association with the Snow Leopard States/ Union Territories (UTs) namely, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunanchal Pradesh.

· Centre launched Indradhanush 2 to cover low immunization pockets

The central government launchedIndradhanush 2 to coverlow immunization pockets.

The Mission has been scheduled to be launched on31 October by the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the Pulse Polio Program.

Under Mission Indradhanush 2.0, the Union Health Ministry will carry out a massive immunization program in the areas that are identified as low immunization pockets.

The Ministry has identified 271 districts across the nation and 652 blockslocated in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The total vaccination program is dedicated for children up to 2 years of age and for all pregnant women.

Vaccines of 12 various kinds are included under the mission. 10 out of the 12 vaccine categories will be used nationwide, and the other two vaccines will be put under sub-vaccination levels.

The two vaccines that are placed under the sub-vaccination level are for diseases like Japanese Encephalitisand the Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which occurs in high-end endemic areas.

APPSC GROUP 1 Notes brings Prelims and Mains programs for APPSC GROUP 1 Prelims and APPSC GROUP 1 Mains Exam preparation. Various Programs initiated by APPSC GROUP 1 Notes are as follows:-

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