Russia and China are "seriously considering" building a nuclear power plant on the lunar surface by 2035, according to the head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos. Moscow plans to contribute its expertise in "nuclear space energy" to a joint lunar program with China, including a nuclear power plant on the moon,  Russia's space agency chief Yuri Borisov said on Monday. Borisov warned that solar panels would not be enough to ensure a reliable supply of electricity to potential lunar settlements. "Today we are seriously considering a project — somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035 — to deliver and install a power unit on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues," Borisov said during a youth event. Some in the US have speculated that Russia is planning to use a new type of nuclear weapon against satellites. But the Roskosmos chief, who took over Roskosmos in 2022, insisted that Russia had no plans of stationing nuclear weapons in space. A nuclear plant on the moon would need to be made by machines, Borisov added, saying there were already usable technical solutions for the project. Space cooperation between Russia and China In March 2021, Moscow and Beijing signed an agreement on building an international lunar research station, and presented a roadmap for the construction in June 2021. China has its own lunar exploration program, with an unmanned "Chang'e-6" probe due to launch in May to collect rock samples. Meanwhile, the Russian space program has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years. Its first lunar mission in 47 years failed last year after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft went out of control and crashed. Race to put nuclear power on the moon? The concept of using nuclear reactors to power future lunar colonies has also been floated by the US space agency, NASA. Just months after the Apollo 11 mission put humans on the moon in 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts used a nuclear generator to provide electricity for scientific experiments on the moon's surface. With lunar nights lasting for 14 Earth days, relying solely on solar power carries risks for both manned and unmanned moon missions. But the issue of energy supply in space is growing even more essential as NASA pursues plans to return people to the Moon within its Artemis mission, with the first landing now scheduled for 2026.  In 2022, NASA announced it was cooperating with the US Department of Energy to select "concept proposals" for a nuclear power system "that could be ready to launch by the end of the decade." 

The leaders of the BRICS countries have agreed on a roadmap for how to allow new states to join their group of up-and-coming economies, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told Ubuntu Radio — a station run by her own ministry. "We have agreed on the matter of expansion," she said. "We have a document that we've adopted which sets out guidelines and principles, processes for considering countries that wish to become members of BRICS...That's very positive," Pandor said. She added that further details would be provided by the BRICS leaders by the end of the summit, currently taking place in Johannesburg. Expansion of the bloc was one of the main topics on the agenda. More than 40 countries are interested in joining, with at least 22 — including Iran, Venezuela and Algeria — having already made formal requests to become members. Brazil backs BRICS common currency Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke in favor of setting up a new common currency to be used between the BRICS members instead of the US dollar. "The decarbonization of our economies needs to be accompanied by dignified jobs, industrialization and green infrastructure and services for all," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. He added that the BRICS New Development Bank in Shanghai, headed by former Brazilian president and ally of Lula, Dilma Rousseff, would be able to take on the challenge. "The creation of a currency for transactions between the BRICS countries reduces our vulnerabilities," Lula said. The Brazilian president didn't go into further detail on his proposal.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday had her eyes checked at the National Institute of Ophthalmology (NIO) and Hospital. While leaving the hospital, the PM exchanges greetings with nurses, patients and their relatives. The Prime Minister's Press Wing said it. Like every general patient, the PM had her check-up after purchasing a Tk 10 ticket. The prime minister went to the national eye hospital at morning. First, she went to the ground floor to purchase the Tk 10 ticket from the counter of the hospital in Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. After that she went to the designated physician for her eye check-up.  

Election polls have predicted strong winning prospects for conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who stepped down after the inconclusive vote last month. Voters in Greece head to the polls on Sunday for the second time in little over a month to elect new parliamentarians. About 9.8 million Greek voters will be electing their new representatives from a pool of 32 political parties standing in this election. The polling began at 7 a.m. local time (0400 UTC) and will continue for the next 12 hours across Greece. While initial forecasts will be available based on exit polls, the results are expected by around 1700 UTC. The repeat election comes at the heels of a migrant shipwreck on June 14 in which hundreds of people are feared to have died. Main parties standing in election Polls have suggested strong prospects of victory for the conservative Nea Dimokratia, or New Democracy (ND), led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He has been Greece's prime minister since 2019. Some polls have indicated that the party could take over 40% of the vote. Mitsotakis has touted a strong economy under his leadership. The Alliance of the Radical Left (Syriza), led by Alexis Tsipras, could garner the second-highest share of votes, with some polls suggesting that it could get 20%. Tsipras has been critical of Mitsotakis over a wiretapping scandal and on migration. In the elections held in May, Mitsotakis' party had a landslide victory but it fell short of just five seats in parliament to be able to form a single-party government. Confident of winning with a clear majority in the 300-seat parliament, Mitsokasis decided to hold another round of voting. As per election rules in Greece, the winner in this election round will get 50 bonus seats in the parliament.

The indian government on Wednesday approved the construction of the strategically-crucial 4.1-km tunnel under the forbidding Shinkun La, on the border between Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, for ‘alternate’ all-weather connectivity to Ladakh amid the continuing 33-month-long military confrontation with China. The traffic movement in the twin-tube tunnel, which will not be vulnerable to long-range artillery shelling or missile firings either by China or Pakistan, at an altitude of over 16,500-feet on the Manali-Darcha-Padam-Nimu axis will ensure troops and heavy weaponry can be swiftly moved to forward areas. “The tunnel under the Shinkun Pass (la means pass), to be constructed by the Border Roads Organization at a cost of Rs 1,681.5 crore, will be completed by December 2025,” a top official told TOI, even as union minister Anurag Thakur announced the decision of the PM-led cabinet committee on security. The new all-weather connectivity to western Ladakh and Zanskar Valley, directly from the Manali axis through a 298-km NHDL (national highway double lane) specification road that will be ready by 2026, will hugely reduce the travel time as compared to the time taken on the existing routes passing through Zoji La from Srinagar. The defence ministry in May 2021 had approved the plan to build the 4.1-km tunnel after a long tussle between the BRO and National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL). While the BRO had proposed the shorter tunnel, the latter has proposed a 12.7-km tunnel connectivity. Sources said one of the main reasons for going ahead with the shorter tunnel was the early completion of the project in face of the threat from China. Though the BRO had laid the bituminous layer on the Darcha-Padam-Nimu axis in 2019, the road could not be used in winter months due to the heavy snow at Shinkun La. India has to some extent reduced the huge “infrastructure differential” with China along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control, stretching from eastern Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, in terms of roads, tunnels, bridges, troop habitats, permanent defences, helipads and airfields over the last three years. But a lot still remains to be done. Sources said tunnels are a priority area, both for all-weather connectivity and swifter troop deployments in forward areas as well as underground storage of ammunition, missiles, fuel and other supplies. Nine new tunnels are under construction at present, which includes the strategic 2.5-km Sela tunnel to Tawang in Arunachal being built for Rs 687 crore at an altitude of over 13,000-feet, while 11 more tunnels are planned, as reported by TOI earlier. With Indian and Chinese troops remaining forward deployed for the third consecutive winter in the 33-month-old military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, several more infrastructure projects by the Army’s Corps of Engineers and BRO are also currently underway or in the pipeline to further address this asymmetry with China. Source: The Times of India

For the first time Bangladesh has set foot in the era of Metro Rail. On Wednesday, December 28, the Metro rail first phase was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A new epoch of metropolitan started. The News of Metrorail inauguration in Dhaka has been circulated in various newspapers around world. The French AFP news agency titled, 'Bangladesh opens first metro line in traffic-choked capital Dhaka'. According to this report, Bangladesh's sprawling capital inaugurated its first ever metro rail line on Wednesday as authorities work to ease congestion that has throttled growth and inflamed tempers in the gridlocked metropolis. United States based media outlet Bloomberg titled, "One of World’s Most Crowded Cities Gets First Mass-Transit Rail." According to the Bloomberg report, "Bangladesh’s capital now has its first metro rail, a Japanese-funded project that aims to ease commuting in one of the most congested cities in the world.  A section of the over 20-kilometer (12.427 miles) urban rail project, known as Line 6, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday. The line connects the northern zone of Dhaka to a hub of government offices and hospitals in the middle for now. Eventually it will cut through the city to the financial district of Motijheel in the south." The Saudi based media Al-Arabiya titled, "Bangladesh’s congested capital Dhaka gets first mass-transit rail." According to this report, "Bangladesh’s capital now has its first metro rail, a Japanese-funded project that aims to ease commuting in one of the most congested cities in the world. A section of the over 20-kilometer (12.427 miles) urban rail project, known as Line 6, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday. The line connects the northern zone of Dhaka to a hub of government offices and hospitals in the middle for now. Eventually it will cut through the city to the financial district of Motijheel in the south." The Indian based newspaper 'Times of India' also published AFP report on metro rail. Another Indian  media outlet NDTV also published Bloomberg report. One of the popular West Bengal Bengali daily 'Anandabazar Patrika' titled,  Dhaka metro rail  inauguration, 'Relief from traffic jams, Metro service started in Dhaka, start off by Sheikh Hasina.' According to the report, Metro rail service begun in Dhaka. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina waved the green flag and the country's first-ever metro began to roll.  In addition to, Singapore's English daily "The Straits Times", India's "Business Standard", Hindustan Times, Pakistan's "Dawn", "UrduPoint", and many more media outlets around the world published Bangladesh's Metrorail inauguration News.

India is keeping an eye on the recent unrest in the Rakhine state of Myanmar that Bangladesh apprehends it might hamper the process of Rohingya repatriation. Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar made the remarks when he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the meeting room of her palace residence in New Delhi. "They told us that India is keeping an eye on the unrest being created there (Rakhine state)," Senior Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told a news briefing after the meeting quoting the Indian minister. Rohingya repatriation issue was discussed during the meeting, he said, adding that the Bangladesh Prime Minister said whether the recent unrest in the Rakhine state issue would hamper the Rohingya repatriation. "Everyone has that apprehension," he said, quoting the premier. Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim was present during the briefing. The Indian external affairs minister said the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister will act as an impetus to deepen the existing bilateral relations. As he believed the visit has finished the cycle that began with the visits of the Indian President and the Indian Prime Minister to Bangladesh in a single year (2021). The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary said the existing bilateral relations of the two neighbouring countries are very good.    During the meeting, the Foreign Secretary said that both Bangladesh and India placed their proposals to enhance the connectivity between the neighbouring countries. The Prime Minister said that priority should be given to the projects that would ensure progress and prosperity for the people of Bangladesh, India, Bhutan and Nepal. To this end, he said the BBIN like initiative should be sped up for better connectivity in the region, the foreign secretary said.    He said initiative should be taken to use Bangladeshi ports by Nepal and Bhutan. “This connectivity means not only physical connectivity, there is also energy connectivity, people to people connectivity,” he said. Mentioning that there was significant decline in the people to people connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic period, he said after the Covid-19 situation the connectivity of road, air and rail has been restored. On grid connectivity, the Foreign Secretary said that the grid connectivity would facilitate Bangladesh to bring electricity from Nepal and Bhutan and India to disseminate power from one part to another.    In this connection, he said 1000MW of electricity has already been procured in Bangladesh through the connectivity. Water sharing issues also came up in the discussion, he said, adding that the main discussion to this end will be held tomorrow. During the meeting, they also discussed the Russia-Ukraine war that created a crisis in the globe, he said. Both the leaders discussed enhancement of collaboration to face the crisis collectively, he added. About energy cooperation against the backdrop of the war, he said Bangladesh can procure fuel oil from India if it has surplus energy through mutually agreed terms and conditions. Talking about purchasing of fuel oil from Russia, he said that it is not right that they could not get oil from Russia, but "we are now scrutinising the technical specifications".   The Foreign Minister said they are giving the final touch of the MoUs on sharing of the water of Kushira river, water management, information and broadcasting, railways and BSRI which are expected to be signed.    Responding to a question, he said sharing of the Teesta and Ganges rivers might come with many more issues. The tenure of the Ganges water treaty would soon be completed, he added. Later, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Source: BSS AH

    Nesta, a renowned UK based not for profit innovation foundation concluded that India’s distinctive competence lies in frugal innovation in 2012. To make this conclusion, they cited iconic frugal innovations institutions from India such as Aravind Eye Care that provides low-cost, high-quality cataract surgery; the GE MAC 400, a low-cost, portable ECG machine and the Jaipur foot, affordable, individually-fitted prosthetics. Driving these innovations were different approaches: process reconfiguration, frugal engineering and ‘Gandhian innovation’, respectively. Frugal innovation is a result of process reconfiguration — reviewing the entire process of production or delivery for opportunities to use scarce resources better and reduce costs. Frugal engineering is a clean-sheet approach to production of goods that aims at maximising value for the customers while minimising non-essential costs. C. K. Prahalad and R. A. Mashelkar’s concept of `Ghandhian innovation’ is driven by affordability and sustainability, rather than premium pricing and abundance approach. Now a decade later Where we are? Has India lived up to its reputation? What does India should do to take frugal innovation to the next level? Is innovation from Indian industry getting scarce now? When we recently made a list of  top innovations in india during the 2011-20 decade and  made a comparison with the top innovations in the preceding decade, we found some interesting differences. We didn’t find many visible, big-ticket innovations from large Indian companies or MNC research laboratories in India during 2011-20. Instead, what stood out were public platforms like Aadhaar, the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and the Government e-Marketplace (GeM); data- and behavioural science-driven innovations like Niti Aayog’s Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP); and a fusion of frugal engineering and virtual intelligence (through digital technologies) manifesting itself in, like Nirmai’s Thermalytix platform that uses a safe and affordable thermal imaging technology, coupled with machine learning to enable early detection of breast cancer. Thousands of Indians have experienced the benefits of Aadhaar in obtaining direct benefit transfers. UPI is probably the easiest, cheapest and reliable peer-to-peer financial transaction mechanism that was our lifeline during the Covid-19 lockdowns. These findings indicates that India has the potential to secure a leading position in frugal innovation going forward but perhaps in a different way from what Nesta identified a decade ago. The creation of public platforms prevents end-to-end monopolies and enhances the ability of startups to build specialized applications meeting the needs of specific segments of users. And more interestingly, these public digital platforms have not been built by traditional public sector agencies instead by groups of technical experts on a low-cost, largely pro bono basis. But then the end product is a public good, which is too managed and maintained by a government agency. This innovation in creating the framework or scaffolding  will help next generation to lead this sector. The next generation of “public platforms” that can enable specific solutions is already on the horizon. These platforms include an account aggregator and the national health stack – the former will facilitate consented sharing of personal financial information in real-time that will help enhance access to credit as well as investment management services; the latter will help access health records and process health insurance claims in both private and public systems. Solving India’s problems with frugal innovation Though the locus of frugal innovation has shifted to the government and startups, this needs to be sustained, industry needs to be a partner as well. India needs more frugal innovation is beyond question. Though absolute poverty might have declined from 1947 to 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has cause thousands of our citizens to slip backwards. Several reports also indicate increasing income inequality with the top decile accounting for more than half of national income. With our per capita income of about USD 2,000, improving India’s human resource development index is an important goal and possible only with frugal innovation. To further enhance India’s innovation capability, it needs to solve problems accurately, nurture capabilities in emerging tech areas, create new generation innovators, collaborate in industry academia, enhance R&D and in established firms, and focus on india’s commitments to climate change. Source: The Print

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Thursday) said the government would expand the eye treatment facilities through Community Vision Centre (CVC) to each upazila gradually, as healthy people are needed to pull Bangladesh ahead. “In digital Bangladesh, we’ve brought health services to people’s doorstep and the CVC will be expanded to each upazila gradually as initiatives have already been taken to set up more 110 CVCs across the country,” she said. The Premier was addressing the opening ceremony of the CVCs installed at 70 upazilas in 20 districts at the capital’s National Eye Science Institute and Hospital (NESIH), virtually joining from her official residence Ganabhaban. Mentioning that healthy people are needed to build a prosperous Bangladesh, she said the government is arranging necessary healthcare facilities so the people will remain fit. Referring to the opportunities of “Digital Bangladesh” established by the Awami League (AL) government, Sheikh Hasina said now people are not usually needed to move physically to physicians in every case rather they can avail treatment through telemedicine and it has been possible due to digitalization. With the 20 CVCs introduced earlier in 8 districts in 2018, the total number of CVS now stood at 90 which would cover around five crore people to provide treatment for different eye diseases. So far 4.50 lakh people have received eye treatment from specialist physicians through the CVCs. The head of government said eye treatment is expensive and that is why people usually don’t receive treatment, adding, “Not only as the Prime Minister but also as a daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman she cannot let the people to be remained treatment-less.” “It’s my duty to make necessary arrangements for providing treatment to them (people)”, she continued. She directed the authorities concerned to conduct more publicity about the community clinic as well as the CVCs and motivate people to visit there for medical treatment. Mentioning that Bangabandhu had made the country independent to ease the sorrow and sufferings of its people, Sheikh Hasina said, “It is also our responsibility”. Assuming power in 1996, Awami League introduced community clinics to provide healthcare services to people’s doorstep, but the BNP-Jamaat government after 2001 stopped this clinic, she said. As people voted AL again to power in 2009, they have been able to reopen the community clinic along with the introduction of the CVCs to offer different medical treatments and medicines free of cost, she added. Extending gratitude to the people of the country, the Premier said “We can work for you (people) and offer different services for your trust and confidence in AL.” Reiterating her call to the people to follow the health safety protocols to stop the spread of Coronavirus, she urged people to get registered themselves for Covid-19 vaccination and visit the centre when the date for inoculation comes instead of creating any indiscipline situation moving there before schedule time. Sheikh Hasina repeated her government’s determination to provide land and house to each land and homeless person in the Mujib Borsho. “None will remain home and land less as we’ve kept Taka 100 crore in the budget for it.” Mentioning the graduation of Bangladesh as a developing nation, she vowed the government along with people must turn the country into a hunger-poverty-free nation that might move ahead with raising head and self-esteem globally. Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque also spoke on the occasion while Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus moderated the function. Health Secretary Md. Abdul Mannan delivered the welcome address and NESIH Director Professor Dr Golam Mostafa highlighted different aspects of the CVCs. On the outset of the ceremony, a documentary on the national eye care and the CVCs was screened. Later, the Prime Minister virtually connected with Peerganj Upazila of Rangpur District, Nachole Upazila of Chapainawabganj District and Haluaghat Upazila of Mymensingh District. She also talked with the beneficiaries of the CVCs and listened to their experiences. Source: BSS AH

Classes of all the educational institutions will begin if the coronavirus pandemic situation comes under control. The primary and mass education ministry has taken plans to turn the primary schools eye catching across the country. The decision has been taken on the pretext of recommendation from the parliamentary standing committee. In this regard primary and mass education ministry informed that necessary steps will be taken to turn the schools eye catching and to increase other facilities. According to the standing committee sources, the standing committee members recommended for increasing facilities and turning the primary schools eye catching in their electoral areas. Following that the ministry has taken the steps. The information was delivered at the meeting of parliamentary standing committee on primary and mass education ministry held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Wednesday. The meeting presided over by Mostafizur Rahman where other committee members State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Zakir Hossain, Ali Azam, Shirin Akhter, Begum Ferdousy Islam and Kazi Monirul Islam were present. AH