Month: September 2023

Scientists find possible earth-like planet in Kuiper Belt

Astronomers from Japan have recently found encouraging signs of a planet that resembles Earth in our solar system.

If it indeed exists, the planet would be:

> 1.5 to 3 times the size of the Earth

> Somewhere between 250 to 500 times farther from the Sun than the Earth – in the Kuiper Belt near Neptune.

KnowALLedge Plus

The Kuiper Belt is a cold donut-shaped region of icy objects that circles the outer solar system beyond the orbit of the eighth planet from the sun, Neptune.

> It is similar to the main asteroid belt, found between Mars and Jupiter.

> It is far larger than the main asteroid belt, up to 20 times as wide and 20 to 100 times it’s mass.

India’s 1st UPI ATM unveiled at Global Fintech Fest 2023

Since UPI first ushered in seven years back, it has revolutionised finance in India. In September 2023, the system saw a new feather on its cap as Hitachi Payment Services launched India’s first UPI-ATM, in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and a software company called NCR Corporation. This UPI-ATM will allow customers to withdraw cash without using an ATM or debit card. Instead, the UPI pin will act as the facilitator. To withdraw money, a QR code will be displayed on the ATM screen, the customer will scan the QR code using any UPI app and authorise the transaction by entering their PIN on their mobile app. The ATM will dispense cash after the credentials are validated.

KnowALLedge Plus:

> UPI stands for Unified Payments Interface. It was introduced in India in 2016. It is an online platform operated by NPCI that enables instant transfer of money between bank accounts.

> In the last seven years, it has grown to be the fastest-growing payment method in the country, with more than 100 million active users across different platforms.

> In May 2023, UPI hit a record of 9 billion transactions worth ₹14 trillion (US$180 billion)

> Many countries have been direct beneficiaries of the UPI technology as shared by India. The list including France, Australia, Singapore, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, to name a few.

World’s tallest Nataraj all set to welcome G20 delegates

To greet the G20 leaders a magnificent 27-foot Nataraja, the tallest statue of Lord Shiva’s dancing form in the world has been installed in the front of the Bharat Mandapan in New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan.

Made of Ashtadhatu, the 18-ton-weight statue is an important symbol of cosmic energy, creativity and power.

KnowALLedge Plus

The G20 statue was transported over two days via a specially created green corridor of some 2,500km from Tamil Nadu to Delhi.

The statue has been sculpted by renowned sculptor Radhakrishnan Sthapaty of Swami Malai in Tamil Nadu and his team in a record 7 months.

34 generations of Radhakrishnan have been making idols since the Chola Empire period.

Situated on the banks of the river Kaveri, the small town of Swami Malai is famed for its bronze icons which sthapathys (sculptors) have been carving using the traditional lost-wax technique since the time of the Chola empire.

Swami Malai bronze icons now have the coveted GI tag too.

Takahe, a prehistoric bird once thought to be extinct, returns to New Zealand

In a rare win for conservationists, a large flightless bird, not seen in the wild in 100 years, made a return to the alpine slopes of New Zealand’s South Island. Takahe, which dates back to at least the prehistoric Pleistocene era, was formally declared extinct in 1898, after being rediscovered in 1948. Since then, they have been raised in captivity, away from predators and their numbers have steadily risen to about 500.

KnowALLedge Plus:

> Many New Zealand birds are flightless as before the arrival of humans, there were no native land mammals that preyed on them.

> The European settlers brought with them many animals that wreaked havoc on the local bird population. The nation plans to wipe out some of its worst predators – rats, possums and stoats – by 2050.

> The Takahe is considered to be taonga – a treasure that should be protected, by the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. The bird has also appeared in a stamp before.

Piloo Reporter was one of the first neutral umpires in international cricket

Piloo Reporter, who passed away on September 3rd, 2023, in Mumbai, was part of the first pair of neutral umpires to stand in international cricket. This landmark feat took place in November 1986 when he, along with VK Ramaswamy, stood in a test played in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium between Pakistan and West Indies. This was one of the turning points in cricket, as Pakistan captain Imran Khan requested the ICC to setup a system with neutral umpires, to put an end to biased home umpiring.

KnowALLedge Plus:

In 1993, Piloo Reporter officiated a Hero Cup ODI game in Bengaluru between Zimbabwe and South Africa as an umpire. 19-year-old Heath Streak made his debut in that match. Co-incidentally, Heath Streak too passed away on the same date as Reporter.

Microsoft to remove WordPad from future Windows releases

Microsoft is discontinuing its WordPad software from Windows 12 onwards, after nearly thirty years of its existence. In its support note, the company wrote, “WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt.”

KnowALLedge Plus:

WordPad was first introduced as part of Windows 95 in 1995. However, the free word processing software has not been updated since the release of Windows 7.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant wins Durand Cup 2023, ends a 23-year wait.

On September 3rd, 2023, Mohun Bagan Super Giant defeated arch-rivals East Bengal FC in a high profile Kolkata Derby to lift the Durand Cup for the 17th time, thanks to a solitary goal by Dimitri Petratos. The Mariners became the most successful club in the tournament’s history in the process.

KnowALLedge Plus:

>First played in 1888, the Durand Cup is the oldest existing football tournament in Asia and the third oldest in the world.

>This edition of the tournament had 24 teams, four more than the last edition, including 12 Indian Super League (ISL) sides.

>The tournament is named after its founder Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, who served as the foreign secretary of British India from 1884 to 1894.

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