Today, Air Force Record Office (AFRO) celebrated 80th anniversary of it's formation with ceremonial fervour at Subroto Park, New Delhi. Senior serving and retired officers were present to celebrate the event.
The Air Officer Commanding AFRO, Air Commodore AR Shendye VM delivered a performance status report as a prelude to the ceremony. He also gave a gist of the events being undertaken to commemorate the event. The activities included inauguration of the AFRO History Cell and Museum by Air Vice Marshal GS Bedi VM VSM, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (PO), a Musical Evening being graced by Air Vice Marshal S Ravi Vridhachalem VM VSM, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (PA&C), Mini Sports Olympiad, Walkathon (for ladies), Marathon (for men), Painting Competition (for children), Cycling Expedition, Tree Plantation and Blood Donation Camp.
The highlight of the evening would be the release of a Coffee Table Book titled ‘AFRO Through the Ages’ by Air Marshal RaghunathNambiar PVSM AVSM VM & Bar ADC, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command.
The AFRO can justifiably take pride in being one of the oldest IAF formations. After its formation as IAF Record Office at Ambala in 1939, it changed several locations such as Lahore in 1941, Bombay in 1942, Madras in 1946 and New Delhi in 1947 before finding its permanent location at Subroto Park in 1966. During its eight decades of existence, its growth has been closely interlinked with that of the IAF. Initially handling the end to end HR management of only 14100 Hawai Sepoys in 1947, today it has grown into a mammoth institution looking after nearly 1,43,000 Air Warriors.
Its aim now is to automate all manual processes and reduce paper movement between outlying field units and AFRO, thereby enhancing transparency and accountability. The skilled and dedicated personnel of ‘Team AFRO’ follow the IAF tenet of “Mission, Integrity & Excellence” in the discharge of their duties so that the IAF touches the sky with glory.
Aims: To encourage science and technology (S&T) institutions and individual scientists in the country to proactively engage in science outreach activities to connect science with the society.
To harness latent potential of the scientific community for strengthening linkages between science and society, and for making S&T ecosystem vibrant.
To develop a mechanism for ensuring access to scientific knowledge, transferring benefits of science to meet societal needs, promoting collaborations to identify problems and develop solutions.
Highlights of the draft: Under the proposed policy, individual scientists or knowledge workers will be required to devote at least 10 person-days of SSR per year for exchanging scientific knowledge to society.
It also recognises the need to provide incentives for outreach activities with necessary budgetary support.
It has also been proposed to give credit to knowledge workers/scientists for individual SSR activities in their annual performance appraisal and evaluation.
No institution would be allowed to outsource or sub-contract their SSR activities and projects.
The draft defines SSR as “the ethical obligation of knowledge workers in all fields of science and technology to voluntarily contribute their knowledge and resources to the widest spectrum of stakeholders in society, in a spirit of service and conscious reciprocity”.
A central agency will be established at DST to implement the SSR. Other ministries would also be encouraged to make their own plans to implement SSR as per their mandate.
Need for SSR: When most research is being done by using taxpayers’ money, the scientific establishment has an ethical obligation of “giving back” to the society. SSR is not only about scientific impact upon society but also about the social impact upon science. SSR would therefore strengthen the knowledge ecosystem and bring efficiencies in harnessing science for the benefit of society.
Why conserve groundwater? Groundwater reserves are already under pressure as the global population explodes and crop production rises in lockstep.
Extreme weather events such as drought and record rainfall — have both made worse by our heating planet — could have another long-lasting impact on how quickly reserves replenish.
Only half of all groundwater supplies are likely to fully replenish or re-balance within the next 100 years — potentially leading to shortages in drier areas.
The process through which rainwater is filtered through bedrock and accumulated underground can take centuries and varies greatly by region. As climate change delivers longer droughts and bigger superstorms, the extremes of rainfall become more pronounced, impacting groundwater reserves for generations to come.
Situation of groundwater in India: Today, India is the largest user of the groundwater in the world with almost 90% being used for drinking water and almost 60-70% for irrigation. Current statistics also show that nearly 50% of urban water supply comes from groundwater. India is on the threshold of a very serious groundwater crisis, which needs mitigation both in the fields and at the policy corridors of the country.
Need of the hour: There is a need to modernise the regulatory framework for accessing groundwater soon after massive expansion in mechanical pumping led to the realisation that recharge could not keep pace with use.
Context: National Hindi Divas or Hindi Day is observed every year on September 14.
Objective: The day is a celebration of the Hindi language and its cultural heritage and values among the people of the country and abroad.
Why do we celebrate National Hindi Diwas? The Constituent assembly of India adopted Hindi as the official language of the country on September 14, 1949 under Article 343. Hindi is the fourth language of the world.
It is a movement to combat desertification and climate change which will involve the tribal community of India since they have the expertise in this field.
The movement will ensure that tribals can earn a livelihood without causing environmental harm.
It was launched at the COP 14 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).