NASA’s Hubble telescope captures spectacular image of star-studded cosmic cloud

NASA’s Hubble telescope recently captured an amazing image of a young cluster of stars known as NGC 6530. This is located in the constellation Sagittarius and is around 4,350 light-years away from Earth. The US-based space agency shared the image on its social media account, which showed a collection of thousands of stars.

The cluster is located within the Lagoon Nebula, which is a massive interstellar cloud.

“A collection of thousands of stars lie around 4,350 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. Set within the Lagoon Nebula — a stellar nursery with scorching temperatures, stellar winds, and powerful radiation — these stars form in a gigantic cloud of interstellar dust and gas,” NASA wrote in its Instagram caption.

The cluster is located within the Lagoon Nebula, which is a massive interstellar cloud. This region has been viewed and studied by Hubble multiple times. The images released by NASA show that the Lagoon Nebula’s thick cloud of gas and dust extends from one side of the picture to the other.

According to NASA, the massive cloud of gas and dust is composed of bands of red, orange, yellow, and blue, as well as clouds that appear like liquid amalgamating with the surrounding. The white, purple, and blue dots of stars also appear randomly throughout the photo.

Through the use of space telescopes, astronomers can study the formation and evolution of exoplanetary systems and stars. The magnificent discs surrounding young stars can be studied to determine the origin and evolution of these cosmic bodies. NASAá Hubble Space Telescope took this image with its Wide Field Planetary Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys, that according to NASA makes it an “indispensable tool for understanding star birth and the origin of exoplanetary systems.”

Through the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers can now peer into the dust and gas surrounding newly born stars. They can also study the early stages of their development.

Nora Fatehi Dazzles Fans With Her Performance At FIFA World Cup 2022 Final

Actor-dancer Nora Fatehi set the stage on fire at the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2022. On Sunday, Nora joined Balqees, Rahma Riad and Manal to perform their song, Light The Sky. The actor took the centre stage and crooned in Hindi.

Pictures and videos of her performance have been doing rounds on social media

For the performance, she opted for an embellished black dress which featured frills. She teamed it with black stockings and heels. A video of her performance was shared on the official Twitter handle FIFA.

Along with the video, the caption read, “The #FIFAWorldCup closing ceremony delivered!”

Pictures and videos of her performance have been doing rounds on social media. Nora’s fans loved her dazzling performance and a few also said that she made them proud. A user wrote, “#NoraFatehi was a pleasure to eyes at the #ClosingCeremony performing live.” “Nora fatehi the women who stole the show in the closing ceremony in Qatar 2022,” added another user.

The third user wrote, “Nora Fatehi & Deepika Padukone both were the jaaan of this closing ceremony. Admit it or not inko dekh kar apke bi face per khushi aye ti (Nora and Deepika were the heart of the closing ceremony, admit it or not, they must have brought a smile to your face).”

Earlier, Nora wrote an emotional note on being a part of the FIFA World Cup 2022, she shared, “That moment when u hear ur voice at the world cup stadium @fifaworldcup (face holding back tears and smiling face with red heart eyes emojis), this was so surreal! Its milestones like this make the journey so worth it (face holding back tears, red heart and hand-folded emoji). I always envisioned moments like this, im Just a Dreamer with a hunger to make those dreams come alive! From a regular shmagular girl in the hood to this!”

She added, “Believe in yourself self guys, never let anybody tell you You Cant! Ur dreams are never too big! Many laughed at me at the start but we out here!! And this is just the beginning.”

Avatar The Way of Water box office day 2 collection: Film mints ₹80 cr in just 2 days, isn't as impressive overseas

James Cameron’s Avatar The Way of Water registered another good day at the box office on Saturday. It collected another ₹40.5 crore at the desi box office, a marginal uptick from Friday’s collection of ₹40 crore. The total two-day haul therefore, currently stands at ₹80 crore

A still from Avatar: The Way of Water.

As per a report in Box Office India, Andhra and Kerala saw some downward trends in collection on Saturday, which could explain the low turnout on day 2. It also predicted a ₹125 crore nett collection for the film over the weekend.

In US, movie generated $53 million in its first two days of release. It garnered an additional $127.1 million in international markets over three days, Disney said in a statement Saturday.

Worldwide, the film opened to $53 million. The number is quite low compared to Spider-Man: No Way Home, which made $121.9 million on opening day in 2021.

The company suggested The Way of Water would take in between $130 million and $150 million in US and Canadian theaters on its opening weekend. It previously forecast more than $150 million. While that would still put it alongside the biggest movies of the year, the results could come as a disappointment for theater chains that were anticipating an even stronger performance.

It was a $52 million opening for Paramount Global’s Top Gun: Maverick in May and $48.2 million for Universal’s Minions: The Rise of Gru in July over their first two days, according to Comscore Inc. data. The results were below recent superhero film releases, such as Disney’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which tend to generate early attendance from fans looking for clues to future storylines.

The Way of Water is among the widest releases in Disney history, debuting on over 12,000 screens in the US and Canada and 40,000 internationally. It’s being released at the same time globally in every country, a rarity in the business.

Avatar 2 continues the mix of sci-fi and eco-politics — returning to the planet Pandora where the Na’vi struggle to fend off rapacious humans — as well as the groundbreaking use of 3D and cutting edge cinematic wizardry that made the original such a box-office hit.

India, Canada ties to get a boost with G20 visits

The bilateral relationship between India and Canada could get a major boost next year, with as many as eight Canadian cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expected to visit to participate in G20 events.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the Liberal national caucus holiday party in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The first significant visitor to India will be Canada’s foreign minister Mélanie Joly, who is expected in India in March 2023 and is likely to have a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The two ministers spoke last week and a senior Canadian official said, “The call was positive and ministers look forward to seeing each other early in 2023.”

Joly may also participate in the Raisina Dialogue, organised by the Observe Research Foundation (ORF), with support from the Ministry of External Affairs. Another cabinet minister who may be at that multilateral conference will be Canada’s minister of national defence Anita Anand. While there is no defence-related vertical at the G20, Anand, who is of Indian-origin, is also expected to arrive in March.

Several other cabinet ministers will travel to India in the months leading up to the G20 Leaders’ Summit, which will witness Trudeau’s return to India for the first time since February 2018.

Canada’s high commissioner to New Delhi Cameron Mackay, who is currently in Ottawa, tweeted after a meeting with Joly that they had a “great discussion” including on how to “deepen relations.”

“2023 will be a great year,” he added.

That optimism is shared by others familiar with the India-Canada corridor. Former Indian high commissioner to Ottawa Ajay Bisaria said, “2023 should be the year of an important reset in the Indo-Canadian strategic partnership. It should see a stronger geopolitical and geoeconomic alignment.”

Bisaria felt that with Trudeau and eight Cabinet Ministers scheduled to visit India “bilateral initiatives should be pushed forward particularly on economic, energy, technology, climate and defence issues. We should also be able to address irritants and iron out wrinkles in mobility and security. India’s instinct will be to creatively address bilateral issues even as it builds consensus on global issues as G20 chair.”

The major issue that will need to be overcome will be that of Canadian territory allegedly being utilised by pro-Khalistan elements, including the separatist Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which has already held voting twice in the country for its so-called Punjab Referendum.

But both India and Canada are increasingly willing to look beyond that issue, a senior Indian official said, so as to establish closer ties, particularly focused on formalising an Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) next year.

Discrepancies in MEA, Kremlin statements on Modi-Putin call, ‘will take Modi at his word’ says US

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “dialogue and diplomacy” amid the ongoing Ukraine war, as well as the mention of “defence and security” cooperation were two aspects missing from the Kremlin’s version about what was discussed in a call between the Indian Prime Minister and Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday.

 PM Modi with President Putin 

Following the telephonic conversation, the US Department of State said countries will make their own decisions on how to engage with Russia.

According to the statement released by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), PM Modi “reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way forward” during his latest call with the Russian President.

A statement released by the Kremlin only said, however, that “At Narendra Modi’s request, Vladimir Putin gave a principled assessment regarding Russia’s policy in Ukraine”.

On discussions about bilateral cooperation, Modi and Putin spoke about “energy cooperation, trade and investments, defence and security cooperation, and other key areas” in their call, said the MEA.

The Kremlin statement did not mention defense, but rather that the two leaders discussed cooperation in areas of “mutual investment, energy, agriculture, transport and logistics”.

Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, which is nearing the 10-month mark, has led to an increase in global prices in fuel, food and fertiliser. India has not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has reiterated the need to resolve the crisis through diplomacy and dialogue.

In September, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, PM Modi had said “now is not the time for war” — a statement welcomed by the US and other Western countries.

‘Welcomed those comments when they took place’
Shortly after Modi and Putin’s telephonic conversation Friday, the US State Department said countries will make their own decisions on how to engage with Russia.

Asked about how seriously Washington considered remarks from PM Modi to end the conflict, US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said: “Well, we would take the prime minister at his word, and we welcomed those comments when they took place.”

He added: “Ultimately, though, other countries will make their own decisions on its engagements with both — when it comes to Russia”.

Patel said Washington continues to coordinate with allies and partners to mitigate the impact of the Ukraine war, especially with effects on energy markets.

Asked if India has a role to play to stop the war, Patel said any country interested in engaging in peace and ending the war “would need to do so in close coordination and partnership with our Ukrainian partners” (sic).

“This — we will continue doing everything we can to support them and that this needs to come to a conclusion on their terms,” added Patel.

In October, PM Modi had spoken to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reiterated his call for “dialogue and diplomacy” to solve the conflict with Russia, as well as voiced his concerns about the safety of nuclear installations in Ukraine.

Low-Carb vs. Low-Fat: Science Reveals Which Diet Is Better for Weight Loss and Diabetes Control

Patients achieved better weight loss and glucose control over a 6-month intervention with a low-carbohydrate, high-fat, calorie unrestricted diet compared to a high-carb, low-fat diet. This is according to a randomized controlled trial of more than 100 people with type 2 diabetes. The changes were not sustained 3 months after the intervention, suggesting a need for long-term dietary changes to maintain meaningful health benefits. The findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on December 13.

More than 480 million people worldwide are affected by type 2 diabetes. Just in the United States, more than 37 million people have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. More than half of persons with diabetes also have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which can progress to cirrhosis and impair liver function. Prior studies suggest that weight loss improves both diabetes control and NAFLD and restriction of carbohydrate intake improves the control of blood sugar levels.

Scientists from the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Denmark, randomly assigned 165 people with type 2 diabetes to either a low carb high fat (LCHF) diet or a high carb low fat (HCLF) diet for 6 months. Participants in both groups were asked to eat the same number of calories equal to their energy expenditure. Patients on the low-carb diet were instructed to consume no more than 20% of their calories from carbohydrates but they could have 50–60% of their calories from fat and 20–30% from protein. Participants on the low-fat diet were asked to eat about half of their calories in carbohydrates and the rest evenly split between fats and proteins.

The authors found that people on the low-carb diet reduced hemoglobin A1c by 0.59 percent more than the low-fat diet, and also lost 3.8 kg (8.4 pounds) more weight compared to those in the low-fat group. The low-carb dieters also lost more body fat and reduced their waist circumference. Both groups had higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and lower triglycerides at 6 months.

However, changes were not sustained 3 months after the intervention, suggesting that dietary changes need to be sustained over the long term to maintain effects. The liver was not affected by the high fat intake in the low-carb group: The researchers found no difference in the amount of liver fat or inflammation between the two groups.

Reference: “Effect of Calorie-Unrestricted Low-Carbohydrate, High-Fat Diet Versus High-Carbohydrate, Low-Fat Diet on Type 2 Diabetes and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial” by Camilla Dalby Hansen, MD, Eva-Marie Gram-Kampmann, MD, Johanne Kragh Hansen, MD, Mie Balle Hugger, MD, Bjørn Stæhr Madsen, MD, PhD, Jane Møller Jensen, RD, Sara Olesen, MD, Nikolaj Torp, MD, Ditlev Nytoft Rasmussen, MD, PhD, Maria Kjærgaard, MD, Stine Johansen, MBBS, Katrine Prier Lindvig, MD, Peter Andersen, MSc, Katrine Holtz Thorhauge, MD, Jan Christian Brønd, cand.scient, PhD, Pernille Hermann, MD, PhD, Henning Beck-Nielsen, MD, DMSc, Sönke Detlefsen, MD, PhD, Torben Hansen, MD, PhD, Kurt Højlund, MD, DMSc, Maja Sofie Thiele, MD, PhD, Mads Israelsen, MD, PhD and Aleksander Krag, MD, PhD, 13 December 2022, Annals of Internal Medicine.

Phases of water can be better studied through machine learning models: Research

For decades, water has baffled scientists. They have speculated for the past 30 years or so that water would be able to divide into two liquid phases of different densities when cooled to extremely low temperatures like -100C. These phases don’t mix, just like oil and water, which may help to explain some of the other peculiar characteristics of water, such as how it loses density as it cools. But because water turns into ice so quickly at such low temperatures, it is nearly hard to analyse this phenomenon in a lab. The phase shifts of water are now better understood according to recent research from the Georgia Institute of Technology that makes use of machine learning models, providing greater opportunities for a more theoretical understanding of distinct components.

Representative Image (Image Source: Pexels).

“We are doing this with very detailed quantum chemistry calculations that are trying to be as close as possible to the real physics and physical chemistry of water,” said Thomas Gartner, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech. “This is the first time anyone has been able to study this transition with this level of accuracy.” The research was presented in the paper, “Liquid-Liquid Transition in Water From First Principles,” in the journal Physical Review Letters, with co-authors from Princeton University.

To better understand how water interacts, the researchers ran molecular simulations on supercomputers, which Gartner compared to a virtual microscope. “If you had an infinitely powerful microscope, you could zoom in all the way down to the level of the individual molecules and watch them move and interact in real time,” he said. “This is what we’re doing by creating almost a computational movie.”

The researchers analyzed how the molecules move and characterized the liquid structure at different water temperatures and pressures, mimicking the phase separation between the high and low-density liquids. They collected extensive data — running some simulations for up to a year — and continued to fine-tune their algorithms for more accurate results. Even a decade ago, running such long and detailed simulations wouldn’t have been possible, but machine learning today offered a shortcut. The researchers used a machine learning algorithm that calculated the energy of how water molecules interact with each other. This model performed the calculation significantly faster than traditional techniques, allowing the simulations to progress much more efficiently.

Machine learning isn’t perfect, so these long simulations also improved the accuracy of the predictions. The researchers were careful to test their predictions with different types of simulation algorithms. If multiple simulations gave similar results, then it validated their accuracy. “One of the challenges with this work is that there’s not a lot of data that we can compare to because it’s a problem that’s almost impossible to study experimentally,” Gartner said. “We’re really pushing the boundaries here, so that’s another reason why it’s so important that we try to do this using multiple different computational techniques.”

Some of the conditions the researchers tested were extremes that probably don’t exist on Earth directly, but potentially could be present in various water environments of the solar system, from the oceans of Europa to water in the center of comets. Yet these findings could also help researchers better explain and predict water’s strange and complex physical chemistry, informing water’s use in industrial processes, developing better climate models, and more. The work is even more generalizable, according to Gartner. Water is a well-studied research area, but this methodology could be expanded to other difficult-to-simulate materials like polymers, or complex phenomena like chemical reactions.

“Water is so central to life and industry, so this particular question of whether water can undergo this phase transition has been a longstanding problem, and if we can move toward an answer, that’s important,” he said. “But now we have this really powerful new computational technique, but we don’t yet know what the boundaries are and there’s a lot of room to move the field forward.”

1st Test: Axar grabs 4, Kuldeep 3 as India crush Bangladesh to go 1-0 up, keep World Test Championship final hopes alive

Shakib-Al-Hasan batted through an injury to produce one of the best innings of his career but his gritty knock of 84 was not enough to prevent India from beating Bangladesh by 188 runs. India did not take long to pick up the final four wickets, requiring just 58 deliveries and 50 minutes on the fifth morning to go 1–0 up, with Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav combining to grab seven wickets. A target of 513 always required a miraculous chase heading into the two days of a Test match and even though Bangladesh produced a couple of stunning performance with the bat — a century on debut for Zakir Hasan and fifties from Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib — it was India who managed to pick 20 wickets, dismissing the host for 324 and keeping their hopes alive for a place in the World Test Championship final, who are now placed third in the points-table.

India's players celebrate the dismissal of Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan Miraz

For Bangladesh to come close to the prospect of an unlikely win, they needed their overnight batters, Mehidy Hasan and Shakib to bat through. But Mohammed Siraj struck for India in the first over of the day to land a crucial blow. Shakib entertained by playing some attacking strokes, scoring six fours and six sixes — the most by a Bangladesh captain in a Test innings against India but with just three wickets remaining and the tail in, he had to rotate the strike wisely.

He managed to do so for a while, but the pressure finally caught up. KL Rahul’s brilliant captaincy of getting the fielders in paid off and Shakib perished trying to slog Kuldeep only to have his stumps shattered. From there, it was only a matter of time. Kuldeep had Ebadot Hossain caught at short leg and finished with 3/73 — to go with 5/40 in the first innings — recording his best-ever match haul of 8/113 and Axar cleaned up Taijul to wind things up.

The fate of the match was decided pretty much when Bangladesh were rolled over for 150 in the first innings, conceding a lead of 354. And were then knocked out of contention by India’s super-aggressive batting, which saw them hammer 258/2 declared with Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara notching up hundreds. After KL Rahul was sent back for another low score, Gill smashed the maiden century of his Test career, and Pujara his fastest off just 130 balls, to go with his knock of 90 in the first innings.

The tempo was set in the first innings itself when India batted bravely and recovered from a dodgy start. After being reduced to 112/4, Pujara and Shreyas Iyer turned the tide with a 149-run partnership. Both were unlucky to miss out of a century but their efforts, coupled by R Ashwin’s fifty and Kuldeep’s highest Test score, India managed to put up 404. On the same surface, Bangladesh were floored with Siraj’s three and Kuldeep’s five-wicket-haul. India could have enforced a follow on but decided otherwise, and the way they batted in the second innings proved exactly why. They scored at over four runs an over to push for a result.

OnePlus 11 launch soon; OnePlus teases design, confirms Alert Slider and Hasselblad cameras

OnePlus 11 is coming soon. OnePlus teased the upcoming smartphone during its ninth-anniversary celebrations in China on Saturday giving on-lookers the first official look at the design of the OnePlus 11. Basis on the phone’s teaser video, it is confirmed that the OnePlus 11 will come with a tweaked design. It will retain OnePlus’s hallmark alert slider and its camera setup will be tuned by Hasselblad.

OnePlus 11 launch soon; OnePlus teases design, confirms Alert Slider and Hasselblad cameras

The OnePlus 11 will be a follow-up to the OnePlus 10 Pro (there was no OnePlus 10). OnePlus hasn’t revealed the exact timeline of launch but speculation is rife that the OnePlus 11 will be launched first in China like the OnePlus 10 Pro. It is expected to arrive in global markets including India shortly thereafter.

Looking at the teaser video, it can be confirmed that the upcoming OnePlus 11 will feature an alert slider and Hasselblad-tuned triple rear camera setup.

Other than this, it can be confirmed that the device will have ceramic housing for the cameras and a metal frame. The video confirms that the OnePlus 11 will come in black colour, other than this if rumours are to be believed the upcoming device might also come in a green colour option.

Alongside this, a few days back there were rumours doing the rounds on the Chinese social media network, Weibo which revealed some of the anticipated details about the phone.

It is expected that OnePlus 11 will sport a 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED display along with a refresh rate of 120Hz and a punch hole cut out for the front camera. It is likely that the flagship smartphone will come powered with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip which was recently launched. It might be coupled with up to 16 GB RAM and 256 GB storage.

The smartphone will likely come with Android 13 based on OxygenOS 13.

For photography, the upcoming OnePlus 11 is tipped to come with a triple rear camera setup at the back. For the back camera, it might come with a 50 MP primary sensor, a 48 MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 32 MP 2x telephoto camera. Whereas on the front, it is said to come with a 16 MP camera.

The device is expected to come with a 5,000 mAh battery and 100W fast charging support. Lastly, the device will come with several connectivity options, including 5G support, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, USB Type-C port and Wi-Fi 6E. 

Bajaj family buys five luxury flats in Mumbai worth Rs 104 crore: Report

Members of the family leading the Bajaj Group conglomerate have bought five luxury apartments in Mumbai, which are cumulatively worth around Rs 104 crore, a report said on December 17.

Representative visuals of a flat shared on Raheja Vivarea's website

All five flats face the iconic Arabian sea and are based in Tower E of Raheja Vivarea, the luxury residential project located in the Mahalaxmi area of south Mumbai.

Out of the five apartments, two have been bought through Nirvaan Family Trust, The Economic Times report said, adding that one each has been bought by Shefali Bajaj, Sanjali Bajaj and Manish Kejriwal.

Shefali, who is the wife of Bajaj Finserv MD Sanjiv Bajaj, has reportedly bought the most expensive apartment worth Rs 28.31 crore. The 3,400 sq ft flat is located on the building’s 39th floor.

Sanjali, their daughter, has bought an apartment of a similar size on the 38th floor, for Rs 28.27 crore, the report added.

Kejriwal, who is Bajaj’s son-in-law, has purchased a Rs 15.47 crore-worth flat on the 36th floor, with an area of 2,433 sq ft, the newspaper said. Two more apartments of similar size have been bought by the Nirvaan Family Trust, with each valued at Rs 15.84 crore, the report noted, citing the documents it accessed through Zapkey.com.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the news.

Mumbai, notably, is one of the prime real estate markets in the country. During November, property registrations in the city surged to 8,756 units, marking a 15 percent surge as against the year-ago period.

CIA chief's praise for PM Modi: As he raised nuke use concerns, Russia…

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief William Burns said PM Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping’s concerns about the use of nuclear weapons, have had an impact on the Russians amid Ukraine war.

CIA Director William Burns is seen

“I think it has also been very useful that Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi in India have also raised their concerns about the use of nuclear weapons as well. I think that’s also having an impact on the Russians,” William Burns said during an interview with the PBS adding that he doesn’t see any clear evidence today of Russia’s plans to use tactical nuclear weapons.

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s saber-rattling is only meant to intimidate, he added.

This comes as Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the war in Ukraine could continue for a while as he warned of the increasing threat of nuclear war. Speaking at a meeting of Russia’s Human Rights Council at the Kremlin, the Russian president said that Moscow will fight by “all available means at their disposal”.

“With regard to the protracted nature of the special military operation and its results, of course, it’s going to take a while, perhaps,” Vladimir Putin said without categorically ruling out the first use of nuclear weapons which he viewed as a deterrent rather than a provocation.

Vladimir Putin had also said that Russia has a strategy, and that they will strike in response as the country considers the use of nuclear weapons for defense. “That is, when we are struck, we strike in response,” he said.

“But we are not going to brandish these weapons like a razor, running around the world,” he added.

We Showed Red Card To Hurdles In Northeast's Development: PM Modi's Football Analogy At Shillong Event

In Shillong, PM Modi inaugurated, dedicated, and lay the foundation stone of multiple projects worth over Rs 2450 crores besides attending a golden jubilee celebration of the North Eastern Council.

PM Narendra Modi in Shillong, Meghalaya 

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated various development projects during the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council, in Shillong.

“When football fever is gripping us all, why not talk in football terminology? When someone goes against the sportsman spirit, they’re shown a red card and sent out. In the last 8 years, we’ve shown a red card to several hurdles in the development of the northeast,” PM Modi said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

The Prime Minister further said, “We are making honest efforts to send out corruption, bias, nepotism, violence, stalling of projects, and vote bank politics. But you know that the roots of these diseases run deep. So, we all have to uproot it together.”

Earlier, attempts were made to divide Northeast, we are removing these divisions, he stated.

In Shillong, the Prime Minister inaugurated, dedicated, and lay the foundation stone of multiple projects worth over Rs 2450 crores besides attending a golden jubilee celebration of the North Eastern Council.

“When we changed the priorities of the Central government, its positive impact is visible across the country. This year, the Centre is spending Rs 7 Lakh crore just for infrastructure. 8 yrs back, this was less than even Rs 2 Lakh crore. 7 decades after independence, we reached only up to Rs 2 Lakh crore,” PM Modi mentioned, as quoted by ANI.

He remarked that political parties that had governments for a long time, had the mindset of ‘divide’ for Northeast. “We’ve come with the mindset of ‘divine’. Be it different communities or regions — we are removing all divisions. Not borders of disputes, we are building corridors of development in the Northeast,” he added.

“In the last 8 years, several outfits left the path of violence and followed the path of peace. In coordination with the state governments, the situation is being continuously improved to see that there is no need for AFSPA in the northeast,” he further said.

The Prime Minister emphasised that decade-long border disputes between states are being resolved. “For us, the North East Border Area is not the endpoint, but a gateway to security and prosperity. Therefore, today the work of building new roads, new tunnels, new bridges, new rail lines, new airstrips is going on at a fast pace on the border,” he added.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers of the northeastern states, and others participated in the celebrations.

PM Modi, on the occasion, released ‘Golden Footprints’, a commemorative volume chronicling NEC’s contribution towards the development of the northeast over the last 50 years, according to an official statement.

A short film on NEC’s journey of 50 years was also screened on the occasion, the statement said.

Apart from the PM, Shah and G Kishan Reddy, the Union minister for culture, tourism and development of north-eastern region (DoNER), addressed the session.

The PM, who is also set to visit Tripura later in the day, will be inaugurating and laying foundation stones of projects worth more than Rs 6,800 crore in the two northeastern states during the day.

Both states are heading for assembly polls, which are likely to be held in February.

Outdated Computers And Labs Adorn The Engineering College In Coimbatore, KPR Institute Of Engineering And Technology

Outdated computers and labs adorn the engineering college in Coimbatore, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology. Low class infrastructure and lack of facilities are part of the day-to-day life of the students at KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology unlike what the college claims. The institution was established in the year 2009 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and is approved by AICTE, New Delhi and affiliated to Anna University, Chennai.

According to the student reviews in http://www.ambitionbox.com, this college has no Wi-Fi, and computer labs are with outdated computers. The computer labs have systems that hang all the time and 40% of them does not work properly, the students say. There is no dedicated area for sports at KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology. As per some reviews, the infrastructural facilities like auditoriums and seminar halls are also very small.

KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology

The students complain that the library is small and only has very few books which are related to their syllabus. Very few copies of these books are also available, so most of the students are not able to make use of this facility. Students cannot take books from the library that aren’t related to their academic subject. This reduces the use of the library itself.

Quoting one of the reviews, “KPR has a very bad infrastructure. The AC was last used 5–6 years ago. Hence, AC Classrooms doesn’t exist. Now you might think, there will be ACs in the lab at least, You’re wrong, the Central AC doesn’t work in the labs too. There is only one computer lab, which has AC but you might or might not work in it in your final year of CSE”, says one of the students of KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, engineering college in Coimbatore. 

The college is in a state where they should take the adequate actions to maintain the basic infrastructure that they claim to have. Proper maintenance of the facilities is also requested by the students of KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology to have a proper campus life.