National Testing Agency (NTA) launches Hindi Tests feature on National Test Abhyas mobile app, Reviving ancient glory of Pokhran potteries, Milky Way Galaxy Study
1. National Testing Agency (NTA) launches Hindi Tests feature on National Test Abhyas mobile app
- Union Minister for Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ today announced that National Testing Agency (NTA) has launched Hindi Tests feature on National Test Abhyas mobile app.
- Competitive exam students preferring Hindi can now practice on their mobile devices with Hindi mock tests released on the National Test Abhyas smartphone app by NTA.
- National Testing Agency (NTA) which conducts competitive exams like JEE and NEET has launched its Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered smartphone app to empower engineering and medical aspirants to prepare safely from their homes, for entrance exams including JEE Main, NEET.
- So far, more than 16.5 lakhs tests have been given by students on this app, and more than 9.56 lakh students have downloaded the App.
- Students preferring Hindi medium were requesting to launch papers in Hindi language in order to help in their preparation. Keeping this in mind NTA has launched this feature for the app.
- Now Hindi language candidates will be able to practice or give mock tests for these competitive exams in Hindi.
- Hindi version is a boon for students across India, as now, it has become even more accessible to students whose first language isn’t English.
- It is sure to be used now by several more students, to prepare for their entrance exams.
- Students who have already downloaded the app can start attempting mock tests in Hindi right away, or if they don’t have the app, it can be downloaded free of cost from the Google play store.
- The latest version of the app offers navigation, instructions, test taking and analysis in both languages, English and Hindi.
- Once the app is downloaded on their smartphone or tablet, students will need to sign up with their details, and then, they can choose Hindi as their language preference, and start giving mock tests for their selected examination in the Hindi language.
- Similar to the experience in English language, every day, the NTA will release one new test in Hindi on the app, which students can download to attempt.
- They can attempt these tests offline, while their device is on ‘Airplane’ mode, and will need to go online once again, in order to submit the test and view their result.
- With a list of daily tests for exams including JEE Main, NEET and other exams to be added soon, students will be able to practice and attempt these tests from their homes, and can view their detailed test results immediately, along with a detailed analysis of their performance, all in their preferred language, whether Hindi or English.
2. Reviving ancient glory of Pokhran potteries
- Seeking to restore the lost glory of the once-most famous pottery of Pokhran, a small town in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan where India conducted its 1st nuclear test, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) today distributed 80 electric potter wheels to 80 potter families in Pokhran which has a rich heritage in terracotta products. Pokhran has over 300 potters’ families that are engaged with pottery for several decades, but potters started looking for other avenues due to heavy drudgery in the work and no market support.
- Apart from the electric wheels, the KVIC also distributed 8 blunger machines in a group of 10 potters, used for mixing the clay which can produce 800 kg clay in just 8 hours. Manually it takes 5 days to prepare 800 kg mud for pottery making.
- KVIC has created 350 direct employment in the village.
- All 80 potters who were given 15 days training by KVIC came up with some exquisite pottery.
- The products ranged from Kulhar to decorative pieces like flower vase, sculptures and interesting traditional utensils like spherical bottles with narrow mouth, Lotas with long spouts, and other spherical utensils used for cooking as well as decorative pieces.
- The potters brilliantly depicted the “Swacch Bharat Abhiyan” and “International Yoga Day” – through their pottery art.
- Aatmanirbhar Bharat” and strengthening of potters aimed at creating self-employment while also reviving the dying art of pottery.
- Pokhran was till now only known as the site of nuclear tests but very soon the exquisite pottery will be the new identity of this place.
- The main objective of Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana is to bring back the potters’ community to the mainstream.
- By providing potters with modern equipment and training, we are trying to reconnect them with the society and revive their art.
- Pokhran is one of the aspirational districts identified by the Niti Ayog.
- 400 railway stations selling eatables only in earthen/terracotta pots include Jaisalmer and Barmer, the two major railheads in Rajasthan that are closest to Pokhran.
- The state KVIC unit will facilitate the sale of their pottery at these railway stations given the high tourist footfall in these cities.
- Notably, the KVIC has launched Kumhar Sashaktikaran Ypjana in several remote areas in states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, J&K, Haryana, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Telangana and Bihar.
- In Rajasthan, more than a dozen districts including Jaipur, Kota, Jhalawar and Sri Ganganagar have been benefited by the program.
- Under the scheme, the KVIC also provides equipment like blunger and pug mills for mixing clay for making pottery products.
- The machines have eliminated drudgery from the process of pottery making and resulted in higher income of potters by 7 to 8 times.
3. Milky Way Galaxy Study shows
- Stars in our Galaxy are formed from the molecular clouds present in the Galaxy.
- It is believed that the majority of stars in our Galaxy are formed in the star clusters making them important clues to understand the star formation mechanism.
- Open star clusters are a system of stars bound by gravity in which stars are born from the same molecular clouds.
- All the stars in a cluster follow the evolutionary sequence as per their initial masses at the time of formation of these stars.
- Open clusters are also important in probing formation and evolution of Milky Way Galaxy as they are distributed throughout the Galactic disk.
- Astronomers at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous science institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Govt. of India, have found that stars of varied ages can co-exist in open clusters.
- This challenges earlier understanding that stars in an open cluster have the same age.
- The scientists measured the light from three poorly studied open clusters NGC 381, NGC 2360, and Berkeley 68 observed using the 1.3-m telescope at Devasthal situated in the lap of the Himalaya for studying the evolution of stars in these clusters.
- They found two different stellar evolutionary sequences in the cluster NGC 2360, which has been observed in very few open clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy until now.
- The clusters are found to be relatively older, having ages between 446 Million years to 1778 million years.
- Other than the stellar evolution, the researchers also studied the dynamical evolution of these clusters for the first time.
- The mass distributions of stars belonging to the clusters have shown the preferential distribution of massive stars in the inner part of the clusters while low mass stars are found towards outer region of the clusters.
- It is believed that some of the very low mass stars have in fact, left their parent clusters and may be roaming as a free star like our own Sun.
- Their study lent important insight about the stellar and dynamical evolution of these clusters.
- These scientists are further aiming to do an in-depth analysis of many more open star clusters in near future using the observational facilities available at their institute along with the supplementary data provided by the space missions.
