Centre launches ‘5G Innovation Hackathon 2025’ to address societal, industrial challenges

New Delhi, (IANS): The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday announced the ‘5G Innovation Hackathon 2025’, a six-month initiative aimed at accelerating the development of innovative 5G-powered solutions to address societal and industrial challenges.Open to students, startups and professionals, the programme provides mentorship, funding, and access to over 100 5G Use Case Labs, enabling participants to transform visionary ideas into scalable technologies, according to the Ministry of Communications.Winners will receive significant rewards, including Rs 5,00,000 for the first place, Rs 3,00,000 for the runner-up, and Rs 1,50,000 for the 2nd runner-up.Also, special mentions will be given for Best Idea and Most Innovative Prototype, each receiving Rs 50,000. Ten labs will also be given Certificates of Appreciation for Best 5G Use case and one Certificate for Best idea from Emerging Institute.The hackathon invites proposals focused on key 5G applications such as AI-driven network maintenance, IoT-enabled solutions, 5G broadcasting, smart health, agriculture, industrial automation, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), D2M, V2X, and quantum communication.Participants are encouraged to leverage 5G features like network slicing, Quality of Service (QoS), and call-flow scenarios to address real-world problems.The hackathon offers an array of support mechanisms to help participants take their innovations to the next level. Participants...

Read More........ → March 19, 2025

Improvement in air quality with decline in pollution levels in India: World Air Quality Report

New Delhi, (IANS) The World Air Quality Report 2024 by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir reveals a positive trend in India’s air quality, despite ongoing challenges.According to the report, India now ranks as the fifth most polluted country globally in 2024, a notable improvement from its third-place ranking in 2023.The country also recorded a 7 per cent decline in PM2.5 concentrations, which dropped from 54.4 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023 to 50.6 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024.While 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India, including Byrnihat, Delhi, and Faridabad, this decline signals a step in the right direction for addressing air pollution.Delhi, which remains the most polluted capital city in the world, saw little change in its air quality, with an annual PM2.5 concentration of 91.6 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024, almost identical to 92.7 in 2023.Despite these challenges, India’s progress in reducing air pollution is noteworthy. The decline in PM2.5 levels indicates that the country is making strides in combating air pollution, thanks to various measures aimed at improving air quality. These efforts include improving data collection on air quality, expanding cleaner energy solutions, and enhancing public transportation networks.However, experts such as former WHO chief scientist and health ministry advisor Soumya Swaminathan emphasise the need for continued and increased action to combat...

Read More........ → March 18, 2025