Everything about the Covid Variant BF.7 that increased cases in China!

• BF.7 variant that led to the increase in cases in China.
• BF.7 is a sub-lineage of the variant BA.5
• It has the strongest infection ability.
• It has a shorter incubation period.
• It has a higher capacity to cause reinfection or infect even those vaccinated.
• BF.7 accounted for more than 5% of US cases and 7.26% of UK cases in October.

Reliance Jio launches 5G in Andhra Pradesh with Rs 6,500-cr investment

Reliance Jio declared that it had started offering True 5G services in Andhra Pradesh. In the districts of Tirumala, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur, 5G services have begun to be offered. Jio has made additional investments of more than Rs 6,500 crore for the deployment of 5G network in Andhra Pradesh on top of their previous commitment of Rs 26,000 crore. Jio True 5G services would be accessible in every Andhra Pradesh town, taluka, mandalam, and hamlet by December 2023.

Jio demonstrated the benefits of 5G in the field of healthcare, through Jio Community Clinic medical kit, and the revolutionary AR-VR device, Jio Glass. These benefits will bring phenomenal changes in the lives of people in Andhra Pradesh. The launch of Jio’s True 5G services will open doors to growth opportunities in the areas of e- governance, education, healthcare, IT and SME business.

Jio True 5G is already available in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Varanasi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Nathdwara and all 33 district headquarters of Gujarat.

Power ministry, DRDO Ink Pact to Install Early Warning Systems for Power Stations

The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Ministry of Power have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish an early warning system for hydro projects and power plants in susceptible hilly areas. Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Secretary of the Department of Defence (R&D), and Alok Kumar, Secretary at the Ministry of Power, both signed the MoU.

Along with the DRDO, the Ministry of Power has also signed other MoUs with organisations like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR), National Geophysical Research Institute, the Indian Meteorological Department, the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology and the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).

The master control room for the EWS for vulnerable hydroelectricity projects has been set up by NHPC. It was launched in August 2022. The public utility company also launched a cloud-based software application for the EWS, which will help it monitor the 47 vulnerable projects across the country that were identified by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The software was integrated with information from other stakeholders in the project including weather forecasting data from the IMD.

Significance of This Move:

• The early warning systems will alert stakeholders in the case of natural hazards like avalanches, landslides, glaciers, glacial lakes and more.
• The Ministry of Power and the DRDO will also be working together to build mitigation and damage control systems against these disasters.
• The Early Warning System has been envisioned as a risk reduction system that combines hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, with disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness.
• The system will allow for timely action in the face of possible disasters in order to minimise risk and damage.

Science