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The Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) has launched an exclusive incubator “Fabless Chip Design Incubator (FabCI)” to boost chip design. It is a first of its kind in India that will focus on creating an ecosystem for start-ups in chip design. The purpose of FabCI is to incubate at least 50 ‘Make-in-India’ chip design companies that can compete globally and generate Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). It will provide a bouquet of offerings including free software tools with leading technology partners in Electronic Design Automation (EDA), a characterization facility for testing chips, and equipment for performing DC and RF characterization. FabCI is funded by MeitY, with technology partners Cadence Design Systems and Mentor Graphics both are leading providers of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software, hardware and IP. The Incubator also offers virtual support to non-Hyderabad start-ups which can join FabCI and leverage the offerings and participate remotely.

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Indian Tennis player, Ankita Raina has won a bronze after losing a hard fought women’s singles semifinal 4-6, 6-7 in straight sets against Shuai Zhang of China at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games on August 23. With this, she became the 2nd Indian female tennis player after Sania Mirza to win a medal in singles’ competition at the Asian Games. For India, Mirza won silver in Doha in 2006 and a bronze in Guangzhou 2010. Ankita from Maharashtra is currently India’s number one women’s singles.

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On August 23, the 2018 India Banking Conclave (IBC) was held in New Delhi to address issues of India’s Banking Sector. It was organized by Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the government Think Tank NITI Aayog. IBC 2018 is an important platform for varied stakeholders connected to India’s banking and financial sectors. The 2-day thought awareness programme witnessed panel discussions on NPAs, development of banks with changing times, privatization versus merger and the future of banking, among other issues.

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The 9-member Steering Committee, headed by Stanford University Prof. AJ Paulraj, has recently submitted its 5G high level forum report titled ‘Making India 5G Ready’ to Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan. The report suggested the Central government should announce its 5G policy by 31st December 2018, besides setting up a standing committee to advise on building the infrastructure for spectrum technology. The key recommendations and action plan for the report include spectrum policy; regulatory policy; education and awareness promotion; application and use case labs; participation in international standards; development of application layer standards; and major 5G trials. The committee expected the 5G commercial roll out in India by 2020.

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The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has lifted ban on retail sale of life saving drug ‘Oxytocin’ with effect from 1st September 2018, which was restricted to retail sale from July 2018. Though, the Centre has imposed strict regulations on its sales and retained the monopoly of Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KAPL) for manufacturing oxytocin. As per new rules, Oxytocin will be moved from schedule A to Schedule H1 that means retailer has to maintain a separate register giving the name and address of the prescriber, the patient, the drug and the quantity supplied. These records have to be maintained for 3 years and be available for inspection. Oxytocin is an essential drug used to prevent and treat bleeding after child birth. But, its misuse is widespread in the dairy industry, where livestock are injected with oxytocin to make them release milk at a time convenient to farmers. The hormone is also used to increase the size of vegetables and fruits such as pumpkins, watermelons, brinjals, gourds and cucumbers.

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The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a wind- sensing satellite “Aeolus” into orbit from French Guyana to track global winds. The satellite will be placed at an altitude of 320 Km above the Earth. The launch is part of the Copernicus project, a joint effort by the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA) to track environmental damage and assist disaster relief operations. The “Aeolus” satellite – named after the keeper of the winds in Greek mythology – is designed to enable improved weather forecasting and aid disaster relief operations. It is equipped with a Doppler wind LIDAR – an advanced laser system designed to measure global wind patterns from space. Aeolus, which is built by Airbus, will be the first satellite equipped to perform global wind-component-profile observation on a daily basis in near real-time.

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Vijay Chavan (63), the veteran Marathi actor who was known for his comic roles, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on August 24, 2018. The actor, who featured in more than 350 films, is best remembered for his comic roles in Marathi films such as ‘Jatra’, ‘Zapatlela’, ‘Pachadlele’, ‘Mumbaicha Dabewala’ and ‘Shrimanta Damodar Panta’, among others. Beside films, he also featured in numerous plays. He is best known for the his role of Mavshi in the famous Marathi Stage drama “Moruchi Mavshi”. This comedy play was penned by Pralhad Keshav Atre.

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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has appointed former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice S J Vazifdar as head of a 3-member committee to decide mining company Vedanta Limited’s plea challenging the Tamil Nadu government’s order to close the Sterlite copper plant at Thoothukudi. The committee may, if necessary, visit the site and consider the technical data and take a decision as early as found viable preferably within 6 weeks after it assumes it’s working. Recently, on 9th August 2018, the Tribunal had allowed Vedanta to access the administrative unit inside its Sterlite copper plant at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. Though, the plant would remain closed and the company would not have access to its production unit and directed the district magistrate to ensure this. In March 2013, Sterlite’s factory came into limelight when a gas leak led to the death of one person and injuries to several others, after which then chief minister J Jayalalithaa had ordered its closure.

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The book “No Spin” is the autobiography of renowned Australian bowler Shane Warne, which will release on October 30. It is the true story behind the headlines, in Warne’s own voice, and challenges some of the enduring myths and untruths that surround him. The memoir is written with cricketer and TV presenter Mark Nicholas. Warne is widely regarded as one of the finest bowlers in the history of the game. He played his first Test match in 1992, and took over 1,000 international wickets.

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The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has launched a Kerala Heritage Rescue Initiative to assess damage to rich cultural and built heritage in flood-devastated Kerala. The initiative aims to set up a platform for emergency response to the cultural heritage damaged by the floods in Kerala. It has also set up a Facebook page to collect information on the damage to buildings, museum collections, cultural artefacts, libraries, archives, and even intangible heritage. ICOMOS, which is headquartered in Paris, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide through training, information, research, cooperation and advocacy programmes. ICOMOS is also an advisory body to the UNESCO for cultural heritage, in particular for implementation of the World Heritage Convention (WHC).