Another feat of human perseverance
When the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover
Landed on the surface of Mars on Feb 18,2021
To look for habitability, seek biosignatures, cashing samples and
test oxygen production from the Martian atmosphere.
Equipped with new entry, descent, and landing (EDL) technologies, such as Terrain-Relative Navigation (TRN),
That allows the rover to …

 
‘What is readily available globally does not need to be regulated’,
So says, the ‘Guidelines for acquiring and producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Services including Maps’ released by the Government of India on Feb 15, 2021.
This has been said many times for the last so many years,
By many who relentlessly kept advocating and demanding
To unleash …

 
When WhatsApp recently proposed certain changes in their privacy policy in certain parts of the world,
There was an outrage.
And this further has triggered a rush to the possible alternatives, which are just a few.
What purported as empowering,
Technology has entrenched deep in our lives.
And worse, has enslaved us. What we do, what we eat, where we …

 
This was the year, in which most of us have a story to tell,
This was also a year, which was a story in itself.
This was the year when many lost lives and millions livelihoods,
This was also the year when grits get glitters and valor.
This was the year that showed that the mankind is not as …

As the gloom that has engulfed since last year persists,
And the prolonged agony borders the endurance limit,
The buzz around Covid-19 vaccine naturally enthralls.
Billions await with hope for a dose (or two as reported)
Even though the efficacy of the vaccine is still being tested and optimized.
The experts grapple with distribution strategies, …

It has been months …
But only time has passed
Not the chaos and nor the calamity
And worse, it remains as confusing as it was.
Even basic questions still struggle for answers…
First wave, second wave or the third one?
Whether to lock, and if yes then what and how?
As we unlock, the …

The rush
Several vaccines for Covid-19 are on the anvil.
A few are launched, and some in trial phase.
China, Russia, USA, UK, India and so on…
There is a need, a dire need.
And hence is the rush, More so, when it is to be to be the first
To capture the market and the …

 
In the pre-Covid-19 era,
Already there were concerns
Regarding too much of exposures to screens
TV, Computers, iPads, mobile,…
And their likely consequences.
Out of many, one of the repercussions of the Covid-19
Has been the many fold increase in ‘screen time’
Work from home, communications, webinars, even entertainment…
With many of our activities going online,
This new way of life,
Unfortunately being misconstrued as …

The chaos
Covid-19 and the havoc thus created.
The world seems to be in fragments
Physically, socially, economically, psychologically…
Palpable uncertainty, uneasiness, anxiety, nervousness, … all over.
Different models are emerging to deal with the situation
Some celebrated, some pre-maturely celebrated and some condemned.
The approach at times is clueless, callous and even criminal.
There is …

Infodemic
In the times of pandemic,
The World Health Organization has warned against the infodemic.
Various information channels are flooded with mis-information
Ranging from alternative remedies to phishing attempts.
Surveillance apps under the guise of tracking the disease,
Information perpetuated by vested interests,
And worse, stigmatization of the infected
And criminalization of the vulnerable.
The damages …