Project Vanni
- The project was launched by Google India in partnership with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
- It aims to build an artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) model to collect language samples from 773 districts across India.
- It will be an AI-based language model that can understand diverse Indian languages and dialects.
- Potential use of such datasets is in building apps in areas such as health, agriculture, and financial inclusion.
Note
- Google has granted a fund of $1 million to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras to build India’s first Responsible AI center.
- The center aims to research on various aspects of bias in artificial intelligence (AI) in Indian perspective.
Three more sites added to tentative list of UNESCO
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- Three more sites have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO taking the total number to 52 sites on UNESCO Tentative List.
- The three new sites are
- Gujarat’s Vadnagar town :
- Situated in Mehsana district, Gujarat.
- Ancient name was Anartapura
- A Buddhist location visited by Xuanzang in 640 C.E.
- Birthplace of Narendra Modi
- Sun Temple at Modhera :
- Hindu temple dedicated to the solar deity Surya.
- Located at Modhera village of Mehsana district, Gujarat
- Situated on the bank of the river Pushpavati.
- Built during the reign of Bhima I of the Chaulukya dynasty and dates back to 8th century BC.
- Recently, Modhera was declared as the first solar-powered village.
- Rock cut sculptures of Unakoti in Tripura:
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- It is a ‘Shaiba’ (Saivite) pilgrimage site and dates back to 7th – 9th centuries
- It has the largest rock-cut images and stone idols of Lord Shiva in India.
- The word ‘Unakoti‘ means “one less than a Crore”.
Note
- UNESCO tentative list is an “inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination
About UNESCO
- Headquarters – Paris, France
- Formation – 16 November 1945
- Director-General – Audrey Azoulay (France)
