India ranks 138 in 2016 ICT Development Index
- India has been ranked 138th in the 2016 ICT Development Index out of a total of 175 countries.
- In 2015, India ranked 135th position.
- The index was released as part of the annual Measuring the Information Society Report for 2016 of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
What is ICT Development Index (IDI)?
- The ICT Development Index (IDI) rankings compare the state of ICT development across countries.
- It is published annually by the UN ITU.
- The IDI is based on 11 ICT indicators, grouped in three sub-indices: access, use and skills.
- It is standard tool that governments, operators, researchers, development agencies and others can use to measure the digital divide and compare ICT performance within and across countries.
Tribals celebrate Wangala harvest festival in Guwahati
- Hundreds of Garo tribals gathered in Guwahati to celebrate the harvest festival of Wangala, which marks the end of a period of toil for farmers.
- While men play the drums during the festival, women perform the Wangala Dance. The festival attracts a large crowd, including tourists, every year.
1st Moon mission coder receives US’ highest civilian award
- Margaret Hamilton, the lead software engineer on the world’s first successful manned lunar mission, Apollo 11, has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, US’ highest civilian award. Hamilton headed the MIT department tasked with developing the guidance and navigation system software for the NASA project. Notably, Hamilton is often credited with coining the term ‘software engineering’.
Airbnb partners with SEWA for rural tourism
- Home rental platform ‘Airbnb’ on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA) to boost rural tourism in India.
- Through the partnership, Airbnb will work with SEWA members to help them share their homes with Airbnb’s guests, creating economic opportunities for women in rural areas and promoting tourism.