Quick notes: Research funding | Hydraulic city...

• CAG report: IITs unable to generate sufficient internal receipts, remain dependent on govt for grants: . "IITs received very low levels of funding for research projects, sponsored from non-government sources. Thus, they remained dependent on the govt for funding of their research activities. There was also a large variance between the patents filed and obtained by all the eight IITs and no patents were obtained during the five-year period, indicating that the research activities could not bring out fruitful results".



• Angkor - Ancient Hydraulic City: As well as ensuring a year-round water supply in a monsoon climate to support the population, agriculture and livestock, the hydraulic system feeds the foundations that have kept the temples standing for centuries. The sandy soil alone is not enough to withstand the weight of the stones. However, master engineers discovered mixing sand and water creates stable foundations, so the moats that surround each temple were designed to provide a constant supply of groundwater. This has created foundations strong enough to keep the temples stable and prevent them from crumbling all these centuries later




• Char Dham Highway: With hill cutting being done in a vertical manner, basic norms of road construction have not been followed, thereby only serving to worsen the situation. Destabilising these slopes is only going to cause irreversible damage.



• China Replacing Soldiers with Robots in Tibet Due to Poor Performance: The PLA has moved 88 Sharp Claw unmanned ground vehicles into Tibet for reconnaissance, patrolling and transportation of weapons and logistical work in difficult terrain. Also in Tibet is the robotized Mule-200. It has a range of 50 km, can navigate difficult terrain and also, carry about 200 kg of ammunition, supplies or even weapons at a time. Remotely controlled by wireless, it can perform combat tasks if fitted out for fire-support activities.



• China Is Haunted by Its One-Child Policy : Decades of birth restrictions mean fewer women of childbearing age and a younger generation less eager to start a family.



• Apple sucking up to Xi: To cut costs and curry favor with Beijing, Apple is increasingly replacing Foxconn with Chinese manufacturers.



• Walled Garden: India orders antitrust investigation into Apple's business practices. Apple prevents app developers from using a third-party or their own payments system, making a significant dent in the revenues they generate.



• Russia to Require Netflix to Stream State TV Broadcasts: online streaming services with over 100,000 daily users are required to provide streams of 20 major Russian federal television channels.



• Hyundai stops developing IC engines: "Now, it is inevitable to convert into electrification".



• Technical post: The art of solving problems with Monte Carlo simulations