April was drier than usual, with the monthly mean relative humidity at 74%, the second lowest on record for April since 1947, the Hong Kong Observatory said today.
Total rainfall in the month was 57.1mm, only about 37% of the norm of 153mm.
The observatory added that the accumulated rainfall in the first four months of the year was 125.5mm, about 42% of the norm of 300.4mm for the same period.
April was also warmer than usual, with a mean temperature of 23.7 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees above the norm of 23 degrees.
With plenty of sunshine and weaker winds on April 15, the temperatures at the observatory soared to 33 degrees Celsius that afternoon, the highest of the month. It also marked the earliest occurrence of very hot weather in a year and the second highest maximum temperature for April on record.
On April 20, the maximum temperature logged at the observatory was 30.6 degrees Celsius, making it one of the warmest Easter days on record.
There was no tropical cyclone over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in April.
To promote AI innovation and foster emerging talent, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) hosted the inaugural Best AI Awards Finals and Awards Ceremony on May 3 at the Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1. The competition attracted 1,253 elite teams from 36 countries. From the 233 finalists, 93 awards were presented, including eight Gold Prizes awarded to leading companies and academic teams from HiTRUST Incorporated, eYs3D Microelectronics, Data Yoo Application CO., Jmem Technology, National Central University, National Taiwan University, as well as standout international entries from the UK and the Philippines.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Chin-Tsang highlighted that the competition served as a platform to bring together talent cultivation, real-world application, and industry demand. This year’s entries, he noted, exemplify how AI innovation can be combined with creativity to meet real-world needs. Looking ahead, the Ministry will continue to align policy direction and resource investment with industry needs to bring more AI innovations to market and create meaningful local impact.
Kuo Chao-Chung, Director General of the Department of Industrial Technology, noted that in addition to enthusiastic participation from domestic companies and universities, the inaugural competition also attracted 353 international entrants from 36 countries, including India, the Philippines, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This strong turnout highlights the Awards’ growing significance as not just a Taiwanese initiative, but a global platform for AI innovation and exchange. Beyond the competition itself, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is working with academic and research institutions to support enterprises in design, product development, and prototyping. It is also partnering with agencies such as the Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration and the Industrial Development Administration to help accelerate AI-driven transformation across industries.
Chiou Chyou-Huey, Director General of the Industrial Development Administration and a key advocate behind the competition, described the Best AI Awards as Taiwan’s largest and most prestigious AI contest. The Award offers some of the highest prizes and maintains a highly competitive selection process with a winning rate of just 7.4%. He expressed hopes that through further efforts, AI can be integrated across all sectors to drive widespread industrial innovation.
This year’s entries spanned a diverse range of industries, including ICT (18.4%), manufacturing (16.2%), healthcare (15.9%), wholesale and retail (10.2%), education (8.6%), and finance (7.8%). More than 100 startups, SMEs, and publicly listed companies took part, accelerating the adoption of AI across Taiwan’s industrial landscape.
Looking ahead, the Ministry of Economic Affairs plans to make the Best AI Awards an annual flagship event for advancing AI development, talent cultivation, and innovation. The finals will be held each May alongside COMPUTEX, with over 20 domestic and international investors and buyers invited to participate in matchmaking sessions. Through this series of initiatives, the Ministry aims to foster new AI applications, accelerate workforce development, and help realize Taiwan’s vision of becoming a global AI Island.
(To watch the full media session with sign language interpretation, click here.)
Chief Executive John Lee said that the number of visitors coming to Hong Kong has gone up drastically during the Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week, creating a very good atmosphere for Hong Kong and bringing huge economic benefits.
Ahead of the Executive Council meeting this morning, Mr Lee pointed out that he has asked the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau and related departments to sum up their experiences in this Golden Week and work with relevant industries to heighten the good feelings of travellers.
“I think we should really gather information about the new travelling patterns of visitors, particularly those from the Mainland, because they represent a big chunk of our tourists, to know about their new travelling patterns, their new needs and new routes, so that we can take good care of them.”
He highlighted that Hong Kong has to be a city that welcomes all tourists, regardless of whether they are high-end or non-high-end travellers.
“Anything which we do to make any sector of tourists feel that they are not being welcomed, that will be harmful to the overall image of Hong Kong as a tourist city.
“There will be high-end travellers and there will also be non-high-end travellers, but we must look at tourism as a whole so that every tourist will find the experience in Hong Kong is an enjoyable one, is a welcome one.”
During day two of the 58th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Milan, Italy, yesterday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan pointed out that it is important for member countries to enhance collaboration.
Speaking at the ADB annual meeting’s Business Session, Mr Chan emphasised the need for member countries to strengthen co-operation amidst significant disruptions caused by unilateralism and protectionism to the global economy and trade order.
He expressed hope that the ADB would continue to be guided by its core principles, supporting projects with actual needs and promoting more inclusive regional development.
Mr Chan stated that Hong Kong, China supports the reform agenda of the ADB following the Mid-term Review of its “2030 Strategy”, which focuses on addressing climate change, developing the private sector, advancing regional co-operation and digital transformation.
He highlighted that under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong maintains its status as a free port, implements free trade policies and ensures the free flow of capital, goods, people and information.
Mr Chan reiterated Hong Kong’s steadfast support for a rules-based multilateral trading system. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong is willing to share experiences in innovative financing arrangements with ADB members, including infrastructure loan securitisation and catastrophe bonds, to support high-quality infrastructure and green projects.
Moreover, he said that Hong Kong is open to sharing solutions in the digital economy and innovative technologies with other ADB members to contribute to more inclusive regional economic development.
Mr Chan also met Governor of the Bank of Italy Fabio Panetta to share Hong Kong’s latest economic and financial developments. They exchanged views on the international economic landscape.
Additionally, the Financial Secretary attended yesterday’s opening ceremony of the annual meeting, lunch and dinner for governors, during which he discussed regional development issues, common challenges and strategies in response with other governors.
The Bun Scrambling Competition was held early this morning at the Pak Tai Temple Playground soccer pitch on Cheung Chau, as 12 finalists climbed the bun tower to gather as many buns as they could in three minutes.
Kwok Ka-ming won the men’s contest, while Kung Tsz-shan became the women’s champion.
Around 1,650 spectators witnessed the exciting event which was the Bun Carnival’s grand finale.
Additionally, there was an invitation relay in which three teams from Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Macau competed against seven local teams from Cheung Chau.
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today condoled the passing of Padma Shri awardee Ms. KV Rabiya.
He wrote in separate posts on X:
“Pained by the passing away of Padma Shri awardee, KV Rabiya Ji. Her pioneering work in improving literacy will always be remembered. Her courage and determination, particularly the manner in which she battled polio, was also very inspiring. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief.”
Pained by the passing away of Padma Shri awardee, KV Rabiya Ji. Her pioneering work in improving literacy will always be remembered. Her courage and determination, particularly the manner in which she battled polio, was also very inspiring. My thoughts are with her family and…
Dr. Jitendra Singh Reviews DST Projects, Calls for AI led innovations, Support for Deep-Tech Startups Minister Champions India’s Own AI Open Stack to Propel Nation into Global Science Leadership
Dr. Jitendra Singh Urges ANRF to Help Medical Colleges Set Up Research Parks to Boost Clinical Innovation
Posted On: 05 MAY 2025 4:53PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology; Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh on Monday chaired a comprehensive review of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), calling for bold new directions in science-driven growth, including AI-led innovations, deep tech StartUps and enhanced infrastructure sharing.
The meeting saw the Minister focus particularly on the evolving role of the newly constituted Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), as well as ongoing national missions like the Geospatial initiative.
Dr. Jitendra Singh held detailed discussions with Prof. Abhay Karandikar, ANRF’s newly appointed CEO, Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman and other senior officials of the Ministry. During the meeting, Dr. Kalyanaraman presented an ambitious vision for the ANRF, promising catalytic funding mechanisms, deep integration with private industry, and strategic missions modeled on globally successful institutions such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and DARPA.
In a significant step aimed at boosting indigenous innovation, ANRF is preparing to launch a “Small Business Deep Tech Innovation” programme, which will empower startups and MSMEs to scale breakthrough technologies for real-world applications.
Recognizing the need to better utilize existing national research infrastructure, the Minister reviewed ANRF’s plan to create a “Cloud of Research and Innovation Infrastructure,” a digital platform that would offer deep-tech startups and academic institutions access to underused scientific equipment and facilities across the country. This move is expected to democratize research capabilities, especially for smaller players who often lack access to high-end lab tools.
Among the major scientific thrusts discussed, the ANRF’s “AI-for-Science” initiative took centre stage. The programme aims to leverage artificial intelligence to accelerate discoveries in physics, chemistry, and biology by using machine learning to model complex scientific equations.
The Minister directed the ANRF leadership to kickstart a few select projects under this initiative and demonstrate tangible outcomes in the near term. He also encouraged the CEO to engage with university Vice Chancellors to raise awareness about the ANRF mission and opportunities for collaboration.
In another key direction, Dr. Jitendra Singh asked the ANRF to explore the possibility of helping medical colleges establish their own medical research parks — a move that could boost clinical innovation and local biotech entrepreneurship. The Minister further underscored the importance of building an indigenous “India AI Open Stack” — a foundational AI architecture embedded with science and engineering models tailored for Indian researchers. This, he noted, could position India as a global frontrunner in AI-driven scientific applications.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also revisited the concept of “deep science-to-deep tech acceleration,” urging the ANRF to focus on converting academic research — such as publications and patents — into commercial technologies. He emphasized the need for partnerships with top-tier industry players and the creation of venture-builder models to ensure that discoveries don’t remain confined to laboratories.
The Minister concluded by asking the ANRF to prioritize key areas of national relevance, including climate forecasting, material science, aerospace, biochemistry, and drug development. He stressed that the time has come for India to move from isolated innovation to a more integrated, impact-driven ecosystem that links research, startups, and industry.
The Union Cabinet approved the BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, & Employment) Policy, in August 2024, for ‘Fostering High-Performance Biomanufacturing’ across the country. Subsequently, The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved continuation of the two umbrella schemes of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), merged as one scheme-‘Biotechnology Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (Bio- RIDE)’ with a new component namely Biomanufacturing and Biofoundry. With in the ambit of “High -Performance Biomanufacturing”, establishment of Bio-AI hubs for building of data driven and cutting edge paradigms in the areas of Health, Agriculture and Environment.
Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) have issued a Joint Call for Proposals on Bio-AI for establishing मूलांकुर hubs under BioE3 Policy for Biomanufacturing. Bio-AI hubs are proposed to be established across academia and industry to provide critical and novel research leads impacting Health, Agriculture and Environment through conglomeration of AI and Biology.
The Letter of Intent (LoI) for Bio-AI is uniquely designed to utilize AI in Biology for solving key biological challenges in Biomolecular Design, Sustainable Agriculture, Synthetic Biology, Ayurveda and Genome Diagnostics. Therefore, the problem statements in these domains as well as possible research solutions are invited from multi-disciplinary teams with research expertise across fields of synthetic biology, AI/ML and Computation to address complex biological research challenges. The problem statements are to be addressed by data-driven, cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary programmatic research initiatives for projected outcomes.
Researchers have developed a novel, cost-effective, metal-free porous organic catalyst for efficient H2 production by harvesting mechanical energy.
In order to reduce the global warming and related impact of fossil fuels, transition towards sustainable alternatives based on renewable energy becomes increasingly critical. Green hydrogen (H₂) fuel has emerged as a game-changing renewable and clean-burning energy source, which generates no direct carbon emissions and only water as a by-product when used in fuel cells. Recognizing the critical role of green H2 in sustainable energy, the Government of India launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission to drive large-scale production, promote research and innovation, and position the country as a global leader in H2 economy.
Among the environmentally benign methods of H2production, overall water splitting stands out as an effective and scalable technique that relies on a catalytic strategy since the reaction is energetically uphill. Piezocatalysis has emerged as a promising catalytic technology which harvests mechanical perturbations with a piezoelectric material to generate charge carriers that are utilized to catalyze water splitting.
In recent groundbreaking research work, Professor Tapas K. Maji from Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) Bengaluru (an autonomous institution under the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India) and his research team have developed a metal-free donor-acceptor based covalent-organic framework (COF) for piezocatalytic water splitting. This study published inAdvanced Functional Materialsdemonstrates a Covalent organic framework (COF) built from imide linkages between organic donor molecule tris(4-aminophenyl)amine (TAPA) and acceptor molecule pyromellitic dianhydride (PDA) acceptor exhibiting unique ferrielectric (FiE) ordering, which showed efficient piezocatalytic activity for water splitting to produce H2.
This discovery breaks the traditional notion of solely employing heavy or transition metal-based ferroelectric (FE) materials as piezocatalysts for catalyzing water splitting reaction. Conventional FE materials have limited charges confined at the surface only which usually lead to quick saturation of their piezocatalytic activity. In contrast, FiE ordering in a COF provides a multifold enhanced number of charges at the pore surfaces owing to the large local electric fields. The sponge-like porous structure of a COF allows the diffusion of water molecules to efficiently access and utilize these charge carriers for catalysis, giving ultra-high H2production yields and outperforming all oxide-based inorganic piezocatalysts.
Figure: Schematic showing piezocatalytic water splitting by a metal-free donor-acceptor based covalent organic framework.
Using a simple donor molecule like TAPA and an acceptor molecule like PDA, Prof. Maji and his research team have built a COF system that has strong charge transfer properties, which creates dipoles (separation between positive and negative charges).
The TAPA units have a unique propeller-like shape, where their benzene rings twist and tilt to break the flat symmetry of the structure, helping it reach a more stable, lower-energy state. Prof. Umesh V. Waghmare and his team from JNCASR, who are collaborators of the study, showed using theoretical analyses that this COF has an unusual electronic structure with energy bands that couple and resonate with each other by dipolar ordering. This causes instability in the lattice structure, leading to FiE ordering. These FiE dipoles interact with flexible twisting molecular motion in the material, making them responsive to mechanical pressure. As a result, the material can generate electron-hole pairs when mechanically stimulated, making it a highly efficient piezocatalyst for water splitting for H2 production. The team comprises four other researchers from JNCASR: Ms. Adrija Ghosh, Ms. Surabhi Menon, Dr. Sandip Biswas and Dr. Anupam Dey.
Apart from JNCASR, Dr. Supriya Sahoo and Prof. Ramamoorthy Boomishankar from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune and Prof. Jan K. Zaręba from Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland made important contributions to the present interdisciplinary study.
The utilization of a cost-effective, metal-free system with a high production rate of H2 by harvesting mechanical energy opens up a new route to green H2 based on porous heterogeneous catalysts.
Shri Prakash Magdum has assumed charge as the Managing Director of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) today.
Shri Magdum is a 1999-batch Indian Information Officer Service officer. Prior to this, Shri Magdum served as the Additional Director General of Press Information Bureau (PIB) and Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) in Ahmedabad.
During an illustrious career spanning two decades, Shri Magdum had served as the Director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) in Pune. In this role, he was instrumental in preserving India’s cinematic heritage through film archiving and restoration efforts.
He has also served as the Registrar of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and as a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence in Thiruvananthapuram.