Today's Brief 23/07/2025

1 Prasar Bharati Shared Audio Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination (PB-SHABD), a newswire platform aimed at providing news and multimedia content to media organizations across India. The service is open to all newspapers, periodicals, and television channels, who are invited to register on the platform. 

The goal of PB-SHABD is to provide high-quality, authentic, and comprehensive content including over 800 daily news stories, live event feeds, and archival footage free of charge. 

This effort is particularly beneficial for smaller and regional media houses that may not have the resources to generate their own extensive content. 

By offering this content free of cost and without copyright restrictions, Prasar Bharati hopes to democratize access to news and combat the spread of misinformation. The platform is currently offering free access to registered users as an introductory offer until March 2025

2 .Ratan Thiyam, the legendary Indian playwright, theatre director, and cultural visionary. He passed away today, July 23, 2025, at the age of 77, after a prolonged illness.

Thiyam, a towering figure in Indian theatre, was a pioneer of the "theatre of roots" movement, blending ancient Indian traditions with contemporary themes to create globally acclaimed productions.

Born in Manipur, he founded the renowned Chorus Repertory Theatre in Imphal in 1976 and also served as the director and later chairperson of the prestigious National School of Drama.

3 .The NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) Earth Observation satellite, a collaborative effort between NASA and ISRO, is set to launch on July 30, 2025, at 5:40 PM IST.

This significant mission will utilize a unique dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar, combining NASA's L-band and ISRO's S-band, making it the first satellite of its kind to observe Earth with such capabilities.

Once in orbit, NISAR will provide high-resolution, all-weather, day-and-night data by scanning the entire globe every 12 days.

The mission is designed to track complex natural processes, including ecosystem disturbances, ice mass changes, and natural hazards like earthquakes and volcanic activity, by detecting even subtle ground deformations.

Utilizing innovative "SweepSAR" technology for wide-swath observations, this over $1.5 billion project underscores a decade of strong Indo-US space collaboration.

The data generated by NISAR will be openly available, offering crucial insights for scientists, policymakers, and communities worldwide to better understand climate change, manage natural resources, and enhance disaster response efforts.