To cater for the industrialisation efforts, the Assam cabinet approved a mega industrial park over a land of more than 138 acres. Addressing a press conference after chairing a cabinet meeting, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, said the state government has resolved to allot 569 bighas of land (over 188 acres) in Morigaon district for a mega industrial park.

Besides this, the cabinet also approved the Assam Integrated Clean Energy Policy, 2025, to promote solar, wind, mini and small hydro, hydrogen, and other green energy projects in the state.

The Cabinet has approved the Assam Power Distribution Company (APDCL) Board's decision to issue the ‘Letter of Acceptance’ to the successful bidders for the 250 MW Solar Plant and Solar Park Common Infrastructure under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Sauro Shakti Prokolpo’ scheme.

The Governor of Tamil Nadu, Thiru R.N. Ravi, flagged off the train carrying the first batch of Kashi Tamil Sangamam 3.0 delegates—including students, teachers, and writers—today at Dr. MGR Central Railway Station, Chennai. This 10-day-long event is scheduled to take place from 15th to 24th February 2025. Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Prof. V. Kamakoti and other dignitaries were also present at the event.

The Union Minister for Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, in a social media message, welcomed everyone to embrace the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ at Kashi Tamil Sangamam 3.0. He emphasized that the event serves to cherish, celebrate, and strengthen the deep-rooted bonds between Kashi and Tamil Nadu—two enduring centers of culture, civilization, and knowledge.

The central theme of this edition of KTS will be Maharishi Agasthyar and Mahakumbh and Shri Ayodhya Dham will be the backdrop. The event will offer a divine experience and bring Tamil Nadu and Kashi—the two timeless centres of our civilisation and culture, more closer.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur’s Ranjit Singh Rozi Shiksha Kendra has introduced an innovative solar dehydration technique aimed at preserving agricultural produce using sustainable energy.

This pioneering method allows farmers to dry fruits and vegetables through solar energy, offering a cost-effective solution to fluctuating market prices. By enabling the storage of produce for longer periods, farmers can sell their goods at more favorable prices during peak demand, thereby increasing profitability.

The initiative, led by Prof. Sandeep Sangal and Prof. Kallol Mondal from IIT Kanpur, was recently demonstrated to around 30 farmers from the Hariya Nature Farming Producer Company in Shivrajpur, supported by Shramik Bharti, and the Lavkush Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) under the Namami Gange project in Kalyanpur block. The farmers received hands-on training in the solar dehydration process, empowering them with practical knowledge to implement this eco-friendly preservation method on their farms.

NTPC Ltd, India’s largest integrated power utility, has been honoured with Forward Faster Sustainability Award 2025 in the Water Resilience category. The award was presented at a ceremony organised by the UN Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI) in Chennai on February 13.

The award was received by Harekrushna Dash, ED (Sustainability, Environment & Ash) and K. Karthikeyan, AGM (Environment & Sustainability) in recognition of the company’s outstanding efforts in water conservation and sustainable water management initiatives.

The Forward Faster Sustainability Awards celebrate organisations in India that have made significant strides in advancing sustainability and corporate responsibility, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This recognition reaffirms NTPC’s commitment to integrating sustainable practices in its operations and contributing towards global sustainability goals, the Ministry of Power said in a statement on Friday.

On Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day, Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) and Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd (CIL), under the aegis of Ministry of Coal, signed separate Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Sri Sathya Sai Health & Education Trust (SSSHET) to provide life-saving surgeries for children suffering from Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) under the ‘Nanha Sa Dil’ initiative. The signing ceremony was held at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of Secretary (Coal), Shri Vikram Dev Dutt, MoC, Ms. Rupinder Brar, Additional Secretary, MoC, Ms. Santosh, DDG, MoC, Dr. C. Sreenivas, Chairman, SSSHET and other senior officials and dignitaries. Shri SS Lal, GM (CSR), CCL, and Shri Rajeev Ranjan, GM (CSR), NCL, signed on behalf of their respective companies, while Shri Vivek Gour, Trustee, signed on behalf of SSSHET.

CIL and its subsidiaries, under the aegis of the Ministry of Coal (MoC), are committed to strengthening India’s healthcare landscape through impactful CSR initiatives that support needy families in their operational areas.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for more than 114 development projects worth over 1,028 crore rupees, including the inauguration of Munshipulia and Khurramnagar flyovers.

Speaking on the occasion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that in the last 10 years, India has seen a revolution in infrastructure. From 2004 to 2014, the total amount spent on urban infrastructure in the country was 1.78 lakh crore rupees, whereas from 2014 to 2024, 28.52 lakh crore rupees were invested in urban infrastructure.

Addressing the gathering, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the Uttar Pradesh road network will improve, logistics costs will reduce to around 9 percent, and exports in the state will increase by more than 1.5 percent. Mr. Gadkari said that for the first time in India, an automated, intelligent, machine-guided construction system has been adopted for the Kanpur-Lucknow motorway. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the maximum number of vehicles has reached Maha Kumbh 2025 Prayagraj by road. He added that the double-engine government is developing Lucknow not only as an Aero City but also as an AI City.

Countries in the Global South have been affected most by extreme weather events in the last 30 years, according to The Climate Risk Index 2025 published by Germanwatch, an environmental think tank. In some cases such as Dominica, losses incurred by a single extreme weather event can be many times higher than entire gross domestic product of a country.

The backward-looking index analyses how extreme weather events affect countries and ranks countries according to economic and human effects on them (fatalities and affected, injured, and homeless people), with the most affected country ranked first.

Saab, a leading defence and security company, has signed an agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for a laser warning system, the global firm has said.

The agreement builds on a "strong partnership between Saab in South Africa and HAL" that began in 2005 during the development of the Advanced Light Helicopter programme, Saab said in a statement.

"Saab has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to collaborate on the Electronic Warfare land Laser Warning System-310 (LWS-310)," it said.

Bharat Electronics Limited and Safran Electronics & Defense, France have signed a MoU to create a joint venture for manufacturing, customising, sales and maintenance of HAMMER, a precision guided air-to-ground weapon, in India.

HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a combat-proven weapon system known for its high accuracy and modular design making it adaptable for multiple platforms including the Rafale and LCA Tejas.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by K V Suresh Kumar, Director (Marketing) of BEL, and Alexandre Ziegler, Executive Vice President of Safran Electronics & Defense, in the presence of Manoj Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of BEL, Franck Saudo, CEO of Safran Electronics & Defense at Aero India on Tuesday.

Sebi on Wednesday introduced a new digital platform, MITRA, to assist investors in tracking and reclaiming inactive or unclaimed mutual fund folios.

The objective of the platform, Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant, is to encourage investors to search for forgotten MF investments and update KYC as per the current norms.

In a circular, Sebi said the platform addresses a growing concern wherein investors, over time, lose track of their mutual fund investments lack of updated contact information, or unawareness of investments made in their name.