Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 28 national highway (NH) projects worth Rs 6,600 crore in Odisha. Though his visit to Odisha was cancelled at the last minute, Gadkari launched these projects virtually.

Among the inaugurated projects were a 79km four-lane road between Baharagora and Singhara on NH-49, valued at Rs 1,203 crore, and a 78km six-lane road from Chandikhol to Bhadrak on NH-16, costing Rs 2,035 crore.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said that the inland waterways system has big potential to become a growth engine of the country. Addressing a function at Kalugaht near Parmanandpur in Saran district in Bihar Mr. Sonowal said waterways are a very important resource and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed to harness this. He said it will boost the trade and commerce in the country. He also added that inland waterways can also propagate tourism which was successfully exhibited during the journey of MV-Ganga Vilas River cruise last year.

Inaugurating the newly constructed Kalughat Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) terminal on National Waterways -1 (NW-1) the Union Minister said cargo transport is cheaper and more economical with comparison to rail and road transport. Mr. Sonowal said with the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the Inland Vessel Act was amended which revolutionised transport and navigation through inland waterways. He said that it also removed the hurdles of different permit systems varying from one State to another for vessels. He said, with new initiatives and the construction of multimodal and intermodal terminals, India is going to be a big power in the area of riverways and maritime cargo handling. Mr. Sonowal mentioned that 10 years ago there were only 5 NWs in the country, which has now reached 111 with the efforts of Modi Government. The Minister said for seamless navigation of vessels dredging and silt removal work will be undertaken to ensure the depth of the river.

India is set to witness its first Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) which will operate from All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh.

Through HEMS, the government intends to expand medical outreach and access to trauma care services to a wider population across the country using helicopters.

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia assured Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami of the new integrated airport building of Uttarakhand airport.

Mr Scindia affirmed, "The request for the HEMS from AIIMS Rishikesh is underway, with helicopter assembly and certification progressing, under my oversight."

In Jammu and Kashmir, a professor in the Electrical Engineering Department of IIT Jammu, Dr. Karan Nathwani has developed an anti-drone system that works mainly on sound technology. Akashvani Jammu Correspondent reports that the drone system is not only cost effective but also user-friendly, making it accessible to the general public. The system is easy to operate, and there are no issues with cameras or radar and was designed considering various challenges, making it versatile. The drone system is the first of its kind which is developed based on an entirely new technology called 'sound-based detection'. This system detects the sound emitted by drones, producing a unique signature that helps in their identification. Professor Nathwani said, this signature is compared with the system’s database, and if a match is found, the drone is detected. The cost of this system is about 4 lakh rupees. The Sound-based drone detection systems will detect even drones and birds coming from Pakistan. Worth to mention, along with dealing with terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the biggest challenge for the security forces at present is drones. Arms, ammunition, cash and drugs are being sent from Pakistan through drones. In such a situation, different technologies are being developed for the security forces to deal with the increasing trend of drones. In this series, IIT Jammu has prepared this sound-based drone detection system. With the help of this system, this device will be able to easily detect drones, aircraft, multiple drones or birds flying up to 300 meters by their sound.

President Droupadi Murmu has awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal to Havildar Varinder Singh of the Sikh Regiment in the Indian Army for his development of a 'Multipurpose Octocopter', an official said.

The 'Multipurpose Octocopter' developed by Singh is a versatile drone capable of not only conducting surveillance operations but also performing tasks such as grenade dropping, aerial target engagement with weapons like the AK-47, and logistics operations.

Meanwhile, Singh added that the 'Multipurpose Octocopter' will prove to be a boon for the Indian Army.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, ‘unanimously’ adopted two resolutions against the Union government’s ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal and the proposed delimitation after 2026.

The resolution against the proposed delimitation process by Union Government read: “This august House urged the Union Government that the delimitation process to be carried out after 2026 on the basis of the census should not be carried out. Due to unavoidable reasons, if the number of seats on the basis of population were to increase, it shall be maintained at the present ratio of the constituencies between the States in the State Assemblies and both Houses of Parliament fixed based on the population of 1971.”

Furthermore, the resolution said that States like Tamil Nadu should not be penalised for implementing various socio-economic development programmes and welfare schemes for the benefit of people over the past 50 years.

Jay Shah's comments came in the presence of chief selector Ajit Agarkar, head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit himself It will be Rohit Sharma and not Hardik Pandya who will be leading the Indian team at the upcoming T20 World Cup in USA-West Indies. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, speaking on the occasion of renaming of the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium to Niranjan Shah stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday declared that Rohit would be the captain at the T20 World Cup.

"We may have lost the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. But we won hearts there by winning 10 matches in a row. I would like to say that I am confident that India will lift the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy at Barbados," Shah said.

A revolutionary system has been developed at the Department of Computer Science in Punjabi University to enhance the typing experience in the Gurmukhi script on the internet, as repotred by Khalsa Vox.

The innovative system, named "PURAN", is designed to provide users with appropriate sentence suggestions as they type, catering to various topics and expressions.

Gurjot Singh Mahi lead the innovation under the expert guidance of Dr. Amandeep Verma, according to Khalsa Vox, adding that this research marks a significant leap forward in linguistic technology.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has achieved a milestone by surpassing the Rs 1 lakh crore mark in total order value through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.

In the current financial year, transactions worth around Rs 45,800 Crore have been awarded, covering a wide range of items from general stores to critical defence acquisitions. GeM has facilitated over 5.47 lakh orders for MoD.

CEO of GeM, P. K. Singh praised MoD for being the first central government entity to achieve this milestone. He emphasized MoD's dedication to embracing change and supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a self-reliant India.

A significant portion of the orders, totaling Rs 60,593 Crore, has been awarded to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), reflecting GeM's focus on social inclusion and bolstering India's economy towards self-reliance.

ISRO's meteorological satellite INSAT-3DS, aimed at improving meteorological observations for enhanced weather forecasting and disaster warning, is scheduled for launch on February 17.

In a post on X, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today announced that the satellite will be launched aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle F14 (GSLV F14).

"The GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS mission is set to launch on Saturday, February 17, at 5:30 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota," stated ISRO.

In its 16th mission, the GSLV intends to place the INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). Following orbit-raising maneuvers, the satellite will be positioned in a Geostationary Orbit.