Assam Government launches 'Gunotsav 2024' a comprehensive state-wide assessment aimed at evaluating the performance of approximately 40 lakh students of 43,498 government schools spread across 35 districts.

Gunotsav, an initiative of the Government of Assam, is covering all government Elementary and Secondary schools in the state. To facilitate the assessment process, a total of 18,098 external evaluators deployed throughout the State. This diverse group of evaluators will include the chief minister, MLAs, the chief secretary, and college teachers, Government Officers among others to visit schools as external evaluators.

The exercise, which began yesterday, will conclude on February 8 in three phases. The first phase covering 12 districts from January 3 to 6, the second phase involving 13 districts from January 10 to 12, and the final phase comprising the remaining 10 districts scheduled from February 6 to 8.

Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary Shri S Krishnan launched ERNET India’s newly developed integrated web portal for educational institutes in the country, at its head office here today. The portal will offer domain registration, DNS and value-added services viz. Website as a Service (WaaS) and Learning Management as a Service (LMaaS). The users can select from the variety of available templates for schools, colleges, universities as per their requirement and create their own website and Learning Management System. The user can publish the website and LMS by customizing the template with single click. This web portal has been developed utilizing open-source software and emerging technologies such as AI/ML.

India has nominated Indore, Bhopal and Udaipur for the Wetland City Accreditation (WCA) scheme under the Ramsar Convention, which helps cities gain international recognition for their efforts to protect their natural or human-made wetlands.

These are the first three Indian cities nominated for WCA based on the proposals received from state wetlands authorities in collaboration with municipal corporations.

The wetlands situated in and around these cities provide a plethora of benefits to their citizens in terms of flood regulation, livelihood opportunities, and recreational and cultural values.

Sirpur Wetland (Ramsar site in Indore), Yashwant Sagar (Ramsar site closer to Indore), Bhoj Wetland (Ramsar Site in Bhopal), and several wetlands in and around Udaipur are lifelines to these cities.

As a part of the National GI Drive Mission, West Bengal has acquired a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for some products which include Sundarban honey, Black Nunia rice from Jalpaiguri district and Tangail, Gorod and Kadiyal sarees. The Central Government has already uploaded the names of the products in the designated portal.

West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Limited (WBFDCL) applied for an exclusive GI tag for Sunderban honey. WBFDCL had to compete with a Pune-based entity to win the case. This honey was collected by the 'Mouli' community from the Sunderban forest. WBFDCL collects and processes the honey and sells it with the brand name Mouban. The Black Nunia rice is called Prince of Rice and is cultivated in the Jalpaiguri district of the State. It is an indigenous variety of rice. Kadiyal saree is produced only at Mirzapur of Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Tangail and Gorod saree are also famous in this field.

As a part of the National GI Drive Mission, West Bengal has acquired a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for some products which include Sundarban honey, Black Nunia rice from Jalpaiguri district and Tangail, Gorod and Kadiyal sarees. The Central Government has already uploaded the names of the products in the designated portal.

West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Limited (WBFDCL) applied for an exclusive GI tag for Sunderban honey. WBFDCL had to compete with a Pune-based entity to win the case. This honey was collected by the 'Mouli' community from the Sunderban forest. WBFDCL collects and processes the honey and sells it with the brand name Mouban. The Black Nunia rice is called Prince of Rice and is cultivated in the Jalpaiguri district of the State. It is an indigenous variety of rice. Kadiyal saree is produced only at Mirzapur of Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Tangail and Gorod saree are also famous in this field.

In a major initiative to promote inland water transport, the shipping ministry is readying a plan to focus on greater adoption of greener vessels. The transition of vessels to ply on green energy is likely to cost around Rs 15,000 crore over the next 10 years.

Sources said the guidelines for this programme will be unveiled at the Inland Waterway Development Council (IWDC) meeting on Monday.

They added that the scheme would be almost similar to the FAME scheme for promotion of electric vehicles. To begin with, port authorities and the government will provide support for around 1,000 vessels, ferries and tug boats.

The 'Navya Ayodhya' project, spearheaded by the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh, is making significant strides as the Paying Guest Scheme under the state tourism department proves to be a game-changer for visitors.

This initiative not only contributes to individual incomes but also opens up avenues for new employment opportunities. To date, 464 individuals have been issued certificates out of the 600 applicants under this scheme.

The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department's Paying Guest Scheme aims to introduce the rich culinary heritage of Awadh to saints and visitors from India and abroad, providing them with a unique gastronomic experience. The project places a special emphasis on serving millet-based dishes during the International Millets Year celebrations.

The new material harnesses renewable energy source for detoxifying harmful substances such as chemical warfare agents that are harmful for people.

Researchers of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal have developed an effective photocatalyst that absorbs a wide range of solar energy and light to quicken chemical processes in laboratories and industries.

A press release issued by the IISER stated that the new material harnesses renewable energy sources for detoxifying harmful substances such as chemical warfare agents comprising of mustard gas simulants like ‘2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide’ (CEES), and nerve agents, which are highly poisonous chemicals that affect a person’s nervous system.

On the occasion of the 265th birth anniversary of Veerapandiya Kattabomman bullock cart races were held in the village of Vaippar near Vlathikulam in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi district today.

Like every year, the entire village celebrated the 265th birthday of freedom fighter Veerapandiya Kattabomman this time as well.

Winners of the bullock cart races were showered with prizes of Rs 1 lakh cash, lambs, and LED TV. The event gathered a crowd who watched the Bullock cart race with interest.

Spacetech startup Dhruva Space on Wednesday said it has successfully space qualified its P-30 satellite platform and is now gearing up for its first commercial mission – codenamed LEAP-1 -- in the first quarter of 2024.

The Hyderabad-based satellite maker said the qualification of its `Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads-Technology Demonstrator’ (LEAP-TD) payload mission has paved the way for providing hosted payload solutions for space missions in the global market.

The LEAP-TD mission, which was launched on January 1 onboard Indian Space Research Organisation’s PSLV-C58 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, featured a derivative of its P-30 nanosatellite platform which was integrated to ISRO’s PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) mission to enable in-orbit scientific experiments using the spent PS4 stage as an orbital platform.