The commencement of Sagar Parikrama Phase-VIII is set to take place today at Thengapattanam Fishing Harbour in Kanyakumari district, where Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala, and Minister of State, Dr L Murugan, will jointly inaugurate the event. This particular phase of Sagar Parikrama will encompass an exploration of four coastal districts in Tamil Nadu, namely Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram. 

The Tamil Nadu segment of Sagar Parikrama, commencing today, will entail a journey through four districts over the next three days, concluding on the second of September 2023.

The warship ‘Mahendragiri’ being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai will be launched on Friday. It is the seventh stealth frigate under Project 17A of the Indian Navy. The wife of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Dr Sudesh Dhankhar will launch the warship. Vice President will be the Chief Guest at the ceremony. 

The newly christened Mahendragiri is a technologically advanced warship and stands as a symbol of India's determination to embrace its rich naval heritage. The launch of Mahendragiri is an apt testament to the incredible progress our Nation has made in building a self-reliant naval force.

The Vice-President will also visit Dharohar- the Heritage Museum of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.

President Draupadi Murmu launched the state level program of “Year of Positive Change” at Prajapita Brahmakumari Ishwariya Vishwavidyalaya in Raipur today.

Chhattisgarh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel were also present on the occasion.

The President reached Raipur this morning on his two-day visit to Chhattisgarh. The President will attend various programs in Raipur and Bilaspur during these two days. The President will attend the convocation ceremony of Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur tomorrow. Apart from this, tomorrow she will also meet the representatives of the primitive tribal community in Raipur.

On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Wednesday announced an increase of Rs 10,000 in the amount of the Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangla Yojana from 2024-25.

Under the scheme, underprivileged girls get a package of Rs 15,000 in six phases, starting from their birth to the time they enter graduation, which has been increased to Rs 25,000 from the next financial year.

The chief minister made this announcement while addressing the beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala scheme at Lok Bhavan here: “The double engine government is going to increase the amount of the Kanya Sumangala scheme from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 from the financial year 2024-25. This will make it easier for the daughters of the state to fulfil their dreams and become self-reliant and educated.”

Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday inaugurated the Nilachal flyover at Maligaon in Guwahati which is now the longest flyover in the state.

CM Sarma also tweeted a bird’s eye view of the 2.6 km long Flyover from Maligaon to Kamakhya Gate that was inaugurated by him today evening.

The 4-lane steel girder flyover has been constructed with a cost of Rs 420.75 crore.

Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan rover has confirmed the presence of sulphur on the moon’s surface, near its south pole, and is still searching for hydrogen, the Indian Space Research Organisation said on Tuesday.

The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-3’s rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole. “These in-situ measurements confirm the presence of Sulphur (S) in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters,” ISRO said. “Search for Hydrogen (H) is underway,” it posted on X (formerly Twitter).

‘Nabhmitra’, a device developed by ISRO-Space Applications Centre (Ahmedabad) for the safety of fishermen, was successfully tested at Neendakara on Saturday.

The satellite-based communication system enables two-way messaging services from and to the sea. While weather and cyclone warnings will be communicated in the local language, the boats can also send distress messages to the authorities. In emergency situations like capsizing and fire, fishers can press a button on the device and get in touch with the control centre. While the control centre will receive the alert including the location of the boat, the crew on the boat will get a response message from the control centre.

Kolkata Metro Railway, which has relied on steel Third Rail for four decades, is now upgrading to composite Aluminium Third Rail for all new and existing corridors. This transition will place Kolkata among prestigious metros such as those in London, Moscow, Berlin, Munich, and Istanbul, all of which have made the shift.

“Metro Railway Kolkata has floated a tender for replacement of existing Third Rail, in the first phase to cover the section between Dumdum to Shyambazar,” an official statement said.

As per the 6th census report on minor irrigation schemes, Maharashtra is the second-highest State that possesses the largest number of minor irrigation (MI) schemes in the country after Uttar Pradesh. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation released the report yesterday.

The report stated that 23.14 million minor irrigation (MI) schemes have been reported in the country, out of which 21.93 million (94.8 per cent ) are Ground Water (GW) and 1.21 million (5.2 percent) are Surface Water (SW) schemes. There has been an increase of about 1.42 million in MI schemes during the 6th MI census as compared to the 5th Census. GW schemes comprise dugwells, and shallow, medium, and deep tube wells. The SW schemes include surface flow and surface lift schemes.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Friday unveiled the expansion of Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme across the state in 31,008, a move that will benefit 17 lakh government school students studying in classes one to five.

The scheme was inaugurated by Stalin at Union Panchayat Middle School in Nagappattinam’s Thirukkuvalai, the birthplace of Muthamizh Arignar Kalaignar, a statement by the Tamil Nadu government said.

After completing one year in power, Stalin in 2022 had made the announcement on the scheme in the Tamil Nadu assembly.