Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh on Friday said that India is emerging as the world's major Bio-economy with fast-growing Biotech StartUps. Speaking at the 20th anniversary of Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises in New Delhi, the Minister said that the country is aspiring to be in the top five of Global Innovation Index by its 100 years of independence. He also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing impetus to innovation by adding Jai Anusandhan to the country’s evergreen slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan. Terming the Indian industry as the backbone of the world's economy Dr Singh expressed confidence that it has the potential to revolutionize and bring in a technology movement. He also stressed on integration of Research, Startups, Academia and Industry to attract young innovators in the country.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is inviting applications for National Startup Awards 2023 latest by 31st of May this year.  In this edition, the startups will be awarded across 20 categories. Winners from each of the categories will be awarded with 10 lakh rupees. The winners and finalists will also be provided with exclusive handholding support, including investor and government connect, mentorship, international market access, corporate and unicorn connect.

The awards were launched in 2020 to reward and recognise outstanding startups and enablers in the startup ecosystem that are building innovative products and demonstrating measurable social impact. In three years, it has seen participation from over 6,400 startups and has recognized over 450 startups as winners and finalists.

Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Friday announced that Sports Authority of India has integrated Khelo India Games Certificates with Digilocker. This will allow athletes, support staff, technical officers and competition managers to access their certificates digitally.

In a series of tweets, Mr Thakur said, this is a significant step towards a more efficient and streamlined process for accessing certificates of merit and participation for the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 and beyond. The Minister expressed confidence that this integration will make it easier for participants to access their certificates and help them showcase their achievements.

The Centre has decided to launch a special scheme to provide financial support to prisoners who are unable to afford the penalty or the bail amount. The scheme named support for prisoners, will enable poor prisoners, majority of whom belong to socially disadvantaged or marginalized groups with lower education and income level, to get out of prison. The Home Ministry said that the broad contours of the scheme have been finalised in consultation with concerned stakeholders. It said, the Centre will provide financial support to States to extend relief to those poor prisoners who are unable to avail bail or get released from prisons due to non-payment of fine.

Today is World Health Day. The theme this year is Health for All. Every year this day is organised on 7th April to coincide with the setting up of the World Health Organisation, WHO in 1948.

This year the world health body is observing its 75th anniversary. In a message, the World Health Organization said the idea is to make the global community aware of the strides in public health that have helped improve the quality of life over the past 7 decades. It is also a call for action to tackle health challenges.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the government will continue working to augment health infrastructure and ensure quality healthcare to the people.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the Delhi-Dehradun Greenfield Expressway will be completed by the end of December this year. He said, the journey from Delhi to Dehradun will now be completed in two hours. Mr Gadkari said this while briefing reporters in Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, after inspecting the six-lane Delhi-Dehradun Expressway. He said, currently, the travel between Delhi to Dehradun is around six to seven hours.
 
The 212 km long Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will start from North East Delhi, Akshardham and pass through Baghpat, Shamli and Saharanpur. Mr Gadkari said, the expressway is being built at a cost of around 12 thousand crore rupees. He informed that 12 Wayside amenities will be constructed on this Expressway, which will have electric charging stations. The Minister said, Indian roads will match the standards of American roads by the end of 2024.

Union government has approved the Indian Space Policy 2023, which aims to boost the country's space department's role and give a larger participation to research, academia, startups, and industry.

The policy lays down the roles and responsibilities of organizations such as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and private sector entities.

During a cabinet briefing, Minister for State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said that the policy would enhance the role of India's space department, boost research, academia, start-ups, and industry.

Today is World Health Day. The theme this year is Health for All. Every year this day is organised on 7th  April to coincide with the setting up of the World Health Organisation, WHO in 1948.

This year the world health body is observing its 75th anniversary. 

In a message, the World Health Organization said the idea is to make the global community aware of the strides in public health that have helped improve the quality of life over the past 7 decades. It is also a call for action to tackle health challenges. 

President Droupadi Murmu conferred 55 Padma Awards for the year 2023, at the second Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan last evening. She presented three Padma Vibhushan, five Padma Bhushan and 47 Padma Shri Awards.

Padma Vibhushan was given to ORS pioneer Dr Dilip Mahalanabis and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav posthumously.
The President awarded Padma Bhushan to philanthropist Sudha Murthy, theoretical physicist Prof Deepak Dhar, Kannada author Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa and spiritual leader Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji. Legendary singer Vani Jairam was given Padma Bhushan posthumously.

The 7th India-Japan Defence Policy Dialogue was held in New Delhi today. During the meeting, a wide range of issues, including Service-level exercises and engagements, regional security issues and cooperation in defence equipment and technology were discussed. It was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Vice Minister of Defence for International Affairs Oka Masami. The Japanese Vice Minister also presented policy updates from their recently released National Security Strategy and National Defence Strategy. The Defence Ministry said, both countries appreciated the growing cooperation between the Services through Staff talks and exercises.
 
India and Japan reiterated their commitment towards a strong defence partnership and agreed to find opportunities to further enhance bilateral cooperation. The Defence Policy Dialogue is an institutionalised mechanism between India and Japan to discuss bilateral defence cooperation.