Ministry of Jal Shakti has conducted the first-ever census of water bodies across the nation. The census provides a comprehensive inventory of India's water resources, including natural and man-made water bodies like ponds and lakes. In the census, over 24.24 lakh water bodies have been enumerated in the country out of which more than 23 lakh water bodies are in rural areas and nearly 69,000 are in urban areas. The top five States in terms of number of water bodies are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam which constitute around 63 per cent of the total water bodies in the country. The Census also highlighted disparities between rural and urban areas and varying levels of encroachment and revealed crucial insights into the country's water resources.

Railways will launch the Puri - Gangasagar Divya Kashi Yatra by Bharat Gaurav Tourist train from Pune on Friday under Dekho Apna Desh and Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Scheme. The ten days tour will cover the important religious destinations of Puri, Kolkata, Gaya, Varanasi and Prayagraj. The visitors will have the opportunity to visit various important religious destinations like Jangannath Temple, Konark Temple, Lingraj Temple, Kali Bari, Vishnu Pad Temple and Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
 
Railways Ministry has been operating Bharat Gaurav Tourist Trains from different parts of the country to showcase India as a destination in the international as well as domestic arena. The Ministry said, theme-based trains have been conceptualized to showcase the rich cultural and religious heritage of Bharat to the domestic tourists as well as to the international tourists.

Wing Commander Deepika Misra has become the first woman Air Force officer to receive a gallantry medal. President had conferred Vayu Seva Medal for gallantry on her at Independence Day last year and she received the medal from Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari at an investiture ceremony held in New Delhi on Thursday. Wing Commander Deepika Mishra was detailed to undertake Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations in response to flash floods in northern Madhya Pradesh in August 2021. Braving deteriorating weather, strong winds and the near sunset time, she was the first and only respondent to reach the affected area the same evening. Her efforts helped in saving 47 lives.

The Health Ministry's National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2022. They have won the award under the innovation category on the occasion of 16th Civil Services Day in New Delhi today. In a tweet, Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya expressed his pride in this achievement. He also thanked all healthcare workers, caregivers and community members for making India’s COVID-19 vaccination programme a success.

The Indian Space Research Organisation is all set to launch PSLV-C55/TeLEOS-2 tomorrow at 14.19 hours from SHAR, Sriharikota. This is a dedicated commercial mission through NewSpace India Limited. The PSLV launch vehicle will carry TeLEOS-2 as a primary satellite and Lumeilite-4 as a co-passenger. Both the satellites are from Singapore. TeLEOS-2 carries a Synthetic Aperture Radar payload to provide all-weather day and night coverage with one-metre resolution. Lumeilite-4 has a communication payload for e-navigation maritime safety for Singapore. POEM-2 will be another payload belonging to ISRO, Dhruva Space and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics to carry out scientific experiments in outer space.

The Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, will launch PSLV-C55 with two Singaporean satellites today, April 22 at 2:19 pm from Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota. This is a dedicated commercial mission through NewSpace India Limited which is the commercial arm of ISRO. 

The polar satellite launch vehicle will launch 741 kg TeLEOS-2 as the primary satellite and Lumelite-4, as a co-passenger satellite that weighs 16 kilograms. They are intended to be launched into an Eastward low inclination orbit. It is the 57th flight of PSLV and the 16th mission of the PSLV Core Alone (PSLV-CA) variant. This is the lightest version of PSLV.

Union Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw will dedicate 254 '4G mobile towers' to the Nation in Arunachal Pradesh today, April 22. These towers will provide 4G coverage in uncovered villages, thereby bringing digital connectivity to 336 villages, including several areas which have remained unconnected since Independence. 

Over 70 thousand subscribers are expected to be benefitted from this service. On the occasion, Union Minister for Law and Justice  Kiren Rijiju and Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan will also be present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch nine campaigns under Inclusive Development (Samaveshi Vikaas) theme on the 24th of April during the National Panchayati Raj Day in Madhya Pradesh. 

He will also launch the Website and Mobile App “Samaveshi Vikaas” at the event. The mobile app is designed with the objective to ensure the documentation of public participation and the website is expected to provide real-time progress of various activities under Samaveshi Vikaas campaigns. The website will also enable the government to generate reports and assess and monitor the progress of the campaigns through technical tools.

The two-day Millets Fair Cum - Exhibition will conclude on Friday at Jodhpur in Rajasthan. In the concluding day, a detailed discussion will be done on promoting the production of Millets and its use among the consumers. There will also be a discussion on promoting Sri Anna and its products in foreign countries. Prizes and appreciation letters will be given to the winners in the exhibition competition.
 
Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will be the chief guest and Minister of State for Food Processing and Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel and Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Kailash Chowdhary will be present as a special guests on this occasion.
 

India has proposed to develop a G20 park in New Delhi to symbolize 'togetherness on the path of development' as part of its year-long presidency of the organization. It will showcase sculptures depicting national animals and birds of the G20 countries made with the Waste to wonder concept. The art pieces will be created on-site in a 20-day-long national camp mode from tomorrow and will run till the first of May. Each art piece will be made of scrap and other waste material sourced from the yards of New Delhi Municipal Council and other agencies.