Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Union minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbanand Sonowal, inaugurated country’s first water taxi here on Thursday. The Mumbai water taxi services, which promise faster connectivity between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, were inaugurated virtually. While Thackeray inaugurated the newly constructed Belapur jetty, Sonowal flagged off the water taxi services. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was also be present along with Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde.

At the event, CM Thackeray thanked the Union Minister for choosing Mumbai for starting the country’s first water taxi. He said, “Today is an important day as the country’s first water taxi is starting from Mumbai. The first railway service in the country was also started between Mumbai and Thane. The facilities which started from Mumbai were spread all over the country.”

Narcotics Control Bureau, NCB, is organising in New Delhi today the Darkathon -2022 to find solutions to counter drug trafficking through darknet across the globe. The initiative aims at involving students, youth and technical experts to find effective solutions to unravel the anonymity of darknet markets.

Speaking after inaugurating the Darkathon, Director-General NCB SN Pradhan said, this hackathon is a continuation of the Vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who recognised the financial challenges being posed by drug trafficking during a comprehensive review of NCB and directed to find solutions to this menace.  

New Delhi [India], February 17 (ANI/NewsVoir): HarvestPlus and Grameen Foundation India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase food, nutrition, and livelihoods security through the production, consumption, and marketing of conventionally bred biofortified crops in India.

Drone delivery-tech firm Skye Air has teamed up with the Himachal Pradesh government for the delivery of medicines and agri commodities in the Himalayan state.

As part of the strategic partnership with the state's information technology department, Skye Air has initiated a three-day-long BVLOS trial in the Chamba district to connect over six primary healthcare and community healthcare centres and the area hospitals via multiple flights, the company said.

Guwahati (Assam) [India], February 17 (ANI): Assam government will launch a four-year mentorship programme called Project Arohan to provide guidance to students and hone their skills.

For this, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met Anita Rajan, CEO of Tata STRIVE, skill development of Tata Trusts and sought from them cooperation for the project.

“To mentor our students & help them hone their skills, we will launch a 4-year mentorship programme called Project Arohan. In this regard, met Anita Rajan, CEO of Tata STRIVE, a skill development initiative of Tata Trusts, and sought cooperation for the project,” said a tweet from Sarma. (ANI)

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday unveiled the Gujarat Biotechnology Policy 2022-27 with an expected capital investment of “over Rs 20,000 crore”, providing assistance to “more than 500 industries in the state” and creating “over 1.20 lakh new employment opportunities”, according to a press release from the state government.

The policy aims at providing capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operation expenses (OPEX) assistance to special projects, with upto 25 per cent of the total capital expenditure up to a maximum of Rs 200 crore and up to 15 per cent of the total operating cost up to a maximum of Rs 25 crore per annum.

Tourism Ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Alliance Air Aviation Limited to boost cooperation for the promotion and marketing of domestic tourism throughout the country.

Alliance Air is the front runner in promoting the Regional Connectivity Scheme of the government which is being promoted under the scheme UDAN - (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik). The MoU was signed with a view to achieve the common purpose of joint domestic promotion and considering the need to synergize the activities of Ministry of Tourism and Alliance Air Aviation Limited in the tourism markets.

The government has extended the date of NEET-MDS 2022 by four to six weeks. Earlier, the exam was scheduled to be held on 6th March. Health Ministry has said that it has received representations from United Doctor Front association and MDS aspirants regarding the request to extend the date of examination. The Ministry said, the date of completion of a compulsory rotating internship for eligibility for admission to MDS courses is now fixed at 31st July instead of 31st March this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan will hold a Virtual Summit today. Both Leaders are expected to lay out their vision of the historic and friendly relations between the two countries, at a time when India is celebrating 75 years of its Independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and UAE is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its foundation.

Briefing media in New Delhi yesterday, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, India and the UAE have deepened and transformed their bilateral ties significantly over the past few years and both countries have made substantial progress on some aspects of the free trade agreement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate Asia's largest Bio-CNG plant at Indore in Madhya Pradesh tomorrow. This Bio CNG plant will be operated from 100% wet waste. AIR Correspondent reports, This plant is built on PPP mode, from which Indore Municipal Corporation will get revenue of 2.5 crores per annum.

The plant has been set up on 15 acres of a trenching ground of the Indore Municipal Corporation in Devguradia area with an investment of Rs 150 crore. About 400 buses can be run daily with the gas generated from the Bio-CNG plant.