The Government has approved the scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) for continuation till 31st March 2026. The proposal entails an expenditure of over 12 thousand 929 crore rupees. Education Ministry said, it has been envisaged to support around one thousand 600 projects under the new phase of the scheme.

RUSA is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, operating in mission mode for funding the state government universities and colleges to achieve the aims of equity, access, and excellence. The new phase of the scheme has been designed to implement some of the recommendations and aims of the New Education Policy. It suggests some key changes to the current higher education system to revamp and re-energize it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Gobar-Dhan (Bio-CNG) Plant in Indore, Madhya Pradesh at 1 PM today through video conferencing. Mr Modi has recently launched the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0, with the overall vision of creating Garbage Free Cities.

The Mission is being implemented under the overarching principles of waste to wealth and circular economy for maximising resource recovery and both of which are exemplified in the Indore Bio-CNG plant.

The plant has a capacity to treat 550 tonnes per day of segregated wet organic waste. It is expected to produce around 17 thousand kilogram per day of CNG, and 100 tonnes per day of organic compost.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the government is committed to provide a convenient, safe, and modern travel experience to all its rail commuters. He was speaking after inaugurating the newly constructed two additional railway lines between Thane and Diva on Mumbai’s busy suburban rail network.

Addressing the event via video conferencing, Mr. Modi said these two lines will not only enhance ‘ease of living’ but also accelerate the development of Mumbai Metropolitan Region, on the whole. These much-awaited additional lines have been built at the approximate cost of 620 crore rupees and feature 1.4 km long rail flyover, 170-meter long tunnel, 3 major bridges, and 21 minor bridges. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also attended the inaugural ceremony virtually.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted the nation on the occasion of birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's outstanding leadership and emphasis on social welfare has been inspiring people for generations.

He was uncompromising when it came to standing up for values of truth and justice. The Prime Minister said, the country is committed to fulfilling the vision of Shivaji Maharaj. 

In a blog post, Google has revealed that Aman Pandey, an Indian cybersecurity researcher and founder and CEO at Bugsmirror, was one of the top researchers of the tech giant’s Vulnerability Reward Program (VRP) last year. Pandey uncovered and submitted 232 vulnerabilities in Android just last year. He had been reporting flaws since 2019, and has so far submitted over 280 valid vulnerabilities to the Android program, according to the blog post.

Most tech companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and other pay researchers for any ‘bugs’ or software flaws that these researchers can locate in their products. The rewards are popularly called as ‘Bugs bounty.’

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)