The Centre has approved the continuation of the Central Sector National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) over the 15th Finance Commission cycle for a period of five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26. It has been approved with a financial outlay of one thousand 827 crore rupees with minor modifications in eligibility criteria such as increasing income ceiling from 1.5 lakh rupees per annum to 3.5 lakh rupees per annum and revising the renewal criteria under the scheme. Ministry of Education in a statement said that it is proposed to disburse scholarships to 14.76 lakh students. The objective of the scheme is to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop-out at class 8th and encourage them to continue their education at the secondary stage.

The Ministry said, one lakh fresh scholarships of 12 thousand rupees per student are awarded to the selected students of class 9th   every year and their continuation or renewal in classes 10th  to 12th  for study in  State Government, Government-aided and Local body schools under the scheme. Students are selected for award of scholarships through an examination conducted by the State and Union Territory  Governments.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is participating in ‘Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate’ being held across the country on the occasion of 75th year of India’s Independence, ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. ‘Vigyan Sarvatra Pujayate’ is a pan-India programme to showcase science, technology, and innovation from every part of the country from 22nd February to 28th February.

The DRDO is also organizing exhibitions on the theme ‘Amrit Mahotsav Science Showcase: Roadmap to 2047’ in 16 cities throughout the country. The cities where these science and technology mega expositions are being held by DRDO include Agra, A Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Leh, Mumbai, and Visakhapatnam. Participation of DRDO in the ‘Mahotsav’ is an opportunity to highlight the work being done by R&D organizations and showcasing ideas and technology efforts on the road to 2047.

The Women and Child Development Ministry has extended the PM Cares for Children Scheme till the end of this month. Earlier the scheme was valid till the 31st of December, 2021.

All States and Union Territories have been asked to identify and register the eligible children on the portal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced comprehensive support for children who have lost both their parents due to COVID 19 pandemic last year.

Any Citizen can inform the administration regarding a child eligible for support under this scheme through the portal.

Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh will launch Rural Connectivity GIS Data in Public Domain at 12 PM on 22nd February, 2022 in India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched in the year 2000, with an objective to provide all-weather road connectivity to eligible unconnected habitations throughout the nation. Later on upgradation and consolidation of through routes and major rural links was also included as its objective to give fillip to the rural economy.

Since inception, 7.83 lakh Km roads have been sanctioned and 6.90 lakh Km have been constructed with an expenditure of Rs. 2.69 lakh crores.

New Delhi [India], February 21 (ANI): India batter VR Vanitha, who played six ODIs and 16 T20Is, announced her retirement from all forms of cricket on Monday.

The 31-year-old cricketer also thanked skipper Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and family members for “encouraging” her from time to time.
“19 years ago, when I started playing cricket, I was just a little girl who loved sport. Even to this day, my love for cricket remains the same. What’s changing is direction. My heart says continue playing, my body says stop and I’ve decided to listen to the latter. Time is ripe to hang my boots,” Vanitha said in a statement.

Israel on Monday said it successfully tested a new naval air defense system, intercepting a series of threats in what officials called a key layer of protection against Iran and its proxies in the region.

The “C-Dome” system is a naval version of the Iron Dome, which has been used to shoot down rockets fired from the Gaza Strip for the past decade. The C-Dome is being installed on Israel’s latest-generation corvette warships, which protect Israel’s coastline and offshore natural gas assets in the Mediterranean.

The tests simulated a number of incoming threats, including rockets, cruise missiles and drones, the Defense Ministry said.

International Mother Language Day is being  celebrated today all over the nation to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity with an aim to promote multilingualism.

The day is part of a broader initiative to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by people of the world as adopted by the UN General Assembly.  

The theme for the 2022 International Mother Language Day is 'Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities'.  

External Affairs Ministry is celebrating its Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Iconic Week from today to 27th of this month.

The celebrations will include a series of commemorative events and activities in New Delhi and other cities across the country. Ministry's Branch Secretariats, Indian Council for Cultural Relations and its regional offices, and regional passport offices are organizing several events across the country to mark the Iconic Week.

A week-long Special Course on Foreign Policy for Indian media also began in New Delhi today. This is being conducted jointly by the External Publicity Division and Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service.

As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Government of India is holding a week-long commemoration titled Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate from today simultaneously at 75 locations across the country. The programme will be held from Leh and Srinagar to Port Blair and Kavaratti Islands in Lakshadweep from north to south and from Ahmedabad and Daman to Itanagar, Kohima, and Aizawl from west to east, apart from the national capital Delhi. The inaugural programme will be held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi today.
 
The event will display the country’s scientific legacy and technology prowess that has helped find solutions to defence, space, health, agriculture, astronomy, and other sectors. Giving details about the Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate event, Principal Scientific Advisor, Dr K Vijay Raghavan said, the programmes have been grouped under four themes. He said the first theme is - from the annals of the history of Science and Technology and this section traces the contributions of founders of modern science and institutions of national importance to nation-building. He informed that it will be done in the form of the screening of 75 films on 75 scientists, and 75 lectures by eminent scientists and technocrats across the 75 locations.

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 19 (ANI): Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans on Saturday announced that they have created a virtual space in the Metaverse named The Titans Dugout.