The state government has received the first instalment of grant-in-aid of Rs 225 crore from the Department of Pharmaceuticals of the Central Government for the development of common infrastructure for the bulk drug park at Haroli in Una district. The grant-in-aid has been given under the scheme guidelines for the promotion of the bulk drug park scheme notified by the Department of Pharmaceuticals of the Union Ministry of Chemical and Fertiliser.Read More

The Kerala government has launched robotic scavenger, “Bandicoot”, to clean sewages in the temple town of Guruvayur, becoming the first state in the country to use robotic technology to clean all its commissioned manholes. Genrobotics, a Technopark-based company, have developed “the world’s first robotic scavenger” Bandicoot in an effort to eliminate manual scavenging providing respite for workers engaged in manhole cleaning. The robotic Tron Unit, which is the major component of Bandicoot, enters the manhole and removes sewage using robotic hands, similar to a man’s limbs. The machine has waterproof, HD vision cameras and sensors that can detect harmful gases inside....Read More

For the first time, the road to Sinthan Top has been opened in the month of February 2023 with an aim to promote tourism to this off-beat destination in Jammu and Kashmir. Sinthan Top is a high mountain pass that is located between the Breng valley in Anantnag district and Kishtwar of J&K which connects Kashmir to Chenab Valley.Read More

Tamil Nadu's first 'Palam' project launched in Karur aims to provide jobs for youth. The Palam Project or the City Livelihood Centre in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district is successfully placing educated unemployed youth in good jobs. And unlike most government employment exchanges, this one focuses mostly on private jobs. Initiated by the Tamil Nadu Rural Livelihood Movement and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), it aims at bridging the gap between unemployed youth and companies looking to hire people. The aim of the Palam Project was to act as a bridge between job seekers and employers. Karur, located near the....Read More

Over the last few days, the Assam government has arrested over 2,000 men in a campaign against child marriages that have taken place in the state. The police will retrospectively book people who participated in child marriage in the last seven years and the focus will especially be on “mullahs, kazis, and pujaris” conducting these marriages. The arrests come in the backdrop of growing debate on the minimum age of marriage of Muslim women. Legal Scenario The men who married girls below 14 years of age would be booked under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and....Read More

It grows widely in Manipur and other north-eastern regions. Flowers of heimang tree are used as food and medicine. They can be used for common Gastrointestinal ailments purposes and urinary ulcers. Other parts of the heimang tree such as its leaves (including abnormal growths or galls on them), roots, stem, and bark are also found to have preventive and therapeutic effects. Local communities in state use heimang leaves to prepare herbal shampoo called chinghi by boiling them with rice water. Despite its extraordinary versatility, heimang has not yet found widespread commercial use.Read More

First popularised in Europe by 17th century French empress Josephine, Kashmiri shawls at a Parisian exhibition this month became the canvas for abstract art by Frenchman Maximilien Pellet. French connection goes back to gifting of Kashmiri Kani shawl by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to his wife Josephine in the 18th century Pashmina Shawl is known for their signature intricate buta or paisley patterns. Pashmina Shawls is made from Pashm - fleece of Changthangi Goat, native to Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Pashmina Shawls have been assigned Geographical indication (GI) tag.Read More

Kerala's Wayanad becomes the first district in the country to provide basic documents to all tribal people. The Akshaya Big Campaign for Document Digitisation (ABCD) campaign provided Aadhaar cards, ration cards, birth/death certificates, etc. These documents are digitized and saved in DigiLocker accounts. Digitalising the documents through DigiLocker will help the beneficiaries easily retrieve the documents in case these are lost or damaged.Read More

Rajasthan has become the first state to implement a policy to control blindness, with the objective of ensuring the “right to sight”. A massive drive will be undertaken in the State to reduce the rate of blindness, and bring light into the lives of over 3 lakh people suffering from visual impairment. The State government’s Medical & Health Department released the policy document here over the week-end. The prevalence rate of blindness, which was 1.1% in 2020, will be brought down to 0.3%, through the policy. The government is taking a number of measures to improve access to eye care....Read More

Why in News? The International Kite Festival 2023 begin in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. About International Kite Festival 2023: The festival is being organized by Gujarat Tourism on the G20 theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future. Ahmedabad first hosted the International Kite Festival on the occasion of Uttarayan in 1989. Apart from Ahmedabad, the International Kite festival will also be organized in Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Dwarka, Somnath, Dhordo, and Kevadia. After a gap of 2 years, skies over the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad will be adorned with colorful unique Kites. More than 800 kite flyers from across India and the world will participate....Read More