GNFC township becomes India’s first cashless Township
- India’s first cashless township “Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals (GNFC) township”was inaugurated by Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani.
- Nearly 10,000 residents in GNFC have embraced various digital mode of payments instead of cash.In the township, residents are making cashless payments at shopping centres, schools, colleges, hospital, stadium, laundry and even at tea stalls.
Bill to legalise Kambala
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2017 was passed in the Karnataka legislative Assembly that seeks to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, in its application to Karnataka.
- This was passed to facilitate the conduct of traditional buffalo race “Kambala” and bullock cart races in South Kanara and Udupi district.
INS Sarvekshak first naval ship has gone green
- Indian Navy’s survey vessel INS Sarvekshak, based at the Southern Naval Command in Kochi became the first naval ship to go green by installing a solar power system on board thus, this low cost system will slash a yearly carbon emission of 60225 kg and save around 22995 litres of diesel.
- It has innovatively deployed the zero-maintenance solar power system, capable of generating 5.4KW electricity.
GMR Hyderabad Airport bags CAPA award
- GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, which operates Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, has won the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Chairman’s Order of Merit for its focus on environmental sustainability and becoming the first airport in Asia Pacific to become carbon neutral.
- Airports Council International (ACI) has certified Hyderabad International Airport with Level 3+ Neutrality under its Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
Lakkundi development authority
- Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj has notfied that karnataka is contemplating in setting up a Lakkundi Development Authority,
- Lakkundi is located in gadag district,karnataka, has a rich cultural heritage and it needs to be developed and showcased to the world.
- Researcher Gogi referred inscriptions that mentioned about the presence of 12 Jinalayas and 101 temples in Lakkundi
Vyapam Case: SC cancels admissions
- The SC has canceled admission process of over 600 MBBS students, who enrolled in five-year MBBS course in Madhya Pradesh during 2008 and 2012.
- The Apex Court bench dismissed all the petitions filed by the students refusing to interfere with the Madhya Pradesh High Court order.
Neelu Rohmetra is the first woman to be appointed director of an IIM at Sirmaur
- Prof Neelu Rohmetra of Jammu University is the first woman to be appointed director of an IIM at Sirmaur. She specialises in HRD and cross-culture management.
- The government recently appointed heads of 10 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), including the first woman to head one of the 20 premier B-schools in the country.
Union Cabinet gave its clearance ‘Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan’ (PMGDISHA)
- PMGDISHA is expected to be one of the largest digital literacy programmes in the world. The Union Cabinet on 8 February 2017 gave its clearance to the ‘Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan’ (PMGDISHA) that is launched with the objective to make 6 crore rural households digitally literate by March 2019
- The outlay for this project is Rs. 2,351.38 crore to usher in digital literacy in rural India by March 2019. The announcement for this mission was made in the Union Budget of 2016-17.
- Under the scheme, 25 lakh candidates will be trained in the year 2016-17, 2.75 crore in the 2017-18 and 3 crore in 2018-19.
Sudarsan Pattnaik creates Guinness World Record by creating 48.8 feet tall sand castle
- Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created a Guinness World Record by creating a 48.8 feet tall sand castle at Puri beach in Odisha.
- The record-breaking sculpture was built with a message of world peace, and featured sculptures of Mahatma Gandhi, Gautama Buddha and Nelson Mandela.
- Patnaik achieved the rare feat in four days. The previous record holder, an American, had completed his art of 45.10 feet in seven days.
HRD Ministry to set up NTA to Conduct Exams for Higher & Secondary Education
- The Union Human Resource Development Ministry is set to constitute a National Testing Agency (NTA) which will be responsible for conducting examinations for higher and secondary education.
- The main aim of setting NTA is to ease the work of the bodies like CBSE, AICTE, from the responsibilities of conducting exams, and eventually enable them to focus more on academics.
