The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana with a total outlay of Rs.75,021 crore for installing rooftop solar and providing free electricity up to 300 units every month for One Crore households. The Prime Minister had launched the scheme on 13th February, 2024.
The scheme provides a CFA of 60% of system cost for 2 kW systems and 40% of additional system cost for systems between 2 to 3 kW capacity. The CFA will be capped at 3 kW. At current benchmark prices, this will mean Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1 kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2 kW systems and Rs 78,000 for 3 kW systems or higher.
Households will be able to access collateral-free low-interest loan products of around 7% at present for installation of residential RTS systems up to 3 kW. It is estimated that the scheme will create around 17 lakh direct jobs in manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, sales, installation, O&M and other services.
The proposed scheme will result in addition of 30 GW of solar capacity through rooftop solar in the residential sector, generating 1000 BUs of electricity and resulting in reduction of 720 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions over the 25-year lifetime of rooftop systems. A 3 kW system will be able to generate more than 300 units a month on an average for a household.
Led by Prof. Devasish Chowdhury and Prof. (Retd) Rajlakshmi Devi, the research team, including Mridusmita Barman, a research scholar in the IASST-Deakin University Joint PhD programme, have ingeniously combined the banana fibres with biopolymers like chitosan and guar gum to create a multifunctional patch with excellent mechanical strength and antioxidant properties.
In a pioneering effort, scientists at the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, have transformed banana pseudo stems, often considered agricultural waste, into an eco-friendly wound dressing material.
The NSSO (FOD) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to facilitate Urban Frame Survey (UFS) in a digital mode using the state-of-the-art Geo ICT tools and techniques using Bhuvan Platform.
UFS is conducted in five-year phases to prepare and maintain a frame of compact urban geographical units, which serve as sampling frame in urban sector, mainly for NSSO large scale Socio-Economic Surveys. The UFS in digital form was carried out for the first time during Phase 2017-22 using Bhuvan platform covering more than 5300 towns.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who led his country from 1984 to 1993, has died at the age of 84. The conservative leader, the 18th prime minister in Canada's history, passed away "peacefully, surrounded by family," as posted by his family. Mulroney led Canada through the closing days of the Cold War and forged a free trade agreement with the US.
Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO conducted a successful flight test of a Very Short-Range Air Defence System VSHORADS missile from a ground-based portable launcher off the coast of Odisha from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur. The test was carried out against high-speed unmanned aerial targets under different interception scenarios.
VSHORADS is a Man Portable Air Defence System designed and developed indigenously by Research Centre Imarat in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners. VSHORADAS missile incorporates many novel technologies including miniaturized Reaction Control System and integrated avionics which have been successfully proven during the tests.
Chairman of DRDO: - Dr. Samir V Kamat
The number of leopards has increased by more than one thousand during the period of 2018 to 2022 in the country. According to a report released by the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry, the number of leopards in the country has now reached 13 thousand 874, which was 12 thousand 852 in the year 2018.
The fifth cycle leopard population estimation was carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India, in collaboration with State Forest Departments. This exercise has proved invaluable to the conservation efforts of the country. The findings underscore the critical role of Protected Areas in conserving leopard populations.
150 railway stations receive the ‘Eat Right Station’ certification by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food options for millions of rail passengers, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has awarded its prestigious ‘Eat Right Station’ certification to 150 railway stations.
In addition to railway stations, six prominent metro stations across the country have also been accredited as Eat Right Stations. Notable among them are stations at Noida Sector 51, Esplanade in Kolkata, IIT Kanpur, Botanical Garden in Noida, and Noida Electronic City Metro Station.
India’s core sector output, which measures production by eight key industries, grew by 3.6 per cent in January, a 15-month low, as per a government data update. A lower growth of 0.7 per cent was recorded in October 2022. The base effect combined with single digit growth in five industries and a negative growth in two, slowed down production in the first month of this year.
The ICI measures the combined and individual performance of production of eight core industries viz. Cement, Coal, Crude Oil, Electricity, Fertilizers, Natural Gas, Refinery Products and Steel. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
India’s Reliance Industries and Walt Disney of the United States have announced the merger of their India TV and streaming media assets, creating an $8.5bn entertainment powerhouse. Reliance, led by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, will inject $1.4bn in the merged entity, with the company and its affiliates holding a more than 63 percent stake.
Disney will hold about 37 percent, the companies said in a joint statement. Nita Ambani will assume the role of Chairperson of the merged entity, with former Walt Disney executive Uday Shankar, joining as Vice Chairperson.
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), a subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has signed an MoU with Greece-based Eurobank S.A. to enhance cross-border UPI payments. The agreement is aimed at revolutionising the process of international money transfers, with a specific focus on streamlining remittances from Greece to India, NIPL said in a release.
The Union Cabinet approved proposals to set up three semiconductor plants, including a mega fab by Tata Group, at a cumulative investment of Rs 1.26 lakh crore, as India moves to position itself as a global powerhouse in chip manufacturing. The government is offering incentives of up to Rs 76,000 crore to boost domestic manufacturing of semiconductors.
Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd will set up a semiconductor fab in partnership with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp at Dholera's special industrial region in Gujarat. The plant will have the capacity to produce 50,000 wafers per month and involve an investment of Rs 91,000 crore.
The government has also approved a proposal by Tatas to build a greenfield semiconductor assembly and test facility in Jagiroad, Assam. The facility will be built with an investment outlay of Rs 27,000 crore. The third proposal was by CG Power, which in partnership with Renesas Electronics Corp and Stars Microelectronics of Thailand.
Union cabinet gave its nod for establishment of International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) — coalition of 96 big cat range countries and others — with headquarters in India and approved one-time budgetary support of Rs 150 crore for this purpose for a period of five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28.
It’ll serve as a common platform and a centralized repository of successful practices for conservation of seven big cats namely tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma. Five of these - tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard and cheetah - are found in India. The Alliance was launched by Prime Minister Modi at an event commemorating 50 years of Project Tiger.
