Contents
- 1 India, ADB sign $375 million loan to improve irrigation efficiency in Madhya Pradesh
- 2 Government constitutes new science and technology council to advise PM
- 3 ISRO to outsource production of PSLVs and SSLVs to private industries
- 4 Centre asks states to ban the manufacture, sale of e-cigarettes
- 5 HRD Ministry Launches Third Edition of “Smart India Hackathon”
- 6 Latest Current Affairs
India, ADB sign $375 million loan to improve irrigation efficiency in Madhya Pradesh
- The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $375 million loan agreement to double farming incomes in Madhya Pradesh.
- The agreement will expand irrigation networks and system efficiency in the state.
- The Madhya Pradesh Irrigation Efficiency Improvement Project will develop 1.25 lakh hectares of irrigation networks.
- The aim is to improve water use efficiency in more than 400 villages in Madhya Pradesh.
Government constitutes new science and technology council to advise PM
- The Union Government has constituted a 21-member science and technology council to advise PM Narendra Modi on matters related to science, technology, and innovations.
- The council is headed by K Vijay Raghavan, who is the principal scientific adviser to the Union Government.
- The council is named Prime Minister’s Science Technology and Innovation Advisory Committee (PM-STIAC).
ISRO to outsource production of PSLVs and SSLVs to private industries
- The ISRO will outsource the production of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs) and Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLVs) to private industries.
- Private industries will play a major role in capacity building for the ISRO.
- Dr. K Sivan is the chairman of the ISRO, which stands for Indian Space Research Organisation.
Centre asks states to ban the manufacture, sale of e-cigarettes
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an advisory to state governments to stop the manufacture, sale, and import of electronic nicotine delivery systems or ENDS (commonly referred to as e-cigarettes).
- Presently, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Karnataka, Mizoram, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh prohibit the sale, manufacture, distribution, and import of e-cigarettes.
HRD Ministry Launches Third Edition of “Smart India Hackathon”
- The third edition of world’s biggest open innovation model ‘Smart India Hackathon 2019’ was launched by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi on August 29, 2018.
- The 2019 edition is a nationwide initiative, which aims to provide students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems faced by people in their daily lives and thus, inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem-solving.