DRDO developing new strike range Pranash ballistic missile
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has started developing a 200-km strike range tactical ballistic missile ‘Pranash’. The missile is an advanced version of the 150-km strike range Prahar missile which was being developed for tactical missions. The surface-to-surface ballistic missile will be of use for the Air Force and Army. It is a solid-propellant surface to a surface missile which can travel at the speed of Mach 2.
National Workshop on e-office held in New Delhi
National Workshop on e-office was inaugurated in New Delhi by Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh. During the National Workshop on e-office, Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) Reforms also launched by the minister. After the launch, he stated that the number of public grievances has increased to 19 lakh at present from 2 lakh in 2014. The Government of India in 2019 has received 18.7 lakh public grievances and disposed 18.1 lakh of them.
The Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) 7.0 version has mapped the last mile grievance officers hence saving the time as well as improving the quality of disposal of cases. The CPGRAMS aligns with the Government of India’s vision of “Minimum Government-Maximum Governance”.
BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise 2020 begins in Bhubaneswar
The National Disaster Response Force of Government of India is to host the second BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise-2020 (BIMSTEC DMEx-2020). The exercise is to be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha between February 11, 2020 and February 13, 2020. The main objective of the exercise is to test the existing emergency procedures, disaster problems, during flood, earthquake and storms. The exercise will also stress upon restoring heritage sites damaged due to disasters.
Mobile World Congress cancelled over coronavirus fears
Mobile World Congress, the world's biggest congregation for the tech industry, has been cancelled over the concerns centring Coronavrius epidemic. The Global System for Mobile Communications, popularly known as GSMA, announced on Wednesday that the tech exhibit had to be called off, mainly because major tech companies pulled out of MWC 2020 as a preventive measure amid the outbreak. The decision comes a day ahead of the meeting that was scheduled for February 14 by GSMA to observe the situation for MWC to take place this year. The Mobile World Congress was slated to run between February 24 and February 27.
UK’s start-up launches 1st big batch of satellites
The UK-based OneWeb company has sent 34 satellites into orbit on a single Soyuz rocket, from Baikonur port, Kazakhstan. The aims are to have the full network in operation by the end of 2021. This is the 50th Soyuz mission conducted by Arianespace, as the company plans to perform 19 more medium-lift Soyuz from three spaceports by 2021. Its mission was to drop its satellite batch into one of 12 planes planned for the constellation.
Largest air quality monitoring network of India to be installed in Mumbai
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will develop an air quality monitoring network across 90 locations in Mumbai.
The ambitious project will be funded by the BMC and private players. BMC is planning to invest ?9.5 crores to install 80 real-time air monitoring stations. These stations will give location-wise updates on the quality of air. While 10 mobile sensors (in Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport buses) will collect samples from different parts of the city to analyze the air quality.
Currently, Mumbai has 30 air quality monitoring stations. 15 stations come under the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), 10 under the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), and five under BMC.
Haryana launches ‘Reading Mission’ initiative
The state government of Haryana has launched an initiative called ‘Reading Mission- Haryana’. The initiative was launched to encourage reading habit among the young students of the state. The scheme is on the lines of the ‘Reading Mission 2022’, launched by the central government. Under the state’s initiative, monthly book review sessions and mass book reading are to be organised by students in educational institutions.
President Kovind presents President’s Colour to INS Shivaji
The Presentation of Colour or Standards by the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces is an acknowledgement of the unit's meritorious service.
INS Shivaji was commissioned in 1945. It is now the premier technical training establishment of the Indian Navy with the motto Kar-masu Kaushalam.
INS Shivaji imparts training in engineering discipline to personnel of the Navy, Coast Guard, other sister services and allied countries. It has trained over two lakh officers and sailors, both Indian and international, since inception.
All courses conducted at INS Shivaji are recognised by the All India Council for Technical Education.
South Indian Bank bagged two awards at the Banking Technology 2019 awards by IBA
South Indian Bank has bagged two awards at the Banking Technology 2019 awards instituted by the Indian Banks’ Association. This event was held in Indian Bank Association’s 15th Annual Banking Technology Conference, Expo and Awards held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The South Indian Bank emerged the winner in the ‘Most Customer-Centric Bank Using Technology’ category and runner up in the ‘Best Payments Initiative’ category amongst small Banks’.
Finance Ministry notifies ‘Printing of One Rupee Currency Notes Rules, 2020’
The Government of India will release a new one rupee currency note in India soon. As per the recent notification of Ministry of Finance, these notes will be printed by the Finance Ministry. The new one rupee currency note will be equipped with various watermarks. The Reserve Bank of India does not issue this note like other Indian currency notes, but the Government of India print One Rupee currency notes.
Key Features of New One Rupee Currency Note
• The size of this one rupee currency note will be rectangular 9.7 x 6.3 cms. It will be 110 microns thick while its weight will be 90 GSM (Grams per Square Meter).
• The observe side of One Rupee Currency note will contain ‘Bharat Sarkar’ at the top in Hindi while ‘Government of India’ will be written in English below.
• There will be multi-tonal watermarks with Ashoka Pillar and without Satyamev Jayate. It will have hidden ‘1’ in the center and the hidden word ‘Bharat’ vertically arranged on the right-hand side.
• It will have the symbol of grains as a sign of agricultural dominance of the country.
• The value of note would be written in 15 Indian languages. An image of the oil exploration platform ‘Sagar Samrat’ will also be there.
• The colour of this note will be pink-green from the front while many colors will be mixed at the back.
Signature on One Rupee Note
One rupee currency note is signed by the Finance Secretary while the other notes are signed by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The one rupee currency note for the year 2020 will be signed by Finance Secretary Atanu Chakraborty.
Printing stopped in 1926
According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) website, the printing of this note was first stopped in 1926 because its printing was costlier than its value. After that, its printing was resumed in 1940 which continued till 1994. Once again, its printing was started in 2015.
Mumbai will host “Disaster Risk Financing, Insurance and Risk Transfer” Workshop
National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) will organize the “National Workshop on Disaster Risk Financing, Insurance and Risk Transfer” in partnership with Insurance Institute of India. The workshop will be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The National Workshop on Disaster Risk Financing, Insurance and Risk Transfer will concentrate on the significance of financial resilience in areas frequently struck by natural disasters. It will also stress on the government’s agenda “Work towards risk coverage for all-starting from poor households to SMEs to multi-national corporations to nation states” and “Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) for Resilience“. The workshop will also deliberate on the issues in assessment of insurance faced by different stakeholders.
The delegates from Asian Development Bank, World Bank, United Nations Development Programme along with other multilateral organizations will participate in the workshop.
UN celebrates World Radio Day on 13th of February
The United Nations annually celebrates World Radio Day on 13th of February. The United Nations observes World Radio Day to raise greater awareness among the public and the media of the importance of radio. It also encourages the decision makers to establish and provide accessibility to information through radio. It also aims to enhance the networking and international cooperation among broadcasters.
On the 9th edition of the World Radio Day, UNESCO has appealed to radio stations to uphold diversity, both in their newsroom as well as on the airwaves.
The 9th edition of World Radio Day is divided into three main sub-themes:
Dharmendra Rai’s book “The Thin Mind Map Book” launched
“The Thin Mind Map Book” authored by a mind mapping & brain literacy pioneer Dharmendra Rai, was launched recently. The book aims to give people an experience in mind mapping and making them expert through reading and doing all the experiential exercises mentioned in the book.
Dharmendra Rai is a mind mapping & brain literacy pioneer and has a world record of conducting more than 380 mind mapping seminars in under 10 years. He was also the first person in the world to talk on TEDx on Creativity & Mind Mapping.
Veteran Journalist Nandu R Kulkarni passes away
Veteran journalist Nandu R Kulkarni passed away recently. He was serving as the Mumbai bureau chief of “The Statesman” since 1992. He started his career in 1976 with ‘The Indian Express’ and worked there for 16 years. He reported on various subjects like economic offences, politics and business during his long career.
