Judges of Odisha, Telangana, Madras and J&K High Court elevated as Chief Justices:
Law and Justice Ministry has notified the elevation of four judges as Chief Justices of Odisha, Telangana, Madras and Jammu and Kashmir High Courts. The notification issued by the Ministry said that President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar as Chief Justice of Odisha High Court and Kumari Justice Hima Kohli as Chief Justice of Telangana. Justice Pankaj Mithal will be Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court and Justice Sanjib Banerjee, Chief Justice of Madras.
Defence Ministry signs contract with BEL for procurement of 10 Lynx U2 Fire Control systems:
Defence Ministry signed a contract with Bharat Electronics Limited for procurement of 10 Lynx U2 Fire Control systems for frontline warships of Indian Navy at a cost of one thousand 355 crore rupees in New Delhi. The LYNX U2 GFCS is a Naval Gun Fire Control System designed to acquire, track and engage targets amidst sea clutter. It is capable of accurately tracking air and surface targets, generating required target data for predicting weapon aiming points and engaging targets. The Gun Fire Control System has been designed with an open and scalable architecture permitting simple and flexible implementation in many different configurations. The system has been upgraded continuously and indigenisation has been the major focus along with technology upgrades. The system including the Tracking Radar, Servo and Weapon Control Modules has been completely designed and developed by Bharat Electronics Limited.
83 crore syringes ordered for COVID-19 vaccination drive and Universal Immunization Programme:
Government has ordered 83 crore syringes for COVID-19 vaccination drive and Universal Immunization Programme in the country. The Union Health Ministry said the centre has also invited bids for 35 crore more syringes. Government has prioritized 30 crore people for COVID vaccine which includes health workers, frontline workers and sanitation staff. Earlier, the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of COVID-19 has recommended three prioritised population groups including Healthcare Workers of about one crore, Frontline Workers about 2 crore and Prioritized Age Group about 27 crore. As vaccines are temperature sensitive and need to be stored in specific temperature, the present cold chain system consisting of 85,634 equipment for storage of vaccines at about 28,947 cold chain points across the country will be used for the cold chain administration.
Indian Air Force e-Governance (e-Office) portal launched:
Indian Air Force Chief, Air Marshal R K S Bhadauria formally launched the IAF e-Governance (e-Office) portal in New Delhi. The launch of the portal is part of Digital India and e-governance initiative that will transform the entire Indian Air Force into a paperless office workflow. It marks a major shift from the current method of correspondence, filing and documentation to a digital one. The platform will ensure enhanced transparency, improved efficiency, increased accountability, assured data integrity and rapidly accessible archives along with a major reduction in the use of paper.
Agriculture Minister inaugurates Virtual Agri-hackathon 2020:
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the Virtual Agri-hackathon 2020 in New Delhi. The two month long event is the first of its kind and the largest virtual event in the history of Indian agriculture. It will bring together the most important stakeholders from industry and government alongside India’s young bright minds, creative startups and smart innovators who will build new, fast and frugal solutions to tackle the big questions the country is facing today. With the launch, the application of the hackathon was made live on MyGov.in and will remain open till 20 January next year. The hackathon will happen in three elimination rounds and the final 24 winners will get a cash prize of Rs one lakh along with incubation support, tech and business mentoring and various other benefits. The hackathon will accept innovations and ideas on farm mechanization, precision agriculture, supply chain and food technology, waste to wealth and green energy.
CBSE to hold 10th and 12th Board Examinations from 4th May to June 10, 2021:
Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank announced the schedule of the CBSE Board examinations for class 10th and 12th. He said that the CBSE board examinations will be held from 4th May to 10th June of 2021. He said the results will be declared by 15th July of the next year. The practical examination for class 12th will start from 1st March 2021.