1) 30th Surajkkund International crafts Mela begins at Faridabad.
- The 30th edition of the Surajkund International Crafts Fair began with artists from around 20 countries participating in the cultural extravaganza.
- The event will be inaugurated by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
- Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and cinestar and former BJP MP Dharmendra also be presented during the inauguration,
- Chief Secretary, Haryana Tourism, and Surjakund Mela Association vice president Sumita Mishra.
- This year more websites will offer entry tickets for the mega event that showcases handicraft, handloom works and cultural heritage of India. The tickets will also be available at more than 30 metro stations.
- While 300 artists from theme state Telangana will showcase state`s art and cultural heritage, artists from 20 countries including China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Russia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, among others are likely to participate in the event, Managing director, Haryana Tourism, and Chief Administration Officer of the Mela Vikas Yadav .
2) Infosys to build tallest free-standing clock tower in Mysuru.
- Software giant InfosysBSE - 1.42 % is all set to build the world`s tallest free-standing clock tower at its 345-acre global education centre in Mysuru, a site it proudly claims as the world`s biggest corporate university.
- At 135 metres, the proposed tower will be taller than Big Ben (96 m) in London, Hoover Tower (87 m) in California and McGraw Tower (53 m) in Cornell.
- The tower, to be built in Gothic style to meld with the classical look of the other buildings in the campus, will have 19 floors and a board room at level seven. It will be erected from a 22x22 metre base.
- The tower has been designed by Hafeez Contractor, the Mumbai-based architect who also designed Infosys` Mysuru campus.
- LERA, a New York-based firm of structural engineers is providing structural consultancy services for the tower, which is being built by Bengaluru-based KEF Infra.
3) Vietnam gets world’s longest cable car system.
- The world`s longest three-rope cable car system was inaugurated in Vietnam`s Lao Cai province.
- With a total length of 6,292.5 metres, the system was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world`s longest three-rope cable car route, and also the world`s biggest height gap between its departure and arrival stations of 1,410 metres.
- The system, connecting Muong Hoa Valley and Fansipan Mountain in Lao Cai, some 250 km northwest of capital Hanoi, has a capacity of 2,000 passengers per hour with each cabin accommodating 35 people.
- The system shortens the travel time to the peak of the 3,143-metre Fansipan Mountain, which is dubbed the Roof of Indo-China, to 15 minutes. Construction of the cable car system began in November 2013.
- The cable car system is expected to help boost the number of tourists to Lao Cai`s Sa Pa town by 30 per cent to 40 per cent every year, reaching around three million by 2020.
4) Leather fair opens in Chennai.
- The 31st edition of the Indian International Leather Fair will be held in Chennai with the theme `Indian Leather Industry — Always on the Move`.
- The three-day event, held at the Chennai Trade Centre.
- Organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) in association with the Council of Leather Exports, the fair will showcase the industry’s commitment to the ‘Make in India’ programme.
- With an annual turnover of $12 billion, India’s export of leather and leather products touched $6.5 billion in 2014-15, a 13.10 per cent growth.
5) Dhirubhai Ambani Centre for Innovation and Research in Bangalore.
- Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group chairman Anil Ambani announced setting up of a centre for research, development and innovation in aerospace technology.
- The proposed centre, to be set up under Reliance Defence, will generate more than 1,500 highly-skilled jobs and support government`s plan for indigenous design, development and manufacturing of defence equipments.
- Stating that fifth-generation fighter aircraft and sixth-generation technologies are already finding applications.
- The first ever of its kind in the private sector in India, will be a world-class facility for research, development and innovation in aerospace technology.
- The facility, to be set up at Rambilli along the east coast near Vizag, would also lead to creation of a multi-tier array of defence ancillaries with further investments of Rs. 5,000 - 10,000 crore and thousands of skilled jobs.
6) A 4-day National Arogya Fair-2016 begins at Dehradun in Uttarakhand.
- The 4-day National Arogya Fair began at Dehradun in Uttarakhand. The Fair has been organized by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa & Homoeopathy (AYUSH) in collaboration with the State government of Uttarakhand and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).
- The Fair was inaugurated by the Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) and Health & Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik and Chief Minister of Uttarakhand , Shri Harish Rawat.
- The Fair aims to create awareness among the people about the uses of the AYUSH Systems, their cost-effectiveness and the availability of herbs and plants used for prevention and treatment of common ailments at their door-steps through various mass-media channels to achieve the objective of Health for all.
7) PM Modi Inaugurates Petrochemical Project In Dibrugarh.
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a petrochemical project in Dibrugarh in Assam, a first-ever such project in the northeast. The project is India`s highest wax producing unit using indigenous technology.
- PM Modi is on a three-day visit to Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
- The project has been named as Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd (BCPL).
- It has been built at cost of 10000 crore rupees and shall be producing raw material for manufacturing plastic.
- Prime Minister also dedicated wax producing unit in Numaligarh Refinery Limited to the nation. It is India’s highest wax producing unit and shall be using indigenous technology.
8) India`s first fully solar-powered educational institute now in Puducherry.
- Sri Aurobindo International Centre for Education, Puducherry has become India`s first fully solar-powered educational institute.
- The institute generates thrice the electricity it consumes through solar power plants installed on the roofs of the dining room, primary school, library and high school in the campus.
- The institute has been self-reliant in energy since September 2014.
9) PM dedicates to the nation, the National Institute of Science Education and Research in Bhubaneswar.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, dedicated to the nation, the National Institute of Science Education and Research at Bhubaneswar.
The Prime Minister hoped that an environment of innovation would be fostered among scientific institutions. In the context of NISER, situated in Odisha, he mentioned the possibilities for innovation in areas such as coal gasification and clean energy, the blue economy, and housing for all by 2022.
The Prime Minister urged the students of NISER to work towards making NISER India`s greenest campus, and a zero-emission, zero-discharge campus which uses only renewable energy.