Indian StartUp will fly 1,000 Drones in "Beating Retreat" ceremony

External Affairs Ministry has said that the Government is committed to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghan people comprising foodgrains, Covid-19 vaccines and essential life saving drugs. While briefing reporters in New Delhi on Friday, External Affairs Ministry's spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that 3.6 tonnes of medical assistance and 5 lakh doses of Covid vaccines have been provided during the last few weeks. He said, the process to procure the wheat and to arrange its transportation is underway. On the Ukraine situation, Bagchi said, India is closely following the developments in Ukraine including the ongoing high-level discussion between Russia and US. He said, India calls for a peaceful resolution of the situation through sustained diplomatic efforts for long term stability and peace in the region. Talking about pilgrimage between India and Pakistan, Mr. Bagchi said, visits to religious shrines are being facilitated regularly under 1974 protocol between India and Pakistan. He said, there is interest on both sides to expand the agreed list of shrines and modes of travel. He added that India has a positive approach on this matter and is willing to engage Pakistan side as COVID situation normalises. He expressed hope to facilitate early exchange of visits of all shrines of interest.

-Union Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh on Friday said that Indian StartUp "Botlab", funded by Technology Development Board (TDB) under Union Ministry of Science and Technology and led by IIT Delhi alumni, will fly 1,000 Drones in "Beating Retreat" ceremony  Saturday evening. This will make India the fourth country, after China, Russia and UK, to carry out such a large-scale show with 1,000 drones. At a demonstration of the Drone presentation today, the Minister interacted with the "Botlab" StartUp team members at his residence in New Delhi. The Managing Director and Engineers of Botlab Dynamics Private Limited were visibly excited by the thought of being the first in India to light up the sky with 1,000 Drones, in one go.Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Start-Up, Boatlab Dynamics was given an initial seed fund of one crore rupees for Research and Development and subsequently  2.5 rupees crore for scale up and commercialisation by Technology Development Board to develop first of its kind technological project in India. The Minister reiterated the government's commitment to support more of such innovative and sustainable Start-ups to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a Global Hub of Start-up Ecosystem.

-Delhi Government will soon make Pollution Under Control, PUC certificate mandatory for filling fuel at pumps. The draft policy will be placed for public opinion before being notified. Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that the policy will effectively help the government ensure that polluting vehicles do not ply in Delhi. Advisor to the Environment Minister  Reena Gupta stated that the policy affirms the commitment of the Delhi government towards ensuring a clean air for all citizens.. Vehicle owners will have to carry their PUC certificate to the fuel pump and in case it is found invalid they will have to get it reissued at the pump. Pollution under control certificate is an important means for vehicles issued through registered PUC centres to control vehicular tailpipe emissions. Delhi has around 966 such centres spread over 10 zones. They are instrumental in monitoring vehicular pollution and certifying fitness of vehicles as per emission norms. 

-Kerala Government has adopted a different strategy to contain the third wave of Covid-19 driven by Omicron variant. Compulsory quarantine has been made mandatory only for the caregivers who assist Covid patients and not all who come in contact with the infected.Talking to media, State Health Minister Veena George said, though Omicron is spreading fast, there is no increase in the number of hospital admissions. Only 13 per cent of ventilators are in use in the State, the Minister said. Meanwhile, Kerala's daily caseload exceeded 50 thousand for the third consecutive today. The State reported 54,537 Covid-19 cases and 30,225 recoveries in last 24 hours. Test Positivity Rate spiked to 47.05%.Besides 13 Covid-19 fatalities, health authorities also registered 258 deaths that are treated as Covid-19 deaths based on revised norms. The State's cumulative caseload has risen to three lakh 33 thousand 447.

-BJP president J P Nadda has welcomed Supreme Court order which held Maharashtra assembly decision to suspend 12 BJP MLAs from House for one year as unconstitutional and irrational. In a tweet, Mr Nadda termed it as a victory of truth. He said, BJP will continue to raise its voice against unconstitutional acts of Maharashtra's Maha Vikas Aghadi government. He said that BJP has always fought for people's rights in line with the Indian Constitution and democracy.