There have been ongoing protests in Karnataka on the issue of sharing of Mahadayi river waters.
Mahadayi river originates in Karnataka before flowing into Goa where it is called Mandovi.
Karnataka is seeking release of 7.56 tmcft water by Goa from the river for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project, , which is being opposed by Goa.
The project involves building barrages across Kalasa and Banduri, tributaries of Mahadayi river, to divert water to the Malaprabha which meets drinking water needs of the north Karnataka districts of Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkot and Gadag.
Goa is of the view that it has no problem in providing "reasonable and justified" amount of 0.1 TMC of water to Karnataka for its drinking needs.
The matter is pending before the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal.
Pod Taxi Project
A high-level panel has recommended inviting fresh bids for India’s first pod taxi project.
The projected Rs. 4,000-crore scheme, also known as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT), is to start off with the 12.3 km Delhi-Gurugram pilot corridor on public-private partnership basis.
PRT is an advanced public transport using automated electric pod cars to provide a taxi-like demand responsive feeder and shuttle services.
It is for small groups of travellers and is a green mode of uninterrupted journey.
The automated people mover (APM) standards in the US constitute the minimum requirements for an acceptable level of safety and performance for the PRT.
Atal Tinkering Labs
Niti Aayog brainchild Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has selected additional 1,500 schools across the country to establish Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs).
ATLs are play workspaces fitted with state-of-the-art technologies like 3D printers, robotics, sensor technology kits, Internet of things (IoT), miniaturised electronics.
The labs are designed to spur the spark of creativity, and go beyond regular curriculum and text book learning.
AIM will enhance the coverage of ATLs to over 98 per cent smart cities and 93 per cent districts.
The addition of these schools will give a major boost to realise the vision of the mission to cultivate one million children in India as the innovators of tomorrow.
Kerala Tourism App
Kerala Tourism has launched a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based inventory of around 1,000 festivals in the State.
It is a geo-coded, user-friendly web application, offers the user a comprehensive platform that maps listed festivals to their respective venues.
It details each festival’s legend, origin, popularity, duration, associated celebrations, rituals, and directions to the venue, along with the name of a contact person for further queries.
It also includes details such as the annual festivities at the various shrines, boat races, Theyyams, music and dance festivals, and sporting events.
Among them are lesser known events such as the Shadow Puppetry Festival, Malabar River Festival, Manaveeyam Queer Fest, Oachira Kali, Splash-Wayanad, Ananthapuri Chakka Mahotsavam, and Malabar International Kite Festival.
Indian Science Congress
The 2018 edition of the Indian Science Congress will be held at Manipur University, Imphal, in March.
Since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, the ISC was traditionally the first public function the Prime Minister addressed in the calendar year.
It had to be postponed due to “security problems.”
The congress sees several students, Nobel Laureates and scientists from India’s science academies in attendance.
In recent years, the Science Congress has also got flak for being a forum that promoted pseudo science, such as in 2014, when a session on mythology and Vedic-era airplanes was a highlight.
