17 FEBRUARY 2014

Ø  Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge said that the proposed Fiat Bogies Manufacturing Factory of the Railways at Badiyal in Yadgir district would be expanded in four phases at a total cost of Rs. 750 crore in the course of next six years to convert it into a state-of-art rail coach building factory to meet the growing demand for rail coaches. Speaking after laying the foundation stone for the first phase of the construction of the factory in Yadgir on Sunday, Mr Kharge said the cost of the first phase of the factory was Rs. 75 crore and the responsibility of constructing the factory has been entrusted to the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), which would construct the factory on turnkey basis in two years.

Ø  A report commissioned by the Central Water Commission has recommended scrapping of 15 of the 44 dams planned on the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh. It has also suggested stricter regulations for the ones that are to be built in future. The report has warned that the proposed 44 damswill affect the river ecology.

Ø  Acting on the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), the Coal Ministry is likely to issue formal orders for cancellation of 29 captive coal blocks belonging to Hindalco, Tata Power, Jindal Steel and Power and Essar Power.

Ø  The Chinese film ‘Bai Ri Yan Huo’ (Black Coal, Thin Ice) has won the Golden Bear for best picture at the 64th Berlin international film festival.  Liao Fan won the prize last night for best actor in the same film, while Haru Kuroki won best actress for her role in the Japanese movie ‘Chiisai Ouchi’ (The Little House).

Ø  Indians will witness a spectacle in the skies as world's first day and night flying solar-powered wide bodied aircraft will fly into India as part of its round the globe journey.  Termed ‘Signature in the Skies,’ the flying laboratory will provide India’s clean energy and aviation enthusiasts a lifetime experience. Switzerland-based Solar Impulse, world’s first day and night-abled solar-powered aircraft is all set to visit India in April 2015. The plane, weighing around 2,740 kg, will be powered by 12,000 solar cells and can fly at the speed of 70 km per hour. The aircraft will be powered by solar cells that are only 135 microns thin, like an average human hair.

Ø  The University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, will set up three agricultural research stations on dryland agricultural research as Karnataka has the highest extent of drought-prone land in the country, next only to Rajasthan. The good news for the diabetics is that one of them will focus on minor millets, which are not only highly nutritious, but also sought after for their low glycaemic index (an indication of how much and how fast a particular food can increase blood sugar level).