The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has achieved a significant milestone, crossing Rs. 1 lakh crore in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) within just 145 days in the financial year 2023-24. This online public procurement portal was developed to streamline the acquisition of goods and services by government departments, agencies, and public sector undertakings. Launched as part of the “Digital India” initiative in August 2016, GeM is also integrated with e-Gram Swaraj for Panchayat-level procurement.
Tejas LCA Successfully Fires Indigenous ASTRA Missile
Recently, an indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile named ASTRA was launched off Goa’s coast by Tejas, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). The LCA programme, initiated by the Government of India in 1984, is designed to develop and produce a light combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force and Navy. The ASTRA missile, a state-of-the-art invention, is aimed at engaging and neutralizing highly supersonic aerial targets. It is developed by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI), and other laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
In Memory of Dr. Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao
On 22nd August 2023, the world lost a great statistician, Dr. Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao, who passed away at the age of 102. Born on September 10, 1920, in Bellary district, Karnataka, Dr. Rao led the way in pioneering several fundamental statistical concepts such as the Cramer–Rao inequality and Rao–Blackwellization. He was awarded India’s highest honours, the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan in 1969 and 2001, respectively for his exceptional contributions.
These two ground-breaking concepts have had far-reaching effects across a range of fields, including signal processing, spectroscopy, radar systems, multiple image radiography, risk analysis, computational econometrics and quantum physics.
KVIC Launches Khadi Rakshasoot for Raksha Bandhan
In commemorating the festival of Raksha Bandhan, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory body under the Ministry of MSMEs, launched ‘Khadi Rakshasoot'(Khadi-Rakhi). The inception behind this initiative was to create a Rakhi that is entirely natural and free of any chemical additives. This eco-friendly Rakhi is spun by dedicated spinner sisters from rural India and contains seeds of basil, tomato and brinjal. When disposed in the earth after use, it sprouts into basil, tomato and brinjal plants, promoting green practices. The ‘Khadi Rakshasoot’ was introduced as a ‘Pilot Project’ and is available exclusively at Khadi Bhavan in New Delhi.
Last Modified: February 22, 2024