Infrastructure

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued orders that all steel – whether produced from ore, billets, pellets or melting of scrap – would be allowed to be used for National Highway construction, as long as it meets the standards required for specific grades of steel. The steel proposed to be used would be tested in NABL-accredited laboratories as a third party check before approval. The move is based on the analysis and discussions with stakeholders and also technical opinion.

With a focus on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ programme, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) through its High Speed Railways Innovation Centre (HSRIC) trust has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISC) to develop ‘Made in India’ techniques for the Bullet train projects.

Opportunities are up for grabs in India’s space sector, especially since June last year when it was opened for private participation, and Indian startups are not hesitating.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is all set to establish the country’s first thunderstorm research testbed at Balasore.Expected to be fully operational in next five years, the facility will aim to reduce fatalities and loss of property due to lightning strikes in Odisha and the eastern states.

Recent evaluation studies of the scheme indicate that the coverage of Micro Irrigation is relevant in achieving national priorities such as substantially improving on-farm water use efficiency, enhancing crop productivity, ensuring better returns to farmers, generating employment opportunities etc. Further, the scheme has been effective in terms of ensuring benefits for farmers e.g. higher productivity; reduction in labour cost, water consumption, power utilization, fertilizer use etc.

India now has the potential to create its own secured internet by setting up a root server locally for less than Rs 10 crore, according to state-run ITI and industry platform IPv6 Forum.