Current Affairs - 1st Feb 2014

Project monitoring group makes way for 84 mega projects

The Project Monitoring Group (PMG), linked with the Cabinet Secretariat, could clear hurdles for some 84 mega projects worth a 3.71 lakh crore investments in the past seven months since the group has been formed. Currently Anil Swaroop is the chairman of PMG.

PMG identified some 419 stalled projects worth almost 20 lakh crore that had been pending for years.

PMG has been taking up projects worth 1,000 crore or more. He said that nine States, including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, have decided to set up their own monitoring groups for projects worth less than 1,000 crore.

India’s first electric car

Mahindra Reva is all set to launch the country’s first sedan electric car and the hybrid version of its Sports utility vehicle, XUV.

Cancer bio tissue bank in India

A national cancer tissue bio bank will be established at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. This venture will help reflect on cancer incidence, diagnostics and treatment results.

The venture is a collaborative effort between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and IIT Madras. Leading oncologists from Chennai and the institute’s researchers will collaborate in this venture.

The DST has contributed 27.81 crore to establish it. It will be headed by S. Mahalingam, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras.

New technology for Power supply

The professors at Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai designed a new technology to supply uninterrupted 48 volts direct current from March for a few homes in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. If successful, this project could be extended to the rest of the country.

Uninterrupted direct current is a system which guarantees uninterrupted power supply from the grid even during black-out situations.

DoP releases commemorative stamp on International Year of Crystallography

The Department of Posts has brought out a commemorative stamp on International Year of Crystallography 2014 (IYCr2014) to acknowledge the contribution of crystallographers in every sphere of life and provide impetus to young scientists to study the subject.

Crystallography is an imaging technique that allows the scientist to “see” atoms, ions and molecules in crystals.

The opening ceremony for the International Year was held in UNESCO, Paris on January 20 & 21, 2014.