Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has decided to scrap the quota system in government services after thousands of students marched in protest against a policy of setting aside jobs for special groups.
Hasina said that the government could make special arrangements for jobs for people with disabilities and from backward ethnic minority groups.
Entire Country Goes Offline
The only country in the world which could not access the internet to get updates on a damaged undersea cable in Atlantic Ocean was Mauritania. It was because of the damage itself that the country on the western coast of Africa lost internet connection for two days in what is being highlighted as the vulnerability of undersea internet cables.
According to a report, a part of the 17,000-kilometer cable system running from France to South Africa got damaged. The system provides internet access to 22 countries.
Called the submarine cable from a company called African Coast to Europe (ACE), the system is the sole internet provider in Mauritania.
VA Tech Wabag Ltd. a leader in the Indian water treatment technology market, has bagged a Rs. 147-crore order from Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corp. Ltd., under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to design, build and operate a 60 MLD sewage treatment plant at Pahari, Patna.
The project will be jointly financed by the World Bank and the NMCG.
Wabag also won a repeat order for Rs. 83 crore to design, build and operate a 124-MLD water treatment plant from the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.
The company has also secured an order worth Rs. 290 crore from HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd. for an effluent treatment plant at the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery in Punjab.
Kalyani, Russia's UVZ Ally to Produce Battle Tank Parts
The Kalyani Group and JSC Research and Production Corporation 'Uralvagonzavod' (UVZ) of Russia have decided to form a strategic partnership for delivery of components for assembly, service and repair of 125-mm smoothbore gun to be used in repair and modernisation of T-72 and T-90 tanks.
UVZ is one of the largest scientific and industrial complexes in Russia and one of the world's largest main battle tank manufacturers.
Saudi Aramco Signs Deal for Indian Refinery Complex
Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil company, announced a $44-billion deal to build a giant refinery complex in India with three Indian firms.
The refinery at Ratnagiri on the west coast will handle up to 1.2 million barrels of oil a day.
The three Indian firms with whom the Saudi company has signed a memorandum of understanding are: Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
The project cost is estimated at around $44 billion.
The Indian Space Research Organisation's navigation satellite INRSS-1I was launched by PSLV-C41 from the spaceport in Sriharikota and successfully placed in the designated orbit. PSLV-C41/IRNSS-1I Mission blasted off from the first launch pad at the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre.
IRNSS-1I is expected to replace IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven navigation satellites, which was rendered ineffective after its three rubidium atomic clocks failed. The seven satellites are part of the NavIC navigation satellite constellation.
All T20 matches scheduled to be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium will now be reportedly shifted to another venue outside Tamil Nadu. The move comes on the back of anti-IPL protests across the state and a day after two protesters hurled slippers on the field during a CSK vs KKR match.
India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun MK-II and Arjun MK-I, Nirbhay Missile System will be the star attractions at the Defence Research and Development Organisation's stall at the four-day DefExpo 2018 at Kanchi00puram near Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Some of the other star attractions at the DRDO stall are Arjun Armoured Recovery and Repair Vehicle (ARRV), T-72 Trawl, T-72 Bridge Layer Tank, Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhaP), Mobile Surveillance System and Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS).
The expo is to be held from April 11 to 14.
DRDO is the largest exhibitor at DefExpo 2018 and its exhibits are in two broad categories, one pertaining to technologies ready for transfer to industries for productionisation and the other pertaining to technologies ready for exports.
NSG Gets a New Hub at Ibrahimpatnam
India's elite counter-terrorist force National Security Guard (NSG) has a new centre at Ibrahimpatnam in Hyderabad to reduce the reaction time in case of any terror attack in Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The 28 Special Composite Group (SCG) Complex of NSG at Ibrahimpatnam was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
The NSG hub at Ibrahimpatnam is the seventh after New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Gandhinagar.
The NSG was modelled on the pattern of the elite SAS of the UK and GSG-9 of Germany.
India Operationalises First Smart fence on Bangladesh Border
Taking the first but crucial step towards ensuring zero-transgression borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan, Border Security Force (BSF) operationalised the first smart fence on a riverine stretch with Bangladesh in Assam.
The smart fence reportedly comprises of automated surveillance technology and alarm detection systems but BSF has not disclosed its complete features due to security reasons.