Road Transport and Highways Sector has Maximum Number of Delayed Projects
The road transport and highways sector has the maximum number of delayed projects at 402, followed by railways at 115 and the petroleum industry at 86, showed a government report.
In the road transport and highways sector, 402 out of 749 projects are delayed. For Railways, out of 173 projects, 115 are delayed, while in the petroleum sector, 86 out of 145 projects are running behind schedule, as per the latest report on infrastructure projects for March 2023.
The Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division (IPMD) is mandated to monitor central sector infrastructure projects costing Rs. 150 crore and above based on the information provided on the Online Computerised Monitoring System (OCMS) by the project implementing agencies.
The IPMD comes under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The report showed that the Muneerabad-Mahaboobnagar rail project is the most delayed. It is delayed by 276 months.
Dhankhar to Attend Charles Coronation Event in May
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will represent the country at the coronation of King Charles III in London, his office confirmed.
The ceremony will be held on May 6 at the Westminster Abbey, with 2,000 guests in attendance, including several heads of states and ruling monarchs.
Dhankhar's participation at the coronation comes seven decades after the last such ceremony was held in the UK – that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, wherein former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had represented India. In September 2022, President Droupadi Murmu visited London to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the Indian government, following her demise at the age of 96.
First ever OBC Survey Gets Underway in Odisha
The Odisha government began its first-ever survey of social and educational conditions of people belonging to 208 backward castes with a questionnaire on the kind of houses they live in, their livelihoods, access to infrastructure, hospitals, schools, markets, colleges, etc.
The survey came against the backdrop of the demands for a caste census across the country. Bihar earlier initiated its own caste census in January 2023.
The survey in Odisha will be conducted until May 27, 2023. It aims to find out the social and educational status of backward classes. It is crucial for focused planning for their socio-economic development. The survey data would help the Odisha government plan for the OBC [Other Backward Classes] better.
K. Mohanty is New Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission
Renowned physicist and Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Ajit Kumar Mohanty was appointed as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy. Mohanty succeeded K. N. Vyas to the posts that oversee India's nuclear programme and forays into harnessing atomic power for civilian needs.
Mohanty was appointed as the BARC director in March 2019.
In 1983, he joined the Nuclear Physics Division of the BARC after graduating from the 26th batch of the BARC Training School. He obtained his doctorate from the Mumbai University.
The Atomic Energy Commission of India is the governing body of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. The DAE is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister.
The Indian Atomic Energy Commission was set up on 3 August 1948.
The functions of the Atomic Energy Commission are: (i) to organise research in atomic science in the country (ii) to train atomic scientists in the country (iii) to promote nuclear research in commission's own laboratories in India (iv) to undertake prospecting of atomic minerals in India and to extract such minerals for use on industrial scale.