India, and possibly the world, got its first digital water bank, an initiative to aggregate water resources under a single platform, on Monday.
Science and Technology Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, who inaugurated the water bank in Bengaluru, extended the state government’s full support for the initiative, undertaken by AquaKraft Ventures, a company that specialises in sustainable initiatives to provide drinking water and sanitation to all.
The/Nudge Foundation and Ashirvad Pipes, in partnership with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Central Government, announced a prize for start-ups and innovators working on solutions to provide clean drinking water to the underprivileged and rural households.
The initiative is aimed to support solutions that address population-scale water challenges. With a total prize of ₹2.5 crore, the programme would run for 18 months and would support entrepreneurs in developing, testing, and scaling solutions through a network of investors, mentors, technology and knowledge partners, and policy circle advisors, stated a release.
“What we do is rocket science,” proclaims a tee-shirt. Created by Indic Inspirations for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the tee -shirt is a part of its Vyom collection. Most of the products, which include jigsaw puzzles based on Mangalyaan, rocket collectible matchboxes, mySpace PSLV notebooks and fridge magnets, come with a storyline.
In order to create awareness among children about the importance of nature, Srivathsa Govindaraju, a techie-turned-farmer, has decided to conduct a three-day bio-diversity and farming workshop in April.
Govindaraju is known for his unconventional farm which looks more like a forest or a natural reserve. The uniqueness of the farm, which has around 250 species of plants and more than 50 species of wildlife, is that everything that is cultivated is edible or can be used for medicinal purposes. The farmer endeavours to make children aware about India’s heritage as an agricultural country and share knowledge on forgotten food and herbs.
An international workshop on Gender Issues in Water Management in Developing Countries and Sustainable Development will be held JSS Medical College in Mysuru on February 22 and 23.
JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research (JSSAHER), Mysuru, is organising the workshop in partnership with the Centre for Science and Technology of Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre) and Scientific Committee on Problems of Environment (SCOPE), Amstelveen, The Netherlands.
Chamarajanagar has the best air quality among 132 cities in the country, as per the Air Quality Index (AQI) by the Central Pollution Control Board. Though the air quality in Karnataka’s Bagalkot (50), Vijayapura (46) and Thoothukudi (39) in Tamil Nadu is good, Chamarajanagar claims an AQI of 36.
Starting Friday, hundreds of bird watchers from Bengaluru and across India, equipped with their binoculars and cameras, will document birds in their neighbourhoods and cities till February 21.
The four-day event is part of the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), an annual avian census that marks the whereabouts of millions of birds.
For CV Prakash — a former naval officer who is also recognised as an expert in soil-less agriculture — making turmeric ( Curcuma longa ) more profitable for the ordinary farmer has become a passion during lockdown.
His ongoing Mission Turmeric 2021 aims to begin an “orange revolution”, he says, by teaching people to cultivate the spice in grow bags (large porous containers made of high density polyethelene) packed with coco-peat (made from the pith of the coconut husk) instead of soil, in shade houses.
Introduced to soil-less agriculture after he migrated to Australia in 2000, Prakash brought his interest back to his homeland in 2008. He has trained over 10,000 people in cultivating different crops using hydroponics and other soil-free alternatives at his CV Hydro training centre, which functions under the auspices of Aggragannya Skills, Bengaluru.
When it comes to cut roses, Bengaluru is the biggest exporter in India. Pune is a close competitor. But Bengaluru roses are of better quality, says M Vishwanath, joint director, horticulture, Karnataka.
Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) is taking up various initiatives for promoting research and development in the field of renewable energy and also for exploitation of renewable energy sources, Assistant General Manager (In-Charge) of KREDL Savita S. Meti has said.
Speaking at a media workshop and interaction on Renewable Energy Sources at Rayapur near Hubballi on Wednesday, Ms. Meti said that KREDL is making continuous efforts to exploit alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power, micro hydro power generation, bio power and generation of power using solid waste.