The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has been ranked the top environment policy think tanks in India while it has secured the 16th position in global rankings, climbing up two positions from the last year.

The rank was given by The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Three new tools for States and Union Territories for ranking of startups in the country were launched by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry at a function in New Delhi.

The tools are: the State and Union Territory Startup Ranking Framework, the Compendium of Good Practices for Promoting Startups in India and the Startup India Kit. These will act as catalysts to help the Startup India initiative to drive India’s economic growth. 

Dr. Himadri Das has joined as the Director, MDI Gurugram. He took over from Prof. C. P. Shrimali, Acting Director, MDI. 

The Madhya Pradesh government has launched a mobile application to spread awareness against pollution in the western part of the state. The mobile app “pollution metre” was available on ‘Google Play Store’. 

A.K.Prasad has been appointed as new Financial Commissioner (Railways), Railway Board and ex-officio Secretary to Government of India vice B.N.Mohapatra, who superannuated on 31st January, 2018. 

An Indian Institute of Technology Madras alumnus has launched a non-profit accelerator at the Bay Area in San Francisco, America.

The initiative is to provide mentorship, incubation and other necessary support to the budding entrepreneurs and to connect the IIT alumni at the Silicon Valley in America. 

BIS has signed MoUs with National Standards Bodies (NSBs) of 23 countries. The objective of the MoUs is to facilitate closer cooperation between the bodies with the common aim of strengthening core activities of standardization and conformity assessment which helps the national economy by providing safe, reliable and quality goods, minimizing health hazards to consumers, protecting the environment, promoting exports and imports etc. 

The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind to inaugurate the Mahamastakabhisheka Mahotsav 2018 of Gommateshwara Bhagwan Sri Bahubali Swami at Shravanabelagola on February 7, 2018.

The Mahamastakabhisheka Mahotsav is celebrated once every 12 years. It has been celebrated for about a 1,000 years. 

India has successfully test-fired indigenously developed short-range nuclear-capable Agni-I ballistic missile. It was 18th version of Agni-I, which could achieve all parameters within the stipulated time period. The missile was inducted into service in 2004. 

India has successfully test-fired indigenously developed short-range nuclear-capable Agni-I ballistic missile from Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. 

World Food Programme has signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement committing an unprecedented $370 million dollars to WFP over the next four years, hailing the Scandinavian nation as a global leader in aid. The contribution for the period 2018-2021 is the biggest ever made by a donor within a WFP Strategic Partnership Agreement. 

To commemorate Safer Internet Day 2018 and reiterate its commitment to make the web a safer place for everyone, tech giant Google announced its collaboration with NCERT to integrate a course on digital citizenship and safety in the information and communication technology (ICT) curriculum.

SpaceX is set to launch “World’s most powerful rocket” called Falcon Heavy from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Falcon Heavy rocket aims for touching red planet Mars and moon, someday. During the launch, David Bowie’s hit “Space Oddity” would play in the vehicle. 

Odisha Congress leader Frida Topno breathed her last in Bhubaneswar. The Congress leader was 92-years-old at the time of her death.

Frida Topno served as a member of Lok Sabha from Sundergarh in Odisha in 1991(10th Lok Sabha) and in 1996 (11th Lok Sabha). She was also elected to the Rajya Sabha for the term 1998-2002 from Odisha.