In an effort to raise awareness, conserve and use water resources in an integrated manner, the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, is organizing the 7th edition of India Water Week (IWW) from November 1 to 5.

New Delhi [India], July 20 (ANI): India Meteorological Department (IMD) is exploring possibilities to deploy drones to gather atmospheric data from various locations, in place of weather balloons, said the Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh on Wednesday.

New Delhi [India], June 17 (ANI): A coastal cleanup drive will be carried out at 75 sea beaches across the country for 75 days from July 3 to September 17, 2022, said Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

Panjim (Goa) [India], April 20 (ANI): Addressing the eighth edition of the National Level Pollution Response Exercise (NATPOLREX) organised by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Defence Secretary of India, Dr Ajay Kumar on Tuesday said that India has the ability to manufacture and deliver pollution control vessels for Indian Coast and friendly foreign countries.

Chennai Feb 22 PTI Observing that language is a fundamental bond uniting people Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said that the drive to protect and preserve mother tongue should become a peoples movement in the country Addressing the International Mother Language Day celebrations held under the aegis of the Ministry of Earth Science virtually he said if we lose our mother tongue we will lose our identity Languages should be tailored to the changing needs of the times and creative and innovative ways should be found to promote them among younger generations he said Children should be encouraged to learn the nuances of the language through games and activities he opined while underlining the need to improve scientific and technical terminology in Indian languages Describing languages as carriers of our cultural heritage Naidu said language is the vital unseen thread connecting the past with the present Our languages are thus a repository of our collective knowledge and wisdom which we have amassed over thousands of yearsI prefer to not use the term regional languages I suggest we refer to all of them as Indian languages - signifying their equal status and distinct identities he said Also he expressed happiness that NEP-2020 encourages the use of mother tongue in schools and colleges and seeks to Indianise our education system by making it holistic value-based and inclusive Commending this approach he urged the states to implement the policy in letter and spirit I have always maintained that we must offer technical courses in mother tongues also to make education truly inclusive I am glad that many institutions are taking steps in this direction the Vice President said Naidu urged the state governments to take a proactive stance in implementing Indian languages in every walk of life and to make mother tongue the language of administration and a medium of education He advocated the learning of as many languages as possible Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences M Ravichandran former Vice Chancellor Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya Wardha Prof Girishwar Mishra Joint Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences Indira Murthi and others attended the virtual event PTI JSP SS SS

Visakhapatnam Feb 20 PTI President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in the port city Visakhapatnam on Sunday on a three-day visit to the Eastern Naval Command where he will conduct the Presidents Fleet Review-22 in Bay of Bengal on February 21Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of ENC Vice-Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta and others extended a warm welcome to the President at the Naval Airbase INS Dega hereCommemorating the Aazadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Indian Navy 75 years in Service of the Nation has been made the theme of PFR-22As the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces every President of India reviews the Indian Naval Fleet once during his five-year and PFR-22 will be the 12th editionThe PFR is aimed at assuring the country of the Indian Navys preparedness high morale and disciplineThis is the second time that Visakhapatnam has been hosting the PFR the first being in the year 2006 by the then President of India A P J Abdul KalamIn 2016 the then President Pranab Mukherjee inspected the International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam popularly called the City of Destiny As part of PFR-22 Kovind will review two fleets of the Navy including warships and of Coast Guard Shipping Corporation of India and Ministry of Earth Sciences comprising 60 ships and submarines manned by over 10000 personnel Also 50 aircraft will be part of the event wherein they will conduct a fly-pastThe President will embark an indigenously-built Naval offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra specially-designated as the Presidential Yacht and review all participating ships anchored in a formation off the Visakhapatnam coast in four precise columns by steaming past them according to a Navy release All aircraft in operation under the aviation wing of the Indian Navy will participate in the fly-past that will include latest acquisitions like Mikoyan MiG-29K Boeing P-8I Neptune and the HAL Dhruv MKIIIAfter the flypast the Marine Commandos Marcos will present a demonstration of an anti-terrorist operation a search-and-rescue drill and a steam-past by a few submarines the Navy saidThe President will also release a specially-designed First Day Cover and a Commemorative Stamp on the occasion PTI DBV ROH ROH

New Delhi Dec 31 PTI Delhi shivered under a spell of cold wave while the air quality remained in the very poor category on FridayThe minimum temperature dipped to 38 degrees Celsius in the early hours of Friday The city was swept by a cold wave on Thursday as well and the temperature dropped sharply to 34 degrees Celsius from 84 degrees Celsius on WednesdaySimilar conditions are likely to persist for the next few days the weather department has forecastThe maximum temperature settled at 194 degrees Celsius it saidIn the plains the India Meteorological Department IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius A cold wave is also declared when the maximum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius and is 45 notches below normalDelhi had experienced cold wave conditions on December 20 and December 21 as well when the minimum temperature settled at 32 degrees Celsius the lowest so far this season and 4 degrees Celsius respectivelyThe IMD has forecast cold wave to severe cold wave conditions in northwest India till January 3A severe cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to 2 degrees Celsius or the departure from normal is more than 64 degrees CelsiusThe citys air quality was in the very poor category as the Ministry of Earth Sciences SAFAR system recorded an Air Quality Index AQI of 321 on FridayAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severeThe city is expected to record minimum and maximum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius on Saturday respectively PTI MAH MAH ANB ANB

New Delhi Dec 31 PTI Delhi woke up to cold wave conditions on Friday as the minimum temperature dipped to 38 degrees Celsius according to the India Meteorological Department IMDThe city was swept by a cold wave on Thursday as well as the temperature dropped sharply to 34 degrees Celsius from 84 degrees Celsius on WednesdaySimilar conditions are likely to persist for the next few days the weather department has forecastThe maximum temperature is likely to settle at around 19 degrees Celsius and there will be shallow fog it saidThe weather stations at Delhis Palam and Lodhi Road recorded a minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius and 4 degrees Celsius respectively on FridayIn the plains the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius A cold wave is also declared when the maximum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius and is 45 notches below normalDelhi had experienced cold wave conditions on December 20 and December 21 as well when the minimum temperature settled at 32 degrees Celsius the lowest so far this season and 4 degrees Celsius respectivelyThe IMD has forecast cold wave to severe cold wave conditions in northwest India till January 3A severe cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to 2 degrees Celsius or the departure from normal is more than 64 degrees CelsiusThe citys air quality was in the very poor category as the Ministry of Earth Sciences SAFAR system recorded an Air Quality Index AQI of 308 on FridayAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severe PTI MAH RC

New Delhi Dec 24 PTI Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said the city government will not compromise on pollution and will take necessary action if air quality in the capital keeps deterioratingThe authorities withdrew the emergency measures in view of a continuous improvement in the air pollution situation he saidIf the situation remains unfavourable we will consult experts and the Commission for Air Quality Management CAQM and take necessary action We cannot compromise on the pollution issue Rai saidDrives against open burning of garbage dust pollution and polluting vehicles will continue in the city he addedExperts have forecast an improvement from Saturday the minister saidOn Monday the CAQM lifted restrictions on construction and demolition activities in the Delhi-NCR and entry of trucks into the national capital in view of an improvement in the air quality and favourable meteorological forecastHowever Delhis air quality turned severe the next dayIt remained in the severe zone for the fourth day on the trot on Friday due to low wind speed and high humidity the authorities saidThe citys air quality index read 420 at 3 pm Friday The 24-hour average AQI was 423 on Thursday 407 on Wednesday and 402 on TuesdayAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severeThe Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality forecast agency SAFAR said low ventilation and high humidity have led to such a situation Similar conditions will further increase the AQI on Friday it saidWeather experts said the slowing down of winds due to a western disturbance affecting northwest India is leading to accumulation of pollutants and high moisture content in the air makes pollutants heavier making dispersion difficultLight rain is likely in the plains of north India between December 27 and December 29 which may improve the air quality a bit PTI GVS IJT

New Delhi Dec 24 PTI The national capital woke up to a cold morning on Friday as the minimum temperature settled at 69 degrees Celsius a notch below normal according to the India Meteorological Department IMDThe air quality index AQI was recorded in the severe category for the fourth consecutive day As per the Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality forecast agency SAFAR the AQI was 411 at 9 amAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severeThe day is expected to see moderate fog and the maximum temperature may reach up to 24 degrees Celsius the weather department saidThe relative humidity was 94 per cent at 830 amThe city had on Thursday recorded its minimum and maximum temperatures at 55 and 231 degrees Celsius respectively PTI MAH IJT