Sikkims first railway station at Rangpo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for Sikkim's first railway station at Rangpo on 26 February 2024. It was among the over 2,000 rail infrastructure projects worth about Rs.41,000 crore unveiled by the Prime Minister. Basically, Sikkim did not have a railway line earlier. The government has signed this project in three phases. In the first phase, Sevoke to the Rangpo rail project; in the other phase, from Rangpo to Gangtok; and the third phase, from Gangtok to Nathula.
 

Vantara programme

♦ Reliance Industries and Reliance Foundation announced the launch of the Vantara (Star of the Forest) programme on 26 February 2024. This an umbrella initiative to focus on rescue, treatment, care and rehabilitation of injured, abused and threatened animals, both in India and abroad. Vantara spread over 3,000 acres within the Green Belt of Reliance’s Jamnagar Refinery Complex in Gujarat. It aims to be one of the leading contributors to conservation efforts globally.

♦ The company said the shelter has over 200 elephants, over 300 large felines such as leopards, tigers, lions, and jaguars, among others and over 3,000 herbivores such as deer and over 1,200 reptiles, including crocodiles, snakes and turtles. 
 

MILAN 2024 naval exercise

♦ The 12th edition of the MILAN 2024 naval exercise commenced in Visakhapatnam on 19 February 2024. The nine-day event will conclude on Feb 27. The theme of MILAN 2024 is “Forging Naval Alliances for a Secure Maritime Future”. This exercise aims to strengthen collaboration among participating navies. 

♦ Navies from the US, Japan, Australia, France, Bangladesh, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia, among others, participated in this event. 
 

Indias first Helicopter Emergency Medical Service

India’s first Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) will be started from Uttarakhand, Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on 15 February 2024. Scindia informed that a helicopter will be deployed at All Indian Institute of Medical Science in Rishikesh from where it can be sent anywhere within a radius area of 150 km to airlift the people to the hospital.
 

Abu Dhabis first Hindu temple

♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple on 14 February 2024. This is the first Hindu stone temple in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This act of global spiritual unity was orchestrated by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). 

♦ Thi is located on a 27-acre site near Al Rahba off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway, the temple was constructed at a cost of approximately Rs 700 crore.
 

Dakshin Bharat Sanskritik Kendra

♦ Former Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy inaugurated the Dakshin Bharat Sanskritik Kendra in Hyderabad on 12 February 2024. They also laid the foundation stone for the South India Cultural Centre of the Bharat Kala Mandapam Auditorium, at Shilpa Kala Vedika. 

♦ The Sangeet Natak Akademi, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture and an apex body in the field of performing arts in the country, promotes the rich cultural heritage of South India. The Ministry of Culture decided to set up a Regional Centre of Sangeet Natak Akademi in Hyderabad that will be known as Dakshin Bharat Sanskritik kendra.
 

Indias digital National Museum

♦ Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy laid the foundation stone for India's digital National Museum of Epigraphy at the Salar Jung Museum. Spearheaded by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), this museum will house approximately one lakh ancient writings spanning various times and languages.

♦ The Central government had earlier announced the setting up of the Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions Bharat SHRI in a digital epigraphy museum with the digitisation of one lakh ancient inscriptions.