1) AIIMS becomes India's first public hospital for eye tumors
•The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is India's first public hospital to start plaque brachytherapy facility for the treatment of eye tumors.
•The facility is a form of local radiation delivered to the eye through a radioactive device which is attached to the eye for a temporary period of time. The move will benefit children suffering from retinoblastoma, which is a form of eye cancer, and adults suffering from ocular melanoma.
2) India successfully test-fires Agni-III ballistic missile
•India successfully carried out a fresh user trial of 3,000-kilometer range Agni-III ballistic missile from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
•The Strategic Forces Command with logistics support from Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) carried out the test from launch pad No. 4 of the Integrated Test Range. The test was aimed at re-establishing the operational effectiveness of the weapon system.
•About Agni-III ballistic missile in brief-
•The Agni-III is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes. It is 17 meters tall with a two-metre diameter and weighs about 48 tonnes. It was inducted into the armed forces in June 2011
3) ISRO Develops "Solar Calculator" Android App
•An android App 'Solar Calculator' for the computation of solar energy potential has been developed by Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad at the behest of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India.
•It is a very useful tool for installation of PV solar panels for tapping solar energy. The App provides monthly/yearly solar potential (in kWh/m2) and minimum/maximum temperature at any location.
Following are the major features of the App:
•It gives monthly and yearly solar potential processed using Indian Geostationary Satellite data (Kalpana-1, INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR). It also offers monthly minimum and maximum temperature to calculate realistic solar potential
•It also provides azimuth and elevation angles, and day length over different time periods in a year.
•Obstruction of sunlight due to terrain is also calculated using Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
•It also suggests optimum tilt angle for solar PV installation.
4) Indian cultural center in Egypt holds seminar to deepen ties
•Indian cultural center in Egypt, serving as India's window to reach out to Egyptians, has organized a seminar aimed at maintaining and strengthening bilateral relations.
•Organized by the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC), the seminar titled as 'Cultural Festivals - Bridge between India and Egypt' was part MACIC's monthly seminar series involving youth, academicians, culture lovers, civil society to discuss the issue of bilateral interest.
5) Bhubaneswar becomes 1st Indian city to win Pierre L’enfant Awards-2017
•Odisha’s capital city, Bhubaneswar has become, the first Indian city that has won Pierre L’enfant Planning Excellence and Achievement Awards-2017. This award is instituted by the American Planning Association.
•The association selected five excellence award recipients, which will be honored at an awards luncheon at the association’s National Planning Conference in New York on May 8, 2017. Smart City Bhubaneswar received this award for good and advanced town planning and engaging its residents in the planning process.
6) India, Cyprus sign 4 agreements
•India and Cyprus have signed four agreements after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. The areas in which the MoUs have been exchanged are Air Services, Agriculture, Merchant Shipping and Culture Education.
•Later, in a press statement, Prime Minister Modi said, India firmly supports sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Cyprus and has contributed personnel for UN peace keeping in Cyprus. Mr Modi said the two countries have agreed on need for all countries to decisively act against states that generate, support, shelter and sustain violence factories in their regions.
•The Prime Minister said, India offers excellent investment opportunities for Cypriot entrepreneurs. He appreciated Cyprus's support for India’s claim for a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council.
•Earlier, in the morning Mr Anastasiades was accorded ceremonial reception at the forecourts of Rashtrapati Bhawan. Mr. Anastasiades being received by the President Pranab Mukherjee and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ceremonial reception. Later, Mr Anastasiades laid wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's Samadhi at Raj Ghat.
