Which state celebrated the Rongali Bihu festival?

Two schemes, Utkarsh Bangla and Sabooj Sathi, of the West Bengal government for skill development and distribution of bicycles to students have won the prestigious World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) awards of the United Nations. The announcement was made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Utkarsh Bangla Scheme is to give vocational training to school dropouts by providing training ranging from 400 to 1200 hours free of charge. And Sabooj Sathi scheme s to empower the students, especially the girls and reduce drop-outs in higher education.

Telangana government has launched a digital business networking portal for Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises MSMEs - Telangana State GlobalLinker (ts-msme.globallinker.com). This networking portal will digitise over 2.3 million MSMEs of the State which would connect them to the global economy. The motive behind this is to address key challenges faced by MSMEs with the core objective of making their business growth more simpler, more profitable and enjoyable. It will also allow MSMEs to create a digital profile for their business, connect with other global MSMEs, enable them to find buyers and suppliers, gain visibility and receive up-to-date industry trends and news.

Uttar Pradesh for the first time has undertaken census of otters in protected areas of the state. The census exercise was started from Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and will be completed by end of March 2019 covering all protected areas of state. Otter It is important part species (mammal) of forest ecosystem. It spends much of its time in or close to water bodies. It lives on fish. Its den is known as holt and it is close to water bodies. Its thriving population indicates healthy river ecosystem and water bodies are pollution-free. Three species of otters are found in India. It is classified as vulnerable species on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The government of Uttarakhand in a bid to promote tourism will be introducing mobile caravans or motor homes equipped with every facility you can expect to find in a regular house. The portable homes will enable you to access remote locations. The plan also includes the development of parks for the caravans to be stationed. These complexes will provide water, electricity and waste disposal facilities. This way, coupled with the government's endeavour to build homestays in and around popular tourist spots, soon most Himalaya vistas will be enjoyable from your windowsill.

The Election Commission of India appointed Additional Director-General of Police Kumar Viswajeet as Intelligence Chief for Andhra Pradesh. A 1994 batch IPS officer, Mr. Viswajeet, is presently Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Level Police Recruitment Board (APSLPRB). He will take charge immediately. The top post fell vacant with the Election Commission transferring former Intelligence DG, A.B. Venkateswara Rao. The Intelligence wing plays a key role in guiding the police and the election authorities on mobilisation of forces in critical and cut-off villages.

In order to avoid fluctuation in yarn prices, Ministry of Textiles started Yarn bank, a first of its kind in Karnataka, to help thousand of weavers at the Mysore Powerloom Silk Manufacturers Cooperative Society by ensuring steady supply of silk yarn and zari. The Centre aided bank will purchase yarn at the wholesale rate from producers, then it will be sold to the subscribing weavers at reasonable rates to sustain production.

The Meghalaya Cabinet approved the proposal for the creation of a new Directorate of Dairy Development to boost the milk production. The state government had launched the Meghalaya Milk Mission and sanctioned Rs 215 crore through the National Cooperative Development Corporation. For creating the post of director, the government would spend additionally Rs 12 lakh a year. The Cabinet has also approved a proposal for enhancing the grant-in-aid to 15 secondary schools in the state.

The government of Tripura announced 'Notun Disha' (New Direction) for assessing the academic level of students in classes III-VIII and then improving their current level. It was launched by state Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath. Training will be provided by NGOs and educational institutions to 800 teachers. The duration of the project is 1 month. Rs. 28 crores have been allocated to the project.

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) in Trivandrum, Kerala has awarded Intellectual Property Award 2019 on the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day. The award was given under the category of "Top Indian R&D Institution and Organisation for Patents & Commercialisation". The award carries a citation, a memento and a cash award of Rs 1 lakh. The SCTIMST has transferred 54 technologies to different companies for the purpose of commercialisation. It has 97 Indian patent and another 127 patent applications are waiting for approval. It is also the applicant or co-applicant in 21 foreign patent applications. The institute also has 25 design registrations and one trademark as the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The institute promotes research and technology development of medical technologies and also provides high quality care to patients in cardiac and neuroscience.

Ajay V Nayak, The Election Commission has appointed Ajay V Nayak, ex-Bihar chief electoral officer, as the Special Observer for West Bengal.The first phase polls held in April 11 in Cooch Behar and Alipurpur constituencies. Polls in the remaining 40 constituencies will be held in six phases.