Sri Lanka received over 7 lakh tourists in 2022 in spite of facing the worst economic crisis since its independence. The tourist arrivals in the island nation marks a significant increase from less than 1,95,000 arrivals in 2021. According to Sri Lanka's Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), December 2022 recorded 91,691 arrivals. This is less than the year’s highest number of arrivals of 96,000 in February and 1,06,000 in March. The December arrivals were dominated by over 19,000 from Russia and over 17,000 from India. A total of 719,978 tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2022, according to
Indian Army’s Fire and Fury Corps officer, Captain Shiva Chauhan has become the first woman officer to be operationally deployed at the highest battleground in Kumar Post on the Siachen glacier. In a tweet, the official account of the Fire and Fury Corps celebrated Captain Shiva’s feat with the caption, Breaking the Glass Ceiling. The Indian Army Officer had to undergo arduous training before her posting in Kumar Post located at an altitude of 15,632-feet after a month of gruelling training at the Siachen Battle School. The training included endurance training, ice-wall climbing, avala
Dubai has kicked off the new year by cancelling a 30% tax on alcohol sales and making liquor licenses free in an attempt to boost business and tourism. In an announcement made on Monday, Dubai Municipality temporarily stopped collecting the 30% fee from alcoholic beverage companies for one year. It also said that personal liquor licenses, earlier a requirement for all Dubai residents for purchasing alcohol in shops and costing 270 dirhams ($73.50), are now free. Till December 31, 2022, liquor licenses had to be renewed annually and had a processing time of about four weeks. However, there
In a rare astronomical event, every planet in the solar system was visible in the night sky simultaneously on Wednesday, December 28, 2022. Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars were all seen in that order in the northern hemisphere with the naked eye, starting from the south-western horizon and moving east. Uranus, located between Mars and Jupiter, and Neptune, which is between Saturn and Jupiter, were seen with binoculars or a telescope until the end of the last year. All eight planets were set to reach conjunction – their closest point – on Thursday, December 29, 2022. The las
The solar energy capacity in India has increased from 28,180 megawatts in March 2019 to 53,996 megawatts at the end of 2021-22, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy and Power RK Singh informed Parliament earlier this week. The rise is The cumulative solar energy capacity at the end of 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 was at 34,627, 40,085, and 53,996 mega watts, respectively. Accordingly, in the past three years, the solar capacity in the country increased by about 91%. The minister said that the Government has set a target of achieving 500 GW of installed capacity from non-fossil fu
Garuda Aerospace has become India’s first drone start-up to receive both Type Certification and RTPO approvals from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for its indigenously designed Kisan Drones. DGCA Type certification is given after the quality check of the drones and issued after a rigorous testing process for the UAVs. The certification was introduced by the Government of India in August 2021 under drone rules and the historic dual DGCA approval validates Garuda’s tag of being India's most valuable drone startup. Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace, sa
A treasure trove of rare flora and fauna, the Himalayas hold some herbs that are costlier than gold in the international market. One of these herbs is the reason suggested to be behind the Chinese incursions in Arunachal Pradesh, says a report by the Indo-Pacific Centre for Strategic Communications (IPCSC). In its latest report, the IPCSC suggested that several incursions by the Chinese PLA into the Indian territory in the northeast have been to collect a rare Himalayan caterpillar fungus called cordyceps. One such incursion was on December 9. Cordyceps sinensis or Ophiocordyceps Sinens
The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) will soon begin acquiring land in Sector 7 to develop Japanese and Korean industrial cities, say reports. Both the cities are planned to be developed on about 500 acres each. The authority also plans to build a semiconductor and electronics manufacturing hub in Sector 10. The semiconductor cluster will be developed on 700 acres, while the electronics cluster will be set up on more than 300 acres of land. The land will be acquired for this project, where companies from India and outside can invest. YEIDA expects an investment to
Four entries from India - Gujarati film Chhello Show for best international film, popular Telugu song Naatu Naatu, from blockbuster film, RRR, for the music (original song) categories, All That Breathes for documentary feature shortlist, and The Elephant Whisperers in the documentary short category - made it to the Oscars shortlist announced on Thursday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlists were announced in 10 categories: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeu
Ambassador of Japan to India, Hiroshi Suzuki on Wednesday said that the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project will revolutionise the direction of high-speed rail in India upon completion. The diplomat said this while visiting the construction site of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSAR) in Gujarat’s Navsari. The visit to the construction site was to review the progress of the project. National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) Managing Director Rajendra Prasad was also present during the inspection visit. The Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project has been funded by Jap