India has created its first ever smart grid project! Formulated by the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), under the leadership of its director Professor Ajoy Kumar Roy, the project will be synchronised to generate power from solar, wind and vegetable waste resources, depending on the weather conditions and availability of waste products.

The Supreme Court recently ruled in favour of ICEMA and TMA, exempting construction equipment and agriculture equipment from the BS-III vehicles ban.

In recent years, there has been a continuous increase in the use of mineral admixtures in concrete for higher performance and more durability, or just to decrease the amount of cement used.

BASF Group recently inaugurated its new Innovation Campus Asia Pacific, located in Mumbai. The project will involve a total expected investment of up to €50 million from BASF Group, and marks the group’s largest research and development (R&D) investment in South Asia.

In recent years, there has been a continuous increase in the use of mineral admixtures in concrete for higher performance and more durability, or just to decrease the amount of cement used. Such materials, like fly ash and slag, being fine and less reactive than cement, reduce bleeding (i.e., separation of excess water from concrete), which, in general, is good.

Coir geotextile mats, shredded waste plastic, nano-coated hydrophilic fibres, industrial slag, fly-ash, and marble slurry dust are some new materials finding a place in road construction.

The Union Budget announced is a balanced budget focusing on providing an impetus to the economy and offers encouraging measures for the tax payers. As expected, GST, demonetisation have ushered in tectonic changes for economy and the same was conspicuous in the Budget.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has called for installation of solar rooftops to be made mandatory for all upcoming residential societies and has sought a ban on use of diesel generator sets in highly-polluted urban areas such as Delhi.

Covered with wooded paths and spread over 328 acre, the campus at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, in Rajasthan is self-contained and houses all the amenities and buildings that befit an institute of international standards.