Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, inaugurated the North Karnataka Agromet Forecasting and Research Centre (NKAFC), India's first Agromet forecast centre at University of Agricultural Science (USA) in Dharwad, Karnataka.

The Objective of the centre is to give accurate reports on weather which would enable the farmers to protect the crops and get a good yield. It will also educate farmers on how to manage the crops in different weather conditions and help them anticipate and plan their actions in advance.

A total of 25 lakh farmers in the region would get information via various platforms like WhatsApp, SMS, social networking sites and community radio stations.

Indian Engineer, Vikas Sathaye, a Pune-born person has been honoured with the Scientific and Engineering Academy Award at Oscars Scientific and Technical Awards 2018 at Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California.

Sathaye and his team received the award for his contribution towards conceptualization, designing, engineering and the implementation of the 'Shotover K1 Camera System' during his stint at Shotover Camera Systems in Queenstown, New Zealand.

The Scientific and Engineering Academy Award is given for scientific achievements that produce a definite influence on the advancement of the motion picture industry.

Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal from Chandigarh, became the First Indian Woman Flight Engineer of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Hina was completed the six-month Flight Engineer course from the 112 Helicopter Unit attached to the Air Force Station in Yelahanka, Bengaluru.

She was commissioned in the Engineering batch of the IAF on January 5, 2015.

The Flight Engineer branch was opened to women officers in 2018.

Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal hails from Chandigarh.

UAE based international cooling provider, National Central Cooling Company PJSC (Tabreed) entered into 30-year concession with Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) to build a district cooling system in Amaravati, Hyderabad.

This is the first state capital in India to develop district cooling.

The agreement is for a contracted cooling capacity of 20,000 Refrigeration Tons (RTs).

The district cooling system will save 40% of the energy currently being used and reduce carbon emissions.

District cooling uses only 50% of primary energy consumption for cooling urban building n compared to other cooling systems.

Saina Nehwal won women's singles title at the 83rd Yonex Sunrise Senior Badminton Nationals.

She defeated PV Sindhu.

The 83rd Yonex Sunrise Senior Badminton Nationals held at Guwahati, Assam.

Sourabh Verma defeated Lakshya Sen to win the men's singles crown for the third time (after 2011 and 2017).

The team of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Chirag Shetty claimed the men's doubles title after beating Arjun MR and Shlok Ramachandran.

Bollywood actress Tapsee Pannu has been appointed as the brand ambassador the snack brand 'Kurkure' owned by PepsiCo.

The brand has also launched a television campaign to introduce the new brand positioning 'Khayal toh chatpata hai' celebrating the progressive thinking the young Indian homemakers in traditional Indian families and the breaking conventional barriers.

This is the first time that the brand has attempted to include a social message with its product's marketing.

South African pacer Dale Steyn overtook former Indian captain Kapil Dev to become joint 7th highest wicket-taker after registering figures 4/48 against Sri Lanka.

Dale Stey with 437 wickets to his name in the longest format is now at the joint 7th position in the all-time list of highest wicket-takers in Test cricket.

The 40th International Annual Desert Festival held in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. It was organized by the Rajasthan tourism and district administration.

The festival was held amidst the beautiful Sam dunes of the Thar Desert.

The 3-day festival, which exhibits the rich cultural heritage of the desert state, commenced with a colourful procession from the Jaisalmer Fort to the Shahid Poonam Singh Stadium.

Eva de Goede from Netherlands and Arthur van Doren of Belgium were named as the International Hockey Federation's Players of the Year for 2018.

Eva de Goede, 29 was named the Female Player of the Year and Arthur van Doren, 24, was picked up as the Male Player of the Year award for the second year in a row.

Other awards given were:

Men's Goalkeeper of the Year - Vincent Vanasch

Male Rising Star of the Year - Arthur de Sloover

Male Coach of the Year - Shane McLeod

Female Coach of the Year - Alyson Annan

Female Goalkeeper of the Year - Maddie Hinch

Female Rising Star Award - Lucina von der Heyde

JP Morgan rolled out the first US bank cryptocurrency. 

The currency is designed to be decentralized so that no one has control over transactions being sent over the network.

Cryptocurrencies are used successfully to move money between the bank and a client which usually runs on a blockchain technology.

JPM Coin is not for retail customers. It will be used internally by the bank to enable instant transfers of payments between institutional accounts.