CM Chandrababu Naidu launches Drone Mart Portal to ensure access to all
Developed by the AP Drone Corporation, the portal connects drone service providers with users, especially farmers, for tasks such as pesticide spraying, crop monitoring, and land surveys. It also supports services in infrastructure monitoring, disaster response, security, and mapping.
Customers can directly negotiate charges with service providers through the portal, ensuring flexibility, affordability, and transparency. The platform integrates government departments, private agencies, and drone operators to streamline access and boost the adoption of drone technology.
'Ensuring drone services are available at reasonable prices will boost their adoption,' Naidu said, emphasising the government's commitment to bringing cutting-edge solutions to public service delivery.
Officials present at the launch included Chief Secretary Vijayanand, IT Secretary Katamneni Bhaskar, and other senior officials. The chief minister urged departments to expand the portal's services to benefit more sectors and strengthen Andhra Pradesh's tech-driven governance model.
FiberNet's revival on cards, 10 lakh connections targeted
Alongside3 the drone initiative, Chief Minister Naidu also announced an ambitious plan to revive the Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet, a flagship digital connectivity project from his previous term.
In a review meeting held at the Secretariat, Naidu blamed the previous YSRCP government for mismanaging the project, citing a drop in active connections from 8.7 lakh in 2019 to 4.5 lakh by 2025. He alleged misuse of funds, unjustified staff expansion from 130 to 1,350, and politically motivated appointments. An investigation has been ordered into the irregularities.
The government now aims to restore 8–10 lakh connections by leveraging Rs 1,900 crore under the Centre's Amended BharatNet Programme (2025–2035). Upgrades include transitioning 1,692 gram panchayats in Chittoor and Visakhapatnam to ring architecture and connecting 480 new panchayats with Rs 430 crore in funding. A Special Purpose Vehicle will manage implementation. To address service decline and rising subscription costs from Rs 149 to Rs 350, Naidu directed officials to accelerate vendor selection for set-top boxes and explore public-private partnerships for remote connectivity. BSNL will oversee the project under BharatNet norms.
Andhra Pradesh, which has already laid 78,355 km of optical fibre, is targeting 2 lakh km. The State allocated Rs 192.5 crore for capital expenditure and Rs 66.76 crore for operations, with Rs 67.14 crore support from BharatNet Phase 2.
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Indian Express
27 minutes ago
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‘Purchased' honorary titles, international web of shell firms: How Ghaziabad conman operated fake embassy for 9 yrs
A pristine white bungalow, four flashy sedans with blue and white diplomatic number plates parked in the driveway, national flags from across the world and a man posing as an 'ambassador'. When Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) raided the 'Embassy of Westarctica' in Ghaziabad's upscale Kavi Nagar neighbourhood earlier this week, they came across an elaborate con job. Far from an an ordinary swindler, Harsh Vardhan Jain, the accused, had been running a fake embassy of a country that doesn't exist, without raising any suspicion for the last nine years. Jain had planned every detail meticulously to build this façade, according to the police. He had allegedly printed fake press cards, doctored photos with top dignitaries and even 'purchased' honorary titles from self-proclaimed micronations. The preliminary investigation, police say, has revealed that Jain was running a multi-nation scam. How did Jain manage to execute such a fraud, undetected for years, right beneath the vigilant gaze of the local Ghaziabad Police is yet to be revealed. How Jain's fake embassy operation was finally exposed is also unknown. According to the UPSTF, Jain is a Ghaziabad-born MBA graduate who claims to have studied in London. His father, JD Jain, was a once reputed industrialist, with marble export businesses operating in Rajasthan. In the early 2000s, Jain reportedly came in contact with self-styled godman Chandraswami, who allegedly introduced him to arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and Ehsan Ali Syed, another conman posing as a businessman who was convicted in a fraud case in Switzerland. With their help, Jain is said to have established more than a dozen companies in Dubai, London, and Mauritius — many of them shell firms used to collect 'brokerage' for jobs and promises of huge loans before duping them. 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Rajasthan govt. announces ₹10 lakh each to kin of children killed in Jhalawar school building collapse
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