VP C. P. Radhakrishnan Launches India's First Indigenous Non-GMO Popcorn Maize Hybrid

27 August 2026National

Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan launched India's first indigenous non-GMO high-expansion popcorn maize (Zea mays) hybrid seed in August 2026 at the Gourmet Popcornica facility in Musunuru, Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh. AP Governor S. Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu attended the event. The hybrid was bred through a scientific and commercial collaboration between the ICAR–Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR) and Gourmet Popcornica, begun in February 2021, using conventional non-GMO breeding — controlled cross-pollination of selected parent lines to combine desirable traits. The seed is expected to cut India's dependence on imported popcorn maize technology and boost domestic production, value-added processing and exports.

Static GK

ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research was established in 1957 and is headquartered in Ludhiana, Punjab | ICAR was set up in 1929 and is headquartered in New Delhi under the Ministry of Agriculture | Maize is botanically Zea mays and is called the 'queen of cereals'

ShareWhatsApp Telegram

More International Current Affairs

IIT Madras and UNESCO MGIEP Partner to Develop AI-Based Immersive Learning Tools

IIT Madras signed an agreement with UNESCO MGIEP — the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development — to build Artificial Intelligence-based immersive learning technologies for global education systems. The pact, signed in the presence of Obijiofor Aginam (Director, UNESCO MGIEP) along with Manu Santhanam and M Manivannan of IIT Madras, blends AI, Extended Reality (XR) and game design with Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). It promises personalised, gamified learning with real-time emotional feedback, reduced teacher workload, and low-cost, low-bandwidth delivery. The collaboration supports joint research in education technology and aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 on inclusive and sustainable education.

GK ByteUNESCO MGIEP was established in 2012 and is UNESCO's only category 1 research institute in the Asia-Pacific, headquartered in New Delhi | UNESCO was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Paris, France | IIT Madras was established in 1959 with West German technical collaboration and is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

📅 6 Sept 2026InternationalRead complete →

NIELIT and Intel India Launch Agentic AI Skilling Programmes at National Leadership Dialogue

The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), an autonomous body under MeitY, together with Intel India, launched two Agentic AI skilling programmes at a National Leadership Dialogue held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The programmes are 'Agentic AI for Everyone', covering AI agents and automation through no-code platforms, and 'Engineering Agentic AI Systems', on designing and deploying AI systems using low-code and code-based frameworks. Speakers included NIELIT Director General Dr Madan Mohan Tripathi, Shashi Shekhar Vempati and Anshul Sonak of Intel India. The dialogue focused on AI's impact on jobs and education and on government-academia-industry collaboration.

GK ByteNIELIT, formerly the DOEACC Society, is an autonomous scientific society under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) working on skilling in Information, Electronics and Communications Technology | Agentic AI refers to systems that can reason, plan and execute tasks with limited human supervision | The IndiaAI Mission is implemented under MeitY

📅 5 Sept 2026InternationalRead complete →

Tata Elxsi and Sarla Aviation Partner to Develop the 'Shunya' Electric Air Taxi

Tata Elxsi and Bengaluru-based advanced air mobility startup Sarla Aviation signed an MoU to jointly develop Shunya, a six-seater-plus-one-pilot electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Tata Elxsi will provide engineering support for avionics, flight control systems, software integration, testing, verification, validation and certification, while Sarla Aviation leads design, development and type certification. Designed for flight operations exceeding 300 km, Shunya pairs VTOL capability with fixed-wing cruise efficiency for runway-independent urban and regional connectivity. The first flight is targeted within 18–24 months. The MoU was signed in the presence of Tata Elxsi CEO and MD Manoj Raghavan, strengthening India's Advanced Air Mobility ecosystem.

GK ByteeVTOL stands for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing, a core technology of the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystem | India's civil aviation regulator is the DGCA, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation | Tata Elxsi is a Tata Group design and technology services company headquartered in Bengaluru

📅 3 Sept 2026InternationalRead complete →

IISc Sets Up Foundation for Quantum Computing Innovation as the National Quantum Mission's Computing Hub

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru has established the Foundation for Quantum Computing Innovation (FQCI), a Section 8 not-for-profit company, to operate as the Quantum Computing Thematic Hub (QC T-Hub) under the National Quantum Mission (NQM) of the Department of Science and Technology. FQCI is one of four NQM thematic hubs and will work across photonic, superconducting, semiconductor, neutral-atom and trapped-ion platforms while building shared fabrication, testing and characterisation facilities. Its five programmes - QC Rise, QC Bridge, QC Leap, QC Accel and QC Quest - target skilling and start-ups, complementing C-DOT's parallel push on quantum-safe communication products.

GK ByteThe National Quantum Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet in April 2023 and is implemented by the Department of Science and Technology | NQM's four thematic hubs cover quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing and metrology, and quantum materials and devices | IISc Bengaluru was founded in 1909 with support from Jamsetji Tata and the princely state of Mysore

📅 2 Sept 2026InternationalRead complete →

See all Sci & Tech →All Current Affairs