Month: October 2024

In a remarkable season for Kashmir’s horticulture industry, approximately 9 lakh metric tons of fruit, valued at around 600 crores, has been dispatched over the past four months, with Sopore Fruit Mandi alone, contributed 4-5 lakh metric tons to this total. Speaking with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the president of Sopore Fruit Mandi, Fayaz Ahmed Malik, known as Kaka Ji, said that with the peak apple season, around 250 trucks are loaded with fruit daily from Sopore Mandi, the second-largest fruit market in Asia, where prices are robust and meeting expectations. He said this positive trend is due to favourable market rates and a steady demand despite less-than-ideal weather conditions this year. “The rates, including those for early varieties, are strong and align wit...

The Ministry of Science and Technology has introduced a breakthrough in anti-counterfeiting technology with the development of a new ink designed to enhance security for currency, certificates, branded products, and medicines. This innovative ink, created by researchers at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), uses luminescent nanomaterials to produce distinct color changes under different light wavelengths, allowing for easy verification of authenticity. According to the ministry's press release, the ink incorporates rare earth materials that emit unique colors depending on the type of light exposure. For instance, the ink glows blue under 365 nm light, pink under 395 nm light, and orange-red under 980 nm near-infrared (NIR) light. Unlike conventional UV-sensitive ...