Union Minister for External Affairs,Dr. S. Jaishankar inaugurated the second edition of the art exhibition "Silent Conversation: From Margins to the Centre" in New Delhi. The four-day exhibition has been organized by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in collaboration with the Sankala Foundation,
the National Human Rights Commission and the International Big Cat Alliance.
On the occasion, a book titled "Hidden Treasures: India’s Heritage in Tiger Reserves" and a magazine called "Big Cats" were also released.
A cultural program was also organized in the evening, that was attended by Dr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism.
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Bhutan, His Excellency Lyonpo Gem Tshering, met with the Union Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, Shri Manohar Lal, in New Delhi. The meeting focused on strengthening the longstanding cooperation between the two nations in the hydropower sector.
Key points of discussion included:
Puna-1 Hydroelectric Power (HEP) Project: Both sides discussed enhancing their collaboration to further boost energy production from this project.
Puna-2 Tariff Finalization
Future Collaboration: The two leaders explored potential avenues for future cooperation in energy generation.
India and Bhutan share a robust partnership in the hydropower sector, with several key projects contributing significantly to Bhutan’s economy and providing renewable energy to India.
This meeting marks another step forward in deepening bilateral relations and enhancing regional energy security through sustainable energy cooperation.
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY NRLM) under the Ministry of Rural Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding with nine Public Sector Banks and one Private Bank. These Banks are Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank and,
IDBI Bank Limited.
These Banks have designed specific products for financing individual women entrepreneurs under the fold of DAY-NRLM. The loan products so designed will help women avail bigger ticket size loans for scaling up their enterprises. This move is in lines with the realisation of goal of making Lakhpati Didi, as announced by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi
DAY NRLM has witnessed SHG Bank linkage grow leaps and bounds as the programme evolved. More than Rs. 9.5 crore loans have been extended by Banks to the self-help groups since the start of the Mission. The move to extend individual loans is a strategic shift in the programme indicating how women have graduated from small enterprises and are aspiring to scale up enterprise.
The festival to strengthen the cordial bond between the indigenous communities living in the hills and the valley people of Manipur, the Mera Hou Chongba Festival 2024, was observed in Imphal. The main event was held at the holy site, Kangla, in Imphal, where leaders of Indigenous communities from various hill districts joined the valley people in observing the festival,
which symbolizes harmony and cultural exchange. The Mera Hou Chongba is the only festival where both hill and valley indigenous communities are observed together in the state.
Former India spinner Neetu David, who still holds the record for the best figures (8/53) by a woman in an individual Test innings, on Wednesday became only the second female cricketer from the country to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
South African legend Ab de Villiers and former England captain Alastair Cook were also inducted along with David.
David, the current chairman of selectors for the Indian women's team, enters the ICC Hall of Fame a year after the induction of former captain Diana Edulji.
David made more than 100 appearances (10 Tests and 97 ODIs) for India as a prolific left-arm spinner and was inducted alongside South Africa and England legends AB de Villiers and Alastair Cook,
joining a long list of great cricketers.
The 47-year-old David is the second-highest wicket-taker for India in ODIs cricket with 141 scalps and was also the first female player from the country to claim 100 wickets in the 50-over game.
Topping the wicket-taking list at the World Cup in 2005, to inspire her country to their first-ever final, is also among her standout achievements.
Cook represented England over 250 times in international cricket, making his most significant impact in the longest format.
He retired from international cricket in 2018 as England's highest Test run-scorer and century-maker,
spearheading notable successes both home and away with the bat and as captain.
In his 14-year-long career, de Villiers hit over 20,000 international runs across all three formats.
De Villiers, fondly known as "Mr 360", excelled in Test and T20I cricket while setting South African records for the fastest fifty, century.
The ICC Hall of Fame was launched in January 2009 as part of the global governing body's centenary celebrations.
Secretary of Information and Broadcasting, Sh. Sanjay Jaju, delivered the keynote address on the launch of "Scam se Bacho", a National User Awareness Campaign in New Delhi.
This initiative of Meta, being launched in collaboration of key ministries Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), aims to combat the growing menace of scams and cyber frauds, aligning with the government's commitment to addressing the rising cases of online scams and enhancing cyber safety.
During the event I&B secretary highlighted that India, with over 900 million internet users, has seen extraordinary digital growth under the Digital India initiative, becoming a global leader in UPI transactions.
However, this progress comes with rising cyber frauds, with 1.1 million cases reported in 2023.
The Indian Railways is set to reduce the advance reservation period (ARP) for train bookings from 120 days to 60 days, excluding the day of travel, an official press release said.
These changes will come into effect from November 1, 2024.
The Railways clarified that bookings made under the current 120-day ARP before October 31 will remain valid.
It also stated that any cancellations for bookings made beyond the new 60-day ARP will still be allowed. According to the official notice, the revised changes do not apply to certain daytime express trains, such as the Taj Express and Gomti Express, which have different advance reservation limits.
Additionally, the 365-day advance booking option for foreign tourists will remain unchanged, the Railways said. The advanced train ticket booking system is a feature that allows passengers to plan their journeys conveniently. Previously, the Railways allowed this facility up to 120 days, or four months, in advance of the journey date.
An upcoming artist from Karnal in Haryana, who recently graduated from a UK university, has been named winner in the Emerging Illustrator category at the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum's Illustration Awards in London.
Aditi Anand, 25, from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge, England, received the award at a recent ceremony for her artwork ‘Marigolds’,
which will be on display at the world-famous Victoria and Albert (V&A) Design Museum in London until September 2025.
Selected from over 2,000 entries that the V&A awards received, ‘Marigolds’, which bagged the GBP 3,000 prize, is set in India and addresses the theme of child labour and lost childhoods.
India and Mauritania signed several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), including on diplomat training and visa exemption, during President Droupadi Murmu's visit to the African nation.
President Murmu met with her Mauritania counterpart Mohamed Ould Ghazouani at the Presidential Palace in Nouakchott. Both leaders discussed ways to strengthen their relationship further.
Murmu arrived on the second leg of her three-nation visit to Africa. It is the first visit to Mauritania by an Indian leader at the highest level since the African nation won independence in 1960. Four MoUs in the areas of training of diplomats, cultural exchange, visa exemption and Foreign Office consultations were signed and exchanged on the occasion.
Former Indian captain and BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) chief Saurav Ganguly assumed a new role, as he is now the new director of cricket of Jindal South West (JSW) Sports. Ganguly, who joined Delhi Capitals as an advisor in 2019, will now oversee all the cricketing properties of JSW Sports, which include the Delhi Capitals team in the IPL and WPL,
The management of cricket operations for the Delhi Capitals' men's and women's teams in both the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Women's Premier League (WPL) will be governed by a two-year rotational policy between their co-owners, GMR Group and JSW Group.
President Droupadi Murmu who is on a visit to Algeria, as part of her three-nation visit, was conferred with Honorary Doctorate in Political Science by Sidi Abdellah Science and Technology Pole University in Algiers. Mr. Kamal Baddari, the Algerian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, handed over the Doctorate.
President Droupadi Murmu addressing the Siddi Abdellah University said that this doctorate is an honour for my country, a country that had stood for peace and a prosperous world from time immemorial. She said that education neutralises inequalities and promotes equal opportunity for all.
Vivaan Kapoor claimed silver in men's trap event after compatriot Anant Jeet Singh Naruka's bronze in the men's skeet competition, taking India's tally to four medals at the ISSF World Cup Final.
Vivaan shot 44 in the final to finish behind gold medal winner Ying Qi of China. Turkey's Tolga N Tuncer won the bronze medal with a score of 35.
Vivaan had come up with a score of 120 out of 125 in the qualification round to enter the six-man finals.
Earlier, Naruka, the 26-year-old from Rajasthan, shot 43 in the six-man final, earning third place, while Italy's Tammaro Cassandro and Gabriele Rossetti took home the gold and silver with scores of 57 and 56, respectively.
Sonam Maskar had won a silver in the women's 10m air rifle on Tuesday and Akhil Sheoran clinched a bronze in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions on Wednesday.
Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan had settled for a fourth-place finish in the skeet mixed team event at the Paris Olympics after losing the bronze medal match to China.
