An initiative called ‘Lab Mitra’ started in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi last year was awarded the National e-Governance Gold Award at the National e-Governance Conference 2024 held yesterday in Mumbai. The award was given for Administrative Reforms and district-level initiatives in e-governance. A report from our correspondent:

The initiative named ‘Lab Mitra’ started by the district administration of Varanasi with the help of a private bank and NGO has been quite successful, and the Lab Mitra model has now been started in the name of ‘Lab Report’ in the entire UP. The facility is being provided at 20 hospitals, including all government hospitals in Varanasi, and more than 2.5 lakh patients have benefitted from it till date.

Using the ‘Lab Mitra’ portal, patients coming to the government hospital are registered for laboratory tests as per the doctor’s prescription, and after the test, the system generates an online report, which is sent as a link on a text message to the patient’s phone number. By clicking on this link, the patient can get his complete lab test report after four hours of testing at the CHC and after 12 hours of testing at a government hospital.

The 2024 Edition of the Chief Science Advisers’ Roundtable -CSAR is scheduled to be organised at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France on Friday. This roundtable is co-organised by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Indian Government and the Natural Sciences Sector of UNESCO. CSAR was conceptualised and launched as a Sherpa-track initiative during Indian G20 Presidency last year.

Delegations of 28 countries and six international organisations will join the round-table. They will discuss on the theme ‘Fostering open science, bridging knowledge asymmetry, and building science advice capacity globally’. The roundtable will be co-chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the India Government, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood and the Assistant Director General-ADG – Natural Sciences of UNESCO, Dr. Lidia Brito.

Sachin Khilari won a silver medal in men’s shot put F46 final with a throw of 16.32m at the Paris Paralympics 2024 on Wednesday.

He finished behind Canada’s Greg Stewart who registered a best throw of 16.38, his season’s best.

This takes India’s medal tally to 21, two better than its previous haul at the Tokyo Para Games. India currently occupies 19th place in the medal table with three gold, eight silver and 10 bronze medals.

There were two more Indians in action in the event - Mohd Yasser and Rohit Kumar. Yasser finished in eight place with a best throw 14.21m while Rohit finished ninth with a throw of 14.10m.

The Punjab assembly on Tuesday witnessed heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition benches over the issue of unauthorised colonies in the state.

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann and leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa traded barbs as the state assembly passed the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aims to do away with the practice of seeking no objection certificate (NOC) for the registration of plots up to 500 square yards in the unauthorised colonies in the state.

As per the amendment, the owners of these properties, who have signed an agreement to sell or have transacted the value of the property in a legal way latest by July 31, 2024, are eligible to get their properties registered for which now they do not require NOC as was in the practice before.

Uttar Pradesh government will construct a Vedic-3D museum in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi at the main building of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University. The state of the art museum will be dedicated to Indian astrology, astronomy, and Vedic literature. The chief minister made the announcement during his maiden visit to the university in Kashi yesterday.

The museum will showcase the evolution of Vedic literature, highlighting the 16 Sanskars, 64 arts, and 18 Vidya Sthans as well as contributions of Indian sages and serve as a platform to revive the tradition of ‘Shastrartha'(spiritual discourse). The Chief Minister saw the rare manuscripts preserved in the historic Saraswati Bhawan, including the “Raas Panchadhyayi,” Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, and Durgasaptashati, all inscribed with gold letters and adorned with gold artistry on special cloth. Currently, the conservation work is being carried out in the university by the National Manuscript Mission with the backing of the Government of India. CM Yogi Adityanath also inspected the 234-year-old main building and called for the installation of Sanskrit signboards for all departments

Leading French cosmetic maker L'Oreal Paris on Tuesday said it has roped in Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt as its new global brand ambassador.

With this, Bhatt joins the brand's diverse roster of L'Oreal brand ambassadors like Viola Davis, Jane Fonda, Eva Longoria, Kendall Jenner, Elle Fanning, Camila Cabello, and many others.

She will star in the French beauty brand's campaigns, starting in September 2024, said a L'Oreal statement.

Bhatt embodies the core values of L'Oreal Paris, representing inclusivity and empowerment, sharing the transformative power of self-belief with women all over the world, it said.

Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have recorded the highest growth in real gross state domestic product (GSDP) in FY24 among the 10 largest States ranked according to their GSDP. This is revealed in the analysis of data on recent estimates put out by MoSPI.

In FY24, Telangana, the ninth biggest State, grew its economy at 9.2 per cent to reach real GSDP of ₹7.9 lakh crore. This is faster than national GDP growth of 8.2 per cent. Tamil Nadu, which is the third largest State, grew its economy 8.2 per cent to reach ₹15.7 lakh crore in size. Rajasthan, at seventh spot, grew 8 per cent.

Sectoral analysis shows that services sector, which contributes the highest to GVA of all the large States, helped in their growth. Tamil Nadu’s services sector, which holds 52 per cent share in total GVA, grew 9 per cent and Telangana’s services sector with 63 per cent share, grew 11 per cent, MoSPI data show. Services underperformed in Maharashtra clocking just about 9 per cent growth relative to 13 per cent in FY23.

A mass die-off of fish in Greece's port of Volos has raised a massive stink and led to the country declaring a state of emergency. The deaths are believed to be linked to climate change after historic storms and flooding washed the freshwater animals out to sea.

Authorities in central Greece told the New York Times that they had dredged more than 100 tons of dead fish from the waters around the scenic summer destination. Visuals doing rounds on social media show a silvery blanket of dead fish that formed off the port last week.

The month-long emergency was announced by the climate ministry's secretary general of civil protection, Vassilis Papageorgiou. The Greek government is trying to speed up the cleaning of the port where tons of dead fish have piled up along the coast and in rivers, Athens News Agency reported.

South Africa on Monday announced the creation of an innovative new Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) with an initial focus on the burgeoning tourist markets of India and China.

The scheme, set to be implemented from January 2025, will reform the visa system and is expected to "supercharge" job creation in the tourism sector, stated the country's Home Affairs Department.

The TTOS will remove some of the key obstacles standing in the way of South Africa becoming a favoured tourism destination for the second and fifth largest economies in the world.

We are thrilled to announce the Book launch of From Oil to Lithium: Navigating the Future of Energy, a transformative new book by acclaimed energy expert Kuldeep Gupta. This compelling narrative follows the journey of Karan, a man whose career in the Oil & Gas industry leads him to confront the urgent environmental and ethical dilemmas posed by fossil fuels, ultimately inspiring a shift towards renewable energy.

A Journey of Awakening

Karan's story begins in the heart of the Oil & Gas sector, where he is initially inspired by the critical role of oil during World Wars I and II. However, as he navigates the complexities of war zones and witnesses the stark realities of environmental degradation, Karan's perspective begins to shift. His firsthand experiences with the greed for power and resources compel him to question his role in an industry that often prioritizes profit over the planet. This awakening ignites a passion for sustainable solutions, leading Karan to dedicate his life to reducing carbon footprints and promoting green energy alternatives, such as lithium-ion batteries.