In a major boost to the country’s sports infrastructure, India’s first indoor athletics centre was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday, March 10. An indoor aquatics centre featuring world-class facilities was also opened on the same occasion.

Both facilties are part of the complex that includes the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. The athletics centre is endowed with features that make it capable of hosting continental-level events. It will also serve as a training facility for the Odisha Reliance Foundation HighPerformance Centre (HPC).

P&G India has announced the appointment of Kumar Venkatasubramanian as CEO effective May 1, 2024. LV Vaidyanathan, current CEO, will leave the company to pursue other personal interests after 28 years of service.

Venkatasubramanian has played a pivotal role in P&G India’s growth trajectory in various roles in his career. Before moving to P&G Australia as its CEO, Venkatasubramanian was leading the sales function for P&G India, the company said in a statement.

Venkatasubramanian is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and started his journey with P&G in the sales team in India, straight from campus in 2000. He has almost 24 years of experience, majority of it in India across different roles in the Sales function.

The central government, through the Ministry of Law and Justice on Monday notified the appointment of five additional judges of the Allahabad High Court as permanent judges.

Notification issued in this regard stated that, in the exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to make the following appointment of judges of the High Court.

According to the notification, Justices Saurabh Srivastava, Om Prakash Shukla, Mohd Azhar Husain Idrisi, Jyotsna Sharma, and Surendra Singh-l, the additional judges of Allahabad High Court, are appointed as the permanent judges of the same High Court.

Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Kolkata, Vivek Sahay was appointed as the DGP of West Bengal on Monday, following the removal of the previous DGP, Rajeev Kumar by the Election Commission.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made this decision in anticipation of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, aiming to uphold the principles of fairness, transparency, and freedom in the electoral process.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued orders for the removal of West Bengal's Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Iqbal Chahal along with some other senior officials from various states.

Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, who commanded a dress rehearsal flight for the 1969 moon landing and the first U.S.-Soviet space linkup, died Monday. He was 93.

Stafford, a retired Air Force three-star general, took part in four space missions. Before Apollo 10, he flew on two Gemini flights, including the first rendezvous of two U.S. capsules in orbit. He died in a hospital near his Space Coast Florida home, said Max Ary, director of the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

Stafford was one of 24 people who flew to the moon, but he did not land on it. Only seven of them are still alive.

A contingent from the Indian Army today embarked on a journey to Seychelles to participate in the Tenth edition of the Joint Military Exercise “LAMITIYE-2024” alongside the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF). Scheduled to take place from March 18th to 27th, this biennial training event holds significant importance in fostering cooperation between the two nations.

The term ‘LAMITIYE’, translating to ‘Friendship’ in the Creole language, encapsulates the spirit of camaraderie underlying this exercise, which has been a tradition since its inception in 2001. With 45 personnel each from the renowned GORKHA RIFLES of the Indian Army and the Seychelles Defence Forces, the exercise aims to bolster interoperability in Sub-conventional Operations within Semi-Urban environments, aligning with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter on Peacekeeping Operations.

Signalling that Nepal will seek China’s help in development, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamla Dahal Sunday said he would urge China to treat the Pokhara International Airport as a “grant project” from its side and operate regular commercial flights to and from China.

Prime Minister Prachanda made the announcement at Pokhara while declaring it the “tourism capital of Nepal”.

The Pokhara international airport built by China was declared ready for commercial operation in January 2022, but remained unused ever since, as the governments of Nepal and China have conflicted over whether it was a project under the Belt and Road Initiative or not, with Nepal sticking to the latter status.

Srinagar hosted the first-ever Formula 4 car racing demonstration event on Sunday on the banks of the world-famous Dal Lake. The event enthralled locals and motorsport fans as they witnessed stunts performed by professional Formula 4 drivers.

Sleek racing cars roared along a 1.7 km track from Lalit Ghat on the banks of Dal Lake to Nehru Park in the city.

Hundreds of enthusiastic youths lined the picturesque Boulevard road at the foothills of the Zabarwan mountain range to witness the event.

According to local authorities, the event was organized to promote tourism in the region and to encourage youth to consider the sport as a career choice.

Renowned carnatic musician, T M Krishna, has been chosen as the Sangita Kalanidhi awardee for 2024. The award, considered the Oscar equivalent for carnatic music, is given away by the Music Academy in Chennai.

Thodur Madabusi Krishna, 48, is known for his powerful voice both as a vocalist on the stage and as a social activist, off the stage. A grandnephew of T T Krishnamachari, former finance minister and the founder of the TTK group, Krishna had his early training in music under Bhagavatula Seetharama Sarma and Chengalpet Ranganathan, both of whom, incidentally, are recipients of the other coveted award given by the Music Academy, the Sangita Kala Acharya award, for music teachers. Later, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, a colossus in the world of carnatic music, was so impressed with Krishna’s talent that he took the young vocalist under his tutelage.

The State government posted Iada Martin Marbaniang, IPS officer of the 2009 batch, as the Commissioner of Police, Belagavi.

He was working as DIG recruitment, in Bengaluru. He served as SP in Kalaburagi, Head of Police Training College, Yadgir, and SP CID.

A native of Meghalaya, he passed the MA examination before appearing for UPSC examinations.

He will take charge from Vikas Kumar Vikash, IGP, Northern Range, who is holding charge of the city. The vacancy was created with the retirement of S.N. Sidramappa, on February 29.