After renaming Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv respectively, the Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday decided to rename Ahmednagar as Ahilyanagar after Ahilyabai Holkar and Velha tehsil in Pune district as Rajgad. Velha was the first capital of the Maratha Empire under the Maratha warrior king Shivaji.

Earlier, on the occasion of the 298th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that the government would rename Ahmednagar as Ahilyanagar after Holkar, who was a Holkar Queen of the Malwa kingdom.

The International Day of Action for Rivers is a day of solidarity when people from all walks of life come together to declare that rivers are essential and deserve our protection. It highlights the importance of ensuring that communities have access to clean, free-flowing water and that everyone has the fundamental right to participate in decisions that affect their lives and their water. It is our collective responsibility to defend these rights and protect our rivers now more than ever. As we celebrate the 27th anniversary of the Day for Rivers.

Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday took oath as the new chief minister of Haryana, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar. BJP MLAs Banwari Lal, Jai Parkash Dalal and independent legislator Ranjit Singh were among the five ministers who took oath along with Saini at the swearing-in ceremony held at Raj Bhavan.

Former Home Minister Anil Vij, who had left the legislative party meeting in between, was not present at the oath ceremony in Chandigarh.

"Our newly formed cabinet wants to thank former CM Manohar Lal Khattar. He has given Haryana a new direction and has given the best example of good governance. He did development work in the state without any discrimination," Saini told reporters after the oath ceremony.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday said that Rishabh Pant will play in the upcoming IPL 2024 tournament. The cricket body said that Pant is fit to play as a wicket-keeper in Tata IPL. Rishabh Pant went through an extensive rehab and recovery process for a period of 14 months after he met with a life-threatening road accident on December 30, 2022.

Rishabh Pant suffered a near-fatal road mishap while driving back to his home in Roorkee in December 2022. Due to this accident, the cricketer had multiple surgeries in 2023 and went through a strength and conditioning regimen.

"After undergoing an extensive 14-month rehab and recovery process, following a life-threatening road mishap on December 30th, 2022, near Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Rishabh Pant has now been declared fit as a wicket-keeper batter for the upcoming TATA IPL 2024," BCCI said in its medical update.

Samudrayaan mission set to explore ocean bed by 2025-end, the earth sciences minister Kiren Rijiju has said. The announcement came after an underwater acoustic telephone, developed by National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) for the submersible project, was successfully tested at a depth of about 500 metres in the Bay of Bengal.

The ministry, in a tweet on Saturday, said, “Underwater acoustic telephone indigenously developed in-house by MSS Group of MOES NIOT for manned submersible has been successfully tested up to 500 meters depth in BoB (Bay of Bengal) on board Sagar Manjusha (research vessel).

Chairperson, Lokpal of India, Shri Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar administered the oath of office to the following as Judicial Member and Member of Lokpal of India, in a ceremony organised today at 11:00 AM at Lokpal of India Campus, New Delhi:

Judicial Member

1. Shri Justice Lingappa Narayana Swamy
2. Shri Justice Sanjay Yadav

Member

1. Shri Sushil Chandra

Shri Justice Lingappa Narayana Swamy, before joining as Judicial Member of Lokpal of India, was the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court and is a former Judge of the Karnataka High Court.

Shri Justice Sanjay Yadav, before joining as Judicial Member of Lokpal of India, was the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and is a former Judge of the Allahabad High Court and Madhya Pradesh High Court.

In a significant development following the Supreme Court's rebuke, the State Bank of India (SBI) has furnished electoral bonds details to the Election Commission of India (ECI) in compliance with the court's directives.

This announcement comes on the heels of the Supreme Court's dismissal of the State Bank's application for an extension of time to submit electoral bonds details to the poll panel yesterday.

A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud concluded that the requisite information was readily available with the bank, and rebuffed attempts by the issuing bank to get the deadline extended on grounds of the complexity of compiling the data.

During a wildlife expedition in the Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand, a team of researchers made a remarkable discovery- a previously unknown species of scorpion. This significant finding, detailed in a study published in ZooKeys, was made when the researchers were camping near the Tenasserim Mountain Range and stumbled upon a new type of scorpion species hidden under a rock.

After discovering it, they studied three adult males and one adult female. This new species belongs to the subgenus Euscopiops and has been named Euscorpiops Krachan after the national park in Thailand, where it was discovered.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on March 12 banned the Jammu Kashmir National Front, chaired by Nayeem Ahmad Khan, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, popularly known as UAPA for five years.

The Ministry, in the notice, issued on Tuesday evening said that the Front is indulging in unlawful activities, which are prejudiced to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country.

“We are committed to uprooting terror forces to ensure the security of the people of Bharat," Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on social media platform X informing about the ban.

Over 300 para athletes from across India will compete in the four-day National Para Badminton Championship, commencing here on March 19.

Among the renowned names competing in the event are Tokyo Paralympics gold medallists Pramod Bhagat from Odisha and Krishna Nagar from Rajasthan.

Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Suhas L Yathiraj is also likely to take part in the competition.

The former District Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh won the gold medal in the World Championship held in Thailand last year.

The event will feature competitions in men’s and women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

The event is being jointly organised by the Badminton Association of India and Tata Steel.