Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on Sunday said that during the last 10 years, the government has been dedicated to the upliftment, pride, and respect of the tribal society. Addressing the Tribal Mahakumbh organized in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, he said that every guarantee of empowerment and development of tribes has been fulfilled by the double-engine government of BJP.

He said that tribal society is not a vote bank for us but they are the pride of the country and the guarantee of the country's bright future.

Mr Modi said that the BJP government has made a record increase in MSP on forest produce and has also increased the number of forest produce items under the ambit of MSP from 10 to 90 forest produce, he added that Van Dhan Kendras have been opened to provide new markets to tribal products.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced a Rs 200 crore package for kendu leaf pluckers and other associated workers. The package will benefit around nine lakh people mostly in western Odisha districts.

With this, Naveen has fulfilled several promises made by him for the kendu leaf workers during the Padampur bypoll in 2022. While 80 per cent of these beneficiaries are women, 95 per cent belong to SC, ST and OBC.

The state government has also waived state portion of the GST on kendu leaf. While it had consistently demanded waiver of GST on kendu leaf, the chief minister had also taken up the issue with the Centre several times but the latter reportedly did not respond.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the IIT-Bhubaneswar Research and Entrepreneurship Park's initiative that aims at creating 100 startups with a valuation of Rs 100 crore each by 2036. The minister took to his official X (formally Twitter) account and tweeted,

"Today is a landmark day for Odisha! With the inauguration of Research & Entrepreneurship Park of @iitbbs and #100CubeOdisha, we have laid the foundation to catalyse the entrepreneurial spirit of eastern India. The Konark Temple in Odisha is a symbol of architectural excellence, @100CubeOdisha will also be a 21st century temple that will encourage and support youth to dream big, innovate and create value."

Times have changed but transgender people continue to face numerous hurdles in getting recognition and acceptance in jobs. However, Sindhu Ganapathy, Tamil Nadu’s first trans train ticket examiner (TTE) who took charge at Dindigul railway station on Thursday, is hopeful that education and perseverance will herald a brighter future for the transgender community.

Hailing from Nagercoil, Sindhu joined Southern Railway in 2003 and first worked at Ernakulam, under Trivandrum division in Kerala. She was transferred to Dindigul under Madurai division in 2009. “I was initially working in the electrical department. Being a transgender person, I was quite worried as to how people around me would see me. However, Southern Railway Mazdoor Union and its office bearers supported me and I was motivated to do my best in work,” she told TOI.

The Assam cabinet, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has approved the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024, to address the issue of magical healing practices in the name of treatment.

Crackdown on ‘magical healing’ fraud

Announcing the decisions made during the cabinet meeting at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati, Assam Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah emphasized that the proposed bill aims to provide relief to victims of fraudulent magical treatments. In case of any individual found guilty of engaging in illegal practices under the guise of treatment or magic healing, the bill prescribes imprisonment and fines.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday inaugurated the MeghFarm Processing Hub and Tikrikilla PRIME Hub at Khamari, Tikrikilla, West Garo Hills.

Speaking on the occasion, the Meghalaya Chief Minister said that wastage of agricultural produce has resulted in huge losses to farmers across the Garo Hills region.

"The MeghFarm Processing Hub with a capacity of 80 to 100 tons will ensure that the agricultural produce is preserved to the highest standards, extending its shelf life and enhancing its market value," he said and informed the project has been established at the cost of Rs 14.5 crore.

The Odisha government on Saturday hiked pension amount by Rs 500 for beneficiaries under the state government’s social security scheme, Madhu Babu Pension Yojana.

The minimum monthly pension amount under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana will be Rs 1,000 instead of Rs 500.

The beneficiaries will avail of the enhanced amount from February onwards. The pension holders who used to get Rs 500 would now avail Rs 1,000. The ones who were getting Rs 700 and Rs 900 would avail pension of Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,400 respectively.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare S.P. Singh Baghel launched the first phase of the bi-annual nationwide Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign for lymphatic filariasis elimination.

The campaign aims to check disease transmission by providing free preventive medications to residents in areas affected by the disease. The campaign will cover 92 districts across 11 states and will run for the next two weeks. Chhattisgarh Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal was also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, S P Singh Baghel reiterated India's commitment to ending Lymphatic Filariasis by 2027, three years before the global target.

In a landmark move set to strengthen Odisha's position in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, JSW Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Odisha government for the establishment of an Integrated Electric Vehicles (EV) and EV Battery Manufacturing Project in Cuttack and Paradeep.

According to an official release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), "While at Cuttack, there will be EV Vehicle and Component Manufacturing plants; in Paradeep, it will set up copper Smelter and Lithium Refinery. This historic moment marks JSW Group's strategic entry into Odisha, amidst competitive offers from other states."

Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), S Krishnan, inaugurated the 'groundbreaking' SWASTHA project and the state-of-the-art ISO 5 and 6 clean room facilities at the Centre for Nanotechnology, IIT Guwahati, on Friday.

Smart Wearable Advanced NanoSensing Technologies in Healthcare ASICs (SWASTHA) aims to revolutionise healthcare through advanced nanoelectronic theranostic devices. The project aims to deliver high-quality products and prototypes in micro/nanoelectronics and nanomaterials, with a focus on healthcare and energy applications. It emphasises innovation, scientific collaboration, and technological progress, IIT Guwahati said in a press release.