The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved setting up of 12 industrial smart cities under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) with an estimated investment of Rs. 28,602 crore.

The project spans across 10 states and is strategically planned along six major corridors. These industrial areas will be located in Khurpia in Uttrakhand, Rajpura-Patiala in Punjab, Dighi in, Maharashtra, Palakkad in Kerala, Agra and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Gaya in Bihar, Zaheerabad in Telangana, Orvakal and Kopparthy in Andhra Pradesh and Jodhpur-Pali in Rajasthan.

Addressing media persons, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the project will create an investment potential of about Rs 1.52 lakh crore.

Jay Shah, the incumbent secretary of the Board of Cricket for Cricket in India (BCCI), is set to become the youngest chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

He will take over from New Zealand’s Greg Barclay on December 1.

An ICC statement confirmed that Mr. Shah was the only name proposed on Tuesday (August 27, 2024), the deadline for each of the 16 ICC Board of Directors to nominate their preferred candidate.

With Mr. Shah being the lone candidate in the fray, he will be elected unopposed and will take over from Barclay, who will step down in November.

Hockey India on Wednesday, 28 August announced a star-studded 18-member squad for the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy in China. Harmanpreet Singh will continue to lead the side in their first assignment after legendary goalkeeper PR Srejeesh announced his retirement.

India, the defending champions will take on China in the opening game against the hosts. Apart from India, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan and China will fight for the top prize in a tournament which will be played in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia from 8-17 September.

Skipper Harmanpreet Singh shared a post on social media, saying that his forces will aim for more glory in China.

"Had a wonderful time with the boys in Paris, and now it's onto the next one in China ???????? Time to make the country proud again," read the post from Harmanpreet Singh on X.

Amazon India has introduced its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping assistant, ‘Rufus,’ to the Indian market. Currently in beta mode, Rufus is available to a select group of customers, with plans for a broader rollout in the coming weeks.

The assistant is designed to enhance the shopping experience by offering personalised product recommendations, shopping list advice, product category comparisons and insights from customer reviews.

Rufus operates on an internal large language model (LLM) specialised for shopping, drawing on Amazon's extensive data, including its product catalog, customer reviews and community discussions. The AI assistant first made its debut in the United States in February 2024, where it was later made widely available to all customers by July.

Amazon has acknowledged that Rufus is still in its early stages, with the technology not always providing perfect responses. The company has committed to continuous improvement of the AI models, encouraging users to provide feedback through thumbs-up or thumbs-down ratings and freeform comments.

Tata AIA Life Insurance has unveiled its latest term insurance product, Sampoorna Raksha Promise. This product is designed to enhance financial security, Tata AIA Life Insurance said.

Here are the key features:

Instant payout: The plan provides an immediate payout of ₹3 lakh upon death claim intimation to cover urgent expenses.

Premium deferral: Policyholders can defer their premium payments for up to 12 months once every five years.

Terminal illness benefit: Upon diagnosis of a terminal illness, 50% of the base sum assured is paid out.

Future premiums are waived, and policy benefits continue.

Plan options:

Life promise: Provides coverage up to age 100 with a specified sum assured payable upon the policyholder's death.

Life promise plus: Similar to Life Promise, but includes a refund of 100% of the total premium paid if the policyholder survives to maturity, excluding modal premiums and discounts.

Three botany teachers from the region have discovered a a new plant species of Cleistanthus Collinus, known as ‘Garadi’ in local parlance, during a taxonomic field exploration in the Ambagad forest in the Bhandara district.

There are 134 Cleistanthus Collinus plant species in the world.

The new one discovered in Ambagad (Bhandara) will be the 135th.

IT services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today announced the launch of TCS Pace Studio in Manila, Philippines. This facility is designed for TCS to co-innovate with customers to develop tailored solutions for their unique business needs, boosting digital innovation in the Asia-Pacific region.

TCS Pace Studio in Manila, the fifth of its kind globally, is part of an extensive innovation ecosystem of TCS Pace spanning major global cities. The TCS Pace network also comprises four other Pace Studios situated in Riyadh, Sydney, Letterkenny, and Stockholm, alongside seven Pace Ports located in Tokyo, Amsterdam, New York, Pittsburgh, Toronto, London, and Paris. TCS Pace Studios serve growth markets by fostering dynamic innovation ecosystems.

Harrick Vin, chief technology officer at TCS, said, "TCS Pace Studio is the gateway to a world of possibilities for our customers. It gives them access to TCS' extensive research and innovation ecosystem, facilitating the development of novel solutions across diverse disciplines, with efficiency and at scale. Customers in the Asia-Pacific region can get a hands-on experience of the art of the possible at the TCS Pace Studio in the Philippines.”

Bharat Biotech International Ltd on Tuesday announced the launch of Hillchol, a novel single-strain oral cholera vaccine.

A press release from the vaccine maker said Hillchol (BBV131) was developed by Bharat Biotech under licence from Hilleman Laboratories (funded by Merck USA and Wellcome Trust) to combat Cholera.

Global demand for Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCVs) exceeds 100 million doses annually, making them crucial for cholera control. Globally, there is a shortage of OCVs as there is only one manufacturer.

BBIL has established large-scale manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar with a capacity to produce up to 200 million doses of Hillchol, it further said.

Australia will put a limit on the number of international student enrolments to 270,000 in the year 2025 to make the system “fairer”, country’s Education Minister Jason Clare said on Tuesday.

In an official press release, the education minister said that the move would ensure that the sector is on a ‘more sustainable footing going forward’.

“There’s about 10 per cent more international students in our universities today than before the pandemic, and about 50 per cent more in our private vocational and training providers,” Clare said during a press conference.

Cupertino tech major Apple has announced the appointment of Indian-origin executive Kevan Parekh as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective January 1, 2025. Parekh, who has been with Apple for over a decade, will succeed Luca Maestri, a company veteran who has served as CFO since 2014. Maestri will transition from his role at the end of this year but will continue to lead Apple’s corporate services teams, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.

Parekh’s appointment comes at a critical time for Apple, as the company prepares for the launch of its iPhone 16 series. The upcoming product launch is expected to include significant software upgrades, including new artificial intelligence (AI) features. These enhancements are seen as crucial for Apple as it seeks to counter a global sales slowdown, particularly in key markets like China, and to stay competitive against rivals who have already integrated AI into their offerings.