Yatin Bhaskar Duggal from Haryana won the first prize in the National Youth Parliament Festival, 2024, while Vaishna Pitchai from Tamil Nadu won the second prize and Kanishka Sharma from Rajasthan the third prize. Addressing the concluding session of the National Youth Parliament Festival in New Delhi today, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said youth’s thinking capability, ability to innovate and zeal to work will be instrumental in making India ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. He said that India will not only be a Viksit Bharat but will also show the path to the entire world. He further added that India today is moving towards modernisation and at the same time is keeping its heritage intact.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the determined voice of youth shows the determination of India as a nation. He said that India has seen the positive use of technology and its movement from the fragile five to the top five economies of the world. He also said that India has moved from weak leadership to strong leadership and can today walk shoulder to shoulder with the world leaders. The Minister highlighted that in the last 10 years, the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has moved around 250 million poor out of multi-dimensional poverty.

NLC India Ltd announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary NLC India Green Energy Limited (NIGEL) has bagged a a 600-MW solar power project from Gujarat Urja Vikas Limited (GUVNL).

The subsidiary had been incorporated to carry out renewable energy projects, NLC India said in its stock exchange filing.

The proposed solar power project is at Khavda Solar Park, Bhuj District, Gujarat.

NLC India stock declined by 2.59 per cent on the NSE, to trade at ₹220.45 as of 1 pm.

President Droupadi Murmu today conferred Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for the Years 2022 and 2023 to ninety-four eminent artists at a function in New Delhi. The awards were given in the fields of music, dance, drama, folk and tribal arts, puppetry and allied theatre art forms. Besides the Akademi Awards, President Murmu also bestowed the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) to seven eminent artists in the ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, the President said performing arts hold a significant place in India's culture and tradition and since ancient times, art forms have been given high regard in the country. President  Droupadi Murmu added that art and artists have worked to weave the diversity of India into the thread of unity and by doing this, they have also fulfilled the fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution. The President appreciated the Sangeet Natak Akademi for promoting various art forms for the last seven decades. She said that the work done by the Akademi in the field of performing arts and intangible heritage is very important.

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the sixth round of Prague International Chess Festival 2024 Masters to retain the fourth spot in the tournament. Abdusattorov remains as the sole leader despite the loss.

On the other hand, India's Vidit Gujrathi went down against Germany's Vincent Keymer from a winning position. Gukesh D also lost his match against Mateusz Bartel of Poland. The Prague Chess Festival is taking place from February 27 to March 7 at Don Giovanni Hotel. Round 7 for Masters, Challengers and Futures will start today at 7:30 p.m. IST. 

Coal India subsidiary South Eastern Coalfield Limited’s Gevra mine is set to become the largest coal-producing mine in Asia.

The coal ministry in a statement on Tuesday said that the mine has been granted environmental clearance to expand production capacity to 70 million tonnes per annum from the current 52.5 million tonnes.

The mine is one of the megaprojects of Chhattisgarh-based SECL and is crucial to meet the production and supply targets of Coal India to meet the energy needs. Gevra became the largest coal mine in the country last year.

The Department of Higher Education (DHE), Assam on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) for the Jal Vidya Programme to educate the college students on water quality, wash practices and the functionality assessment of water supply schemes.

The MoU signing ceremony was held at the Auditorium Hall, Flood and River Erosion Management Agency of Assam (FREMAA), Assam Water Centre, Guwahati.

The convergence between JJM, Assam and the DHE is a watershed moment. Achieving a milestone Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) coverage of 75 per cent underscores the effectiveness of collaborative efforts.

The first Bharat Steam Boiler Expo 2024 was inaugurated on Tuesday at Veterinary College Field in Guwahati's Khanapara. The event spread over a duration of three days, started on Tuesday and will conclude on March 7.

The expo was inaugurated by Sanjoy Kishan, Assam Minister of Welfare of Tea Tribes, Labour and Employment; and B Kalyan Chakravarthy, Principal Secretary, Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department, Government of Assam.

The Amazon founder is once again the world’s richest person, eclipsing Elon Musk and jumping atop the Bloomberg Billionaires Index for the first time since the fall of 2021.

Bezos’ net worth was $200 billion on Monday, according to Bloomberg. Musk’s personal wealth was $198 billion and LVMH chief Bernard Arnault’s was $197 billion. Musk, Arnault and Bezos have rotated places in recent years atop the ranking, which measures personal wealth based on changes in markets, the economy and other reporting.

Bezos has amassed much of his wealth from e-commerce giant Amazon, which he started in 1994 out of his garage in the Seattle area. He also founded space company Blue Origin and bought the Washington Post for $250 million.

A joint Egyptian-U.S. archaeological mission has uncovered the upper part of a huge statue of King Ramses II during excavations south of the Egyptian city of Minya, Egypt's tourism and antiquities ministry said on Monday.

The limestone block is about 3.8 metres (12.5 feet) high and depicts a seated Ramses wearing a double crown and a headdress topped with a royal cobra, Bassem Jihad, head of the mission's Egyptian team, said in a statement.

The upper part of the statue's back column shows hieroglyphic writings that glorify the king, one of ancient Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, he said.

Kerala is poised to make waves in the digital entertainment realm with the launch of CSpace, India’s inaugural government-backed OTT platform. Set to debut this Thursday, the platform aims to deliver a unique blend of informative and entertaining content tailored for the masses, an official statement said here on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will launch the OTT platform at Kairali Theatre on March 7 at 9.30 am. Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian will preside.

“CSpace is essentially a response to the growing imbalances and multifarious challenges in the OTT sector in terms of content selection and propagation,” said Shaji N Karun, noted film director and Chairman, Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC), at a press conference here.