The central government has given its in-principle approval for Bihar’s second tiger reserve in Kaimur district. This decision follows a proposal from the Bihar government to develop the Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) into a tiger reserve, confirmed the state’s Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister, Prem Kumar, on October 8, 2024.

Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in Bihar’s West Champaran district was the only one till now. “This is a major step forward for wildlife protection in Bihar,” Kumar told this reporter. “However, additional technical approvals from the Centre are still required before we can issue the formal declaration. The work on developing KWLS as a tiger reserve has begun.”

The National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) centre and technical committee gave its in principle approval at its 12th meeting.

Rafael Nadal on Thursday has announced his retirement from professional tennis.

The 38-year-old will make his final appearance for Spain at November’s Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.

In a video message released on Thursday, Nadal said: “I am here to let you know I am retiring from professional tennis.

“The reality is that it has been some difficult years, the last two especially.”

The Spaniard indicated his decision was related to persistent injury problems

India has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, becoming the third country in the South-East Asia region to reach this milestone, the World Health Organization said.

The announcement was made during the WHO South-East Asia Regional Committee meeting in New Delhi, where Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, presented the certification to Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Trachoma, a highly contagious bacterial eye infection caused by Chlamydia Trachomatis, was once a leading cause of blindness in India, particularly in underprivileged communities living in poor environmental conditions.

The average monthly income of rural households has grown by over 57 per cent from 2016-17 to 2021-22. According to the second All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the average monthly income increased from 8,059 rupees in 2016-17 to 12,698 rupees in 2021-22. The average monthly expenditure of households also increased from over 6,600 rupees to over 11,200 rupees.

The survey found that financial savings also rose, with average household savings increasing to over 13,200 rupees, from around 9,100 rupees during the period. Around 66 per cent of households reported saving in 2021-22, up from 50.6 per cent in 2016-17.

The findings also noted a remarkable increase in insurance coverage among rural households in India. According to the survey data, the proportion of households with at least one member insured surged from 25.5 per cent to over 80 per cent.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the role of energy technology innovation in reducing emissions and leading clean energy transitions.

The MoU, which establishes a framework for cooperation between the two organisations, was signed by IEA executive director Dr Fatih Birol at the energy agency’s headquarters in Paris, and remotely by IIT-Delhi director Prof Rangan Banerjee and deputy director for strategy and planning, Prof Ambuj Sagar.

The MoU, signed on October 8, identifies key areas of collaboration, including policy analysis to foster energy innovation and information exchange on energy technology trends, particularly in emerging and developing economies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Vientiane on Thursday, where he is set to participate in the 21st ASEAN-India and the 19th East Asia Summits.

Upon his arrival, PM Modi was warmly welcomed by Laos’ Minister of Home Affairs, Vilayvong Bouddakham, and was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour.

The Prime Minister’s two-day visit to Laos comes at the invitation of Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, as both nations seek to enhance their bilateral relations.

The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed PM Modi’s arrival with a post on X, featuring images of the welcome ceremony: “Sabaidee Laos! PM @narendramodi arrives in Vientiane, Lao PDR to a ceremonial Guard of Honour. Warmly welcomed by Minister of Home Affairs of Laos, Mr. Vilayvong Bouddakham.”

Manoj Kumar Dubey (IRAS) has been appointed as the Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of IRFC Limited. According to the company, the Ministry of Railways in its order issued on October 9, has appointed him as an Additional Director to be designated as CMD on the Board of IRFC and also designated as CEO of the company.

"Dubey has been appointed to the post a period of five years with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier," IRFC said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges on Wednesday.

Dubey has done graduation and post-graduation from the Hindu College of the University of Delhi. He has done MBA from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad and was conferred the overall Silver Medal for the batch 2011-13 from the then President of India for topping the batch.

The Himachal Pradesh Government is actively exploring the adoption of several skill development programmes and initiatives from Karnataka.

During a meeting at Vikasa Soudha on Wednesday, Himachal Pradesh’s minister for town planning, housing, and technical education, Rajesh Kumar Dharmani, lauded Karnataka’s efforts to enhance employability skills.

He evinced keen interest in implementing similar strategies in his home state after discussions with his counterpart Sharan Prakash Patil, the latter's office said in a statement.

Former AIIMS director Dr P Venugopal, a pioneer in cardiac surgery, who conducted India’s first heart transplant and over 50,000 heart surgeries in his career, passed away Tuesday.

Hailing from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, Venugopal introduced advanced Western concepts of cardiac surgery in the early 1970s in India. In his four-decade-long tenure, he headed the AIIMS cardiothoracic centre and later became its dean and director. The 82-year-old had a ringside view of some of the most impactful medical and political developments of the time.

Dr Venugopal was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1998 for his contributions to the field of Medicine. In 2023, he published his memoirs ‘Heartfelt’, co-authored with his wife Priya Sarkar. He will be cremated at Lodhi Road Crematorium at 3 pm on Wednesday.

Anil Kumar Gupta took over the charge of Member (Planning) on the Board of Airports Authority of India, as per a press release.

As Member (Planning), Anil Kumat Gupta will be responsible for the formulation of plans and setting of goals for development of Greenfield and Brownfield airports for modernisation and development of airport infrastructure.

Anil Kumar Gupta has experience in Civil Aviation Sector serving in various capacities with AAI. Prior to this assignment, he has served as Executive Director (Land Management & Business Development) and as Executive Director (Regional Connectivity Scheme). He is also nominated as Director on the Board of Multi Modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN).