The 14th All India Police Commando competition, organised at the Andhra Pradesh Police Greyhounds training facility, began here on Monday. Commissioner of Police, Visakhapatnam, A. Ravi Shankar inaugurated the event in the presence of Additional Director General of Greyhounds, R.K. Meena.

Around 16 states have sent their elite commando forces for the competition — including forces such as the Special Operations Group (SOG) from Odisha and Chhattisgarh, C- 60 from Maharashtra, the paramilitary forces such as BSF, CRPF, Assam Rifles, ITBP, RPF, SSB and CISF, among others.

Each team will comprise 13-15 commandos and the competition will be held in five phases, across one week, wherein the participants’ skill, endurance and teamwork will be tested. The commandos will be judged by an expert team from the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The State team comprises personnel from the Greyhounds and Octopus.

Breaching Australia's fortress at the Gabba in the iconic Test series of 2021 was the "icing on the cake" in the illustrious career of multi-faceted Ravi Shastri, who was honoured with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award here on Tuesday.

In a glittering ceremony, the BCCI awarded a host of top men's and women's performers from the 2019-20 season. Alongside Shastri, former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer too was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shastri was part of India's World Cup winning squad in 1983 and was the Player of the Series when they bagged the World Series in 1985.

India's stock market has surpassed Hong Kong's for the first time with the total value of shares listed on Indian exchanges reaching $4.33 trillion as of Monday's close, exceeding Hong Kong's $4.29 trillion, according to Bloomberg data. This makes India the world's fourth-largest equity market.

The stock market capitalisation surpassed $4 trillion on December 5, with about half of that coming in the past four years, the report added.

Madrid will host the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix from 2026 to 2035 on a new circuit around the capital’s IFEMA exhibition centre, the sport announced on Tuesday.

Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya currently hosts the country’s grand prix and has a contract until after the 2026 race. There was no mention of that circuit in the Formula One statement.

Former Chief Minister of Bihar Karpoori Thakur was conferred the nation's highest honour, Bharat Ratna, posthumously by the President of India Droupadi Murmu this evening. The award comes 35 years after his death -- Karpoori Thakur died on February 17, 1988.

"I am delighted that the Government of India has decided to confer the Bharat Ratna on the beacon of social justice, the great Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Ji and that too at a time when we are marking his birth centenary. This prestigious recognition is a testament to his enduring efforts as a champion for the marginalized and a stalwart of equality and empowerment," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

National Girl Child Day is observed on January 24 each year to shed light on the challenges faced by girls in Indian society. The day focusses on creating awareness about the inequalities girls encounter and advocates for equal opportunities in education, healthcare, and nutrition.

Through National Girl Child Day, the government aims to emphasise the principles of equality and dignity for every girl child. This annual event highlights the importance of providing equal opportunities and respect to girls, encouraging their education and overall well-being.

Annually, on this day, awareness campaigns are organised across the country to spread the message of girls' empowerment. These initiatives serve as reminders to society about the significance of offering equal opportunities and respect to every girl.

Former India all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri will be conferred with BCCI's Lifetime Achievement Award in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Young India top-order batter Shubman Gill will receive the Cricketer of the Year award, recognizing his outstanding performance over the past 12 months.

In 2023, became the fastest to surpass the 2000-run milestone in ODIs and notably notched up five centuries in the format.

Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who missed the entire 2023 international season due to injuries, marked his return with a bronze medal at the Grand Prix De France Henri Deglane 2024 wrestling tournament in Nice, France on Saturday.

The star Indian wrestler won his men’s 61kg freestyle bronze medal bout 10-4 against Kairat Amirtayev of Kazakhstan. Dahiya trailed 2-4 in the first minute but used his experience to clinch the contest convincingly.

Dahiya overcame Julien Zinser of Germany in the round of 16 via technical superiority (13-2) followed by a 12-6 win over Zangar Kabylbekov of Kazakhstan in the quarter-final. However, the Indian wrestler suffered a 6-3 defeat against Arman Eloyan of France in the semi-final and was pulled into the bronze medal bout.

Soon after returning to the national capital Delhi after presiding over the "Pran Pratishtha" ceremony at the "historic" Ayodhya Ram Mandir in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced the government's decision to start 'Pradhanmantri Surydaya Yojana', an initiative to generate electricity through solar energy.

"All the devotees of the world always get energy from the light of Suryavanshi Lord Shri Ram. Today, on the auspicious occasion of consecration in Ayodhya, my resolution got further strengthened that the people of India should have their own solar rooftop system on the roof of their houses," Prime Minister Modi posted on X.

The 11th edition of India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise Khanjar started at the Special Forces Training School in Himachal Pradesh's Bakloh. The exercise is being conducted from January 22 to February 3.

The exercise will provide an opportunity for both sides to fortify defence ties while addressing common concerns of international terrorism and extremism. It will also provide an opportunity to showcase the capabilities of cutting-edge indigenous defence equipment. The exercise is an annual event conducted alternately in the two nations.

The Ministry of Defence stated in an official release, "The exercise will provide an opportunity for both sides to fortify defence ties while addressing common concerns of international terrorism and extremism."