Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Telangana BJP leader Indra Sena Reddy Nallu have been appointed as the Governors of Odisha and Tripura, respectively, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said on October 18.

Mr. Das, currently a national vice-president of the BJP, was the first non-tribal Chief Minister of Jharkhand from 2014 to 2019. He has been appointed to the gubernatorial post in place of Ganeshi Lal, who has completed his tenure.

Mr. Das was part of the Janata Party in 1977 and joined the BJP as a founding member in 1980, according to his biodata.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic has eliminated lymphatic filariasis (LF), a disease that cripples and has significant social and economic impact on the affected communities according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

This is the country’s second neglected tropical disease (NTD) to be eliminated in six years, following the elimination of trachoma as a public health hazard in 2017.

The WHO attributed the success to decades of hard effort by the Lao government, health-care workers, communities, and national and international partners.

The World Food Day is celebrated on October 16 every year.

The emphasis of World Food Day celebrations every year is on the furtherance of food security all over the world.

Across the world there are thousands of people who suffer from hunger and we need to do more to raise awareness to combat the problem of starvation.

The WFD can also be leveraged to raise awareness about healthy diets.

Several organizations around the globe celebrate the World Food Day, including the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme.

The web portal ‘Apna Chandrayaan’ has been inaugurated by Dharmendra Pradhan, union minister, Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The portal is believed to be a valuable resource for school students, providing them with activity-based support materials like quizzes and puzzles related to ‘Mission Chandrayaan-3’. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) developed this portal under the auspices of the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), which falls under the Ministry of Education, according to an official release.

The web portal features an array of educational resources for students at various levels. The offerings include coloring books, online quizzes, jigsaw puzzles, picture-building activities and captivating graphic novels that narrate the journey of Chandrayaan 3. Specifically designed for foundational and preparatory levels, there are coloring sheets, dot-to-dot exercises and color-coding activities, all intended to foster observation and awareness in students. Additionally, interactive online quizzes are available for students at the preparatory, middle and secondary levels, complete with detailed feedback for their responses, the release mentioned.

'Looking for Challan', a poignant film produced by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and directed by Bappa Ray, clinched the coveted National Award for the 'Best Investigative Film' category. Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary of IGNCA, along with Bappa Ray, received the prestigious accolade from President Smt. Droupadi Murmu in an esteemed ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. This outstanding recognition of 'Looking for Challan' as the ‘Best Investigative Film’ this year serves as a testament to the team's unwavering dedication and collaborative spirit. The film was honoured with the prestigious 'Rajat Kamal' (Certificate of Excellence) and a cash prize of Rs. 50,000.

India's dynamic AI landscape is currently experiencing an unprecedented boom, with startups at the helm of this transformative wave. The AI revolution was kickstarted by OpenAI with the launch of ChatGPT in November last year. Today, generative AI holds the potential to unlock a staggering $4.4 trillion in value across various sectors.

The 'Expand North Star' event, organized by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), along with GITEX GLOBAL recently took center stage, putting the spotlight on over 400 AI-infused startups. Notably, AI emerged as a recurring theme across all conference tracks.

A panel discussion titled 'Generative AI Market Map worth $98 Billion: VCs Hungry for Startups in AI & DeepTech: Overhyped or the Next Frontier?' delved into how AI startup innovations are reshaping the Indian enterprise landscape. Moderated by Aly Madhav, Managing Partner at Blockchain Founders Fund, the session provided insights into the challenges faced by early-stage startups and the requisite due diligence as they scale.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has completed another viaduct at Sher Bibi area, a critical section of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, between Ramban and Banihal section. The 224-meter viaduct (two-lane) has been completed with an estimated cost of 12 crore rupees. It will reduce the travel distance by 125 meters and facilitate the smooth flow of vehicles, bypassing the challenging terrain of Sher Bibi area gradients and steep cutting with a hill slope angle exceeding 80 degrees.
 
The announcement was made by Union Minister of Road Traffic and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. The completion of work in critical areas bypassing landslides and shooting stone-prone belt will help in smooth movement of the traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. However, the widening work on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has now reached critical areas at remaining points especially the areas which are more prone to landslides and shooting of stones between Ramban and Banihal section especially during heavy rains and snowfall. The work on the remaining parts of national highway between Ramban and Banihal which are trouble prone because of frequent landslides and shooting stones especially during adverse weather conditions is expected to be completed shortly.

In a move to encourage farmers for millet production, the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh as part of Millets Year celebrations will organize a three-day 'Shri Anna Mahotsav' and state-level millet workshop at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, Lucknow from October 27 to 29, an official release said on Tuesday.

The event will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Notably, farmers from six divisions will participate on the first day, from five divisions on the second day and seven divisions on the third day. Moreover, teachers and children of agricultural universities and two colleges will also participate in it.

On the first day, farmers from Lucknow, Kanpur, Ayodhya, Basti, Azamgarh and Devipatan divisions will participate, farmers from Saharanpur, Meerut, Aligarh, Agra and Moradabad will participate on October 28 and on the final day farmers from Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Varanasi, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Prayagraj and Mirzapur will participate in 'Anna Mahotsav'.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the India Skills 2023 competition in New Delhi on Tuesday. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Pradhan highlighted the skill competition’s importance in showcasing unique and varied talents of the nation’s youth.
     
The Minister said the future of India’s education lies in skill development over the conventional rote learning. He added that the New Education Policy will bring skill upscaling and rescaling to meet the market needs and boost employability.
 
Speaking to Akashwani News, Mr. Pradhan talked about how to make education more effective and affordable.

Government has said that this year's Ayurveda Day will be celebrated internationally in about 100 countries across the globe. The Ministry of Ayush organized a meeting of various Ministries today for the successful organization of Ayurveda Day scheduled on Dhanvantari Jayanti, 11 November this year.
 
Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said, the day will be celebrated on the theme of Ayurveda for One Health. He stressed on the need to make ‘Ayurveda Day’ a global celebration by using the power of digital technology and mobilization of different involvement activities.