When he was 13 years old, Pandurang Balkawde decided to cycle to a historic monument, Aga Khan Palace Gandhi Smarak, which was located far away, on the outskirts of Pune city at the time. He wanted to see the place where Mahatma Gandhi had been imprisoned and where the samadhi of Kasturba Gandhi was situated. What Balkawde did not know was that there was an entry ticket of 25 paise—money that he did not have.

The guards at the gate would not let them in and Balkawde might have had to return disheartened had it not been for Shobhana Ranade passing by. “She was impressed that I had come by cycle all this way. But the ticket price could not be waived as this was Gandhian philosophy so she told the guards to charge it to her. After I had visited the memorial, she spoke to me about what I had seen and why I should bow before the great Gandhians,” recalls Balkawde, who grew up to be a historian.

The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Army Welfare Association Society (AWES), in New Delhi today. The signing ceremony took place under the chairpersonship of the Secretary (Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities - DEPwD), Shri Rajesh Aggarwal.

This strategic partnership aims to train school administrators, students, parents and teachers in promoting Indian Sign Language (ISL), with a focus on enhancing sign language skills among the faculty of Army Public Schools. The MoU marks a significant milestone in collaboration and development in the field of Indian Sign Language, aiming to broaden the reach and efficacy of ISL initiatives and contribute to the empowerment and inclusion of the Deaf community.

This collaboration is expected to bring significant benefits to the educational ecosystem, empowering educators and fostering an inclusive environment for students. By enhancing the capabilities of Army Public School faculty in Indian Sign Language, the partnership aims to create a more accessible and supportive learning environment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

A new flowering plant species from 'ceropegia' genus has been discovered inside the Vishalgad premises and named 'ceropegia shivrayiana' in a nod to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

A research paper in this regard was published on Tuesday in Phytotaxa, an international journal published in New Zealand. This discovery also highlighted the biodiversity and ecological importance of Vishalgad Fort.

Akshay Jangam, Ratan More, and Dr Nilesh Pawar from the botany department of New College in Kolhapur, Dr Sharad Kamble from Chandwad in Nashik, and Prof Dr.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday launched 'Upasthiti (attendance) Portal' to ensure daily attendance of doctors, para-medical staff and others employees under the state health department.

The CM said the government is committed to improving the health facilities of the state and providing accessible and better health facilities to all the people of the state.

Through this portal, cross verification of biometric attendance by health department personnel will be done, an official said.

Soren directed health department officials to take appropriate steps to make the district hospitals of the state operational 24x7.

Surgeon Vice Adm Anupam Kapur today assumed the charge of Director General Hospital Services (Armed Forces) at the office of the Director General Armed Forces Medical Services. The Flag Officer was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 27 June 1987.

Prior to taking over as the DGHS(Armed Forces), the Flag Officer served as the Command Medical Officer of the Western Naval Command. He has also commanded premier Indian Navy hospitals, INHS Asvini and INHS Sanjivani.

An alumnus of the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Surgeon Vice Admiral Kapur has specialized in Obstetrics and Gynecology, further super-Specialized in Gynecological Endoscopy.

In recognition of his distinguished service, Surgeon Vice Adm Kapur has been awarded the Nao Sena Medal. He has also been commended twice by the Chief of the Naval Staff and by the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (West) for his outstanding contributions to the Indian Navy and the Armed Forces Medical Services.

Dr Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, launched the ITU-WTSA-24 Hackathon “AI Bharat 5G/6G Sandbox” on Wednesday, a part of the forthcoming WTSA-24,. It is designed to propel innovation and harness the power of AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) in the next generation of communication networks. It was launched in the presence of Head of ITU strategic engagement, ITU Experts and IIT Delhi Experts. This international Hackathon is being organised by ITU in collaboration with Department of Telecommunications (DoT) as one of the side events of World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24), which will be held in New Delhi from October 15-24th, 2024.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr Mittal said, DoT is excited to be partnering with ITU to foster innovation and creativity among the next generation of tech leaders. “Together, we have the opportunity to inspire and empower young minds to create solutions that will shape our world”, he said. Dr Mittal pointed out that “This hackathon, in partnership with ITU, is more than just a competition; it’s a platform for young innovators to turn their visions into reality and make a tangible impact on society”.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Mr. Bhupender Yadav today said that the Central Government has declared Adichunchanagiri in Karnataka and Choolannuar in Kerala as Peacock Sanctuary. In reply to a question regarding the death of peacocks in Delhi, he informed Lok Sabha that peacocks died due to heat stroke and not by avian influenza. The Minister said, several measures are being taken for the conservation of the national bird and the ministry has also set up breeding and conservation centers for peacocks.  

In a special ceremony held in Kathmandu, President of Nepal, Ramchandra Paudel, presented the Hem Bahadur Malla Honour for the year 2079 BS to Dr. Bhesh Bahadur Thapa. The award, established in memory of Hem Bahadur Malla, a prominent administrator and founding chair of Salt Trading Corporation, was presented by the Nepal Public Administration Association.

The Hem Bahadur Malla Honour, which includes a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, was instituted by the Nepal Public Administration Association with sponsorship from Salt Trading Corporation.

Dr. Thapa received this prestigious recognition for his remarkable contributions to Nepal’s socioeconomic, academic, and diplomatic fields over the past five decades. His illustrious career includes serving as a member secretary of the National Planning Commission, governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, and foreign minister.

Sweta Singh (Kathmandu)

Neeraj Chopra produced the second-best throw of his career -- 89.45m -- in a bid to retain the men's javelin Olympic gold in the big final in Paris, but it was not enough. Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem set a new Olympic record of 92.97m to walk away with the gold -- the first track and field gold medal for his country at the Games on Thursday, August 7.

Neeraj Chopra added an Olympic silver to his decorated trophy cabinet with the only legal attempt out of six throws. It was not one of his best competition days, yet, he won India its first silver medal at the Paris Olympics. The Tokyo Olympic champion became only the fifth Indian athlete to win multiple medals at the Olympics.

However, his thunder was stolen by Arshad Nadeem, the son of a construction worker, who showcased the power of the indomitable human spirit.

The Indian Economic Trade Organization in association with the India Africa Trade Council (IETC) organized the India Mauritius Trade Conference 2024 in Port Louis which was attended by the Business community in Mauritius. The President of Indian Economic Trade Organization Dr. Asif Iqbal welcomed the Ambassador of Mauritius in Russia His Excellency Keshwar Jankee and Hon. Adv. P. Krishnadas, Honorary Trade Commissioner of the Council for Mauritius and pledged the commitment of support between the two nations for a robust partnership. The conference saw the presence of many entrepreneurs from different parts of the country.

The motto of the India-Mauritius Conference was Promoting Investment and Growth in collaboration with the Mauritius business houses. The event was attended by around 70 participants representing public, business, educational and healthcare sectors in Mauritius.

The conference participants discussed with the Ambassador of Mauritius the issues and prospects of the bilateral economic cooperation, presented several interesting proposals aimed at jointly implementing them. In his remarks Mr. Jankee, Currently Ambassador to Russia talked about the historical roots of the traditional bilateral political relations and praised the positive environment there formed over the recent years, adding that the mutual visits of the foreign ministers of Mauritius and India have greatly contributed to it.