Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday released the book "Khaki Mein Sthitapragya" written by former Uttarakhand Director General of Police Anil Raturi at the IRDT auditorium located at Survey Chowk in Dehradun

B Vanlalvawna has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Thursday.

The 1998 batch Indian Foreign Service officer is presently the Joint Secretary in the Ministry.

According to MEA, "B. Vanlalvawna (IFS: 1998), presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia,"

He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. Prior to this appointment, Devyani Uttam Khobragade was serving as the Indian Ambassador to Cambodia.

South African middle-order batter David Miller played his 500th T20 match on Wednesday, becoming only sixth player in the format to do so.

Miller accomplished this milestone during his team Barbados Royals' match against Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Miller celebrated this occasion in style, as he scored 71* in 34 balls, with eight fours and five sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 208.82.

However, it was not enough as Barbados could score just 172/9 in reply to Guyana's 219/8, which they had reached thanks to explosive half-centuries from West Indies stars Shai Hope (71 in 37 balls, with five fours and five sixes) and Shimron Hetmyer (57 in 34 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes).

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which allows certain areas to be declared as “disturbed” to facilitate security operations, has been extended for six more months in parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. This decision follows a review of the law and order situation in these northeastern states.

According to a notification from the Union Home Ministry, the extension applies to eight districts and 21 police stations across five additional districts of Nagaland. The areas were first declared as “disturbed” on April 1, 2024, under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. The extension will now remain in effect from October 1, 2024, for six months, unless withdrawn earlier.

The districts in Nagaland where the AFSPA has been extended include Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, and Peren. Additionally, several areas under the jurisdiction of police stations in Kohima, Mokokchung, Longleng, Wokha, and Zunheboto districts have also been designated as “disturbed” areas.

Wabtec Locomotive Private Limited, a joint venture between Indian Railways and Wabtec, is expanding the capabilities of its plant to export locomotives to Africa. For the first time, the plant will manufacture locomotives for export to a global customer.

The plant will supply Evolution Series ES43ACmi locomotives to global customers. The ES43ACmi is a locomotive featuring a 4,500 HP Evolution Series engine, offering best-in-class fuel efficiency and proven performance in high-temperature environments. The Marhowra plant will begin exporting these locomotives in 2025.

This project is of strategic importance as it positions India as a global locomotive manufacturing hub and aligns with the “Make in India” and “Make for the World” initiatives under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision of the Hon'ble Prime Minister. It will also enable the Marhowra plant to export standard-gauge locomotives globally, expanding the local supplier footprint and fostering long-term job creation, thereby benefiting the Indian economy.

India’s Chandrayaan-3 continues its voyage and now it has discovered a 160-km-wide moon crater near its landing site. The latest findings were unravelled by the Pragyan rover, as published in the latest issue of Science Direct by scientists from Ahmedabad’s Physics Research Laboratory.

The new crater has been discovered from data sent back to Earth by the Pragyan rover, which is currently exploring the moon’s surface at the lunar South Pole.

The Pragyan rover traversed a highland terrain around 350 km from the Aitken basin in the South Pole, the largest and oldest impact basin on the lunar surface. This piece of lunar land can be crucial for studying the early geological evolution of the moon.

Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker has come on board as the honorary chairman for the 10th Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival (AIFF). The filmmaker will be a part of the festival, which is scheduled to take place from January 15 to 19, 2025, in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously Aurangabad).

According to a press statement, Gowariker said he was thrilled to take on the role as the honorary chairman and was excited that several remarkable directors would be actively participating in the festival, including Chandrakant Kulkarni, Jayprad Desai, Dnyanesh Zoting and now Sunil Sukthankar, who is also the Festival Director.

Gowariker said participations of acclaimed filmmakers in the AIFF would help “foster a true artistic exchange” in the craft of filmmaking. The official Instagram account of the AIFF also welcomed the filmmaker and announced, “We are honoured to welcome the legendary filmmaker Mr. Ashutosh Gowariker, as the Honorary Chairman for the Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival. His vision and passion for cinema will undoubtedly elevate our festival to new heights!”

Three Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian School of Business, Hyderabad have figured in world's top 100 for their MBA courses, according to QS rankings announced on Wednesday. The three IIMs are IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta. Also, the three B-schools have been ranked among top 50 for employability.

Fourteen Indian full-time MBA programmes have secured a spot in QS’ global list for 2025, including three new entries. Stanford School of Business in the US continues to be at the top spot among B-schools for the fifth consecutive year.

The QS Global MBA and Business Master’s Rankings 2025 spans 58 countries and territories, analysing the world’s 340 best global MBAs and a series of specialised high-demand Business Master’s Rankings, including Master’s in Management, Finance, Marketing, Business Analytics, and Supply Chain Management.

Veteran BJP leader and six-time MLA Suryakanta Vyas died on Wednesday aged 86. She was unwell and had been confined to her bed for the past few months, her family said.

Fondly known as 'Jiji', Vyas was born on February 23, 1938, and held several posts throughout her political career. She began her career as a member of the Jan Sangha, taking on the position of the vice president of the Jodhpur city unit of the party in 1969. Vyas was the president of the Jodhpur District Janata Party in 1977, and from 1980, she held the position of president of the BJP women's wing in Jodhpur.

She was elected as a municipal councilor in 1972 and 1983. She won the assembly elections in 1990, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018, becoming an MLA six times. Due to her advanced age, she was not given a ticket for the 2023 assembly elections from the Soorsagar constituency due to her advanced age.

The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), together with researchers of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, has developed light weight bullet proof jackets, named ABHED (Advanced Ballistics for High Energy Defeat), which offer 360 degree protection.

The armour plates for the jackets have passed all necessary R&D trials as per the protocols. The jackets meet the highest threat levels, and are lighter than the maximum weight limits stipulated in respective General Staff Qualitative Requirement of the Indian Army, the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.

With minimum possible weight of 8.2 kgs and 9.5 kgs for different Bureau of India Standards (BIS) Levels, these modular-design jackets having front and rear armours provide 360 degree protection, the Ministry stated.