Union Home Minister Amit Shah will arrive in Pune today, February 18, from Nagpur. He will have a courtesy call on Pune MP Girish Bapat who is currently undergoing treatment in a local hospital. In the evening, he will publish the Marathi translation of the book Modi at 20 by Madhav Bhandari. 

The inauguration of the first phase of Shiv Srishti, which was built from the concept of Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare at Narhe Ambegaon near Pune, will be done by Mr. Shah tomorrow on the occasion of Shiv Jayanti. Later he will leave for Kolhapur. After the darshan of Goddess Ambabai, a program has been organized in Padmaraje Education Institute in his presence.

To advance India’s cyber-preparedness, KAVACH-2023, a national level hackathon was launched today in New delhi to identify innovative ideas and technological solutions for addressing the cyber security and cybercrime challenges of the 21st century.

While addressing media, Dr. T G Sitharam, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), said that KAVACH-2023 is a unique kind of national hackathon jointly conducted by Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, AICTE; Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D, MHA) and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C, MHA) to identify innovative ideas and technological solutions for addressing the cyber security and cybercrime challenges of the 21st century faced by our Law Enforcement Agencies and common citizens.

Indian Railways has launched Rail Post Gati Shakti Express Cargo Service to provide seamless logistics for the services sector in the country. The cargo Service is an initiative of partnership between Indian Railways and India Posts. It will provide total logistic Service - Pick-Up and Delivery at customer premises. India Post will pick up the consignment at the doorstep of the customer and transport to the Railway Station. Thereafter, at the destination railway station, India Post will transport the consignment at the doorstep of the destination address.

The Railways Ministry said, it has been started, on the four sectors -Delhi to Kolkata, Bangalore to Guwahati, Surat to Muzaffarpur and Hyderabad to Hazrat Nizamuddin. The Ministry said, a total of 15 sectors have been planned to be covered in the first phase. This is in compliance with the Budget Announcement of financial year 2022-23.

The 4th edition of joint military exercise, “EX DHARMA GUARDIAN”, between India and Japan will begin today at Camp Imazu in Shiga province of Japan. It will continue till 2nd of next month. The annual training event with Japan is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both nations in the backdrop of the current global situation. The scope of this exercise covers platoon-level joint training on operations in jungle and semi-urban or urban terrain.

Troops of the Garhwal Rifles Regiment of the Indian Army and an Infantry Regiment from the Middle Army of the Japan Ground Self Defence Force are participating in the exercise this year to share experiences gained during various operations in order to enhance inter-operability in planning and execution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated the talented youngsters who have been conferred the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar. In a tweet, he extended best wishes to them for their future endeavours saying may they keep popularising Indian culture and music in the times to come.

The Cabinet Committee on Security has approved a proposal to raise seven new battalions of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Briefing media in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said that the approval has also been given for setting up of one sector headquarters of ITBP. He informed that 9,400 personnel will be recruited under this decision.

Justice Sandeep Mehta on Wednesday took the oath as the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court. The oath was administered by Governor of Assam, Prof. Jagadish Mukhi in the Durbar Hall of Raj Bhawan in Guwahati. Justice Sandeep Mehta was the Judge of Rajasthan High Court. Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma also attended the oath taking ceremony.

Earlier on the 12th of February, Justice Sandeep Mehta, a senior judge of the Rajasthan High Court, was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. The post recently fell vacant on the retirement of Justice RM Chhaya.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the mega National Tribal Festival - Aadi Mahotsav today at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. One thousand tribal artists from 28 States and Union Territories will take part in the festival. 

The festival is scheduled between the 16th and the 27th of this month and it will celebrate the tribal spirit including its culture, crafts, cuisine, commerce and traditional art. Our correspondent reports that the Tribal Affairs Ministry is making all out efforts to ensure full participation and involvement of the tribal communities in realizing the vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat. 

India and Fiji have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports. Under this agreement, diplomatic and official passport holders will be able to enter, transit, and stay in each other territories without a visa for a period not exceeding 90 days. The MoU was exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka and External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar. 

In a joint press conference in Fiji, Dr. S Jaishankar today said, India and Fiji have close and long-standing ties and both countries reviewed the bilateral ties. He said, India and Fiji have inaugurated the solarization of the State House in Suva and this is the first of a series that India is supporting in the Pacific Islands. He said this reflects India's commitment towards climate action. On the visa waiver agreement, Dr. Jaishankar said, it will be helpful in encouraging greater travel between both countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the National Tribal Festival 'Aadi Mahotsav' at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi at 10:30 AM tomorrow. The festival is scheduled between 16th and 27th of this month and it will celebrate the tribal spirit including its culture, crafts, cuisine, commerce and traditional art. Around 1000 tribal artisans will participate in the Mahotsav. In line with the International Year of Millets celebration, a special focus in the Mahotsav will be on showcasing Shree Anna grown by the tribals.