Election Commission will launch Matadata Junction, a year-long voter awareness program on All India Radio today, October 3. 52 episode program of 15-minute duration each will be broadcast every Friday on Vividh Bharati stations, FM Rainbow, FM Gold, and Primary channels of AIR. 

The Matadata Junction program will be broadcast in 23 languages across the country. The launch event of the program will be held at Akashvani Rang Bhavan, New Delhi.  

Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar will launch the Program in the presence of Election Commissioner of India Anoop Chandra Pandey, CEO Prasar Bharati Mayank Kumar Agrawal.  DG AIR News Vasudha Gupta and Actor Pankaj Tripathi, who is the ECI State icon, will be present on the occasion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted people on the auspicious occasion of Maha Ashtami of Navratri. In a tweet, Mr. Modi said,  May Maa  Mahagauri bring prosperity and success in everyone's life. He also shared a recital of stuti of Maa Mahagauri on his Twitter handle.   

PM Modi has also replied to citizens’ comments on issues ranging from Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya to the 5G launch, Ahmedabad Metro, and Ambaji renovation. 

In his reply to a tweet on Ambaji, Mr. Modi said,  great work has been done in Ambaji in Gujarat in the last few years and this includes the temples of the 51 Shakti Peeths, the work at Gabbar Teerth, and a focus on cleanliness. Mr. Modi has urged more tourists and devotees to visit Ambaji.

Prime Minister’s Scheme for Mentoring Young Authors - YUVA 2.0 was launched yesterday, October 2, to promote reading, writing, and book culture in the country. In view of the significant impact of the first edition of YUVA with large-scale participation from young and budding authors in 22 different Indian languages and English, YUVA 2.0 has been launched.

Education Ministry said, the launch of YUVA 2.0 (Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors) is in tune with the Prime Minister’s vision to encourage the youth to understand and appreciate India's democracy. It will help to develop a stream of writers who can write on a spectrum of subjects to promote the Indian heritage, culture, and knowledge system. 

Olympian fencer Bhavani Devi won her third straight gold medal in the women’s sabre event at the National Games 2022 in Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar today

Tamil Nadu’s Bhavani Devi beat Jagmeet Kaur of Punjab 15-3 in the final. Kerala’s Christy Jose Josna and Manipuri Laishram Abi Devi won the bronze medals. Fellow Olympian Elavenil Valarivan won the gold medal in the women’s rifle shooting, edging out Karnataka’s Tillotama Sen 16-10. West Bengal’s Mehuli Ghosh took the bronze.

Olympic silver-medallist and two-time Commonwealth Games champion Mirabai Chanu won the gold medal in the women’s 49kg weightlifting competition. Mirabai Chanu, representing Manipur, won the gold with a total lift of 191 kgs - 84kgs in snatch and 107 kgs in the clean and jerk. Fellow Manipuri and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu took the silver medal with a total lift of 187 kgs - 82kg in snatch and 105kg in clean and jerk. Odisha’s Sneha Soren, who won gold at the Khelo India University Games earlier this year, rounded off the podium after lifting a total of 169kg - 73kg in snatch and 96kg in the clean and jerk.

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday conferred on the winners the 68th National Film Awards for the year 2020 in New Delhi. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L Murugan, Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Apurva Chandra and other dignitaries were present at the award ceremony.

Dada Saheb Phalke award for 2020 was given to legendary actress Asha Parekh. Best feature film award was given to Tamil film Soorarai Pottru. Hindi film Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ got the Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Ajay Devgn received the Best Actor award for the film, Tanhaji : The Unsung Warrior and Suriya also received the best actor award for the film, Soorarai Pottru. Aparna Balamurali was awarded the Best Actress Award for Soorarai Pottru. Sachidanandan KR received Best Director Award for Malayalam Film AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, PFRDA will observe 1st of October as the National Pension System Diwas (NPS Diwas) to promote pension and retirement planning among the citizens. PFRDA is organising this campaign under ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

The pension regulator aims to encourage every citizen, whether working professionals or self-employed professionals, to plan towards creating a pension corpus to ensure a financially sound future after retirement. NPS subscribers will enjoy the benefits of tax deduction on contribution, power of compounding and reap the benefits of regular income after retirement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch 5G services today in New Delhi. 5G technology will provide seamless coverage, high data rate, low latency, and highly reliable communication. It will also increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vasihnaw said that Government intends to cover the entire country with 5G services within two years. He said, an investment of around three lakh crore rupees will be made for the 5G service.  

President Droupadi Murmu will award the cleanest States and cities of Azaadi@75 Swachh Survekshan 2022 in New Delhi today. The day will mark the first anniversary of launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0, with its aspirational vision of creating Garbage Free cities. The award ceremony will be attended by a host of dignitaries from across the country and over 160 awards will be given in different categories. 

Nearly 1,800 guests comprising state and city administrators, sector partners, subject experts, as well as youth organizations, sanitation workers, representatives from industry, Startups in sanitation and waste management sector, academic institutions, NGOs, and CSOs will attend the event. The award ceremony is being organized as part of the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav being conducted by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), from 17th September 2022 to 2nd October 2022 when India is celebrating eight years of accomplishments of SBM-Urban. The fortnight-long celebrations included a wide range of unique initiatives aligned to the overall objectives of SBM-U 2.0.

Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that Poshan Utsav, which got underway yesterday, is a celebration of good health and a reminder of the fight against malnutrition. Speaking at the inauguration of Poshan Utsav at Kartavyapath in New Delhi, the Minister said Poshan Abhiyaan was launched in  2018 with an objective to reduce malnutrition in the country in a phased manner.  The campaign aims to improve the nutritional status of children from zero to six years, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers in a time-bound manner.

The Minister said that nutrition is a critical part of health and development and a basic human need and a prerequisite to a healthy life.  

Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Thursday announced that the Department of Youth Affairs will launch a month-long nationwide Clean India 2.0 from Saturday. In a video message, Mr. Thakur said, in his Independence Day address Prime Minister talked about Paanch Prana five resolutions and one of them was goal of developed India, in which cleanliness plays a very important role. He said, therefore, Swachh Bharat 2.0 is our priority.

Mr. Thakur informed that as per the vision of Prime Minister, Clean India 2.0 programme is being organised in six Lakh villages of 744 districts across the country through the network of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan NYKS affiliated Youth Clubs and National Service Scheme Affiliated Institutions.