After an exciting eleven days of action-packed performance in the 14th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2024, Hockey Punjab clinched the title after defeating Uttar Pradesh Hockey 3-3 (4-3 SO) in the final at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar.

Hockey Punjab defeated Uttar Pradesh Hockey 3-3 (4-3 SO) in a closely contested final of the 14th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2024. Sukhwinder Singh (5'), Jarman Singh (33'), and Jobanpreet Singh (39') scored for Hockey Punjab.

Ajeet Yadav (31') Suraj Pal (48') and Akash Pal (54') scored one goal each for Uttar Pradesh Hockey. In the shootout, Akash Pal, Nitish Bhardwaj and Ajeet Yadav scored for Uttar Pradesh Hockey whereas Hockey Punjab proved out to the better one on the day of the final as Japnit Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Jarman Singh and Lovenoor Singh scored for Hockey Punjab to lift the trophy.

The World Health Organization WHO today declared Jordan as the first country in the world to eliminate leprosy, marking a significant milestone in global public health efforts. Congratulating Jordan on this milestone, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, Leprosy has afflicted humanity for millennia, but efforts have been made to stop its transmission and freeing individuals, families, and communities from its suffering and stigma country-by-country. WHO said that Jordan has not reported any autochthonous cases of leprosy for over two decades. The declaration was made after commissioning an independent team to assess this situation. The disease continues to occur in more than 120 countries. More than two lakh new cases are reported every year.

Scotland has rescued the Commonwealth Games that were in jeopardy after Australia's Victoria state backed out of plans to host the 2026 sporting event.

Glasgow, which hosted the event 10 years ago, will do so again, though some sports will need to be dropped as the Commonwealth Games Federation aims to reduce costs to make the competition more sustainable in the future.

“It will be scaled back compared to 2014 but will be a celebration of sporting achievement," Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney posted on X on Tuesday. "Excited about Glasgow 2026.”

The Union government has approved ₹31,000 crore to fence the Myanmar border, a senior Home Ministry official said on Wednesday.

The 1,643-km Myanmar border runs along the States of Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km).

On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said fencing work had been completed on 30 km of the border, which, he termed the root cause of the ethnic violence in Manipur.

In a major push to transform India's dairy cooperative sector, Union Minister Amit Shah on Thursday unveiled 'White Revolution 2.0', a comprehensive initiative aimed at empowering women farmers and creating job opportunities.

The programme focuses on four key areas - empowering women farmers, enhancing local milk production, strengthening dairy infrastructure, and boosting dairy exports. The programme is one of the three initiatives undertaken in the first 100 days of the Modi government's third term.

"Maximum women are engaged in the dairy sector, with some generating business worth Rs 60,000 crore in Gujarat alone. This new initiative will focus on empowering women and further strengthening the fight against malnutrition," Shah said while addressing the gathering.

In a bid to attract foreign investment, Rajasthan’s Industries Minister, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, led a high-level delegation to an investors’ meet in Dubai today. This event set the stage for the upcoming ‘Rising Rajasthan’ Global Investment Summit 2024, slated for December this year, underlining the state’s commitment to fostering international economic partnerships.

Minister Rathore extended a warm invitation to the UAE business community and investors, encouraging them to explore the myriad opportunities Rajasthan has to offer. His address emphasized the state government’s dual focus on enhancing the ease of doing business and reducing operational costs, positioning Rajasthan as an attractive destination for global investors.

The stability of Rajasthan’s political landscape emerged as a key talking point. Rathore assured potential investors of the government’s longevity and commitment, stating, “We are a stable government. We are a majority government in Rajasthan. We’ve just taken charge… As per the Constitution, we have four years to go without any hindrance.” This assurance was aimed at instilling confidence in the continuity and realization of investment agreements.

The Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI) and Coal India Ltd have signed an agreement to open a Jan Aushadhi Kendra in the premises of every coal field, select hospitals or any suitable location as specified by the state-run miner.

A Jan Aushadhi Kendra is a dedicated outlet that sells generic medicines at affordable rates. PMBI, under the department of pharmaceuticals, ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, has been given the mandate to ensure the availability of quality medicines at affordable prices at Jan Aushadhi Kendra stores. Generic medicines are 50-90% cheaper than branded drugs.

“The objective of this MoU (memorandum of understanding) is to provide high-quality generic medicines to the workforce and communities associated with Coal India, through the establishment of Jan Aushadhi Kendras across Coal India premises. These medicines will help workers, residents, and families save out-of-pocket expenditure and give employment opportunities to entrepreneurs in the project areas,” the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the new moon mission Chandrayaan-4 and approved the development of the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) as part of the government’s vision to explore and study the Earth’s closest planet.

The Chandrayaan-4 will develop and demonstrate the technologies to come back to Earth after successfully landing on the moon and also collect lunar samples for analysis on Earth. VOM, scheduled to launch in March 2028, will focus on putting a scientific spacecraft in the orbit of Venus for a better understanding of its surface and subsurface, atmospheric processes, and the influence of the sun on the Venusian atmosphere.

The Chandrayaan-4 mission will cost Rs 2104.06 crore. The budget includes spacecraft development and realisation, two LVM3 launches, external deep space network support, and conducting special tests for design validation, finally leading to the landing on the moon’s surface and safe return to Earth along with the collected lunar samples.

In a landmark move to enhance defence cooperation, the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) signed two Memorandums of Understanding on Defence Industry Cooperation with the Emirates Defence Companies Council (EDCC) and EDGE Group UAE. This significant development took place during the first-ever India-UAE Defence Industry Partnership Forum held in Abu Dhabi on September 18, 2024.

The historic forum, organised by the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, in coordination with the UAE Ministry of Defence, brought together the defence industries of both nations. The event marked a new chapter in the growing strategic partnership between India and the United Arab Emirates.

Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador of India to the UAE, delivered the opening address and emphasised the immense potential of India-UAE defence cooperation, noting that this seminar marks the beginning of a long journey ahead. He also spoke about the historical relationship between the two countries and how it has progressed to a comprehensive economic partnership.

Four day long mega event World Food India 2024 will begin today at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. It will see participation from over 90 countries, 26 Indian States and Union Territories, and 18 Central Ministries and allied government bodies. The event promises to be a major convergence of innovation, technology, and sustainability in the food processing sector. Food and Public Distribution Minister Prahlad Joshi, Minister for Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan and Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu will attend the inaugural ceremony.

In this year’s World Food India, Japan is the partner country and Vietnam and Iran are the focus countries. On the first day today a high-level CEO roundtable will be held which will be co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan. The event will host over 40 knowledge sessions, including thematic discussions, state and country-specific conferences. Industry-led panel discussions with over 100 CXOs of the global agri-food companies will also be held at the mega event. The Reverse Buyer Seller Meet organized by APEDA, MPEDA, and the commodity boards, will see a robust presence of over one thousand buyers. The 2nd edition of the Global Food Regulators Summit hosted by FSSAI is being held in conjunction with World Food India. To broaden the appeal of the mega event, the organizers have launched the Swaad Sutra, a culinary contest showcasing regional dishes from across India.