India and Singapore on Thursday announced the signing of a key bilateral pact to partner and cooperate in the field of semiconductors, as the two countries elevated their ties to a "comprehensive strategic partnership".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a 2-day visit to Singapore ahead of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, to be celebrated next year.
As part of his fifth visit to the affluent city state, Modi oversaw memorandum of understanding (MoUs) being exchanged on semiconductors, digital cooperation, education and skill development, health and medicine.

The tech partnership comes as advance manufacturing, with the focus on semiconductors, has been added as a pillar for bilateral cooperation.

The Indian Steel Association (ISA) has awarded the prestigious 'Gender Diversity' award to Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) Deputy General Manager (HR) Dr Dasari Radhika at the Indian Steel Conclave 2024 held in New Delhi. This recognition highlights her commitment to promoting gender diversity and inclusion in the steel industry.

The award was presented by Nagendra Nath Sinha, former Secretary of the Ministry of Steel in the presence of industry leaders and dignitaries.

RINL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Atul Bhatt congratulated Dr. Radhika on this achievement, emphasizing the pride it brings to the organisation.

Tahir Zaman has been appointed as the head coach of the Pakistan hockey team ahead of the Asian Champions Trophy. Zaman, a former Olympian, will join the team in Hulunbuir city, China, where the tournament will begin on 8th September.

The urgent appointment was necessitated after Roelant Oltmans declined to accept another short-term assignment from the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). Oltmans, who had been overseeing the Pakistan team as head coach in their last two international events, was scheduled to join the team directly in China. However, he demanded a long-term contract at the last moment.

“Tahir Zaman will now oversee the technical aspects and planning of the team as head coach while Zeeshan has been appointed as team manager for this tournament,” a PHF official said.

Arvind Vadhera is set to be the next Chairman-cum-Managing Director of NEPA Limited, a PSU under the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises. He has been recommended for the post by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) panel on Wednesday. Presently, he is serving in the Ministry of Defence.

Vadhera has been recommended for the post of CMD of NEPA Limited from a list of six candidates, who were interviewed by the PESB selection panel in its selection meeting held on September 4. The candidates, who were on the list were each from NEPA Limited, Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) Limited, Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), Ministry of Defence, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG).

As CMD of NEPA Limited, Vadhera will be the Chief Executive of the company and will be accountable to its Board of Directors and Government or Shareholders. He will be responsible for the efficient functioning of the company, and for achieving its corporate objectives and performance parameters.

The Central government, in collaboration with the Tripura state government, has signed a significant peace agreement with the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF). The Memorandum of Settlement was formalized on Wednesday in New Delhi, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha among the dignitaries present.

Speaking at the event, Union Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted the progress made in the northeastern region under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. He emphasized that the peace agreement marked the end of a 35-year-long conflict, as the armed groups have now pledged to renounce violence and contribute to Tripura’s development.

“This is a moment of great joy for all of us,” Shah said. “Since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, his focus on peace and dialogue has led to the development of the Northeast. With this agreement, over 300 armed cadres will integrate into the mainstream, signifying a new era of peace and growth for Tripura.”

An initiative called ‘Lab Mitra’ started in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi last year was awarded the National e-Governance Gold Award at the National e-Governance Conference 2024 held yesterday in Mumbai. The award was given for Administrative Reforms and district-level initiatives in e-governance. A report from our correspondent:

The initiative named ‘Lab Mitra’ started by the district administration of Varanasi with the help of a private bank and NGO has been quite successful, and the Lab Mitra model has now been started in the name of ‘Lab Report’ in the entire UP. The facility is being provided at 20 hospitals, including all government hospitals in Varanasi, and more than 2.5 lakh patients have benefitted from it till date.

Using the ‘Lab Mitra’ portal, patients coming to the government hospital are registered for laboratory tests as per the doctor’s prescription, and after the test, the system generates an online report, which is sent as a link on a text message to the patient’s phone number. By clicking on this link, the patient can get his complete lab test report after four hours of testing at the CHC and after 12 hours of testing at a government hospital.

The 2024 Edition of the Chief Science Advisers’ Roundtable -CSAR is scheduled to be organised at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France on Friday. This roundtable is co-organised by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Indian Government and the Natural Sciences Sector of UNESCO. CSAR was conceptualised and launched as a Sherpa-track initiative during Indian G20 Presidency last year.

Delegations of 28 countries and six international organisations will join the round-table. They will discuss on the theme ‘Fostering open science, bridging knowledge asymmetry, and building science advice capacity globally’. The roundtable will be co-chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the India Government, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood and the Assistant Director General-ADG – Natural Sciences of UNESCO, Dr. Lidia Brito.

Sachin Khilari won a silver medal in men’s shot put F46 final with a throw of 16.32m at the Paris Paralympics 2024 on Wednesday.

He finished behind Canada’s Greg Stewart who registered a best throw of 16.38, his season’s best.

This takes India’s medal tally to 21, two better than its previous haul at the Tokyo Para Games. India currently occupies 19th place in the medal table with three gold, eight silver and 10 bronze medals.

There were two more Indians in action in the event - Mohd Yasser and Rohit Kumar. Yasser finished in eight place with a best throw 14.21m while Rohit finished ninth with a throw of 14.10m.

The Punjab assembly on Tuesday witnessed heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition benches over the issue of unauthorised colonies in the state.

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann and leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa traded barbs as the state assembly passed the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aims to do away with the practice of seeking no objection certificate (NOC) for the registration of plots up to 500 square yards in the unauthorised colonies in the state.

As per the amendment, the owners of these properties, who have signed an agreement to sell or have transacted the value of the property in a legal way latest by July 31, 2024, are eligible to get their properties registered for which now they do not require NOC as was in the practice before.

Uttar Pradesh government will construct a Vedic-3D museum in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi at the main building of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University. The state of the art museum will be dedicated to Indian astrology, astronomy, and Vedic literature. The chief minister made the announcement during his maiden visit to the university in Kashi yesterday.

The museum will showcase the evolution of Vedic literature, highlighting the 16 Sanskars, 64 arts, and 18 Vidya Sthans as well as contributions of Indian sages and serve as a platform to revive the tradition of ‘Shastrartha'(spiritual discourse). The Chief Minister saw the rare manuscripts preserved in the historic Saraswati Bhawan, including the “Raas Panchadhyayi,” Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, and Durgasaptashati, all inscribed with gold letters and adorned with gold artistry on special cloth. Currently, the conservation work is being carried out in the university by the National Manuscript Mission with the backing of the Government of India. CM Yogi Adityanath also inspected the 234-year-old main building and called for the installation of Sanskrit signboards for all departments