Santhali has become the first Indian tribal language to get a Wikipedia edition in its own script after the Santhali Wikipedia went live earlier this month.

“The Santhali Wikipedia got approval from the language committee of the Wikimedia Foundation on June 28 and went live on August 2,” said Jayanta Nath of the Indian chapter of Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia.

Wikipedia contributors from India, Bangladesh and Nepal generated the content to make this page possible, Nath said.

It presently has content of about 70,000 words.

Santhali is written in Ol Chiki script and spoken by 6.4 million people, according to the 2001 census, in India alone and its speakers live mostly in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam. It is also spoken in Bangladesh and Nepal.

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will launch a defence industrial corridor in Aligarh tomorrow as part of the government's efforts to develop specialised zones dedicated to defence production in the state, a Defence Ministry statement said.

Six nodal points have been identified in state -- Agra, Aligarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Chitrakoot and Jhansi -- for the corridor.

"Stakeholder interactions have already been held in Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra and Jhansi and all the interactions have seen huge response from the industries in and around the locations," the statement added. 

NEW DELHI: 

Justice Rajendra Menon was sworn in as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in a ceremony held at the Raj Niwas in Delhi today.

Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal administered the oath of office to Justice Menon, who was earlier the Chief Justice of Patna High Court, an official statement said.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues, senior members of the judiciary, officers of Delhi government and other officials were present at the event, it said.

However, the inclusion of Justice Menon will not add to the depleted number of judges of the Delhi High Court as its Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal has been elevated as the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

The Delhi High Court with a sanctioned strength of 60 judges would continue to function with 35 judges even after Justice Menon takes charge.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the Island Development Agency (IDA) headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh had directed NITI Aayog to steer the holistic development of islands. Addressing the investors’ conference for the holistic development of Islands in New Delhi today, Mr Kant said aayog objective is to ensure sustainable and eco-friendly development of projects in Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep islands. 

He said government will keep in mind the carrying capacity of these pristine islands to ensure they are never under burden.
       
AIR correspondent reports, sustainable development of Islands and overall maritime development has been accorded high priority by the Government. 

IDA was constituted in June 2017, while NITI Aayog has been mandated to steer the Holistic Development of Islands program, along with the respective UT administration and State Governments. 

Under the program in the first phase 10 Islands in Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep have been taken up for holistic development.

NEW DELHI: HSBC has launched a new digital platform to simplify capital raising process through capital markets by providing real-time access to information such as investors' feedback, profiles, client orders and deal pricing. 

The platform -- MyDeal, contains all the information relating to a client's capital markets transaction, and is updated on real time basis. 

In its pilot phase, MyDeal has raised over USD 25 billion in the first seven months through over 30 transactions globally. 

Javelin thrower star Neeraj Chopra will be India’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the upcoming Asian Games 2018. Chopra, who won the gold medal in Commonwealth Games 2018 event in Gold Coast earlier this year, will lead India’s contingent in the multi-sport event. The announcement was made by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra on Friday during the send-off ceremony organised for the Indian contingent.

The star athlete struck a gold medal in the Savo Games in Finland after he defeated his Chinese Taipei rival Chao-Tsun Cheng in July, after throwing 85.69 m to warm up for the Asian Games showdown. He also holds the national record of throwing 87.43 m, which he accomplished during the first leg of the Diamond League Meeting in Doha in May.

“I am thrilled to be chosen as flag bearer of the Asian Games. It is a huge honour to be leading the Indian contingent in such a big event,” Neeraj told news agency PTI from his training base in Finland.

Describing the micro, small and medium enterprises as the backbone of the country's economy, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said these enterprises are "engines of inclusive development".

The President was speaking after inaugurating 'One District One Product' Summit organised by the Uttar Pradesh government to promote traditional industries in every district of the state. "Micro, small and medium enterprises are called the backbone of our economy. These enterprises are engines of inclusive development. After the agricultural sector, most people find employment in this sector.

"This sector generates more employment opportunities at a lower cost of capital. And the most important thing about this sector is that it creates jobs in rural and backward areas," he said. The President noted that Uttar Pradesh accounted for 44 per cent of the total handicraft exports of the country.

Industries such as handicrafts, food processing, engineering goods, carpets, readymade clothes and leather goods earn foreign exchange as well as provide employment, he said. "Therefore, this sector will play an important role in the development of Uttar Pradesh," Kovind said. He expressed confidence that the One District One Product scheme will enhance skills of local people as well as increase the reach of products. Besides, it will result in economic progress of artisans of Uttar Pradesh.

The leader of the United Nations said on Wednesday that he had picked Michelle Bachelet, a prominent women’s rights advocate and the first woman to serve as Chile’s president, to be the organization’s next top human rights official.

The announcement by Secretary General António Guterres ended the uncertainty over who would replace Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, a Jordanian prince and longtime diplomat who became one of the most forthright critics of abuses by governments in many countries, including the United States, during his four years as the high commissioner for human rights.

Mr. al-Hussein said in December that he would not be seeking an extension of his term, which expires next month. He told colleagues that “to do so, in the current geopolitical context, might involve bending a knee in supplication.”

Ms. Bachelet, 66, who was imprisoned and tortured during Chile’s right-wing dictatorship and years later became a pediatrician and politician, will be stepping into a particularly difficult and contentious role at the 193-member organization.

The Ministry of HRD has embarked on a major and new initiative Project called 'Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds' (SWAYAM), which will provide one integrated platform and portal for online courses. This covers all higher education subjects and skill sector courses. The objective is to ensure that the every student in our country has access to the best quality higher education at the affordable cost. Academicians from hundreds of institutions throughout the country are involved in developing & delivering MOOCs through SWAYAM in almost all disciplines from senior schooling to Post Graduation wherein it is intended to develop world class content. The Hon`ble President of India on 9^thJuly, 2017 launched the SWAYAM platform, which can be reached at “htttp://swayam.gov.in”.  At present about 1550+ MOOCs courses are listed on SWAYAM of which 800+ courses are already delivered. About 34 Lakhs students have enrolled in these courses.

It is intended to host about 2000 courses and 80000 hours of learning material, within two years: covering school, under-graduate, post-graduate, engineering, law and other professional courses. It is expected to support 3 Crores users in the next few years.

This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Satya Pal Singh today in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question.