Lieutenant commanders Dilna K and Roopa Alagirisamy, the two women officers handpicked as potential candidates for the upcoming Sagar Parikrama IV, the Navy’s most ambitious voyage yet, have successfully completed their ‘final examination’ on the seas.

The so-called test entailed undertaking a transoceanic sortie aboard INSV Tarini from Goa to Port Louis in Mauritius, and back. This nearly 5,000 nautical mile journey in double-handed mode was the first-of-its-kind by Indian women, thus marking a significant milestone for the Navy.

The women duo recorded ‘full marks’ when Tarini was flagged in by the who’s who of INS Mandovi at the boat pool in Goa on Sunday. It concluded a two-month expedition that began on February 28 and also involved a series of events to strengthen bilateral ties during the stopover in Mauritius.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant midfielder Abhishek Suryavanshi on Tuesday was named the Emerging Player of the Month for April on Tuesday was named the Emerging Player of the Month for April.

The 23-year-old midfielder continues to make waves for the Mariners and has earned this recognition for his outstanding performances in the business end of the league stage.

The majority of the twelve experts chose Suryavanshi as the standout player for April, with seven out of twelve selecting him as their top choice for the award. Suryavanshi clinched the award surpassing NorthEast United FC's Parthib Gogoi and Chennaiyin FC's Rahim Ali, who secured second and third place respectively.

In an important step in taking forward defence cooperation between India and Papua New Guinea (PNG), PNG appointed its first defence adviser to India. Col Edison Napyo, who will serve as the defence adviser was given a farewell on April 17 by the PNG’s acting Chief of Defence Force Commodore Philip Polewara.

In May 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited PNG and attended the third summit of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) where he spoke in favour of free and open Indo-Pacific region and focused on India’s commitment to assist the development goals of the member countries of FIPIC.

India on Tuesday carried out a successful test firing of a new version of a medium-range ballistic missile.

The defence ministry said the user launch has proven the operational capability of the missile with new technologies.

The test firing was conducted under the aegis of the strategic forces command.

"A successful launch of the new variant of a medium-range ballistic missile was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command on April 23," the ministry said.

"The user launch has proven the operational capability of the Command and validated new technologies," it said in a brief statement.

Cooperative major IFFCO on Monday said it will begin production of the 'Nano Urea Plus' fertiliser this week and its commercial sale from May 1.

Nano Urea Plus is a new version of nano urea meant for meeting crop nitrogen requirements at critical growth phases.

Currently, IFFCO offers 'Nano Urea' with 1-5 per cent weight by weight nitrogen content. However, the Nano Urea Plus fertiliser has 16 per cent nitrogen content weight by weight.

"We will start the production of Nano Urea Plus this week and the product will be available in the market from May 1," a senior IFFCO official told PTI.

National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April: Every year in April, India celebrates National Panchayati Raj Day to honour the establishment of the Panchayati Raj System, a devolved form of governance in the country, which was introduced in 1993 by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, empowering local bodies, or Gramme Panchayats, to govern themselves and make decisions regarding the development of their respective areas.

The Panchayati Raj System is a significant step towards grassroots democracy and the empowerment of people in rural areas. By giving local bodies the power to govern themselves, the system promotes participatory democracy, where people can actively participate in decision-making processes that affect their communities.

Madhya Pradesh's ace para canoer, Prachi Yadav delivered a remarkable performance at the ACC Paracanoe Asian Championship 2024, held in Tokyo, Japan and clinched two gold medals for the country.

The 29-year-old para athlete from MP's Gwalior secured medals in the Women's KL2 and Women's VL2 categories at the 2024 ACC Paracanoe Asian Championship.

The championship took place between April 18 and April 21 in Tokyo.

Sanjay Mashruwala, one of the two managing directors at Reliance Jio, has resigned from the company, the firm said in a stock exchange filing.

Mashruwala, 76, has been a key executive with Reliance since founder Dhirubhai Ambani's times and has been involved with several of its projects and business initiatives.

He will leave Jio effective from June 9, the firm said.

Pankaj Mohan Pawar, the other managing director, will continue, according to a BSE filing.

"This is to inform that Sanjay Mashruwala, Managing Director, has tendered his resignation as Director of the company, effective from June 9, 2024," the filing said.

Naima Khatoon has been appointed as Aligarh Muslim University's Vice Chancellor for the next 5 years. She is the first woman to hold post in over 100 years.

Before Khatoon, the only woman to have held a top post at AMU was Begum Sultan Jahan who was appointed the Chancellor in 1920. Khatoon was appointed on Monday after receiving approval from President Droupadi Murmu, who is Visitor to the Aligarh Muslim University.

According to the official AMU notification, Naima Khatoon, Principal, Women's College, has been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of AMU for a period of five years or the date on which she completes 75 years of age, whichever is earlier.

Students with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly appear for NET and pursue PhD, according to University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Jagadesh Kumar. To pursue a PhD with or without a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), the candidates will require a minimum of 75 percent marks or equivalent grades in their four-year undergraduate course.

So far, a candidate for the National Eligibility Test (NET) needed a master's degree with a minimum of 55 percent marks. The exam this year will be conducted in offline mode instead of a Computer-Based Test. Tests for all subjects will be conducted on June 16.

"The candidates with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly pursue PhD and appear for NET. Such candidates are allowed to appear (for tests) in a subject in which they want to pursue a PhD irrespective of the discipline in which they have obtained the four-year bachelor's degree," Kumar told PTI.