Veteran BJP leader and six-time MLA Suryakanta Vyas died on Wednesday aged 86. She was unwell and had been confined to her bed for the past few months, her family said.

Fondly known as 'Jiji', Vyas was born on February 23, 1938, and held several posts throughout her political career. She began her career as a member of the Jan Sangha, taking on the position of the vice president of the Jodhpur city unit of the party in 1969. Vyas was the president of the Jodhpur District Janata Party in 1977, and from 1980, she held the position of president of the BJP women's wing in Jodhpur.

She was elected as a municipal councilor in 1972 and 1983. She won the assembly elections in 1990, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018, becoming an MLA six times. Due to her advanced age, she was not given a ticket for the 2023 assembly elections from the Soorsagar constituency due to her advanced age.

The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), together with researchers of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, has developed light weight bullet proof jackets, named ABHED (Advanced Ballistics for High Energy Defeat), which offer 360 degree protection.

The armour plates for the jackets have passed all necessary R&D trials as per the protocols. The jackets meet the highest threat levels, and are lighter than the maximum weight limits stipulated in respective General Staff Qualitative Requirement of the Indian Army, the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.

With minimum possible weight of 8.2 kgs and 9.5 kgs for different Bureau of India Standards (BIS) Levels, these modular-design jackets having front and rear armours provide 360 degree protection, the Ministry stated.

Justice M S Ramachandra Rao was sworn in as the chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court here on Wednesday.

Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar administered the oath of office to Justice Rao at the Raj Bhavan here.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto, state ministers, several judges and senior government officials attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Chief justices were appointed in seven high courts on September 21.

The appointments came after the Supreme Court Collegium amended some of its July 11 recommendations earlier this month.

In a first, a completely paperless election was held in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. The election for the post of sarpanch in village panchayat Ratua Ratanpur was conducted without using paper in the entire election process. This was a pilot initiated by the state election commission. The state election commission conducts panchayat and civic body polls in the state whose office has already been made paperless in the past.

This experiment of a completely paperless booth was conducted for the first time in the country by the Madhya Pradesh state election commission, said official sources.

State election commission secretary Abhishek Singh said that the plan for paperless booths has been devised to facilitate a simple, convenient, and transparent voting process for panchayats and urban bodies.

After a delay of more than six months, the Army is set to receive the first batch of three AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from Boeing in December.

While the Apaches are for the deserts, the Army is set to deploy the indigenous light combat helicopter (LCH), manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., in Ladakh next year.

“The manufacturer has communicated that there have been manufacturing delays due to supply chain issues. The first batch of three Apaches is now set to be delivered in December and the next three few months after that,” a defence source said. As per the original schedule, three helicopters were supposed to be delivered in May and three in July.

The Bihar is set to launch a drive to cull 'Ghodparas', popularly known as 'Nilgai' (blue bulls) and wild boars in five districts where these animals have been causing widespread damage to crops. In a statement issued by the state's Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, the government said the drive will be launched this month to deal with the Nilgai menace which causes a huge loss to the farmers.

The decision was taken at a review meeting chaired by state Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prem Kumar on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the cull drive will be conducted in the most affected districts - Vaishali, East Champaran, Buxar, Siwan and Samastipur - as per the "laid down procedures".

"Officials concerned shall be empowered to cull up to 50 such animals at a time in districts where the problem is grave," it added.

India will open their campaign in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 on October 4 in Dubai against New Zealand and then take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue on October 6. India’s third match is scheduled to take place on October 9 against Sri Lanka in Dubai again, and the Women in Blue will finish the group stage with a high-voltage match against defending champions Australia in Sharjah on October 13.

The upcoming edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup was scheduled to take place in Bangladesh, but it was shifted to the United Arab Emirates a couple of weeks ago.

The two semifinals of the tournament will be played in Dubai and Sharjah on October 17 and 18, and the final will take place on October 20 in Dubai.

India's newest airline, Shankh Air, has been approved by the Civil Aviation Ministry to operate in the country. However, it still needs clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) before it can officially start flying.

Shankh Air, soon to be Uttar Pradesh's first scheduled airline, will operate from hubs in Lucknow and Noida. The airline plans to connect major cities across India, focusing on routes with high demand and limited direct flight options, offering both interstate and intrastate services.

"The company is further directed to comply with relevant provisions regulations of FDI, SEBl etc as well as other applicable rules & regulations in this regard," the letter of approval from aviation ministry read.

The No Objection Certificate (NOC) to operate will be valid for three years. Shankh Air's launch is expected to improve connectivity in regions with limited flight options, boosting regional mobility across India.

Indian duo Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth won the Hangzhou Open 2024 title after beating German pair Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens in the men’s doubles final in China on Tuesday.

The pair defeated the German pair 4-6, 7-6, [10-7] in the men’s doubles final. It conceded the first set to the Germans before fighting its way back into the match to go all the way.

“I’d like to thank Hangzhou, and Vijay Sundar. This is our first year as a doubles pair and we have a ATP 250 title. It feels surreal,” Jeevan said during the presentation ceremony.

Apraava Energy on Tuesday said it has secured a new interstate transmission project in Rajasthan.

The project has been secured through tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) undertaken by the central government, the company said in a statement.

Apraava Energy did not disclose the financial details of the project.