Belgian-American Particle physicist Francis Halzen won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for “decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin”, the award-giving body said on Tuesday.

The winners of the Nobel physics prize are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and receive a prize sum totalling 12 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million), which is shared among the winners if there are several.

The Nobel Prizes were established under the will of Swedish inventor and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel, whose fortune was built in part on the invention of dynamite. First awarded in 1901, the prizes honour achievements in science, literature and peace, with the economics award added later by Sweden’s central bank.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, along with Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Tuesday launched several healthcare initiatives under the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, including an expanded ANMOL scheme, the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) headquarters at GB Pant Hospital, and a nursing home management system portal.

The Delhi government also doubled the monthly incentive for 6,690 ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers from `3,000 to `6,000. Gupta felicitated ASHA workers for their contribution and announced a special dandiya programme for them during the Navratri celebrations.

The expansion of Mission ANMOL (Advanced Newborn Monitoring and Optimal Life Care) aims to strengthen screening, early diagnosis and treatment of serious but treatable genetic, metabolic and congenital disorders among newborns.

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit is set to become the next Chief of the Air Staff at the end of this month, the Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday.

The announcement comes nearly three weeks before the current Air Chief, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, is due to retire on October 31.

Air Marshal Dixit is currently serving as the Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Popular among his colleagues, Air Marshal Dixit is described by officers as a thorough professional, soft-spoken, balanced and a grounded individual.

India on Tuesday successfully flight-tested an indigenously developed high-altitude platform at a height of 20 km above the Earth, demonstrating its ability to remain in the stratosphere for an extended duration.

Defence sources said the platform attained an altitude of 21 km above mean sea level before maintaining an altitude of 20 km for more than 30 minutes during the experimental flight, conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in coordination with various agencies, including the Indian Air Force, Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other civil authorities.

The new system, developed by DRDO’s Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra, was subsequently commanded to descend and was successfully recovered, with the flight performance data being analysed by the development team.

P L S S Chaitanya Prakash, former Executive Director (Operations) at Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), has taken charge as Director (Power) at NLC India Ltd, bringing over three decades of experience in the power sector.

At DVC, Prakash held senior responsibilities across thermal power generation, operations and maintenance, and project execution. He also held board-level responsibilities at Green Valley Renewable Energy Ltd, DVC’s joint venture with NTPC Green Energy, and DVC-CIL Power Pvt Ltd, its joint venture with Coal India.

Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of the Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority (ITLA). Briefing the media in New Delhi today after the Union Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that this will strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment across the transportation and logistics sector. He said, it will serve as the apex body for integrated transport and logstic planning in the country.

Mr Vaishnaw said, as the country’s GDP is growing at a rate of around 7 to 8 percent, the demand for logistics is also increasing continuously. The Minister said that several highways, railway lines, waterways, airports and new ports are being developed across the country to meet this growing demand. The Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority will prepare a long-term National Transport Master Plan with a planning horizon of ten years.

Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth will inaugurate the 12th National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX-2026) on October 7 and witness a search and rescue demonstration off the Paradip coast on October 8, as the Indian Coast Guard conducts the exercise to strengthen national and international maritime rescue preparedness.

A key feature of SAREX-2026 will be the participation of 32 observers from 30 countries, highlighting the importance of cooperative protocols, strategic importance, and global interoperability of the drill, the Ministry of Defence said.

The exercise is set to be among the largest and most complex maritime search and rescue drills conducted in the region, involving 15 Indian Coast Guard ships, two Dornier aircraft, three Advanced Light Helicopters, one Chetak helicopter, IAF C-130J and Mi-17 aircraft, two Indian Navy ships, civil and State assets, and shore-based support units.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Monday launched a nationwide investor-awareness campaign that will run through March 2027, with the regulator planning to take financial literacy to rural areas and educational institutions while cautioning investors against anonymous tips, finfluencers and exaggerated return claims.

The campaign, Project Jagrook, will bring Sebi, stock exchanges, depositories, the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) and the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) under a coordinated investor-education framework, propagating investor-awareness messages in several languages.

India delivered a strong performance at the 19th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2026 with all five members of the national team returning with medals. The team won four gold medals and one silver at the international competition held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from September 25 to October 5.

Gold medals were won by Pranjal Dixit of Hyderabad, Sumant Gupta of Delhi, Akshat Srivastava of Gurugram and Arnav Sehrawat of Faridabad. Harshil Amitkumar Patel of Vadodara won a silver medal.

India finished third jointly with Vietnam in the medal tally, behind Iran and South Korea, which won five gold medals each. The competition saw 307 students from 64 countries, making it the largest IOAA so far in terms of participation.

The IOAA comprises theory, observation and data analysis components, carrying 50%, 25% and 25% weightage respectively.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Tuesday signed a ₹661.50 crore contract with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited to procure BrahMos fire control systems and launchers for Indian Navy ships.

The contract was signed in New Delhi under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.

With a minimum indigenous content of 68%, the project will encourage participation by Indian industries, including micro, small and medium enterprises, and generate employment over three years.

The Ministry said the procurement would strengthen India’s maritime security architecture and defence capabilities while advancing efforts to indigenise military technology.