IIT Ropar’s Centre of Excellence in AI for Digital Agriculture, ANNAM.AI, has launched ‘AVNI – Grow with Nature’ digital learning platform designed to help children learn about plants, crops, food and agriculture through their surroundings. The web and mobile app uses artificial intelligence (AI) along with hands-on activities to help children identify and understand what they see around them.

The platform allows children to explore crops, fruits, vegetables, spices, cereals and millets. For example, a child can use the app while looking at a plant, fruit or crop and learn more about it through AI-powered identification. The idea is to connect what children see in everyday life with basic knowledge about agriculture and food.

AVNI developed by the team at IIT Ropar, is available in Hindi and English and also provides audio content for younger children. It includes daily challenges, a digital Nature Book, a Nature Gallery and a Crop Compare feature. These tools allow children to record what they learn, explore different plants and compare crops as part of their learning.

Astronomers have found what appears to be the first second-generation planet orbiting a white dwarf, according to a study published in Nature Astronomy.

The planet seems to have formed from material shed by the dead star it now circles. The research was led by the University of Warwick and funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

Similar "reborn" worlds have been suspected around pulsars. The new finding suggests such planets can also form around white dwarfs, a far more common type of stellar remnant.

AM Intelligence (AMI), an AI infrastructure platform set up by Greenko’s promoters, has placed two more orders for a combined 20,000 Nvidia Rubin graphics processing units (GPUs) to be deployed in India and Malaysia.

The new capacity of about 70 MW is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2027. The GPUs will be deployed as Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 rack-scale systems, the company said in a statement on Monday.

With the new orders, the company’s aggregate orders total 29,000 GPUs for a capacity of 100 MW. The company had placed its first order for 9,000 GPUs in August for its first AI factory here.

The Odisha government has launched what it described as India's first dedicated incentive portal for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) to attract investment and promote business tourism in the state, an official said.

Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, who also holds the tourism portfolio, launched the portal on Sunday at the Odisha Travel Bazaar 2026, attended by senior government officials and industry leaders.

Parida said the portal is designed to promote Odisha as a destination for corporate conventions and simplify the process of applying for financial incentives by event organisers and tourism operators.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to expand access to tax-exempt diesel that he unveiled from a rally stage in Nebraska.

High diesel prices, which shot to a record of about $6.50 a gallon last month, are a risk to Trump ahead of the November 3 midterm US elections in which control of Congress is at stake. Trump’s Republican Party currently holds a narrow majority in the Senate and House of Representatives.

Prices for the fuel integral to trucking goods have risen in response to the US-Israeli war on Iran and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the conflicts having led to attacks on refineries in the Middle East and Russia.

Trump said the directive will waive the off-road requirement for tax-free diesel and allow anyone to buy the red dye diesel fuel that is used by the agriculture industry and by some off-road vehicles.

“We are not going to need it long, I hope,” Trump said of the waiver.

The India-UAE Joint Military Exercise Mountain Guardian 2026 commenced today at the Foreign Training Node in Chaubatia, Uttarakhand.

The exercise, being conducted from October 5 to 18, is aimed at enhancing interoperability, mutual understanding and cooperation between the two armies, with a focus on mountain warfare.

A total of 92 personnel, with equal representation from both armies, are participating in the exercise.

The Indian Army contingent comprises troops from a Bhairav Battalion, while the UAE Army contingent includes personnel from a Mountain Infantry Battalion.

Women officers and combatants from both armies are also participating in the exercise in various specialist roles.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will mark the delivery of the two-thousandth aero-engine by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Koraput Division, in Odisha tomorrow.

The Defence Ministry said that the event will mark nearly six decades of HAL Koraput’s contribution to India’s aerospace and defence manufacturing capabilities and operational readiness of the Armed Forces. The event will also highlight the establishment of a second production line for Shakti engines, with an investment of over two hundred crore rupees. The additional capacity will support the growing requirements of indigenous helicopter platforms, including the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter and Prachand Light Combat Helicopter.

The event underlines the Government’s vision of transforming India from a buyer of defence equipment into a designer, developer and manufacturer of defence systems. The Ministry said that building indigenous aero-engine capability is a critical component of this vision, given the strategic importance and technological complexity of propulsion systems. tomorrow

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games came to an end on Sunday after more than two weeks of sporting action, with the Olympic Council of Asia formally handing over the baton to Doha, which will host the 2030 edition.

OCA President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani declared the 20th Asian Games closed at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Thousands of athletes, officials and spectators gathered for the closing ceremony, which was held under the theme 'One Asia'. "Tonight, as we lower the flag on Aichi-Nagoya 2026, we close these Games, but we raise the bar for Asian sport. The flame may be extinguished, but the hopes it has ignited will continue to burn brightly across our continent," Al Thani said.

US President Donald Trump has announced the creation of a new federal task force called the Super Intelligence Force (SIF) to centralise executive branch policies and lead national efforts in advanced artificial intelligence.

The announcement builds on the administration's executive order, which replaced the terms "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI" with "Super Intelligence" and "SI" across all executive branch operations.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Following the Historic White House Accord on Super Intelligence, where the World's most important Technology Companies came together, and confirmed their responsibilities to the American People, I am announcing the formation of the Super Intelligence Force (SIF)."

Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has used AI-based alerts, speed restrictions, enhanced patrolling and its ‘Plan Bee’ system to prevent train-elephant collisions. It helped in saving 255 elephants between January and September 2026.

According to Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer, NFR, the elephants were saved across four divisions – Alipurduar, Rangiya, Lumding and Tinsukia – through timely interventions and coordination with the Forest Department.

“Timely interventions by NFR personnel helped save 255 elephants across its divisions, including 106 in Alipurduar Division, 14 in Rangiya, 122 in Lumding and 15 in Tinsukia Division,” Sharma said.