The Government has announced the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards for the year 2024. The awards recognise outstanding achievements by individuals in the field of adventure and seek to promote a spirit of endurance, risk-taking, teamwork and quick and effective decision-making in challenging situations. The awards are given in four categories, which are Land Adventure, Water Adventure, Air Adventure and Lifetime Achievement. Each awardee will receive a statuette, a certificate and award money of 15 lakh rupees. The awardees are Baljeet Kaur and Skalzang Rigzin in Land Adventure category, Rimo Saha in Water Adventure category and Shiv Prasad Chamoli in the Life Time Achievement category.

The selections were made following the recommendations of the National Selection Committee. The Committee evaluated the nominations and recommended the awardees for conferment of the national honour.

The awards seek to promote among the youth a spirit of courage, endurance, discipline, risk-taking and cooperative teamwork, while encouraging the ability to respond with speed and effectiveness in challenging situations. President Droupadi Murmu will confer the awards along with the National Sports Awards 2025. The date of the award ceremony will be announced later.

India is set to host the Hyundai World Archery Para Series (WAPS) for the first time, which will bring together over 100 athletes from 20 countries for five days, from September 5 to 9, 2026, at the iconic Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, according to a Gujarat CMO release.

The landmark event, organised by the Archery Association of India (AAI) with the support of the Government of Gujarat, Sports Authority of Gujarat and Sports Authority of India (SAI), will see some of the world's leading Para Archers compete across the Recurve Open, Compound Open, W1 and Visually Impaired categories.

The event will be formally inaugurated on September 4, 2026, at The Forum - Hotel & Convention, near Club O7, Shela, Ahmedabad. The ceremony will be graced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi.

The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) and Intel India have launched two Agentic AI skilling programmes aimed at expanding access to industry-aligned training and preparing India's workforce for an increasingly AI-driven economy, according to an official release.

The programmes were launched as part of the NIELIT-Intel India Agentic AI Skilling Initiative at a National Leadership Dialogue on “Preparing the Future Workforce for the Agentic AI Era”, organised by NIELIT under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The initiative will offer training through two programmes -- Agentic AI for Everyone and Engineering Agentic AI Systems -- with the aim of taking practical Agentic AI learning closer to institutions and learners across the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tribute to legendary Gujarati music composer, arranger and singer Gaurang Vyas, who passed away in Ahmedabad at the age of 87.

Vyas was one of the prominent names in Gujarati film, folk and light music. The son of renowned Gujarati music composer Avinash Vyas, he carried forward his family’s rich musical legacy through a career spanning several decades.

PM Modi shared a picture with Vyas on X and remembered his significant contribution to Gujarati music. He said Vyas had carved out a distinct place for himself in the field while carrying forward the musical tradition of his father.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Shri Gaurang Vyas, a renowned musician in the Gujarati music world. Carrying forward the rich musical tradition of his father Avinash Vyas, he had carved out a unique place for himself in the field of Gujarati music,” PM Modi said.

A Hyderabad-based defence technology startup has built an interceptor drone capable of hitting speeds no other multirotor UAV has reached in India. Apollyon Dynamics, incubated at BITS Pilani Hyderabad, announced on its official X account that its electric multirotor interceptor Ahuti Mk II had touched 498 kmph, calling it "a new benchmark for multirotor speed in India."

The company said in its post that the figure surpasses the previous recorded benchmark of 325 kmph "by a significant margin," and confirmed the feat has now been "officially recognised by the India Book of Records."

Apollyon founder Jayant Khatri said the interceptor went through a complete overhaul to reach this speed. According to a TOI report, the drone's frame, propulsion system and motor configuration were reworked through about ten iterations before the final design was arrived at.

India and Belgium signed an agreement to deepen cooperation in renewable energy and clean technology, targeting key sectors such as green hydrogen, offshore wind, and critical mineral recycling. The accord was finalized during Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s visit to New Delhi, where both nations pledged to accelerate decarbonization efforts and strengthen industrial supply chains.

The Belgian prime minister is on a three-day visit to India starting Wednesday.

The framework builds upon a decade of bilateral climate dialogue, expanding joint initiatives to include advanced energy storage, bioenergy, and pumped hydro systems. Speaking at a joint press briefing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized that reliable supply chains and a clean energy transition remain shared strategic priorities, pointing to growing joint ventures in green ammonia and defence manufacturing.

The GSLV-F17 (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) carrying EOS-05 executed a textbook launch at 2.55 am on Friday. After setbacks during previous missions, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) teams worked continuously to ensure the mission's success, with the GSLV-F17 placing the EOS-05 satellite into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit at 3.14 am.

Friday's launch marked the space agency's maiden success for the year 2026.

The EOS-05 is India’s first ever imaging satellite to monitor from Geosynchronous orbit about 36,000 km above the Earth.

ISRO teams noted that this is the heaviest satellite ever launched into a geosynchronous orbit, with a lift-off mass of 420.5 tonnes. The 51.7-metre-tall vehicle was launched from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota amid light rain.

The three-member search committee appointed by the board of the Shree Ramjanmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Nyas has shortlisted three candidates for the post of the Trust’s first full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO), sources said.

The recommendations are expected to be discussed at the Trust’s crucial meeting on September 2, when members will deliberate on the candidates and decide the next course of action.

Retired bureaucrats are among the frontrunners, though the identities of the shortlisted candidates have not been disclosed. The search committee submitted its final report on Tuesday after completing an extensive selection process to identify a candidate to oversee the temple affairs.

AIR VICE-MARSHAL Shakti Sharma has made history as the first woman officer (non-medical) in the Indian defence forces to achieve the rank of Air Vice Marshal (or its equivalent).

She is the first woman officer in the Indian Armed Forces to break this glass ceiling and reach such a milestone. In the Army and Navy, women officers so far have reached the rank of Colonel and equivalent.

On Tuesday, AVM Sharma assumed charge as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Education) at Air Headquarters, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement, adding that this landmark achievemenț marks a new chapter in the journey of women officers in the defence forces.

Commissioned into the Education Branch of the IAF on June 18, 1994, the senior officer has served across various training establishments, field stations, command headquarters and Air Headquarters in her over three decades of distinguished service.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has marked its 9th Foundation Day by launching a series of new digital platforms aimed at expanding access to payments, insurance and investment services.

As part of the celebrations, IPPB launched the DakPay Sound Box for Merchants, designed to simplify and strengthen digital payment acceptance for merchants.

The bank also announced the launch of a Digital Insurance Technology Platform, which will provide customers access to insurance solutions across life, health and general insurance.

A Digital Mutual Fund Platform has also been introduced to offer customers a simple and accessible digital investment experience.