In a unique initiative to battle rising air pollution in cities, an ‘Oxygen Parlour’ has been opened at Nashik railway station to provide an experience of breathing clean air to the commuters.

The initiative comes with the efforts of Airo Guard in collaboration with the Indian Railways.

The co-founder of Airo Guard, Amit Amritkar said that the concept of Oxygen Parlour is based on the recommendation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

“In 1989, NASA had conducted a study in which they identified some plants that better absorb the five most harmful pollutants from the air. We have planted most of those plants here,” Amritkar told ANI on Monday.

Senior diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India’s Ambassador to the US, has been appointed as the new foreign secretary, Personnel Ministry said in an order issued on Monday.

A 1984-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Shringla will take over the charge of the foreign secretary on January 29 after incumbent Vijay Keshav Gokhale’s “two-year term” ends a day before, the order said.

According to the order by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the appointment has been cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban has achieved its target of creating Urban India Open Defecation Free.

Urban areas of 35 states and Union Territories have become ODF. In all, 4,320 cities out of 4,372 have declared themselves ODF, of which 4,167 cities have been certified through third-party verification.

This has been achieved by the construction of nearly 65.81 lakh individual household toilets against Mission target of 59 lakhs and 5.89 lakh seats of public toilets against Mission target of 5.08 lakh seats. 

Ecuador activated emergency protocols Sunday to contain the environmental impact of a fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands, after a barge carrying 600 gallons of diesel fuel sank, officials said.

The Galapagos archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to one of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.

"A fuel spill was observed, and the barge's crew jumped into the sea to safeguard their lives," announced the Integrated Security Service, or ECU-911.

Indian-American Dr Monisha Ghosh has been appointed as the first woman Chief Technology Officer at the US government's powerful Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

She will advise Indian-American Chairman of the FCC Ajit Pai and the agency on technology and engineering issues, and work closely with the Office of Engineering and Technology. Dr Ghosh will take charge on January 13. She replaces Dr Eric Burger.

The FCC regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and US territories. The FCC as an independent US government agency overseen by Congress is the federal agency responsible for implementing and enforcing America's communications law and regulations.

The Govt. of India has constructed Girls' Hostel for Nepal Armed Police Force School, Kirtipur. Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Dr. Ajay Kumar inaugurated hostel building at Kirtipur in Kathmandu district today. Mayor of Kirtipur Municipality, senior officers of Nepal Armed Police Force and political, community leaders also attended the inaugural ceremony.

Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) School is an academic institution created under the APF Welfare Service Centre of Nepal Armed Police Force. The school was established in 2005 and it has over 21 per cent of girls students.

The new infrastructure constructed with the Government of India’s grant assistance of 40.42 million Nepali Rupees is a two-storied girls' hostel. It comprises 32 rooms including a dormitory, warden room, bathroom, sanitation facilities for girls on each floor and furniture. 

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today co-chaired the 19th Joint Commission meeting with Foreign Minister of Iran in Tehran. In a tweet, Mr Jaishankar said, the meeting was very productive and reviewed the entire gamut of the cooperation. He said, both the nation agreed on accelerating the Chabahar project. He said, India and Iran will work together closely on their shared interests. 

Mr Jaishankar reached Iran today on a two-day visit. During his visit, Dr Jaishankar is also expected to call on Iran President Hassan Rouhani.

India's shuttler Maisnam Meiraba Luwang has won the Men's singles Bangladesh Junior International Badminton Series 2019 in Dhaka. Top-seeded Meiraba, who hails from Manipur, beat Ken Yong Ong 21, 14, 21-18 in the final lasting 38 minutes today.

Meiraba had defeated another Malaysian, M Fazriq Mohamad Razif, in the semifinals. He was one of the five Indians in the main draw. Meiraba had also clinched the boys' singles U-19 title at the Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior Open International Challenge last month.

In women's singles, Indian shuttler Treesa Jolly lost to Thailand's third seed Krittaporn Jiantanet 21-12, 16-21, 21-16 in finals. 

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will give away the 66th National Film Awards at a function in New Delhi today. Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar will be present on the occasion. Gujarati movie Hellaro will be awarded the best feature film. 

Bollywood actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal have been selected for best actor award for their roles in Andhadhun and Uri. Keerthy Suresh will get the best actress award for her portrayal of yesteryear's star Savitri in Telugu film Mahanati.

Best Director award will be given to Aditya Dhar for his debut film Uri: The Surgical Strike. Badhaai Ho, about a family dealing with a late pregnancy, has been selected for best popular film providing wholesome entertainment. Veteran actor Surekha Sikri bagged the best supporting actress for her role of a cantankerous matriarch in the movie.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Assocham Annual Conference in Delhi; PM Says, India's progress towards becoming a USD 5 trillion economy will be strengthened by investment of Rupees 100 lakh crore in infrastructure; also helped by an investment of Rupees 25 lakh crore in rural economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed the annual general meeting of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India in New Delhi.

The theme of the event was 'New India Aspiring for a USD 5 trillion economy'. The event was organised on the completion of 100 years of ASSOCHAM.

Speaking at the event PM Modi said to achieve the target of 5 trillion economy, there is a need to formalize and modernize economy. He further said measures such as increase in digital transactions to GST and from Aadhar linked payments to DBT has provided a positive move towards a disiplined economy.