Prasar Bharati has been honoured with the Hockey India Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution 2024 in New Delhi, at the Hockey India 7th Annual Awards 2024. The award marks Prasar Bharti’s tireless efforts in promoting and broadcasting hockey across the nation. At the function, Hockey India also felicitated the members of the victorious 1975 World Cup squad, with the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award along with a cash prize of 50 lakh rupees.

Among the top honours, Savita Punia and Harmanpreet Singh were recognised as the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2024 in the Women’s and Men’s categories. While PR Sreejesh, who retired from international hockey last year, was honoured for clinching the FIH Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award. In a nod to grassroots development, eight states were recognised for their contributions to the sport. The Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu took home the Best Member Unit of the Year award for its pioneering Tamil Nadu School Hockey League.

Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya has emphasized that government aims to include sports as an integral part of culture and lifestyle. Speaking at the inaugural session of Fit India Carnival in New Delhi today, He stated that a healthy society ensures country’s progress towards becoming a Viksit Bharat. He mentioned that activities such as yoga, aerobics, and Zumba in the carnival will convey a positive message about fitness to the public. He said that the essence of the Fit India Carnival is to encourage youth to incorporate several sporting activities and cycling into their daily routines to enhance their fitness.

Mr Mandaviya also released a booklet about the benefits of Fit India Cycle initiative. During the Event Actor Ayushman Khurana, Wrestler Sangram Singh and Several other sports Personalities were present.

The Fit India Carnival is a three-day fitness and wellness festival which aims to promote a healthy and active lifestyle, aligning with the Fit India Movement’s vision of a fitter, healthier, and obesity-free nation. A host of sports activities including rope skipping, stationary cycling, arm wrestling, cricket bowling, squat and push-up challenges will be the highlight of the three-day carnival.

A set of six properties -- including some considered serially, such as Ashokan Edict Sites and Chausath Yogini Temples spread across multiple states -- have been added to India's tentative list by the UNESCO's World Heritage Centre. These sites were added to the list on March 7, the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO said in a statement.

India at UNESCO shared the statement on microblogging site X, late on Thursday.

Addition to the World Heritage Centre's tentative list is mandatory if a property is to be nominated for inscription to the World Heritage List in future, it said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a 500 crore rupees corpus for Manipur to establish a contingency fund. She told Lok Sabha yesterday that the Centre is providing all possible financial assistance for the faster recovery of Manipur’s economy. The Finance Minister was replying to a discussion on ‘The Manipur Appropriation Bill, 2025’ and ‘The Manipur Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2025’ in the Lok Sabha.

Both Bills were passed by voice vote. Ms Sitharaman asserted that the overall law and order situation has improved in the northeastern state, except for some sporadic incidents. She said 400 crore rupees have been provided for the operation of relief camps in Manipur and under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY) 7,000 houses have been approved to provide housing for those who were displaced.

Manipur is currently under the President’s Rule. Consequent to the proclamation issued under Article 356 of the Constitution last month, the powers of the Legislature of the State are exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament. The Finance Minister had tabled the Manipur budget for 2025-26 in the Parliament on Monday envisaging an expenditure of over 35 thousand 103 crore rupees.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded Mauritius’ highest civilian honour on Tuesday, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean, making him the first Indian recipient of the prestigious accolade. The announcement was made by Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, recognising Modi’s contributions to strengthening India-Mauritius relations.

The award, regarded as Mauritius’ most distinguished recognition, is a testament to the island nation’s deep-rooted historical and strategic ties with India. Modi joins an exclusive list of global leaders who have received the honor.

During the event, Mauritius PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam said, ‘The Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean’ is very fitting for you, Prime Minister. Since we became a Republic only five foreign dignitaries have got that title and among them is the Gandhi of Africa, Nelson Mandela who received it in 1998.”

A significant memorandum of understanding (MoU) between National Highways Logistics Management Ltd (NHLML) and Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was signed in the presence of Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The MoU aims to develop a state-of-the-art multi-modal logistics park (MMLP) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Department of Posts has undertaken an initiative namely “Digital Address Code” aimed at establishing a digital public infrastructure for a standardized, geo-coded addressing system in India ensuring simplified addressing solutions for citizen-centric delivery of public and private services to establish ―Address as a Service‖ (AaaS) in India.

As a part of this initiative, the Department of Posts (DoP), under the Ministry of Communications, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, for designing and documenting the technology architecture for the Digital Address Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

This strategic collaboration aims to lay foundational technological principles and design for establishment of digital address DPI which is envisioned as a standardized, georeferenced and interoperable addressing system that will revolutionize the ways in which address data is created, shared and consumed in the country. It will serve as a foundational public infrastructure that integrates with government, business, and citizen services to streamline service delivery, emergency response, financial inclusion, and urban planning.

Governments and financial institutions take painstaking efforts to consolidate banknotes, cheques, and passports with a variety of security features to protect them from counterfeiting. Yet every so often a counterfeiter emerges who can recreate these features and pass off fake documents as real ones. In response, institutions constantly develop newer and better components that are even harder to falsify.

Now, scientists from India have come up with an ink they say can make counterfeiters’ jobs harder.

Bharti Airtel Ltd. announced a distribution agreement allowing it to sell SpaceX’s Starlink services in India, a major breakthrough for the Elon Musk-owned satellite Internet firm. The agreement does not mean that services will be offered immediately and Starlink still needs to get necessary authorisations from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Home Affairs before it can commence operations in India.

“Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools, and health centers, among many others, in even the most rural parts of India,” Airtel said in an announcement. It does not appear that the arrangement is exclusive, as the telco has indicated that this is merely the “first” such pact.

Indian pharmaceutical exports ranked 11th globally in value terms in 2023 and accounted for 3 per cent of the total pharmaceutical exports, Union Minister Anupriya Patel said in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers gave the information in a written reply to the House, citing a secondary market research analysis published by Bain and Company this year.

Replying to a query on whether the quality of Indian pharmaceutical products has often been questioned in some global markets, the minister said the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have taken several measures to ensure quality, safety and efficacy of medicines.