The Ministry of Coal will launch a Special Campaign emphasising effective collection, segregation and disposal of e-waste. The Special Campaign 6.0 will be launched between the 2nd and 31st of next month.

The Special Campaign 5.0, held from October 2nd last year to August 31st this year reinforced a strong commitment to cleanliness, waste management, and environmental responsibility. The Ministry of Coal said that the campaign yielded impressive results across all Public Sector Undertakings and field offices under its jurisdiction.

The United States and India have joined hands to strengthen the security, resilience, and diversification of global undersea cable networks, highlighting New Delhi's emerging strategic position as a global digital hub.

In a post on X, the US Embassy in India announced the partnership and noted that the two nations brought together government and industry experts in September to host an "Undersea Cables Workshop" aimed at safeguarding critical subsea communication infrastructure.

Highlighting the importance of subsea infrastructure in powering modern digital systems, the Embassy wrote, "Undersea cables are the backbone of global digital connectivity powering economies, cloud services, and the AI revolution. The United States and India are partnering to strengthen the security, resilience, and diversification of the networks that keep the world connected."

Markets regulator SEBI on Saturday proposed changes to the methodology for calculating expiry-day settlement prices of index and stock derivatives, following a review of the newly introduced closing auction session (CAS) framework.

In a consultation paper, SEBI proposed two options for determining the settlement prices, a blended Volume Weighted Average Price – VWAP based on trades executed during the last 30 minutes of the continuous trading session – CTS, and the 10-minute CAS, or continuation of the existing CTS VWAP methodology. The proposals follow feedback received from market participants on the use of the CAS-determined closing price for settling derivative contracts on expiry. Determination of derivative settlement prices based on the closing price arrived at through CAS was among the significant areas of feedback received by SEBI.

SEBI introduced the CAS framework in the equity cash segment from August 3 to determine the closing price of securities. Under the current framework, the closing price determined through CAS also serves as the basis for determining settlement prices of derivative contracts on expiry. The use of the CAS-determined closing price for expiry-day settlement of derivatives has been one of the key concerns raised by market participants, prompting Sebi to review the existing methodology.

Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project: The Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project has achieved another major milestone with the final breakthrough of Escape Tunnel-1 on September 11, 2026. With this breakthrough, the project has now recorded 41 tunnel breakthroughs, bringing the much-anticipated Himalayan railway project closer to completion.

The project is being developed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Railways at a cost of Rs 37,000 crore. Once completed, it will improve rail connectivity in Uttarakhand and make travel to the Himalayan region easier.

10.847-km tunnel now fully connected

Escape Tunnel-1 is 10.847-km-long, making it the second-longest tunnel in the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project. The final breakthrough has connected the tunnel along its entire length.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare said on Saturday that a “healthy” Badri female calf has been successfully born through Ovum Pick-Up and In Vitro Fertilization (OPU-IVF) technology.

Badri is an indigenous cattle breed, which is found in Uttarakhand. The calf was born on Friday (September 11), following the transfer of a Badri embryo into a Sahiwal recipient cow.

“The achievement has been accomplished through a collaborative effort between ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI), Karnal, and GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, with financial support from the Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council, Haldi. The achievement demonstrates the potential of advanced reproductive biotechnology for the conservation, rapid multiplication and genetic improvement of valuable Badri germplasm,” the ministry said in a statement.

FASTag users can now switch the bank that issued their tag without having to obtain a new physical FASTag, following the launch of ‘OneTag’ at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai on September 11.

The NETC FASTag portability solution was launched by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. OneTag is a joint initiative of Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), promoted by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Currently, a FASTag user who wants to change the issuer bank has to close the existing FASTag and go through a fresh onboarding process to get a new tag. Under OneTag, the user can retain the FASTag already affixed to the vehicle and switch to another issuer bank.

The three-day Table Top Exercise (TTX) conducted under the aegis of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) successfully culminated on Friday at Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Visakhapatnam.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the exercise commenced on September 9 with the opening address by RAdm Manoj Jha, Chief Staff Officer (Operations), Eastern Naval Command, focused on developing a ‘Coordinated Response to Illicit Maritime Activities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).’

Delegations and maritime security experts from CSC member states and observer nations engaged in intensive simulated operational scenarios for over 72 hours. The interactions focused on addressing complex, non-traditional security challenges, including maritime terrorism, narcotics smuggling, human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Princess Astrid of Norway, the sister of the late King Harald V, has died at the age of 94, two days after attending his funeral, the country's royal palace has announced.

The new king, Haakon VIII, said that "throughout her long life, Princess Astrid represented the Royal House in a warm and dutiful manner".

Harald died last month, aged 89, after more than 35 years as king. His funeral was Astrid's last public engagement.

The princess will be buried at state expense and flags will be flown at half-mast across Norway, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.

Astrid was the last surviving child of King Olav V, who reigned from 1957 to 1991.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on Friday, announced that the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan will be organised across the state from September 17 to October 17, 2026, to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday.

Dhami said the month-long campaign will focus on service, public participation, dialogue and innovation to connect citizens with the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’

The Chief Minister said 11 major programmes have been proposed under the campaign to ensure the active participation of students, youth, women, beneficiaries, parents, public representatives, social organisations and citizens. The initiatives will also highlight decisions taken by the state government and showcase the real-life impact of various Central and state government schemes through beneficiaries’ stories, according to the release.

Veteran Tamil scholar and orator and Padma Shri awardee Solomon Pappaiah, 90, died at a private hospital in the city on Friday after suffering chest pain.

Born in 1936, Pappaiah was a former professor in the Tamil department of the American College. Known for his warm and humorous speaking style, he became a household name through his 'Pattimandram' (debate) programmes, where he used everyday incidents and social issues to connect with audiences.

His simple and engaging way of explaining Tamil literature also won him a wide following. Through a popular television programme, he regularly explained the Thirukkural and Sangam literature, introducing their richness and humour to a wider audience.

Pappaiah also appeared in a few Tamil films. In recognition of his contribution to the Tamil language and literature, he was conferred the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award, in 2021.