The World Bank along with the Asian Development Bank in principle has committed to fund $1,600 million (Rs 13,600 crore) for Amaravati capital city phase-I development and will start releasing the amount from January next year, a senior official of the Andhra Pradesh government has said.

Of the total cost of Rs 15,000 crore for the phase-I development, the Central government will be funding the remaining Rs 1,400 crore, the official said, adding the total amount from the World Bank should be drawn within five years.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), part of the World Bank, which provides loans and guarantees, among others and ADB will be funding $800 million (Rs 6,800 crore) each for the project.

The repayment of the WB and ADB loans will be taken care of by the Centre, the official said.

SJVN has been conferred with two prestigious awards in SHRM India HR Awards 2024 in the Public Sector Enterprises category. The company has been adjudged as First Runner-up in ‘SHRM Award for Excellence in Managing Workforce’ and secured Second Runner-up position in ‘SHRM Award for Excellence in Benefits and Wellbeing.’ Approximately 138 organisations participated in various categories of the coveted awards.

The awards were received by SJVN Executive Director (HR) Chandrashekhar Yadav, during 13th SHRM India Annual Conference 2024 held in New Delhi.

These awards recognize the role of SJVN’s leadership in nurturing the workforce, making it a key contributor in the success of the company. SJVN remains dedicated to fostering a people-centric approach and setting new benchmarks in people management. The company is committed to continuous employee development through comprehensive wellness programs. Also, through innovative training initiatives and robust e-learning platform, SJVN has significantly enhanced employee skills and productivity.

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has appointed Pubudu Dasanayake as the mentor of the Nepali team, which is set to participate in a triangular cricket series from October 25 to November 4 under the ICC World Cricket League 2 to be held in the US. The triangular series in the US involves the hosts, Nepal and Scotland. Under this series, Nepal will play its first match against the USA on October 27, its second match against Scotland on October 29, and its third match against the USA on November 2. In the fourth and final match, Nepal will compete against Scotland on November 4.

The Indian Coast Guard successfully conducted the coastal security exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ on October 16-17 across Gujarat and the Union Territory of Daman & Diu.

The exercise, coordinated by the Coast Guard Regional Headquarters in Gandhinagar, was the second edition of the year. It aimed to sharpen maritime and coastal security preparedness while validating existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

A wide range of stakeholders, including the Indian Navy, State Police, Marine Police, Border Security Force (BSF), National Security Guard (NSG), Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and port authorities, actively participated. Key assets in the exercise included ships and boats from the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, and Marine Police, with aerial surveillance provided by Coast Guard aircraft and drones.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) is set to establish its first international flagship centre in Dubai, focused on research, innovation, and entrepreneurship, reports PTI. Scheduled to launch in early 2025, the IITM Global Dubai Centre will specialise in advanced fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), data science, robotics, and sustainable energy, creating a vital link to India's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

This initiative is made possible through an agreement between IIT Madras and the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). The agreement was signed by Hadi Badri, CEO of the Dubai Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), and Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Dean of Global Engagement at IIT Madras, during GITEX Global 2024, one of the largest technology exhibitions worldwide.

The Uttarakhand Madrasa Education Board (UMEB) is planning to introduce Sanskrit as a compulsory subject in 416 madrassas across the state, having drafted a formal proposal for this initiative.

To implement this change, the board intends to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state's Sanskrit department. In addition to Sanskrit, the inclusion of computer studies is also under consideration to enrich the academic curriculum for madrassa students.

The board introduced the NCERT syllabus in madrassas, resulting in over 95 percent success for students this year, UMEB chairperson Mufti Shamoon Qasmi told The Times of India.

North Korea has designated South Korea a “hostile state”, its state media said on Thursday, confirming that its national assembly had amended the constitution in line with their leader’s vow to drop unification as a national goal.

The North’s KCNA news agency reported that the military had blasted sections of road and rail links with South Korea on Tuesday as legitimate action against a hostile state as defined by the constitution.

Sixty-metre (66-yard) sections of the road and railway on the North’s side of the border were now completely blocked as part of a “phased complete separation of its territory” from the South, it said.

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, approved new industrial, food processing, and MSME policies on October 16.

To encourage investors to partner with Andhra Pradesh for investments, the Cabinet has approved six critical policies, namely, the 'AP Industrial Development Policy 4.0', 'AP MSME & Entrepreneur Development Policy 4.0', 'AP Food Processing Policy 4.0', 'AP Electronics Policy 4.0', 'AP Private Parks Policy 4.0', 'AP Integrated Clean Energy Policy 4.0'.

All the policies are designed to be forward-looking, aiming to boost industrial growth by focusing on job creation, fostering entrepreneurship, addressing climate change, and ultimately generating wealth for the state, the Andhra Pradesh government said.

In move towards strengthening relations between India and Turkiye, the constitution of the Indo-Turkiye Friendship Association (ITFA) was announced in Hyderabad on Wednesday (October 16, 2024). The initiative aims to foster cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, culture and tourism, science and technology, and education between the two countries.

At a media interaction, Consul General of Turkiye in Hyderabad, Orhan Yalman Okan, and ITFA Chairman Faiz Khan underscored measures the association would take up to strengthen ties between the countries.

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in a majority judgment of 4:1 ratio, on Thursday upheld the constitutionality of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which permits immigrants from Bangladesh residing in Assam to secure Indian citizenship, as a valid piece of legislation aligned to the Preambular value of fraternity.

The principle of fraternity cannot be selectively applied to one section living in Assam while another lot are labelled “illegal immigrants”, Justice Surya Kant, who authored the lead opinion for the five-judge Bench, observed.