Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati have developed a new material that can generate hydrogen fuel through the electrolysis of water.

Although overall water splitting requires a thermodynamic potential of 1.23 V, this material demonstrates an ultralow Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) overpotential of only 12 mV, outperforming the commercial Pt/C electrode, thus highlighting its outstanding electrocatalytic performance.

In addition, the same material is also shown to support the desalination of seawater using solar energy.

The findings of this research have been published in the prestigious Advanced Functional Materials journal, in a paper co-authored by Prof PK Giri, Professor, Department of Physics, along with his research scholars, Koushik Ghosh, and Sanjoy Sur Roy, at IIT Guwahati.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal will move a motion in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday seeking permission to withdraw The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, as Parliament continues the second phase of the Union Budget 2026-27 session.

The Bill, originally introduced in 2025, seeks to amend various laws to decriminalise and rationalise minor offences, with the aim of promoting trust-based governance and improving ease of living and doing business. According to the revised List of Business, the withdrawal follows recommendations made by a Select Committee.

India Tourism Development Corporation, under the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has inaugurated a capacity building programme for tribal homestay owners in New Delhi.

The inaugural ceremony was held at Kautilya Hall, Hotel Samrat, marking a step towards strengthening community-based tourism and enhancing the professional capabilities of tribal homestay operators across the country. The programme is designed to improve service standards, enhance visitor experiences and create sustainable livelihood opportunities through structured training delivered by IHM Ashok under ITDC.

The first batch of the programme includes 40 participants from Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Gujarat.

The Indian Navy along with multiple partner nations is participating in Exercise Sea Dragon 2026, a United States Navy-led multinational anti-submarine warfare drill being held at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam throughout March.

The exercise has brought together maritime forces from several partner nations, including the United States Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

The multinational is being conducted by the nations to strengthen cooperation among allied forces and improve understanding for better anti-submarine warfare capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region.

Scientists have identified an entirely new category of "liquid planet" that exists in a permanent, molten state. Traditionally, small exoplanets were categorized as either rocky "gas-dwarfs" with hydrogen atmospheres or "water worlds" with deep oceans and ice. This new discovery, detailed in Nature Astronomy, suggests a third class: planets that are essentially global oceans of magma. The primary example of this new type is L 98-59 d, a planet located approximately 35 light-years away from Earth, Guardian reported. The planet was detected by the James Webb telescope, the most powerful telescope ever put into space. 

In a moment of international recognition for Indian animation, the animated short film 'CHYIMI,' directed by Dr. Partha Sarathi Mahanta, IGP of Assam police and Commissioner of Police, Guwahati, has won the Best Director Award at the New York Short Animation Festival (NYSAF) 2026.

The New York Short Animation Festival celebrates creativity, originality, and craftsmanship in the art of animation, bringing together innovative works from animators across the world. It recognises outstanding animated storytelling and provides a global platform for emerging and established filmmakers.

Sahitya Akademi has announced the winners of the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 in 24 Indian languages today. The awards, recommended by distinguished Jury members, were approved by the Competent Authority of the Sahitya Akademi. The awards will be presented on the 31st of this month in New Delhi.

This year, eight poetry books, four novels, six short stories, and two essays will be conferred the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025. Meanwhile, one literary criticism, one autobiography, and two memoirs have also been selected for the award. Prominent writer Mamta Kalia will be awarded for her Hindi memoir Jeete Jee Allahabad. While the noted diplomat Navtej Sarna will be awarded for his English novel Crimson Spring. The award will also be conferred to the Urdu Poetry titled Safar Jaari Hai by Pritpal Singh Betab. Meanwhile, other writers who will be awarded include Devabrat Das for his novel Karhi Khelar Sadhu in the Assamese language and Prasun Bandyopadhyay for his Bengali poetry Shrestha Kabita. An amount of one lakh rupees, along with an engraved copper plaque, will be presented to all the awardees.

The Government of Gujarat has launched an intensive statewide vaccination campaign to control the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), reinforcing its efforts to safeguard livestock health and protect farmers from potential economic losses. The drive, which began on March 1, will continue until April 15 and is being carried out under the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP).

Foot and Mouth Disease is a highly contagious viral infection that affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats. The disease typically causes fever, mouth ulcers and excessive salivation, often leading to a sharp decline in milk production and overall animal productivity. For dairy farmers, such outbreaks can result in significant financial losses.

India hosted the BIMSTEC Young Professionals Exchange Programme in Maharashtra from the 9th to the 15th of this month. The programme was aimed at promoting knowledge exchange, strengthening cooperation, and providing exposure to India’s rapidly growing innovation, start-up, knowledge, research and technology ecosystems. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that the programme brought together 30 young innovators, technology developers, entrepreneurs and other professionals from BIMSTEC member countries.

During the programme, the participants called on Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who highlighted the state’s vibrant knowledge, innovation and technology ecosystem and its potential as a platform for international partnerships. The Ministry said the initiative provided valuable exposure to the participating young professionals, enabling them to understand India’s development model and explore opportunities for collaboration and partnership.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has submitted India’s First National Report on the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access Benefit Sharing to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Ministry said that the report covers the period from 1 November 2017 to 31 December of last year. This report highlights the country’s progress in implementing the Nagoya Protocol while contributing to Target 13 of India’s updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. It said that in line with the Nagoya Protocol, India also monitors the utilisation of foreign-sourced biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.