The largest-ever contingent of 84 players will take part in the upcoming Paris Paralympic Games this year.

The Paralympic Games will take place from the 28th of this month to the 8th of September 2024. Forty-seven athletes are taking part in the games for the first time.

Addressing the send-off ceremony of the Indian contingent participating in the Paris Paralympic Games, Union Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said that there are 50 players in this team who benefited from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

He said the government has provided every facility, such as training and coaching, to the players under this scheme. Mr. Mandaviya said that many of the players have emerged from the Khelo India games.

Akashvani correspondent reports, some of the players who are taking part in Paris Paralympic Games expressed confidence that they will perform well and win a medal for the country.

In the last Paralympic Games held in Tokyo, Indian players performed well, winning 19 medals. In those games, 54 players participated from the Indian side.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chauhan today inaugurated the National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS) in New Delhi. Mr Chauhan highlighted that through NPPS, the farmers will be able to know different types of insecticides and pesticides and save their crops from their harmful effects.

On the occasion, Mr Chauhan also interacted with many farmers who are the beneficiaries of the various schemes being implemented by the Central Government. Around Five Hundred farmers were present in the event.

Recently, the Central Government released One Hundred Nine high-yielding, climate-resilient, and bio-fortified crop varieties

India and Israel have joined hands for the establishment of a new water technology centre at IIT-Madras, which is expected to serve as a "key contributor" to India's efforts to achieve sustainable water supply for all.

The Embassy of Israel in India in its statement termed the deal a "significant milestone" in the ongoing collaboration between the two countries in the field of integrated water resource management.

A Joint Statement of Intent was signed to establish a Center of Water Technology at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

"This tripartite agreement, signed by the Embassy of Israel, IIT Madras, and the AMRUT mission of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, reflects a shared commitment to address the critical challenges of water management in India," it said.

Thailand's Parliament convened to select a new prime minister Friday with the youngest daughter of the divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra expected to be nominated.

The vote would come two days after a court removed the last prime minister over an ethics violation.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, is the leader of the Pheu Thai party. She does not hold an elected office, which the law doesn't require of prime ministerial candidates. The parliament also does not require her to be present at the vote.

If Paetongtarn is approved in Parliament's vote, she will become Thailand's second female prime minister and the country's third leader from the Shinawatra family, after her father and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. She will also become the country's youngest leader.

Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery at Göbekli Tepe, an ancient site in southern Turkey. This site, which dates back nearly 13,000 years, is now believed to house the world’s oldest calendar. Göbekli Tepe, often referred to as the world’s first temple, features a series of large stone pillars adorned with ornate carvings. These carvings have long puzzled researchers, but recent studies suggest they represent an ancient timekeeping system.

The calendar, discovered by a team led by Dr.

Martin Sweatman from the University of Edinburgh, is thought to be a solar calendar. The carvings on the pillars include a series of V-shaped symbols, each representing a single day. By counting these symbols, researchers identified a calendar of 365 days, divided into 12 lunar months with an additional 11 days. This system aligns closely with the modern solar calendar, indicating a sophisticated understanding of astronomy by the ancient people who created it.

A team of entomologists have discovered three new edible insect species from Arunachal Pradesh. Belonging to the genus Coridius of family Dinidoridae (Hemiptera), these stink bugs have been named Coridius adii, Coridius insperatus and Coridius esculentus.

The discovery was made by researchers Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, Swapnil Boyane, Sandeep Sen and Pavan Kumar Thunga from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bengaluru and Hemant Ghate from Modern College, Pune. Their work has been published in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PLOS One.

Coridius adii is named in honour of the Adi tribe, one of the major groups inhabiting mainly the Siang valley in Arunchal Pradesh, which consumes this species as food. The insect is described as pale brown to dark brown with irregular yellow patches on its upper body.

India will host the 3rd Voice of Global South Summit on Saturday. The theme of the Summit is – An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future. External Affairs Ministry in a statement said that it will act as a platform to expand discussions held in the previous Summits on a range of complex challenges that continue to affect the world, such as conflicts, food and energy security crises and climate change. At the Summit, the countries of the Global South would continue deliberations on challenges, priorities, and solutions for the Global South, particularly in the developmental domain. The Ministry added that similar to the previous two Summits, the 3rd Summit will be held in a virtual format and is structured into Leaders’ Session and Ministerial sessions. The inaugural session will be at the Head of State and Government level and will be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This unique initiative began as an extension of the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas aur Sabka Prayas’, and is underpinned by India’s philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. It envisages bringing together countries of the Global South to share their perspectives and priorities on a common platform across a whole range of issues.

Google on August 15 announced it is extending its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search experience, AI Overviews, to consumers in India and five other countries including the United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil.

In India, the feature will be available in English and Hindi languages in the coming weeks, along with India-first features such as the ability to listen to search responses and toggle between English and Hindi results, both of which were piloted in the country last year.

This rollout comes more than two months after the search experience was introduced in the United States, following its announcement at the company's annual developer conference Google I/O 2024 on May 14.

At launch, Google stated that it was introducing AI overviews after nearly a year of experimenting with a generative AI-powered search experience called Search Generative Experience (SGE) in a few markets, including India. The feature provides consumers a quick AI-generated summary of a topic along with links to go deeper, at the top of the search results.

The government on Wednesday appointed acting Enforcement Directorate chief Rahul Navin as full-time director of the anti-money laundering agency for two years.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, in a statement dated August 14, confirmed his appointment as the new Director of Enforcement in the Directorate of Enforcement.

His appointment will take effect from the date he assumes charge of the position and will last for a period of two years or until further orders are issued.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Rahul Navin, IRS (IT:93074), Special Director, ED as Director of Enforcement in the Directorate of Enforcement for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the DoPT statement read.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Wednesday appointed 1989-Sikkim cadre IAS officer Govind Mohan as the next Home Secretary. Mohan will replace Ajay Kumar Bhalla upon completion of his tenure on August 22. Mohan is currently posted as Secretary in the Ministry of Culture.

Bhalla, a 1984-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was appointed as Home Secretary in August 2019.

Mohan, who holds an electrical engineering degree from BHU-IIT Varanasi, has served as Union Culture Secretary since October 2021 and had two stints in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the past.