Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra has been appointed as the Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare. Chandra is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Maharashtra cadre.

Meanwhile, senior bureaucrat Sanjay Jaju has been appointed as the new Information and Broadcasting Secretary, in place of Chandra. Jaju, a 1992-batch IAS officer, is currently serving in his cadre state of Telangana.

Besides them, eight other senior officers have been appointed in different central government departments and in Lokpal.

'Lachit the Warrior,' an animation film on iconic Ahom general Lachit Barphukan written and directed by Partha Sarathi Mahanta, an Indian Police Service officer in Assam who is currently posted as the DIG of Special Task Force (STF), has clinched the Best Animation Film award at the Kanchenjunga International Film Festival.

The film, which showcases the heroics of Lachit Barphukan, revered in Assam for preventing the Mughals from capturing Assam in the 1600s, written and directed by Partha Sarathi Mahanta, has also clinched the Best Animation Film award at the 10th Rajasthan International Film Festival.

Including this, the short film has been screened at 23 international film festivals.

The Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh will establish a 'State-of-the-Art Centralized GIS Data Center' in Ayodhya.

The Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA), as per the vision of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has initiated the development process for the necessary software and hardware infrastructure for setting up and operating a world-class GIS data centre integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS).

Notably, there are currently 141 projects underway in Ayodhya with a total cost of Rs 30,977 crores to revive the city's ancient splendour. In such a situation, the way has been paved for evaluating the operations of more than 37 agencies involved in these projects, assessing project progress, and fostering the development of the geo ecosystem along with the compilation and integration of crucial information.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been formally launched at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Indian Embassy in France said on Friday and termed it as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "vision of taking UPI global." The UPI was formally launched at the Republic Day reception held in France.

In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in France stated, "UPI formally launched at the iconic Eiffel Tower at the huge Republic Day Reception. Implementing PM @narendramodi's announcement & the vision of taking UPI global."

The UPI is India's mobile-based payment system and allows people to make round-the-clock payments through a virtual payment address created by the customer. UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into one hood.

In a groundbreaking collaboration between AIIMS, New Delhi, and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Pune, a cutting-edge AI platform called iOncology.ai has been launched. The platform focuses on early detection of cancer, addressing a crucial need given the alarming rise in cancer cases globally.

Cancer is globally estimated to be more fatal than cardiovascular diseases in high-income and middle-income countries. The Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) estimates for 2020 reported 19.3 million incident cancer cases worldwide, with India ranking third after China and the United States.

A Lancet study predicts a 57.5% increase in cancer cases in India by 2040, reaching 2.08 million. In 2022 alone, over 8 lakh deaths in India were caused by cancer, primarily due to late detection, resulting in only a 20% survival rate.

Senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey was appointed as the principal secretary to the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, officials said.

The latest development came hours after Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Champai Soren was sworn in as the new chief minister of Jharkhand.

Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate after seven hours of grilling on Wednesday in a money laundering probe linked to an alleged land scam after tendering his resignation as the CM.

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly Session will be held on February 5 and 6.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for NLC India Limited’s (NLCIL) 2,400 MW Supercritical Thermal power plant in Sambalpur, Odisha, on February 3. “In furtherance of the vision of the Prime Minister to promote setting up of Thermal Power Plants at pit-head so as to reduce cost of transportation of coal, the Ministry of Coal has planned Thermal Power Plants to be set up by coal CPSUs. The government has approved the setting up of 3x800 MW Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plant at Talabira through NLCIL,” said an official statement on Friday.

These projects, the CMD said, include two first mile connectivity (FMC) projects -- Bhubaneswari Phase-I of 10 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) capacity in Talcher Coalfields, Angul district, built at an investment of Rs 335 crore, and Lajkura Rapid Loading System (RLS) of 15 MTPA capacity, built at an investment of Rs 375 crore in Ib Valley Coalfields.

Vice Admiral Lochan Singh Pathania assumed charge as the Chief Hydrographer to the Govt. of India on 01 Feb 24.

Commissioned in the Executive branch of the Indian Navy in 1990, he is a Hydrography Specialist. The Flag Officer has commanded IN Ships Darshak and Sandhayak. During his career spanning more than three decades he carried out hydrographic surveys across the entire stretch of the country and in IOR including challenging task of data collection for IMBL arbitration and for production of new chart in Sundarbans delta. He also has the distinction of serving onboard HMS Bulldog of Royal Navy.

He has held various important shore appointments being Interviewing Officer & Deputy President of Naval Selection Board, Principal Director (Hydrography) at NHQ, Officer-in-Charge, National Hydrographic Office (NHO) and Joint Chief Hydrographer.

The Flag officer is a graduate of Naval Academy and alumni of International Maritime Academy (IMO), Trieste, Italy, Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington and College of Defence Management (CDM), Secunderabad. He holds a Masters degree in Defence and Strategic Studies from University of Madras and Masters of Management Studies (MMS) from Osmania University. The Admiral is an expert on International maritime laws pertaining to maritime boundary delimitation and has immensely contributed in addressing issues pertaining to maritime boundaries and settlement of Extended continental shelf beyond Exclusive Economic Zone.

The Minister further informed “out of the targeted 12500 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres, more than 9000 Health and Wellness Centres have been established. It has been only a little more than 9 years since the establishment of the Ministry of Ayush in the country and the Ministry has achieved huge and special successes in this short period”.

Secretary, Ministry of Ayush Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said in his address that Ayush is like a tree under which many medical systems flourish. He also informed that under the National Ayush Mission, continuous efforts are being made to take Ayush to every district of the country. He said a lot of advancements have taken place in the field of research also. So far, more than forty thousand research publications have been published in the Ayush Research Portal. The Secretary expressed special happiness over the fact that the World Health Organization established the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which is the first outpost of the United Nations in any developing country.

National Arogya Fair is being organized with the support of Ministry of Ayush from February 1, 2024 to February 4, 2024 at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium New Delhi is a dynamic convergence of India’s rich healing traditions, encompassing Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. This for day event serves as the vibrant testament to the nation’s diverse culture and historical legacy in healthcare. It transcends as a platform to celebrate and showcase traditional system of medicine, emphasizing holistic well-being.

Tata Motors will showcase as many as seven passenger vehicles (PVs), including concept versions of the Nexon i-CNG, Curvv and Harrier.ev, at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2024, which will be held at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, from February 1 to February 3.

The homegrown auto giant will showcase PVs like the Nexon i-CNG concept, new Safari Dark concept, Curvv concept, Altroz Racer concept, Punch.ev, Nexon.ev Dark show car and the Harrier.ev concept. It will also demonstrate the safety features of the Safari.