The Indian Army in collaboration with the handicraft department of Manipur govt has initiated a woman empowerment programme at Phougakchao in Bishnupur district to provide women of the area comprehensive training in handloom weaving.

A defence spokesperson said the collaborative effort will assist in preserving the traditional handicrafts by creating sustainable economic opportunities for women in the region.

The Army facilitated the collection of handloom from Narainsena, Nambol and Imphal and stores were provisioned for the women of the far-flung villages, despite the unrest in the region. The spokesperson said the initiative saw the participation of 35 women from local villages, which is likely to go up subsequently.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Bagchi Sri Shankara Cancer Centre and Research Institute in Bhubaneswar yesterday.

The 750-bed comprehensive cancer care hospital will provide world-class oncology treatment to the people of the region, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) informed through an official statement.

In a tweet, CM wrote, "Glad to inaugurate the Bagchi Sri Shankara Cancer Centre and Research Institute in #Bhubaneswar."

Actor Suhani Bhatnagar, who played the role of young Babita Phogat in 2016 film Dangal passed away on Friday in Delhi. Officials at AIIMS in Delhi informed indianexpress.com that the 19-year-old was admitted in ICU and passed away on February 16.

Her Dangal co-star Aamir Khan‘s production house extended condolences to Suhani’s family on social media. “We are deeply saddened to hear about our Suhani passing away. Our heartfelt condolences to her mother Poojaji, and the entire family Such a talented young girl, such a team player, Dangal would have been incomplete without Suhani. Suhani, you will always remain a star in our hearts May you rest in peace,” they shared. Dangal director Nitesh Tiwari said in a statement, “Suhani’s passing away is absolutely shocking and heartbreaking. She was such a happy soul, so full of life. My deepest condolences to her family.”

Renowned Urdu poet Gulzar and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya have been named the recipients of the 58th Jnanpith Award, the Jnanpith selection committee announced on Saturday.

Sampooran Singh Kalra, popularly known as Gulzar, is celebrated for his works in Hindi cinema and is considered one of the finest Urdu poets of this era.

Rambhadracharya, the founder and head of Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot, is a renowned Hindu spiritual leader, educator and writer of more than 240 books and texts, including four epics.

India’s Jyothi Yarraji broke the National Record to win gold in the women’s 60m hurdles at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran on Saturday.

Two-time Asian Games silver medallist Harmilan Bains clinched India’s first gold clocking 4:29.55 in the women’s 1500m.

Yarraji clocked 8.12s in the finals to break her own National Record and win India’s second gold in the competition.

This bettered India’s gold medal count from that of last year where Tajinderpal Singh Toor was the country’s sole gold medallist.

Social media posts of India's male shuttlers on reaching Malaysia for the Badminton Asia Team Championships were going viral a week back. As the Thomas Cup champions, all eyes of the badminton world were on them.

Led by PV Sindhu, the women too put out similar posts, but they never gained similar traction. It was understandable. Twice Olympic medallist Sindhu was returning from a four-month injury layoff, and barring Ashwini Ponnappa, most of the team was young – Tanvi Sharma, the youngest, is 15 – with barely any international experience.

Yet this unheralded women’s team showed incredible maturity to stand atop the rostrum in Shah Alam on Sunday afternoon after India beat Thailand 3-2 in the final to clinch the biennial title for the first time since its inception in 2016.

Chhattisgarh govt plans to bring in a legislation to stop “illegal religious conversion” in the state.

During a debate on budgetary demands in the assembly on Wed, minister for religious trusts and endowments Brijmohan Agrawal said many forces were “at work to alter the demography of Chhattisgarh”. In order to prevent these activities, an anti-conversion bill, titled ‘Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill’, would be introduced during the current session itself, he announced.

Around a fortnight ago, CM Vishnu Deo Sai had alleged that Christian missionaries were carrying out conversion under the garb of healthcare and education. Speaking at a school event, Sai had said the missionaries were “very active” in the state and were “dominating” the two sectors, resulting in a rise in religious conversion. “All this will stop soon, and Hindutva will gain in strength,” he had said.

Commissioner railways safety (CRS) Dinesh Chand Deshwal on Friday conducted a trolley trial run on a 19-km long rail track between Sangaldan to Sumber. It was followed up by a high-speed test for electric trains from Sangaldan to Khari in Ramban district.

“On the second day of his two-day visit to Banihal, the CRS on Friday inspected the tracks, tunnels, electrification, railway stations and allied infrastructure on the 19-km long rail track between Sangaldan and Sumber. On Thursday, he inspected the 15-km long Khari-Sumber rail track,” officials said.

Renowned Jain monk Acharya Vidyasagar Maharaj died on Sunday at Chandragiri Teerth in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district after undertaking 'sallekhna'. He was 77.

'Sallekhna' is a Jain religious practice involving voluntary fasting unto death for spiritual purification, a statement from the teerth said.

Acharya Vidyasagar Maharaj attained Samadhi through 'sallekhna' at Chandragiri Teerth at 2:35 am, the statement said.

"Maharaj was staying on the teerth in Dongargarh for the last six months and was unwell for the past few days. For the last three days, he was observing 'sallekhna', a religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death, and had quit intake of food and liquids. According to Jainism, it is a vow taken for spiritual purification," the statement said.

Japan and the US are planning to launch the world's first wooden satellite, the LignoSat probe, into space this summer.

This unusual spacecraft is made up of magnolia wood which, during the experiments, was found to be particularly stable and resistant to cracking. The wooden satellite was created by Japanese scientists and now the US has become a part of their mission as they finalized the satellite to be launched on a US rocket, The Guardian reported.

In a pioneering effort to address the growing issue of space debris, the researchers at Kyoto University in collaboration with the logging company Sumitomo Forestry built the timber satellite. They came up with the idea of using an alternative to metal, which are biodegradable material.