The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday named Bhajanlal Sharma as the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

Vidyadhar Nagar MLA Diya Kumari and Dudu MLA Dr Prem Chand Bairwa will be deputy CMs, while Ajmer North MLA Vasudev Devnani will be the Assembly Speaker. While Kumari had registered the highest margin of 71,368 votes, Bairwa had defeated Babulal Nagar of Congress by 35,743 votes.

Sharma, Kumari, Bairwa, former CM Vasundhara Raje and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached Raj Bhawan Tuesday to meet Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra.

Veteran lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar will be felicitated with the Padmapani Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ajanta-Ellora Film Festival.

Akhtar, the co-writer of Hindi cinema classics such as "Zanjeer", "Deewaar", "Sholay", "Don", "Kaala Patthar" and "Mr India", will be honoured for his contribution to the Indian film industry on the opening day of the festival's ninth edition, a press release said.

The award ceremony will take place at Rukmini Auditorium in MGM University campus of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on January 3, 2024 The announcement was made by Nandkishor Kagliwal, chairman of the Ajanta-Ellora film festival organising committee, and chief mentor Ankushrao Kadam.

Nikhil Dey, an Indian social activist, has been named as the International Anti-Corruption Champion by the US State Department. He has been acknowledged for his noteworthy support of social movements that oppose corruption in government welfare programs in India by encouraging transparency and accountability, public audits, and participatory democracy.

Dey's efforts as a co-founder of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) contributed to anti-corruption and transparency reforms in India, assisting the state of Rajasthan in establishing public policies that promote accountability and transparency. US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti congratulated Dey by posting on X, formerly known as Twitter. Garcetti said, the United States stands with champions like Dey who work for transparency, rule of law, and justice.

Taylor Swift has capped off a stellar 2023 by being named Time Magazine's person of the year.

The star, whose Eras tour broke box office records and provoked an inquiry into Ticketmaster's sales practices, follows the likes of Barack Obama, Greta Thunberg and Volodymyr Zelensky.

She told the magazine that she is "the proudest and happiest I've ever felt".

The award goes to an event or person deemed to have had the most influence on global events over the past year.

The singer also admitted to the magazine that the toll of her 180-minute Eras concerts often left her feeling physically exhausted.

Adani Green Energy has been ranked among the top global large-scale solar developers in a report by clean energy communication and research firm Mercom Capital.

Mercom Capital in a statement said the report includes data from July 2022 to June 2023, and used set criteria to compile the rankings and ranked developers with projects in at least two countries.

Other key criteria included the operational capacity of projects, projects under construction, and projects with awarded PPA (power purchase agreement) contracts. Large-scale projects with 1 MW or more were considered, Mercom Capital said.

As a part of on-going long-range deployment to Africa, Indian Naval Ship Sumedha arrived at Port Lamu, Kenya on 09 December 2023. The visit marks the maiden port call by any Indian Naval Ship at the recently developed Port in Kenya.

During the port call, personnel from both navies will engage in a wide range of professional interactions, deck visits and sporting exchanges, aimed at enhancing cooperation and exchanging best practices. A joint Yoga session, deck reception, medical camp and a Maritime Partnership Exercise have been planned as part of the visit.

INS Sumedha is the third of indigenously developed Saryu-class of Indian Navy. Commissioned on 07 March 2014, the ship is deployed for multiple roles independently and in support of fleet operations. The ship is equipped with an array of weapons and sensors and can carry multi-role helicopters. She is part of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam and functions under the operational command of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.

The Indian Army conducted the Army Veteran’s Half Marathon, Honour Run in New Delhi on Sunday to commemorate the historic military victory in the Kargil War. The event was flagged off by Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande. The Defence Ministry said that the event was conducted under the theme of Honour Run and was aimed at strengthening the bond between the Indian Army, Veterans and the masses, especially the Youth. The Ministry added that over 14 thousand serving personnel, veterans, NCC cadets, families of army personnel and enthusiastic citizens participated in the event

In a virtual address to the pre-event summit on ‘Biotechnology: The Path of Innovation & Wellness for Viksit Bharat,’ Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya highlighted the remarkable growth of India’s ‘Bio-Economy,’ which has surged eightfold in the past eight years, from USD 10 billion to an impressive USD 80 billion.

The summit serves as a precursor to the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit scheduled for January 2024, themed ‘Gateway to the Future’, at the Mahatma Gandhi Mandir, Gandhinagar.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, speaking in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel at Vigyan Bhavan, Science City, Ahmedabad, Dr Mandaviya emphasized the pivotal role of biotechnology in the future of health treatment.

A contingent of 45 personnel from the Indian Armed Forces has arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, to participate in the fourth edition of the Joint Military Exercise VINBAX-2023. The exercise is scheduled to take place from the 11th to the 21st of December 2023.

Comprising 39 personnel from an Engineer Regiment of the Bengal Engineer Group and six personnel from the Army Medical Corps, the Indian contingent aims to contribute expertise in engineering and medical operations. On the other side, the Vietnam People’s Army contingent will also be represented by an equal number of personnel.

The VINBAX exercise, initiated in 2018, is an annual training event that alternates between India and Vietnam. The first edition took place in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and the most recent edition occurred at Chandimandir Military Station in August 2022.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday launch 'Viksit Bharat @2047: Voice of Youth' via video conferencing, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Sunday.

During the programme, Modi will also address vice-chancellors of universities, heads of institutes and faculty members in workshops organised at Raj Bhawans across the country, which will symbolise the start of the initiative, the PMO statement said.