Prashasti Srivasatav, a 30-year-old IRTS officer from Lucknow, has been honored with the Ati Vishisht Rail Seva award, the highest accolade from Indian Railways. As the divisional commercial manager of Agra division, North Central Railway, Prashasti's inventive concept of a conveyor belt system for loading and unloading goods from freight train wagons has revolutionized freight train operations, earning her this prestigious recognition.

Prashasti introduced the third-party-owned mechanized conveyor belt system as a pilot project in the Yamuna Bridge and Kuberpur goods sheds of Agra during the financial year 2021-2022.

To celebrate and promote the rich handloom saree culture of India, Union Minister of State for Textiles Darshana Jardosh will inaugurate the 'One Bharat Sari Walkathon' event in Mumbai on December 10.

The event, scheduled to take place at the MMRDA Ground, aims to showcase the myriad styles of saree draping across different states, underlining the rich cultural tapestry of India and emphasizing the concept of 'Unity in Diversity.'

Jardosh expressed the importance of this event, where women from diverse backgrounds will elegantly display saris representing their regional styles, creating a beautiful mosaic of diversity.

Producer Siddharth Roy Kapur will be felicitated with the Motion Picture Association Asia-Pacific Copyright Educator of the Year Award for his contributions towards the growth and development of the Indian film industry.

Kapur heads the production banner Roy Kapur Films which has produced critically-acclaimed titles such as "The Sky Is Pink", "Last Film Show", "Pippa" and web series "Rocket Boys".

The producer will receive the honour at the CineAsia Awards 2023 in Bangkok on Thursday, a press release said.

"Dear Jassi", a film inspired by a real-life honour killing in Punjab, won the Silver Yusr Award for best feature film at the ongoing Red Sea International Film Festival 2023.

Directed by Tarsem Singh Dhandwar, the Punjabi-English romance drama was honoured with the accolade at a ceremony held in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah on Thursday night.

"Congratulations to 'Dear Jassi' by Tarsem Singh Dhandwar for winning the Silver Yusr for Best Feature Film. #RedSeaIFF23 #YourStoryYourFestival," the film gala said in a post on X.

Veteran actor Naeem Sayyed, aka Junior Mehmood, passed away in Mumbai on Friday after a battle with stomach cancer. He died at his home in Khar, Mumbai. He was 67.

The actor’s family confirmed his demise in a statement to indianexpress.com in a statement that read, "Junior Mehmood passed away at 2:15 am at his residence. He was suffering from stomach cancer. May his eternal soul rest in peace.

Naeem Sayyed was given the screen name Junior Mehmood by late comedy icon Mehmood after they shared screen space in the 1968 movie Suhaag Raat.

With poor air quality, the provincial capital topped the worldwide pollution index once more on Thursday, ARY News reported.

Lahore has the worst air quality in the world, with an early air quality index (AQI) of 400, which is considered "hazardous."

Millions of people's lives and health have been impacted by the ongoing pollution issue in Lahore, the second-biggest metropolis in Pakistan.

Tiriyani Block of Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district, Telangana secured the top position in the first delta rankings of Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) announced by NITI Aayog today. The second position was bagged by Kaushambi block of Kaushambi District, Uttar Pradesh. The rankings were announced in a virtual event at NITI Aayog which saw participation of 329 districts and 500 aspirational blocks from across the country.

The ranking of the blocks has been calculated on the basis of performance of blocks and progress achieved in the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the month of June, 2023. Ranking the blocks based on KPIs is a core strategy of the Programme based on the spirit of competitive and cooperative federalism. This is the first time that the ranking of blocks has been calculated as part of the Aspirational Blocks Programme.

In addition to ABP, the ADP rankings were also announced for the month of October, 2023 which saw Rayagada (Odisha) and Jamui (Bihar) achieving the first and second ranks respectively. The top rankers in the thematic and overall categories of ADP were felicitated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended a global invitation to tech enthusiasts, innovators, and stakeholders worldwide for the upcoming Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023.

In a LinkedIn post, PM Modi urged them to participate in the two-day summit starting on December 12th, at Bharat Mandapam, featuring engaging sessions and an AI Expo showcasing 150 startups.

The summit will host senior-level government delegations from 29 GPAI member countries, along with GPAI’s multi-stakeholder experts’ group, global AI experts, multilateral organizations, and other relevant stakeholders.

As part of the summit, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI) at IIT Madras, is organizing a research symposium under the theme, “Advancing Responsible AI in Public-Sector Applications.” The symposium aims to provide a platform for Indian and international academicians and researchers to collaborate with AI experts, present actionable research on responsible AI to a global audience, and enhance cross-sectoral research on responsible AI.

The National Security Advisers of India, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka, along with delegates from Seychelles and Bangladesh, convened in Mauritius for the sixth NSA-level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) on Thursday.

During the meeting, NSA Ajit Doval highlighted the crucial role of the CSC in ensuring regional security and stability. He emphasized the significance of sustained engagements across various pillars of cooperation. The participants reached a consensus on a Roadmap of Activities for 2024, as reported by India's High Commission to Mauritius on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Last year, on May 9, the fifth NSA-level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave was hosted by the Maldives. During this meeting, the NSAs discussed the importance of close cooperation among member and observer countries in ensuring maritime safety and security, as well as countering terrorism and radicalization.

Gujarat’s traditional dance form ‘Garba’ was on December 6 included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) .

The popular dance form is the 15th cultural item from India to make it to the UNESCO list. Kolkata’s Durga Puja was the last one added two years ago.

“Today, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribed ‘Garba of Gujarat’ on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during its 18th session, taking place in Kasane, Botswana from 5 to 9 December 2023,” the UNESCO said in a statement.