In a landmark development, Swedish defence giant Saab has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first foreign company to secure 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) approval for a defence project in India. According to The Economic Times, Saab has been given the green light to establish a new manufacturing facility in India, which will focus on producing shoulder-fired rockets.

This approval comes at a time when India has been gradually opening up its defence sector to foreign investment.

India allows only up to 74 per cent FDI in the defence sector under the automatic route, with additional clearance available on a case-by-case basis.

The UN International Organization of Migration (IOM) reported that the number of people who have been internally displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has risen to 6.9 million. In the eastern province of North Kivu, nearly a million people have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict with the rebel group, Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23).

The conflict in the DRC dates back to the 1990s when it went through two civil wars in 1996 and 1998. The conflict erupted in the wake of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 where ethnic Hutu extremists killed nearly one million minority ethnic Tutsis and non-extremist Hutus. Since then, the eastern DRC, bordering Rwanda, has been facing insurgency perpetrated by several rebel militant groups. According to the UN, besides M23, more than 120 insurgent groups are active in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika. Violence by several militant groups over territory and natural resources, extrajudicial killings by security forces and rising tensions with neighbouring countries have killed thousands. Tensions between the DRC and neighbouring Rwanda continue to increase as both countries accuse each other of supporting ethnic Tutsi and Hutu-led rebel groups respectively.

In a significant endorsement of the integration of Yoga therapy into the healthcare system, Union Minister for Ayush and Ports, Shipping, & Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated additional Yoga Therapy Rooms today at Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga’s (MDNIY) premises located in New Delhi. The event highlighted the institute’s dedication to the promotion and propagation of Yoga and holistic well-being.

Addressing the event, Shri Sonowal highlighted the imperative inclusion of yoga therapy in daily lifestyles as a means to enhance self-awareness, self-realisation and overall holistic health. He emphasized that this ancient wisdom developed by India over a thousand years ago should be shared with every corner of the world, with India taking a leading role in addressing global health challenges.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday released the Global TB report and it revealed that although the tuberculosis response is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerated efforts are needed to meet new targets.

According to the report, India accounted for the highest number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world in 2022, making up 27 percent of the global burden. The report also revealed that among the top eight high-burden countries, India was at the forefront with 2.8 million TB cases in 2022, with a case-fatality ratio of 12 percent.

Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah on Wednesday launched ‘Bharat Organics’ brand of newly created National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) and asserted that it will not only be the “biggest undertaking” of the country in the next 5 years but also emerge as the “most trusted and biggest brand” in the world’s organic product market in coming years.

Ensuring availability of certified organic products in the market, Shah said there would be 439 laboratories across the country by the next year, which will provide “great convenience to the farmers in getting their products certified” and also to NCOL in purchasing the certified products.

The Army is looking at phasing out its ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak choppers starting 2027, and considering induction of the light utility helicopters as the replacement besides exploring the option of leasing, sources said.

The Army Aviation Corps is currently operating around 190 Chetak, Cheetah and Cheetal helicopters, they said.

While the Army will be getting around 100 light utility helicopters (LUH), it is also looking at the option of taking choppers on lease to meet its requirement.

World Radiography Day is observed each year on November 8 to commemorate the discovery of x-radiation by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen in 1895.

World Radiography Day is observed on Wednesday, November 8.

History of World Radiography Day

On November 8, 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen made a groundbreaking discovery. The precursor to this event, known as the European Day of Radiology, took place on February 10, 2011, to commemorate the anniversary of Wilhelm Rontgen's passing on February 10, 1923. This initiative was organised by the European Society of Radiology (ESR).

World Radiography Day was established as an annual event on November 8, coinciding with the anniversary of Roentgen's discovery of X-rays. This new observance replaced the European Day of Radiology, which had previously been held on February 10.

Indian-American state Senator Vin Gopal has been reelected for a third term in the New Jersey Senate, winning the most expensive legislative races in state history.

The 38-year-old Democrat Senator defeated his Republican challenger, Steve Dnistrian, in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District on Tuesday, garnering nearly 60 per cent of the vote over Dnistrian and helping to flip control of both of the district’s Assembly seats for Democrats.

Gopal is currently the youngest member of the New Jersey State Senate and the first South-Asian American to be elected to the Senate in the state's history, according to his campaign.

Polls were open in at least 37 states of the US on Tuesday. New Jersey's legislature comprises the state Senate and Assembly and has 120 members from 40 districts.

Each district has one representative in the Senate and two in the Assembly that serve four- and two-year terms.

All 120 seats are on the ballot in November's general election, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper.

National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) organized two days Training Programme on “Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi” for State Level Master Trainers of Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh and Gadchiroli Maharashtra (Utkarsh districts) from 10-11 August, 2023 at NIPCCD Regional Centre, Indore. 50 participants attended the programme. Objectives of the programme were:

To promote early stimulation for the first thousand days and Early Childhood Care and Education for the 3 to 6 year age group.

To develop the capacities of Anganwadi workers with a basic understanding of the ECCE curriculum and pedagogical approaches, to enable them to provide high-quality play-based ECCE at the last mile

To enable Anganwadi Workers to focus on the domains of development (physical and motor, cognitive, socio- emotional-ethical, cultural/artistic), and the development of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), as well as related assessments

To reinforce Anganwadi workers' understanding on nutrition, including Poshan 2.0 and Saksham Anganwadi, innovations in Poshan, Poshan Tracker, feeding practices, SAM/MAM management, micronutrient deficiencies etc.

The International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) has taken global education to the next level by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Thunderbird School of Global Management (Thunderbird) and the Arizona State University (ASU) in an effort to launch the Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative across all IIHM centres in India. Through the Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative, students at IIHM will have access to online, global education in 40 different languages, at absolutely no cost. This comes as a dream opportunity for IIHM students who stand for quality global education. This is also a great opportunity for women learners who account for 70 per cent of the 100 million learners, worldwide.

The Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative is powered by Thunderbird School of Global Management, reputed as the vanguard in global leadership and management education (ranked No. 1 in the world in international trade by QS International Trade Rankings 2023), and Arizona State University (ranked No. 1 for innovation in the US for eight consecutive years by US News & World Report). Partnering with IIHM, one of the world's leading hotel management schools has opened a new gateway for the Global Initiative in India.