The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute has launched DeepDATA, a mobile application that lets users explore scientifically verified information on deep-sea fish species and upload field observations to help build a national digital repository. The app is currently available on the Google Play Store.

CMFRI said the app is aimed at students, researchers, fishermen and others interested in India’s deep-sea resources. Users can browse photographs and read information on deep-sea fish species, including their taxonomy, identifying features, distribution and conservation status.

In a statement, the institute said, “It serves as a digital learning platform for those interested in exploring India’s rich and largely unexplored deep-sea biodiversity.” It added that the app was developed under the Deep Ocean Mission project with funding from the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The Supreme Court today urged the Union government to make suitable amendments to the National Highways Act so that land acquisition compensation disputes thereunder are decided by "judicially trained minds" and not government officers.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana was hearing a batch of SLPs that arose from the Punjab and Haryana High Court's judgment, which declared Sections 3G and 3J of the National Highways Act, 1956, unconstitutional.

These provisions constitute the statutory framework for determining compensation through arbitration when landowners dispute the amount awarded. The concern of the Court is grounded in a disparity between landowners whose lands were acquired under the NH Act vis-s-vis those whose lands are acquired under other statutes. This is because the compensation disputes under the former are decided by government officers, while the latter's are decided in courts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Central government has prepared a comprehensive draft Bill to introduce stricter provisions and stringent punishments for paper leak cases.

The proposal will be discussed in the Union Cabinet meeting on Friday and is expected to be introduced and passed in the ongoing session of Parliament next week.

Taking to his official X account, PM Modi in a video message said: “More strict actions against paper leaks to come in tomorrow’s Cabinet!”

Addressing the deep distress caused by paper leaks to students and their families, the Prime Minister said on Thursday that the Union government has taken multiple measures over the past two-and-a-half months, leading to the arrest and imprisonment of those responsible.

EnKash, India's leading business payments and spend management platform, today announced the launch of UPI-based payments on its Meal Card. With this addition, employees can make payments directly from their meal card balance by scanning eligible UPI QR codes at food and grocery merchants.

This makes EnKash the first provider in India to enable UPI payments directly from a meal benefit balance.

The new capability extends the UPI infrastructure that EnKash already offers across its Prepaid Payment Instrument portfolio. It brings the familiarity and convenience of UPI to structured meal benefits, allowing employees to use their meal allowance through a payment method that has become a part of everyday life in India.

The timing is also significant. Under the revised Income-tax reforms, eligible meal benefits of up to ₹200 per meal are available under both the old and new tax regimes, subject to prescribed conditions. Employees can receive up to ₹1,05,600 annually as a tax-free meal benefit. For HR teams, this makes meal benefits more inclusive, valuable and easier to offer across the workforce.

In a significant boost to India’s defence indigenisation efforts under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday signed two major contracts with industry partners for the development of the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) Mk-II programme.

The Centre for Air Borne Systems (CABS), a DRDO laboratory, signed a contract with AI Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), New Delhi, for the conversion of six Airbus A321 aircraft from commercial to green configuration. The modified aircraft will serve as the platform for the indigenous AEW&C Mk-II system.

In a separate agreement, CABS partnered with Adani Defence Systems and Technologies Limited (ADSTL), Ahmedabad, as the Development-cum-Production Partner (DcPP) for the mission systems of the AEW&C Mk-II programme.

The government on Wednesday appointed Anurag Jain, a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Services officer and currently the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh as the Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog. In an order, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet said the appointment will take effect from the date of assumption of charge by him for a period of two years.

An officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, Jain was appointed as Chief Secretary in October 2024 and his term was to come to an end on August 31 this year. Before that, Jain had served as Secretary, Road Transport & Highways and also Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Jain did his B.Tech Honours in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1986 and then obtained his MA in Public Administration from Maxwell School, USA.

From a solar-powered e-boat cruising through the maze of mangrove creeks in Pichavaram and honey produced through scientific beekeeping in the same ecosystem, to hybrid solar power systems installed at government buildings that reduce electricity consumption and the desilted waters of the Buckingham Canal that strengthen the health of the local ecosystem, these interventions now define daily life in Killai, Tamil Nadu’s first fully operational Climate Resilient Village (CRV).

Implemented under the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission (TNCCM) of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Killai has transformed a climate-vulnerable coastal settlement into a working model of how ecosystem restoration, renewable energy, and community-led action can jointly address cyclones, sea-level rise, saline intrusion, coastal erosion, and biodiversity loss.

Jharkhand on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata, to establish the state's first film and television institute, with Chief Minister Hemant Soren saying it would open a new chapter for the youth in the film and creative industry.

The Jharkhand Film Development Corporation Limited (JFDCL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SRFTI for establishing and operating the Film and Television Institute of Jharkhand.

"Through the MoU signed between JFDCL and SRFTI, our youth will have the opportunity to receive world-class technical education and skilling in film, media and the creative industry," Soren said.

India has emerged as one of the world’s leading nations in railway electrification, with 99.6 per cent of its broad gauge network now electrified, making it the second most electrified major railway system globally after Switzerland. The milestone reflects one of the fastest railway electrification programmes undertaken anywhere in the world and marks a significant step towards cleaner, more energy-efficient rail transport.

According to information shared by Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Indian Railways has electrified nearly its entire broad gauge network, while work on the remaining routes is progressing.

The pace of electrification has accelerated sharply over the past decade. While 21,801 route kilometres were electrified over nearly six decades before 2014, an additional 48,072 route kilometres have been electrified between 2014 and 2026. The government has also made electrification an integral part of all new railway line and multi-tracking projects.

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Safran Aircraft Engines have signed a long-term agreement for the production and supply of turbine ring forgings in superalloys for the CFM LEAP engine programme.

Under the agreement, HAL will manufacture near-net shape ring forgings for the LEAP engine at its state-of-the-art Ring Rolling facility at HAL’s Foundry & Forge Division in Bengaluru. These superalloy ring forgings are used in elevated-temperature applications of the rotating section of the aero-engine and are critical to engine performance and reliability.

While the LEAP engine -- a product of a joint venture between GE and Safran -- powers commercial airliners like the Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX, and COMAC C919 CFM International, HAL’s latest announcement is meant to support the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ initiatives.