Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launches the army's project Udbhav aimed at integrating ancient wisdom with modern military pedagogy. Project Udbhav is a joint collaboration of the Indian Army and the United Service Institution of India. The project aims to promote indigenous discourse through the exploration and integration of the country’s ancient strategic acumen into the contemporary military domain.

The Defence Minister also inaugurated the Indian Military Heritage Festival in New Delhi on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Singh said the Indian Military Heritage Festival will inspire the youth of the nation as it showcases the unmatched bravery and invaluable role of the Armed Forces in the security of the country in the last few decades. The two-day festival aims to celebrate India’s rich military culture and heritage, through conversations, art, dance, drama, story-telling, and exhibitions. The festival seeks to create a benchmark in the domain of public engagement with military history and heritage through interaction while adhering to the goals for developing the Armed Forces in the 21st century. It also provides a platform for discussing various contemporary issues relating to India and the world pertaining to security, strategy, and international relations.

India won the much-anticipated Cricket World Cup 2023 match against New Zealand at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala by four wickets. Ravindra Jadeja hit the winning runs and guided the team to victory. He scored 39 runs off 44 balls.

Virat Kohli scored 95 runs off 104 balls, while India skipper Rohit Sharma hit 46 runs off 40 balls. Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill scored 33, 27 and 26 runs respectively.

The UK and Tamil Nadu are working together on a smart technology project for sustainable water, waste, and resource management.

According to a release, the UK’s Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Anne-Marie Trevelyan inaugurated a pioneering smart technology initiative with Tamil Nadu’s Information Technology Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Saturday.

Titled ‘Smart district administration using loT technologies for better quality of life,’ the project was selected under the Frontier Technology Livestreaming (FTL) programme, the release said. The UK-backed ‘Smart district’ project aims to address global sustainability challenges by deploying sensors across the district, gathering real-time data on water and waste management, and environmental quality. These sensors will analyse data patterns, aiding informed decision-making for efficient resource allocation. This marks India’s sole representation among the 58 pilots conducted across 32 countries since 2016, the release said.

Indian shuttlers Jagsher Singh Khangurra, Bornil Aakash Changmai and Tanvi Sharma advanced to the semifinals of the Badminton Asia U-17 and U-15 Junior Championships to assure themselves of a medal on day 4 of the tournament in Chengdu, China on Friday.

In the boys' U15 singles category, Jagsher defeated China's MA Chu Xuan 21-14, 21-13 in just 28 minutes, while Bornil emerged victorious in a closely-contested match against Korea's Park Jung Bin, securing a 21-19, 22-20 victory.

Tanvi Sharma overcame a first-game loss to register a 20-22, 21-15, 21-15 win over Liao Jui-Chi of Chinese Taipei in the girls' U17 singles quarter-final match.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday virtually inaugurated the Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura and Kengeri-Challaghatta sections of Bengaluru metro’s purple line, where operations were thrown open to the public on October 9 without much fanfare.

“The full operation of the metro’s purple line has boosted the connectivity to the IT hub. In Bengaluru, nearly 8 lakh people travel by metro. I congratulate the people of Bengaluru for the new metro facilities,” the prime minister said.

Dhordo village in Kutch district of Gujarat has gained global recognition as one of the Best Tourism Villages awarded by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed the Dhordo village for its achievement. 

In a social media post, Mr Modi said, he is thrilled to see Dhordo in Kutch being celebrated for its rich cultural heritage and natural beauty. Prime Minister said, this honour not only showcases the potential of Indian tourism but also the dedication of the people of Kutch in particular. He hoped that Dhordo continue to shine and attract visitors from around the world. 

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) on Friday delivered to the Indian Navy INS Imphal, the third ship of the Project 15B Class of stealth guided missile destroyers, four months ahead of schedule.

Imphal was the first naval warship commissioned with accommodation for women officers and sailors. “It can accommodate a crew of 312 persons, has an endurance of 4,000 nautical miles, and can carry out a 42-day mission with extended mission time in an out-of-area operation,” the MDL said in a release said.

The ship is equipped with two helicopters onboard to further extend its reach.

The ‘Acceptance Document’ was signed by MDL Chairman-Managing Director Sanjeev Singhal and Rear Admiral Sanjay Sadhu.

Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has said that the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India Limited (NCCF) should become self-reliant by achieving a turnover of 50 thousand crore rupees by 2027-28. Addressing the Board of Directors of NCCF in New Delhi, Mr Shah said, NCCF should prepare a roadmap for the next ten years to become a self-reliant cooperative institution. He said, the Cooperative Consumers Federation is playing an important role in fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Sahakar se Samriddhi. 

Mr. Shah said, the Ministry has taken 52 initiatives in the last 26 months to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country and increase the share of cooperatives in the GDP. He urged NCCF to find export opportunities for pulses purchased from farmers and ensure that such purchases are made at a Minimum Support Price.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on October 19 successfully transported more than 100 units of essential medications for 20 kilometres in Lahaul and Spiti district using drone and reducing travel time from 120 minutes to 26 minutes.

The feasibility study in Himachal Pradesh is part of the national mission to advance India’s drone ecosystem to explore the transportation of vital medical resources, including medications, diagnostic blood samples, and sputum, via drones.

In this first high-altitude, low-temperature venture ICMR’s endeavour in the long-run is to streamline the distribution of essential medical provisions from regional hospitals in Keylong to more than eight Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in the region, encompassing locations such as Sissu, Gondhal, Thiort, Tholang, Jahalma, Gemur, Darcha, Shansha, among others.

Bhubaneswar, Oct 19 (PTI) The Odisha cabinet on Thursday decided to launch a programme under the crop diversification initiative to enhance the production and productivity of maize and improve the value chain of its marketing.

Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena said the cabinet led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made a provision of Rs 481.94 crore for the crop diversification scheme for five years.

The scheme - Mukhyamantri Maka Mission (MMM) - will be implemented in a "more scientific and progressive way" which now envisages ease of doing for enhancement of area, production, and productivity of pulses, oilseeds, fibre crops (cotton and jute) and maize, he said.