The future of India and Gujarat lies in their libraries, Union Minister Amit Shah said in Mansa Sunday urging teachers to direct the young minds of the country towards reading.

“I will insist, whichever teachers of primary and higher secondary schools are listening, direct children and youths towards libraries. The future of Gujarat and the country lies in the libraries. If we make a student a subject expert, then Gujarat and the country will get a good citizen who can contribute,” Shah said while addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a memorial of martyrs and a library at Samau village of Gandhinagar district.

Samau, which falls within the Mansa Assembly constituency that is part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency represented by Shah, assumes significance as 12 persons from the village were hanged by the Britishers during the Revolt of 1857. The memorial and the library have been built at a cost of Rs 2 crore in the memory of the martyrs.

A new book revisits Kerala’s matrilineal past where women were more empowered in terms of exercising their right to decision-making and ownership of property.

Drop of The Last Cloud by Sangeetha G is set in Travancore at a time when Kerala’s old matrilineal system was changing. It explores the life of a woman named Gomathi.

Sangeetha, whose writing has been largely journalistic for more than two decades, wanted to tell stories that can make a larger impact on the readers and thus Drop of the Last Cloud, a fiction with a historical context, was born.

“I tried to explore how the larger events in history, decisions made by the rulers, and the social reform movements affect the lives of ordinary people. In other words, while journalistic writing gives a bird’s-eye view of events, fiction helps me give a worm’s-eye view,” she says.

Kerala's Literacy Mission poster girl Karthyayani Amma passed away at the age of 101 at her residence in Alappuzha. She was the oldest learner under the Literacy Mission in the state.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his grief and condolences on her demise.

“Deeply saddened by the passing of Karthyayani Amma, who made history by becoming the oldest learner under the State Literacy Mission. She served as an inspiring role model for many, showing unwavering determination to pursue education despite challenges. Her demise is a significant loss to our literacy movement, which helped shape modern Kerala. Heartfelt condolences,” Kerala CM posted on X

Consolidating efforts towards the conservation of Tamil Nadu’s State Animal, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday, October 12, 2023 launched the ‘Project Nilgiri Tahr’ from the Secretariat in Chennai. He also distributed books to school students to create awareness about the Nilgiri Tahr.

The project with an outlay of ₹25 crore, aims to develop a better understanding of Nilgiri Tahr population, distribution and ecology, re-introduction of Nilgiri Tahr to their historic habitats, addressing proximate threat to Nilgiri Tahr, increasing awareness among the public about the Nilgiri Tahr species, developing eco-tourism activities at selected sites, among others.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), a Hyderabad based international research institute with a focus on tropical dryland agrifood system innovation, has joined the One CGIAR integrated partnership.

The One CGIAR partnership involves the CGIAR System Organisation and 12 One CGIAR research centres. The partnership will help build a unified approach to transforming food, land, and water systems to address the challenges posed by climate crisis.

The CGIAR (Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centres) is a publicly-funded network of agrifood systems research centres, works for transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. It has more than 8,000 employees, working in over 80 countries.

Marrakech [Morocco], October 12 (ANI): The World Bank, in partnership with Japan, and joined by Italy, the Republic of Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom, has launched an initiative aimed at addressing the dual challenges of job creation and climate change.

The Resilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement, known as the RISE initiative, will focus on assisting emerging markets and developing countries in expanding their clean-energy product manufacturing and increasing their involvement in the minerals industry.

This effort is expected to stimulate economic growth and generate quality local jobs, ultimately contributing to poverty alleviation.

Two young trekkers from the city have made a significant archaeological find that sheds light on ancient human habitation in the Hyderabad region. Walking inside the Manchirevula Forest Trek Park, Omar Ali Khan and Rishabh Manda have found what look like ancient rock paintings. “This is an important discovery. Preliminary analysis based on the surroundings suggest that this art dates back to mesolithic period. The paintings show three tortoises, a fish, and a geometric motif, all in red pigment,” said M. A. Srinivasan, an Assistant Professor in History at Potti Sriramulu Telugu University who led the study.

“We have dated the site based on the findings of water bodies, which are the source of the images of tortoises, quartzite tool fragments, and microliths,” informed Mr. Srinivasan.

Trinity Saioo, who won the 2021 Padma Shri award for helping more farmers in Meghalaya take up the cultivation of Lakadong turmeric, now plans to promote the north-eastern State’s unique “Makhir” ginger.

“Makhir ginger has a unique pungency and medicinal properties. So, we are looking to promote its cultivation in our State,” said Saioo, who made the Meghalaya turmeic famous through her tireless work.

Meghalaya has two types of ginger that are popular. While “Makhir” is one, the other is “Nadia”.

The ginger is small in size but it provides immense health benefits, the Padma Shri winner told businessline on the sidelines of Global Turmeric Conference in Mumbai.

Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, attended an online programme organised by UNICEF on 11 October 2023, the UN International Day of the Girl Child, to commemorate the milestone of one million certifications of its Passport to Earning (P2E) programme. The event was also attended by Dr. Krishna Kumar Dwivedi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; Shri Nitesh Kumar Mishra, Joint Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS); and Ms Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF Representative to India.

UNICEF’s global learning-to-earning solution, Passport to Earning (P2E), has skilled and certified more than one million young people in India in areas of financial literacy and digital productivity. This milestone marks a major step towards helping them gain skills relevant to the future of work and life. Notably, 62 per cent of all young learners who benefitted from P2E courses in India are adolescent girls and young women.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Friday launched the Rabi Campaign-2023 and flagged off the campaign chariots to all the districts of the state by showing a green flag.

According to the CMO this campaign has been launched for the success of Rabi-2023. In the campaign, farmers will be informed about the schemes run by the Agriculture Department related to the Rabi season.

"Awareness would be created on crop residue management and the burning of crop residue in the fields and the damage caused to the soil and environment due to this. Farmers would be apprised of Technical information about Rabi crops, the promotion of organic farming, and seasonal agriculture. Information on crop diversification will be given," the CMO office stated

After flagging off the campaign chariots, CM Nitish Kumar released a book pertaining to the Rabi Campaign-2023.