Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal today conferred the National Intellectual Property Awards at the National Intellectual Property Conference 2023 held in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that during the Amrit Kaal journey, transformation is an essential part of making India a developed economy and Innovation is at the center of transformation. He said that Intellectual Property could also be termed as an area of Infinite Potential.

Mr Goyal said that technology and innovative ideas are the twin engine of growth and Intellectual Property Right, IPR, is the fuel that powers this engine. He congratulated all the award winners for their achievements and said that this will inspire future generations to come up with new ideas and solutions for both business and society. He said that hopefully in the next three or four years, India will become 3rd largest Economy and GDP in the world.

Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Ms. V Vidyavathi, today stressed upon looking at tourism as a great employment generator across the spectrum. Addressing the inaugural session of the 17th CII Annual Tourism Summit held in Mumbai today, Ms. V Vidyavathi said that we should be deliberating on how to reach this goal. She also rooted for true partnership between Industry and Government for the development of tourism.

Principal Secretary, Tourism & Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, Mr. Sheo Shekhar Shukla, in his address, said that to encourage the investors and increase investments in the areas of tourism and hospitality, the government of Madhya Pradesh has identified land parcels that are ready and are being offered to the investors on a very reasonable reserve price.

Chairman of CII National Committee on Tourism and Hospitality and MD & CEO of Indian Hotels Co Ltd., Mr. Puneet Chhatwal said that India has boundless possibilities, with its rich culture and heritage, geographical advantages, and captivating landscapes. He said that tourism is one of the largest service industries in India fuelling job creation and playing an extraordinary role in India’s development trajectory. He also put forward several recommendations to the Ministry of Tourism.

In Ladakh, Commissioner Secretary Tourism & Culture UT Ladakh, Kacho Mehboob Ali Khan, inaugurated the 8th edition of the two-day Ladakh Zanskar Festival-2023 at Padum in Zanskar, Kargil.

The 8th edition of Zanskar festival began with people in traditional attire and exhibition stalls displaying traditional cuisine, attire, lifestyle, ethnicity and unique Zanskar culture along with stalls from different departments. Kacho Mehboob Ali Khan along with other guests visited the stalls and appreciated the efforts of villagers and volunteers.

Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya will be on a one-day visit to Nagaland tomorrow. Dr. Mandaviya will officially inaugurate the Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (NIMSR), at Phreibagei in Kohima. Dr. Mandaviya will also unveil a monolith marking the occasion.

NIMSR is the state’s first Medical college and the National Medical Commission has allowed NIMSR to take 100 students for the first academic session of 2023-2024. The first batch of 100 MBBS students consists of 85 seats from the State of Nagaland and 15 seats filled from All India Quota.

The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the 5th National Water Awards 2023 on the Rashtriya Puraskar portal. All the applications for the awards will be received through the online portal till 15th December.

In an official release, Ministry of Jal Shakti said that any State, District, Village Panchayat, Urban Local Body, School, College, Institution, Industry, Civil society, Water User Association or individual who has done exemplary work in the field of water conservation and management are eligible to apply for the award. It said that the best state and best district winners will be felicitated with a trophy and citation.

Union Minister for fisheries Parshottam Rupala began the tenth phase of Sagar Parikrama from Chennai yesterday. Addressing the media at Chennai port, the Minister said that Sagar Parikrama is one of the ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that this programme was launched with the goal of understanding the needs and the challenges of fisherman. He said that it was a great expectation to travel onboard Indian Coast Guard ship Sujay. The ship will first land at Krishnapattinam today where there will be a fish food festival. Later, the Minister will proceed to Nellore. He said that the Government will provide new equipment to the fishermen to know if they are trespassing into international waters. He said that the project would be coordinated with ISRO. 

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will deliver a valedictory address, today, on the concluding day of the Ninth G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) which is being held at Yasho Bhumi in New Delhi.

On the second day of the Summit, two sessions on the subjects - Mainstreaming Gender Equality - From Women’s Development to Women-led Development and Transformation in Peoples’ Lives through Public Digital Platforms will be held. During the concluding session of the Summit, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will hand over the P20 Presidency to the Parliament of Brazil. The two-day P20 Summit began yesterday at Yasho Bhoomi in New Delhi which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Indian Army won a gold medal at the Cambrian Patrol Competition 2023 International Military Exercise in Wales, UK.

A team from 3/5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) represented the Indian Army at the prestigious Cambrian Patrol Exercise in Wales, UK, the Army said.

The Indian Army team participated in the event and competed against a total of 111 teams, which included 38 international teams representing special forces and prestigious regiments from around the world.

Exercise Cambrian Patrol, organised by the UK Army, is considered the ultimate test of human endurance and team spirit and is sometimes referred to as the Olympics of Military Patrolling among militaries in the world, a Defence Ministry release earlier said.

Battery-swapping solutions provider SUN Mobility on Thursday said it has partnered with electric vehicle fleet operator Bluwheelz to deploy over 16,000 EVs in the next 12 months.

Under the partnership, the companies are looking to deploy over 15,000 electric two-wheelers and 1,000 electric three-wheelers in all metropolitan cities through the next 12 months, SUN Mobility said in a statement.

Besides, the company also plans to retrofit over 1,000 existing 4-wheeler loader fleets of BluWheelz into electric over the next 12 months, it added.

"We are now doing more than 1 million swaps every month and with partners like Bluwheelz we will empower more people to choose sustainable transportation options, making our cities cleaner and more liveable," SUN Mobility CEO Anant Badjatya said.

Teenage Indian-American inventor Gitanjali Rao was honoured by US First Lady Jill Biden, along with 14 other young women leaders, for leading a change and shaping a brighter future in their communities across the nation.

The 17-year-old scientist was honoured on Wednesday in the first-ever "Girls Leading Change" celebration at the White House, marking the International Day of the Girl. Rao created a device called 'Tethys' which uses carbon nanotubes to quickly detect lead compounds in water and sends in the values of the water status — ‘safe’, ‘slightly contaminated’, or ‘critical’ — to a smartphone app.