The Ministry of Culture has identified 449 sites for cleanliness under special Swachhata Campaign 3.0, officials said on Monday.

The ministry in a statement said it is undertaking the campaign within the ministry and its attached, subordinate and autonomous organisations located across the country.

The drive started with a preparatory phase from September 15-30 during which the targets for disposing and cleaning during the campaign period have been earmarked. Implementation phase of the campaign has started from October 2 and will continue up to October 31, the officials said.

During the campaign, special focus is being given on reducing pendency, space management and enhancing workplace experience in offices, they said.

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has embarked on a four day visit to Italy and France. During the first leg of his two-nation visit, the Raksha Mantri is scheduled to meet Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto in Rome. The relationship between India and Italy were elevated to Strategic Partnership in March 2023 during the visit of the Italian Prime Minister to India.

During the second and final leg, Mr. Rajnath Singh will conduct the 5th Annual Defence Dialogue with his counterpart, French Minister of Armed Forces Mr Sebastien Lecornu in Paris. India and France recently celebrated 25 years of Strategic Partnership. Both countries enjoy a deep and wide-ranging bilateral defence relationship, including significant industrial cooperation.

The Annual Joint HADR Exercise (AJHE) is an outcome of Hon’ble PM’s directive promulgated during Combined Commanders’ Conference-2015. Since its first edition in 2015, the Annual Joint HADR Exercise, CHAKRAVAT, has transformed itself into a multi-agency endeavour involving participation of all three Services, Paramilitary Forces, as well as several disaster response organisations, NGOs, academic institutions and international organisations. The 2023 edition would further synergise efforts at the national level among all stakeholders, as well as witness participation from eight countries of the Indian Ocean Region.

The exercise has been conducted by Indian Army, Indian Navy (IN) and Indian Air Force (IAF) in rotation since 2016. The last edition of the exercise was conducted at Agra by IAF. The 2023 edition of the exercise is being hosted by the Indian Navy at Goa from 09 to 11 Oct 23.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact and address the contingent of Indian athletes who participated in the Asian Games 2022 tomorrow in New Delhi. In the event, the Prime Minister will appreciate to the athletes for their outstanding achievement at the Asian Games and to motivate them for future competitions.

India won a total of 107 medals, including 28 gold medals in Asian Games 2022. This is India's best performance in the Asian Games in terms of total number of medals won.

The program will be attended by the athletes of the Indian contingent for the Asian Games, their coaches, officials from the Indian Olympic Association and representatives of National Sports Federations.

Responding to Hamas's surprise attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday launched operation 'Iron Swords'. IDF is striking Hamas targets in Gaza. "In response to the barrages of rockets launched by Hamas from Gaza at Israel, the IDF is currently striking Hamas targets in Gaza," IDF said on 'X'.

Operation Iron Swords is Israel's retaliation for a surprise attack by Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist militant organisation, on Israel. On Saturday morning, Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years, killing at least 100 people and claiming it had taken dozens of hostages.

The Israeli military said it had responded with air strikes into Gaza, where witnesses reported hearing heavy explosions and multiple dead and wounded being carried into hospitals. The Israeli military said navy forces killed dozens of Palestinian militants trying to infiltrate Israel by sea.

The Indian government has received information about bank accounts of Indian nationals and organisations in the Swiss Bank, as part of the annual automatic information exchange under which Switzerland has shared particulars of nearly 36 lakh financial accounts with 104 countries, reported PTI.

Notably, this is the fifth time the information exchange was conducted between India and Switzerland.

The Indian side officials have informed that the new details shared with Indian authorities pertain to "hundreds of financial accounts", including many cases of multiple accounts associated with some individuals, corporates and trusts.

Claudia Goldin became the third woman to receive the Nobel Prize in economics as the US professor was awarded for her research into the factors that explain pay gaps between men and women.

Goldin will receive a 11 million-krona ($1 million) award, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm said in a statement Monday.

“Understanding women’s role in the labor market is important for society," Jakob Svensson, chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences said in a statement. “Thanks to Claudia Goldin’s groundbreaking research, we now know much more about the underlying factors and which barriers may need to be addressed in the future."

An age-old traditional craft of Kathua district, Basohli Pashmina is famous for its exceptional softness, fineness and feather-like weight; Kalari, a popular Dogra cuisine, finds its origin in Udhampur district’s Ramnagar

The famous Basohli Pashmina, known for its feather-like softness, and Udhampur’s churned milk specialty Kalari received the prestigious GI tag on Wednesday.

A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.

Following India's thrilling six-wicket win against Australia in the fifth match of the ODI World Cup at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, Virat Kohli was awarded the gold medal for best fielding by Indian fielding coach T Dilip.

In a fun behind the scenes video posted by the BCCI Kohli can be seen been awarded the medal by the fielding coach.

While giving the medal, the Indian fielding coach praised Shreyas Iyer for his excellent dive while fielding. Dilip later added that the team focuses on consistency and not just one catch but overall performance, for which he chose Virat Kohli for the best fielding award.

Celebrity chef and former Food Network star Michael Chiarello passed away at the age of 61.

According to Variety, a US-based media outlet, Chiarello died on Saturday at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, California, where he was being treated for an acute allergic reaction that led to anaphylactic shock, his company Gruppo Chiarello announced in a statement.