Popular Odia music director and lyricist Swarup Nayak died on Friday at his residence in Cuttack after a prolonged illness, family members said.

Nayak, 76, was suffering from throat cancer for the last few months, they said.

He had composed music for 41 Odia films including ‘Hira Nila’, ‘Bagula Baguli’, ‘Lal Paan Bibi’, ‘Jahaku Rakhibe Ananta’ and ‘Ki Heba Sua Posile’, and worked as a lyrist in 30 of those.

Three students of the Lucknow University (LU) have been selected for the NEP SAARTHI (Student Ambassador for Academic Reforms in Transforming Higher Education in India), an initiative of the University Grants Commission under the New Education Policy (NEP).

A total of 31 students were selected from 13 universities/educational institutions of India and of these three students are from Lucknow University. These LU students are Divyanshi Gupta (BSc semester-5), Priyanshi Rai (BTech semester- VII, computer science) and Ashutosh Bajpai (MA political science, semester-III).

The Union Government has come out with a Standards & Labelling Programme for solar panels, which will entail rating of solar panels through star labels to indicate quality and energy efficiency. The star labelling scheme prepared by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) for PV modules will be voluntary for the first two years from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2025, for which no labelling fee will be charged.

While launching the programme in Delhi, Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh, said that the move will make it easier for citizens to make an informed and judicious decision while purchasing and deploying solar photovoltaic modules, known commonly as solar panels.

In Manipur,  the annual festival - Mera Houchongba will be celebrated at Kangla in Imphal tomorrow (Saturday). The festival is held to foster and consolidate relations among hill tribes and valley people of the State.

However, the Royal Palace of Manipur has announced that the festival will be toned down with just the observance of religious rituals, considering the ongoing situation in the State.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh along with the titular king of Manipur and Member of Rajya Sabha Leishemba Sanajaoba will inaugurate the festival tomorrow morning at Kangla, the erstwhile royal palace of Manipur. A ritual ceremony will be held there.

Afterward, exchanges of gifts between hill tribes and valley people will take place.

Indian para-athletes created history on October 28 as they clinched their 100th medal at the 4th Asian Para Games in China's Hangzhou, reported ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the para-athletes, highlighting their dedication and talent, which serves as an inspiration to the nation. In a post on Social media platform X, he said, “100 MEDALS at the Asian Para Games! A moment of unparalleled joy. This success is a result of the sheer talent, hard work, and determination of our athletes….They serve as a reminder that nothing is impossible for our youth."

In Punjab, two cities, Amritsar and Kapurthala, have been included in the 30 cities of historical and religious tourism importance of 15 States of the country selected under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme of the Union Ministry of Tourism. Earlier in the year 2018-19 Sri Anandpur Sahib, Sri Fatehgarh Sahib, Chamkaur Sahib, Ferozepur, Khatkar Kalan, Patiala and Kalanaur were selected in this Scheme.

The objective of the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the Union Government is to make the visit of tourists pleasant and memorable by providing better basic facilities in cities of historical and religious importance. Under this, 70 crores of rupees will be spent on development works in Amritsar and Kapurthala cities of Punjab. The government's effort is to ensure that tourists stay in these cities for a longer period and get detailed information about the historical and cultural heritage. Definitely, this move will give a boost to the tourism industry in these cities. 

An Indian-origin astrophysicist from the University of Sheffield in the UK is part of a team of scientists who have helped bring humanity one step closer to understanding how the heaviest chemical elements are created in the universe with the help of a high-end camera.

Professor Vik Dhillon, from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Physics and Astronomy who leads the ULTRACAM project, said the camera is the first instrument to pinpoint the location of the gamma-ray burst that indicated the start of the kilonova explosion.

A kilonova is the merger of two dense neutron stars and is important because their explosions are believed to form the heaviest elements in the periodic table, including most of the gold, platinum and uranium found on Earth.

“Our camera ULTRACAM was the first instrument to pinpoint the location of the gamma-ray burst, the second brightest one ever observed, that indicated the start of the kilonova explosion,” said Dhillon.

The Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force (UPSSF), a specialised dedicated force raised on the lines of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), will ensure security of seven newly constructed airports in Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Sonbhadra, Shravasti, Aligarh, Moradabad and Azamgarh.

On Thursday, a senior official from the home department announced that the Principal Secretary of the Home Department, Sanjay Prasad, issued an order on October 20 regarding the deployment of UPSSF at these airports. The order instructs the U.P. Director General of Police (DGP) to define the roles of UPSSF and local police and determine their respective responsibilities in security prior to the force’s deployment.

In a major milestone for the nation, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri today launched India’s first home-produced Reference Fuel in New Delhi today. Reference Fuel is used for developing engines and assessing its performance. Earlier, India used to exclusively import it from other nations.
 
Speaking at the event, the Minister said that its introduction is an important step towards atmanirbharta in the fuel and energy sector. He added that this puts India into an exclusive club of reference fuel producers and is in line with international benchmarks. He exclaimed that this achievement not only reduces India’s dependence on imports but also catapults India’s energy industry to select global players armed with exclusive competencies. The Minister said this is part of PM Modi’s vision of transforming India into an ‘energy-independent’ nation by 2047.

The Department of Consumer Affairs, in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), has officially launched the ‘Dark Patterns Buster Hackathon 2023’ to address the issue of deceptive practices on e-commerce platforms. This groundbreaking initiative aims to create innovative applications and software capable of detecting and preventing dark patterns that harm consumers.

In a move to enhance consumer protection, the Department of Consumer Affairs published draft guidelines on September 7, 2023, titled “Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns.” These guidelines are open for public feedback until October 5, 2023. The draft guidelines propose expanding the list of known dark patterns, introducing new categories such as Rogue Malwares, Trick Wording, and Saas Billing.