A group of scientists from India and the United Kingdom have discovered a new species of toads, the third of a genus found only in a very narrow area in northeast India.

The discovery of the new species – Bufoides bhupathyi – found in the Dampa tiger reserve of Mizoram was published in the latest issue of Biodiversitas, a journal published in Indonesia. The two earlier known species from the genus ‘bufoides’ – Bufoides meghalayanus and Bufoides kempi – were found in Meghalaya.

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala and Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr. L. Murugan, will inaugurate the “International Conclave on Mainstreaming Climate Change into International Fisheries Governance and Strengthening of Fisheries Management Measures in the Indo-Pacific Region” on 17th October 2023 at Mahabalipuram, Chennai.

Union Minister Parshottam Rupala will inaugurate the International Conference; the Brainstorming Session on India’s Preparedness for Adapting to Climate Change in Marine Fisheries and the thematic exhibition wherein research and educational institutes; community organizations and entrepreneurs would display their innovations and activities related to the theme. Dr. L. Murugan will deliver the special address.

Nasa successfully launched a spacecraft from Florida, embarking on a six-year journey to explore Psyche, the largest metal-rich asteroid in our solar system. Scientists believe Psyche could be the core of an ancient protoplanet, offering valuable insights into the formation of Earth.

The Psyche probe was securely folded within the cargo bay of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, which took off under partly cloudy skies from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The spacecraft, roughly the size of a small van, is now on a planned 2.2 billion-mile (3.5 billion-km) journey through space, set to reach the asteroid in August 2029.

IIT-B and Laurus Labs backed ImmunoACT announced the approval of India's first CAR-T cell therapy, NexCAR19 (Actalycabtagene autoleucel), for the treatment of r/r B-cell lymphomas and leukemia from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).

Immunoadoptive Cell Therapy Private Limited ("ImmunoACT") received the marketing authorization approval for the first humanized CD19-targeted Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell (CAR-T cell) therapy product for relapsed/refractory (r/r) B-cell lymphomas and leukemia in India.

NexCAR19 is an indigenously developed CD19-targeted CAR-T cell therapy. It is the first-of-its-kind, made-in-India product and is a major stride in advanced cell-and-gene therapies.

The capital markets regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday released a set of amendents on anti-money laundering standards and combating the financing of terrorism. These guidelines relate to the rules framed under the prevention of money laundering Act 2002.

For the uninitiated, Prevention of Money Laundering (Second Amendment) Rules, 2023 came into force on Sep 4, this year, and in view of these amendments, certain provisions of the master circular stand to get modified.

Tamil Nadu’s first artificial intelligence (AI)-based early warning system to prevent wild elephants from getting hit by trains on railway lines along the Ettimadai–Walayar section, which links Tamil Nadu and Kerala, is nearing completion. It will give an additional layer of protection for pachyderms.

Forest Department officials said the installation of all 12 e-surveillance towers for the project — five along the ‘A’ line and seven along the ‘B’ line, of the twin single line — has been completed. To detect elephant movement, thermal imaging cameras have been fixed on all towers along the ‘A’ line, where a control room has also been set up. Camera-fixing and networking-related works are in the final stages along the ‘B’ line. The department is expecting the contractor to complete the works soon, they added.

The occurrence of tilapia parvovirus (TiPV) affecting farm-bred tilapia, a freshwater fish species, and causing a huge mortality rate has been reported for the first time in India at ponds in Walajah in Ranipet district of Tamil Nadu.

“Fish samples were collected from 10 ponds in the farm and fish from eight ponds showed TiPV-positive by PCR. This DNA virus caused mortality ranging from 30 to 50% in the farm and 100% mortality in the laboratory,” said Dr. Sahul Hameed, Director, Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) of C. Abdul Hakeem College (CAHC) at Melvisharam.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan mentioned that with the beginning of the auspicious celebration of Durga Puja, the launch of the Super Power Retailer will empower retailers and provide them with training to expand their businesses and enhance consumer experiences. The initiative will play a pivotal role in strengthening India’s economy by skilling, reskilling, and upskilling the retailers, he added.

Shri Pradhan also mentioned, how this initiative, aligned with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of making our workforce the biggest beneficiary of developed India, will provide 14 hours of quality retail training through the Skill India Digital Portal to 1.40 crore retailers of the country. He also added that the retailers will be trained on how to plan and implement business strategies and utilize the vast opportunities extended by digital platforms.

Shri Pradhan also informed that these training modules will be available in multiple languages which will enable small shopkeepers as well as big businessmen across the country. This initiative will enable a retail ecosystem that will exceed customer expectations, embrace the Future of Work, and provide exponential growth to the industry, he added.

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.