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.

The 5th and the concluding event of the ‘Women and Water Dialogue Series’ was organised on 11th October 2023 at the Boat Club House in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The ‘Women and Water Dialogue Series’ is a programme started during the Ganga Utsav 2022 to highlight the pivotal role of women in the water sector. The 4 events of this series were held in Varanasi, Kanpur, New Delhi and Rishikesh. The 5th and the concluding event coincided with the International Day of the Girl Child and was presided over by Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga Mr. G. Asok Kumar. Other participants included Ms. Laura Sustersic, Programme Director at SGR, GIZ, Ms. Saumya Pandey, Additional Labour Commissioner, Kanpur, Dr. Swayamprabha Das from Development Alternatives, Ms. Suparna Debroy, woman entrepreneur, Ms. Shipra Pathak from Panchtatva and representatives from SMCGs, District Ganga Committees, district-level authorities, local communities, including women. The closing session also featured a musical program titled 'Nadi aur Nari'.

Addressing the audience on 'Gender Inclusion – Government Interventions’, Shri Kumar emphasized the pivotal role of the girl child in shaping the future. He stressed the importance of building a strong foundation for them, empowering them to become a potent force in the future. He also commended the well-timed choice of this day and extended his congratulations to GIZ for their remarkable Women and Water Dialogue program. “The Women and Water Dialogue covered all important towns along Ganga including Varanasi, Kanpur, Delhi, Rishikesh. All programmes were linked to one or the other important day which is helps in connecting with the people,” Shri Kumar added.

Centre has approved seven bridge projects worth 118 Crore 50 lakh rupees in Arunachal Pradesh under the Setu Bandhan Scheme.

Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that these projects will enhance connectivity and boost economic growth across all sectors. He added that the projects align with the Nation’s commitment to improve the overall quality of life and promote the socio-economic growth of Arunachal Pradesh.

The approved bridges are four Reinforced Cement Concrete bridges, Three bridges on National Highway 313, and one Steel Composite bridge.