The Indian Air Force is preparing to conduct a mega-multilateral exercise later this year that will bring together air forces of 12 nations, thus strengthening military cooperation with them, an official privy to the development said on Wednesday.

The exercise, named Tarang Shakti, is slated to be the biggest air exercise to be conducted in India. Participating countries will join the exercise with both military combat jets and transport aircraft, among other assets.

India’s three Rafale fighter jets will fly to France to take part in the Bastille Day flypast over the Champs Elysees in Paris on 14 July along with other French aircraft.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the Guest of Honour for this year’s National Day Parade in France. Modi’s visit marks the 25th anniversary of the “strategic partnership” between France and India.

Earlier, Anglo-French Jaguar fighter jets were supposed to join the parade – which were inducted in the Indian fleet in the 1980s.

Over 5-lakh saplings would be distributed within a week of the campaign launch as part of efforts to expand green cover while ensuring potable tap water

In a first, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) will launch ‘one-tap-one-tree’ campaign from July 1. As part of this, free saplings would be distributed with each new tap connection in rural areas of the state.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has removed India from his annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, citing "measures taken by the government to better protect" them.

Mr. Guterres said in his report last year, he had welcomed the engagement of the Indian government with his special representative and noted that it might lead to the removal of India as a situation of concern.

In a significant milestone for women's Kabaddi, Dubai hosted the world's first international Women's Kabaddi final, featuring the Punjab Panthers vs Uma Kolkata.

The intense match concluded with the Uma Kolkata team emerging as champions, securing a grand prize of ₹10,000,000. The Punjab team demonstrated commendable skills and earned the second position, receiving a prize of ₹5,000,000.

The tournament spanned 12 days and witnessed the participation of eight teams from India, representing different states. Esteemed figures, including Juma Al Madani, Chairman and CEO of Al Matiya Group, Pushyamitra Bhargav, Mayor of Indore, Pradeep Kumar Nehra, Director Women's Kabaddi League and prominent Indian diaspora such as Dr. Sunil Manjrekar and Chandrashekhar Bhatia, graced the final ceremony. The event was successfully organized by Women's Kabaddi league who played a crucial role in bringing the tournament to fruition.

New York City will add the festival of Diwali to the list of public school holidays in recognition of the growth of the city’s South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.

Diwali, known as the festival of lights, happens October or November, depending on the lunar calendar.

However, this year it falls on Sunday, Nov. 12 — meaning the 2023-2024 school calendar will not be affected by the change.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel

The Gujarat government on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with computer storage chip maker Micron for setting up a $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and test facility at Sanand in Ahmedabad district.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, a government release said.

The launch is set to take place at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, using a GSLV Mark 3 heavy-lift launch vehicle.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has confirmed the launch date for its highly anticipated lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3. The rocket is slated to launch on July 13 at 2:30 pm local time, officials announced today.

The mission, India's third venture to the moon, represents another significant step for the nation in space exploration, following the successful but bittersweet Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019. While the previous mission managed to orbit the moon, the Vikram lander suffered a hard landing that prevented the rover from being deployed as planned.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed the video release of "Abundance in Millets" song. In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, 'very creative and will inspire more people to embrace millets for healthy living'.

The official video of Grammy Award-winning Indian-American singer Falguni Shah’s special song to promote millets, in collaboration with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, released yesterday. With lyrics in both Hindi and English, the song was created to raise awareness of the super grain as another potential key to minimising world hunger, read a statement on Shah’s website.

The festival of sacrifice, Eid-ul-Azha or Baqraeed is being celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in various parts of the country today. The faithful will offer  Eid prayers in Eidgahs and grand mosques.

In the national capital Delhi, main Eid prayers congregations are being held at Jama Masjid, Fatehpuri mosque and Shahi Eidgah.

Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his only son in obedience of God's command. Elaborate security arrangements have been made on the occasion.