The Secretariat of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on 31 announced the appointment of Jaya Verma Sinha as first woman CEO and chairperson of Railway Board. She succeeds Anil Kumar Lahoti.

The appointment of Jaya Varma Sinha will be effective from 1 September till her superannuation.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Smt. Jaya Verma Sinha, Indian Railway Management Services (IRMS), Member (Operations & Business Development), Railway Board to the post of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Railway Board in thn Apex scale [Pay Level -17 as per 7th CPC] for a period w.e.f. the date of assumption of charge on or after 01.09.2023 till the date of her superannuation and her re-employment on the post w.e.f. 01.09.2023 till 31.08.2024 on usual terms and conditions, or until further orders, whichever is earlier," the notice said.

Ravi Kannan moved to Assam’s Silchar with his wife, Seeta, from Chennai in 2007 to take charge of the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre.

Oncologist Ravi Kannan, a recipient of India’s fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri and the director of Assam’s Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC), has been named one of the four winners of the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel prize.

Nagaland’s state capital Kohima along with Sikkim’s Namchi have bagged the Zonal Smart City Award  for Northeast Zone under India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) for the year 2022. Kohima and Namchi cities were among the winning list of 66 smart cities of India.

The India Smart Cities Award Contest is organized under the Smart Cities Mission, Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

This is one of the important activities initiated under the Mission, where pioneering city strategies, projects and ideas are recognized to award the exemplary performance, enable peer-peer learning and disseminate best practices.

The commencement of Sagar Parikrama Phase-VIII is set to take place today at Thengapattanam Fishing Harbour in Kanyakumari district, where Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala, and Minister of State, Dr L Murugan, will jointly inaugurate the event. This particular phase of Sagar Parikrama will encompass an exploration of four coastal districts in Tamil Nadu, namely Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram. 

The Tamil Nadu segment of Sagar Parikrama, commencing today, will entail a journey through four districts over the next three days, concluding on the second of September 2023.

The warship ‘Mahendragiri’ being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai will be launched on Friday. It is the seventh stealth frigate under Project 17A of the Indian Navy. The wife of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Dr Sudesh Dhankhar will launch the warship. Vice President will be the Chief Guest at the ceremony. 

The newly christened Mahendragiri is a technologically advanced warship and stands as a symbol of India's determination to embrace its rich naval heritage. The launch of Mahendragiri is an apt testament to the incredible progress our Nation has made in building a self-reliant naval force.

The Vice-President will also visit Dharohar- the Heritage Museum of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.

President Draupadi Murmu launched the state level program of “Year of Positive Change” at Prajapita Brahmakumari Ishwariya Vishwavidyalaya in Raipur today.

Chhattisgarh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel were also present on the occasion.

The President reached Raipur this morning on his two-day visit to Chhattisgarh. The President will attend various programs in Raipur and Bilaspur during these two days. The President will attend the convocation ceremony of Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur tomorrow. Apart from this, tomorrow she will also meet the representatives of the primitive tribal community in Raipur.

On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Wednesday announced an increase of Rs 10,000 in the amount of the Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangla Yojana from 2024-25.

Under the scheme, underprivileged girls get a package of Rs 15,000 in six phases, starting from their birth to the time they enter graduation, which has been increased to Rs 25,000 from the next financial year.

The chief minister made this announcement while addressing the beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala scheme at Lok Bhavan here: “The double engine government is going to increase the amount of the Kanya Sumangala scheme from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 from the financial year 2024-25. This will make it easier for the daughters of the state to fulfil their dreams and become self-reliant and educated.”

Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday inaugurated the Nilachal flyover at Maligaon in Guwahati which is now the longest flyover in the state.

CM Sarma also tweeted a bird’s eye view of the 2.6 km long Flyover from Maligaon to Kamakhya Gate that was inaugurated by him today evening.

The 4-lane steel girder flyover has been constructed with a cost of Rs 420.75 crore.

Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan rover has confirmed the presence of sulphur on the moon’s surface, near its south pole, and is still searching for hydrogen, the Indian Space Research Organisation said on Tuesday.

The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-3’s rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole. “These in-situ measurements confirm the presence of Sulphur (S) in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters,” ISRO said. “Search for Hydrogen (H) is underway,” it posted on X (formerly Twitter).

‘Nabhmitra’, a device developed by ISRO-Space Applications Centre (Ahmedabad) for the safety of fishermen, was successfully tested at Neendakara on Saturday.

The satellite-based communication system enables two-way messaging services from and to the sea. While weather and cyclone warnings will be communicated in the local language, the boats can also send distress messages to the authorities. In emergency situations like capsizing and fire, fishers can press a button on the device and get in touch with the control centre. While the control centre will receive the alert including the location of the boat, the crew on the boat will get a response message from the control centre.