In Manipur, days 14-day-long 14th Sirarakhong Hathei Chilli Festival was inaugurated today at Sirarakhong Village in Ukhrul district. The festival is organised with the aim of promoting Sirarakhong Hathei, a GI-tag Chilli species grown in Sirarakhong Village, which is known for its unique aroma and flavour in the country.  The inaugural day featured a range of activities, including a ceremonial flag hoisting, vibrant cultural performances showcasing the rich heritage of the region. A Buyer-Seller Meet was also held to foster economic opportunities for local farmers, and a tree plantation drive under the nationwide initiative ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ was also held. 

Bharat Forge Chairman & Managing Director, Baba Kalyani, has been conferred with the Holley Medal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), a global recognitions for engineering innovation with public benefit.

The ASME Holley Award, established in 1924, recognizes outstanding and unique act(s) of an engineering nature, accomplishing a noteworthy and timely public benefit by one or more individuals for a single achievement.

“This recognition carries particular weight in today’s environment of elevated U.S. tariffs, underscoring how Bharat Forge is mitigating trade dynamics through engineering-led value creation in the US and globally. By localising advanced manufacturing and supporting domestic industry needs, Bharat Forge reflects Kalyani’s vision of building resilient supply chains and contributing to national competitiveness” the statement issued by Bharat Forge mentioned.

Fashion e-commerce platform Myntra is betting on celebrity partnerships and regional cultural heritage to capture India’s lucrative festive wear market. The firm is launching a premium ethnic wear brand, Souragya, with former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly ahead of the Durga Puja shopping season.

Souragya will feature nearly 100 styles of traditional Bengali garments, including sherwanis, kurtas, and ceremonial wear, targeting consumers seeking culturally authentic designs.

“The brand is all about celebrating the craftsmanship of India while infusing contemporary design elements,” Ganguly said. “Myntra’s expertise in design and its ability to bring this vision to life have been crucial in ensuring that the collection not only embodies sartorial excellence but also remains accessible to a wide audience.”

India’s unemployment rate slipped to a four-month low of 5.1 percent in August from 5.2 percent in July, the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), released by the statistics and programme implementation ministry on September 15, shows.

The decline was broad-based, with male unemployment easing to 5 percent, the lowest in five months. Rural male unemployment fell sharply to 4.5 percent, while in urban areas, it dropped to 5.9 percent from 6.6 percent in the previous month.

Female participation also strengthened for a second straight month. The female labour force participation rate rose to 33.7 percent from 33.3 percent in July, indicating more women either joining the workforce or expressed willingness to work.

Labour and Employment Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said that the country is committed towards leveraging digital innovation in order to enhance labour market efficiency and workers’ welfare.

Addressing the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) virtually today, Dr Mandaviya highlighted that the Collaboration will facilitate youth in availing global employment opportunities and will also help the country’s workers to integrate seamlessly into global labour markets.

The Minister noted that the partnership reflects a shared commitment to shape the future of work in times of rapid transformation. He added that the International Reference Classification will enhance the comparability of data and promote the mutual recognition of skills.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has added seven new Indian sites to its Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. India now boasts of 69 sites under the global body’s consideration, with 49 cultural sites, 17 natural heritage locations and the other three falling under the mixed category. All seven new Indian additions to UNESCO’s list fall under the natural heritage bracket. These sites celebrate India’s rich geographical and cultural diversity, providing tourists more spots to plan their timely getaways with friends and families.

Located in the state of Maharashtra, the Deccan Traps of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar are now part of UNESCO‘s World Heritage Sites. Among the largest volcanic formations on the planet, the Deccan Traps are also known as one of the biggest basaltic provinces. For travellers, this hill station provides a glimpse of one of the world’s geological wonders.

The United States, South Korea and Japan opened an air and naval exercise off a South Korean island on Monday (September 15, 2025) in their latest joint drill condemned by North Korea as a "reckless show of strength."

The exercise called Freedom Edge is aimed at strengthening the countries' combined operational capabilities in the sea, air and cyberspace and is necessary to counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, South Korea's Defence Ministry said.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the exercise will include U.S. Marine and Air Force aerial assets and feature enhanced ballistic-missile and air-defence drills, medical evacuations and maritime operations training, making it "the most advanced demonstration of trilateral defence cooperation to date."

Albania has become the world's first country to appoint an 'AI minister' to oversee the growth and ethical use of artificial intelligence in the country - not a person but a virtual member of government, made of pixels and code. The AI minister is named Diella -- meaning 'sun' in Albanian -- and is tasked with tackling corruption, according to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Presenting his new cabinet at a meeting of his Socialist Party following a big May election victory, Rama said Diella will oversee public tenders, promising its artificial intelligence would make his government "corruption-free".

"Diella is the first cabinet member who isn't physically present, but is virtually created by AI," Rama said, introducing her. She will help make Albania "a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption".

Renowned Bharatanatyam exponent and Kalakshetra teacher Alladi Sarada (Sarada Hoffman), affectionately called Chinna Sarada and Sarada teacher, died on Sunday (14 September, 2025) in California. She was born on 15 June, 1929, in the Theosophical Society campus in Adyar.

One of her prominent disciples V.P. Dhananjayan said she played a significant role in shaping and standardising the Kalakshetra methodology for Bharatanatyam, and her efforts unified several loosely knit traditional training systems.

She had received many prestigious awards, including the Central Sangeet Natak Academy (1996) and the first ‘Rukmini Devi Medal for Excellence in the Arts’, instituted by the Centre for Contemporary Culture, New Delhi.

India pacer Mohammed Siraj of India was on Monday named ICC Player of the Month for August following his heroic effort in the fifth and final Test against England.

Orla Prendergast of Ireland too was named player of the month alongside Siraj.

Siraj’s superb match-winning effort on the final day of the Test series against England helped India win The Oval Test match by six runs.

Siraj grabbed three wickets on the dramatic final morning of the fifth match to finish with nine wickets in the match as the Indian team drew the series 2-2.