The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of M A Ganapathy to the post of Director General, BCAS, for a tenure up to his superannuation on February 29, 2024 or until further orders. He is a 1986 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

The post of BCAS chief fell vacant after Rakesh Asthana was appointed as the Director General of Border Security Force in August.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed on responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) and protecting the world against weaponisation of AI by non-state actors.
 
The Prime Minister said, Algorithm Transparency is key to establishing trust in how AI is used and it remains our collective responsibility to ensure it. 
 
Mr Modi said this while inaugurating the Summit -RAISE 2020 - ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020 through video conference.
 
He said, we want India to become a global hub for Artificial Intelligence and people of the country are already working on this.
 
Mr Modi hoped that more people will do so in the times to come.
 
The Prime Minister said that Raise 2020 is a great effort to encourage discussion on Artificial Intelligence.
 
He said, the teamwork of Artificial Intelligence with humans can do wonders for our planet.
 
He said, India has experienced that technology improves transparency and service delivery and we want India to become a global hub for AI.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today virtually inaugurated the Phoolbagan Station of Kolkata's East West Metro corridor, and flagged off the first train from there to Salt Lake Sector-V.
 
Mr Goyal also said the entire stretch of the corridor, connecting Sector-V and Howrah Maidan, is likely to be completed by December 2021.
 
The minister said , by the end of next year, the entire East West Corridor project of 16.55 km is expected to be completed.
 
While inaugurating the extension of the line till Phoolbagan Station through the virtual mode, Mr Goyal said the project, which has suffered delays owing to several issues, has been fast-tracked since 2015 because of the personal intervention and monitoring by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Summit RAISE 2020 - ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020 today. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and NITI Aayog are organizing the Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence from today to 9th of October. The summit will discuss cross-sector subjects like ‘Leveraging AI for Pandemic Preparedness’, the Impetus that Innovation Places on Digitisation’, Inclusive AI and Partnerships for Successful Innovation.  

In the spirit of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', Prime Minister Modi plans to leverage AI for inclusive development, representing the country's 'AI for All' strategy. Directed by the Prime Minister’s vision, India will soon stand out in the international community not just as a leader in the Artificial Intelligence field, but also as a model to show the world how to responsibly direct AI for social empowerment.

The summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and chart a course for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors. During the summit, delegates and experts in research, policy and innovation on Artificial Intelligence will join from across the globe.

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat yesterday launched a 100-day campaign to provide potable piped water supply in Schools and Anganwadi Centres. This mission was envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29th of last month, while releasing the ‘Margdarshika’ for Gram Panchayats and Paani Samitis for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission. The Prime Minister had appealed to the States to make best use of this campaign to ensure provision of potable piped water supply in these public institutions.

Under the Jal Jeevan Mission States and Union Territories are to  ensure that during the campaign, Gram Sabhas are convened at the earliest to pass a resolution for providing safe water in all schools, anganwadi centres and other public institutions in the village in the next 100 days. These facilities will be operated and maintained by the Gram Panchayat and its sub-committee. The Ministry said this is a befitting tribute to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. Jal Jeevan Mission aims at the universal coverage of provision of tap water connection to every rural home by 2024. Under the mission, special focus is on women and children.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the world’s longest highway tunnel, Atal tunnel at Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh today. The tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 10,000 feet from the Mean Sea Level. The 9.02 Km long tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year. Earlier the valley was cut off for about six months each year due to heavy snowfall.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also be present on the occasion. During his day-long visit, the Prime Minister will address two public gatherings, besides inspection of the escape egress tunnel. Our correspondent reports that the state government has made arrangements to broadcast the live telecast of the programme so that it can reach every part of the state.

Since morning, a large number of people have started arriving in their traditional attire to see and listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A lot of enthusiasm can be seen among the locals about the inauguration of the tunnel. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in view of the Prime Minister's visit. He will arrive at the south portal of the tunnel at Manali around 10 am where he will unveil the plaque to mark the inauguration of Atal Tunnel. He will also drive through the Atal tunnel to Sishu the north portal of the tunnel in Lahaul-Spiti from where he will flag off the HRTC bus from the north to south portal through the tunnel towards Manali. During his short stay, the Prime Minister will address two public gatherings, one at Solang at Manali in Kullu district and another at Sishu in Lahaul-Spiti.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have congratulated scientists and engineers for successful test flight of BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile featuring indigenous booster and airframe section along with many other 'Made in India' sub-systems.
 
The Prime Minister has said that Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile has achieved yet another milestone with successful test launch.
 
In a tweet, Mr Modi said that Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile has achieved yet another milestone with successful test launch showcasing enhanced operational capabilities and additional indigenous technologies.  
 
Home Minister Amit Shah also said that this state of the art weapon was a testimony of India's defence potential.
 
Mr. Shah said India is extremely proud of DRDO for successfully testing the indigenously developed extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.
 
This state of the art weapon is a testimony of India's defence potential and Prime Minister Narendra Modiji's resolve towards an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan has launched CSIR technologies for rural development.
 
This is a joint initiative of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi and Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA).
 
The event was organized through online platform on the occasion of CSIR-NISTADS 40th Foundation Day in the National Capital on Wednesday.
 
In his address, Dr Harsh Vardhan congratulated CSIR-NISTADS on their 40th Foundation Day, and said that they have been involved in exploring continuously the interface between Science, Technology and Society and have played an important role in science policy research in CSIR and at National Level.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC 4) during the iDEX event, featuring the initiatives aimed at expanding the horizons of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) ecosystem in New Delhi today. Mr Singh also launched the iDEX4Fauji initiative and Product Management Approach (PMA) guidelines during the event.

iDEX4Fauji is a first of its kind initiative, launched to support innovations identified by members of the Indian Armed Forces and will bolster frugal innovation ideas from soldiers and field formations.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr  Singh said, the iDEX initiative stands out as one of the most effective and well-executed defence Startupecosystem created in the  country. He said, it would be a decisive step towards achieving self-reliance in the spirit of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat campaign.

The Defence Minister said, for the first time, an atmosphere has been created in the country when different stakeholders have been brought together to push for innovations in the defence sector. He said,  in order to further strengthen defence system and make it self- reliant the participation of private sector is also crucial.

Government has continued to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at Minimum Support Price (MSP) from farmers as per its existing MSP Schemes.
 
Ministry of Agriculture said, based on the proposal from the States, approval has been accorded for procurement of over 14 Lakh Metric Tonnes of Pulses and Oilseeds  for the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana.
 
It said, for other States and Union Territories, approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposal for Kharif Pulses and Oilseeds.

Inaugurating six mega projects in Uttarakhand under the Namami Gange Mission on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured farmers about continuity of guaranteed Minimum Support Price and government procurements of agri produce.
 
The Prime Minister said major reforms have been brought to empower farmers, workers, youth and women of the country. He criticized the opposition for launching agitation against the reforms in labour and farm sectors.