Presenting its first-ever celebrity voice on virtual assistant Alexa in India, Amazon announced Monday that legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan’s voice will be an option starting next year.

Bachchan joins US actor Samuel L. Jackson, who was the first-ever celebrity voice option on Alexa in September 2019. While the option of picking Jackson’s voice is available only in English and is restricted to users in the US, Amazon has said that Bachchan’s voice will be limited to Hindi. It will only be available to users in India.

This is the first time that the voice of an Indian actor will be used on the virtual assistant and #AlexaBachchan was a popular trend trending on multiple social media platforms. Many tried to guess how Alexa would react to their queries using popular  lines from Bachchan’s films and TV shows.

Today is the last date for online nominations and recommendations for the Padma Awards to be announced on the occasion of Republic Day next year. The nominations will be received online only on the Padma Awards portal.

The Padma Awards - Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri - are amongst the highest civilian awards of the country.
 
The award seeks to recognize ‘work of distinction’ and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements and service in all fields and disciplines.
 
Government servants including those working with PSUs, except Doctors and Scientists, are not eligible for Padma Awards.

Government is committed to transform Padma Awards into “People’s Padma”. All citizens have therefore been requested to make nominations including self-nomination.

Home Ministry has requested all Central Ministries and Departments, state governments, Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan awardees, Institutes of Excellence to make efforts to identify talented persons.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for seven projects related to urban infrastructure in Bihar today through video conferencing.
 
Out of these, four projects are related to water supply, two to sewerage treatment and one to riverfront development. The total cost of these projects is Rs. 541 crore.
 
The implementation of these projects has been undertaken by BUIDCO under Urban Development and Housing Department of Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will also be present on the occasion.
 
Sewerage treatment plants built under Namami Gange at Beur and Karmalichak in Patna Municipal Corporation will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister.

Austria's Dominic Thiem claimed his first Grand Slam title with a jaw-dropping comeback to edge past Germany's Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6) in Sunday's US Open final in New York.

From being two sets down, the 27-year-old world number three was in all sorts of trouble before hitting back from a break down to take the third.

In a nerve-wracking fourth set, Zverev faltered on serve at 3-4 allowing Thiem to take the contest to a decider.

Thiem then trailed 5-3 in the decider but rode on baseline winners to take it into a tiebreak. He squandered two match points from 6-4 but Zverev fired wide a third opportunity after four hours and two minutes.

National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) has surpassed the production targets by producing 16.11 Lakh tonne of urea in first five months of 2020-21, higher by 13 per cent compared to 14.26 lakh tonne produced during the same period in 2019-20. 

According to NFL, a PSU under Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has recorded total fertilizer sales of 23.81 Lakh tonne in April to August this year showing a growth of 16 per cent compared to previous best of 20.57 Lakh tonne recorded during the same period in 2019-20.
 
In the last few years, the Company has transformed from a single product to multi product company by adding DAP, MoP, SSP and Complex fertilizers, Bentonite Sulphur, Seeds, new strains of Bio-fertilizers and Agro chemicals in its product line.
 
The NFL is now providing all agri-inputs to the farmers under one roof. The Company, at present, operates Five Urea Plants located at Nangal and Bathinda in Punjab, Panipat in Haryana and two Plants at Vijaipur in the Guna district of Madhya Pradesh besides having Bio-Fertilizers plant in Vijaipur and Bentonite Sulphur plant in Panipat.

Home Minister Amit Shah e-dedicated and e-launched development projects worth Rs 221 crore in Ahmedabad district last evening.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that electricity consumption, industrial production, exports and startup statistics show that Gujarat is in the forefront in the nation in returning to normalcy during the Unlock. He said Gujarat has set a unique example for how to return to normal life with people’s cooperation.
 
Addressing the event through video conferencing, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani expressed happiness that even during the difficult times of Corona pandemic, Gujarat has continued its upward surge of developmental works. He expressed thanks to the Union Home Minister for e-dedicating developmental works to Bavla, Sanand and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
 
The works e-dedicated by Union Home Minister include Rs 130.91 crore pipeline network to carry water from Vaishnavdevi Circle to Shantipura and Sarkhej along Ring Road, Rs 15 crore new water distribution station near APMC Yard in south-west zone, Rs 24.99 crore water distribution station near Makarba Police Lines in Sarkhej ward and Rs 5.26 crore Chharodi village lake.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate 1.75 lakh houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G) in Madhya Pradesh today. All these houses have been built or completed during the challenging COVID-19 period. 

Mr Modi will also participate in 'Grih Pravesham', a ceremony considered auspicious for a family's entry into its new house. The event will be done through video conference and State's Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will also attend the ceremony. As part of the Modi government's Housing for All by 2022, 1.14 crore houses have been built across the country so far.

In Madhya Pradesh, 17 lakh poor households have benefited from this scheme till now. Under PMAY-G, each beneficiary is given 100 per cent grant of Rs 1.20 lakh with a sharing ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and the State concerned. The scheme envisages construction of 2.95 crore houses by the year 2022.

AIR Correspondent reports, all of these houses have been built and completed during the current challenging COVID-19 pandemic period. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that today will be the beginning of a new life for these families. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the National Education Policy-2020 will give a new direction to 21st century India.

Addressing the National Conclave on School Education in the 21st Century, Mr Modi today said, the new policy will be a medium to fulfill the aspirations, expectations and requirements of new India. He said, the new policy is the result of untiring hard work of various stakeholders over the last four to five years. He said, MyGov portal received more than 15 lakh suggestions within a week from teachers on the implementation of the Policy.

The Prime Minister said, development of Mathematical thinking and Scientific temperament is of prime importance in children. He said, when education is imparted in relation to the surrounding environment, the student can develop a practical knowledge. Mr Modi said, Pre-school is the first outside experience for the children. He said, the country needs teachers right from the Pre-school level for focus on fun-learning, activity based learning and discovery based learning. The Prime Minister said, we have to promote easy and innovative learning methods. He said, Engage, Explore, Experience, Express and Excel should be the Mantra of the New Age Learning.

Speaking on the occasion, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said, the new National Education Policy focuses on overall development of students with scientific temperament. He said this will also help in developing strong intellect in students. Dr Pokhriyal said, the new National Education Policy will also bring transformational reforms in school and higher education systems in the country. The Minister said, this policy will ensure universal access to high-quality early childhood care and education across the country.

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is observed on 10 September every year, to reinstate our worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides, with various activities around the world since 2003. The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) to host World Suicide Prevention Day.

The themes given by WHO for the last two years was “working together to prevent suicide” has gained even more prominence this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The current novel, ambiguous and uncertain situation has yet again made us think globally, plan nationally and act locally. The mantra during current times is building resilience, overcoming stigma about mental illness and restoring hope through connect, communicate and care.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today inaugurated Doorstep Banking Services by Public Sector Banks and participated in the awards ceremony to felicitate best performing banks on EASE Banking Reforms Index.

As part of the EASE Reforms, Doorstep Banking Services is envisaged to provide convenience of banking services to the customers at their doorstep through the universal touch points of Call Centre, Web Portal or Mobile App.  Customers can also track their service request through these channels. The services shall be rendered by the Doorstep Banking Agents deployed by the selected Service Providers at 100 centres across the country.

At present only non-financial services like pick up of negotiable instruments, new cheque book requisition slip, 15G / 15H forms, IT / GST challan, issue request for standing instructions, request for account statement are available to customers.  Financial services shall be made available from next month.

The services can be availed by customers of Public Sector Banks at nominal charges.