Astronomers have for the first time discovered water vapour in the atmosphere of a distant planet called K2-18b.

Astronomers at the University College London used data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to make the discovery. They yesterday published their findings in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The lead scientist of the University, Prof. Giovanna Tinetti said it is the first time that they have detected water on a planet in the habitable zone around a star where the temperature is potentially compatible with the presence of life.

Another astronomer Angelos Tsiaras said, it has an atmosphere, and it has water in it-making this planet the best candidate for habitability that we know right now. 

The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) have decided to rename the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium as Arun Jaitley Stadium in memory of the former union minister who also served as president of the DDCA for 13 years between 1999-2013.

Jaitley who was an ardent follower of cricket passed away on August 24 in Delhi at the age of 66.

Along with the name change, the Kotla is also set to have a stand named after current Indian skipper and local lad Virat Kohli. The renaming will take place on September 12.

Sri Lanka launches ‘Make in India’ swanky train! An all-new train service has been flagged off in Sri Lanka and what’s interesting about this train is that is has been fully manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. On Wednesday, the President of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena along with the country’s Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga and Taranjit Singh Sandhu, High Commissioner of India flagged off the new train- Pulathisi Express, from Fort railway station in Colombo to Polonnaruwa. The swanky and luxurious new train set has been supplied to Sri Lanka Railways by RITES Limited under an Indian Line of Credit. RITES Limited is a PSU, under the aegis of Indian Railways which specializes in the field of transport infrastructure.

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has bestowed the First Class Order of Zayed II award on Ambassador, Navdeep Singh Suri in recognition of his efforts during his tenure and his contribution to the development and strengthening of friendly relations and co-operation between the two friendly countries.

It is a rare honour given to any diplomat.Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, presented the Order to the Ambassador in Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Abdullah lauded the ambassador's role in bolstering UAE-Indian ties and wished him success in his future assignments.

Ahead of the Assembly polls, due next month in Haryana, the State government on Wednesday launched two insurance schemes for registered small and medium traders in an apparent bid to woo voters.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched “Mukhyamantri Vyapari Samuhik Niji Durghatna Beema Yojana” and “Mukhyamantri Vyapari Kshatipurti Beema Yojana” here.

“The premium of 38 crore people of both the schemes would be paid by the State government,” said Mr. Khattar at a press conference.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday elevated retired IAS officer Pramod Kumar Mishra as his Principal Secretary and appointed former cabinet secretary PK Sinha as Principal Advisor to the Prime Minister. Both the appointments are co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier, said the statement.

The two big changes come after the exit of Nripendra Misra from the Prime Minister’s Office. Nripendra Misra, who had been one of the first bureaucrats to be appointed to the PMO when Narendra Modi came to Delhi in 2014, had resigned as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister last month.

PK Mishra, who had been Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister for the last five years, and PM Modi have known each other for nearly two decades. Back in 2001 when Narendra Modi was first sent to Gujarat by his party to take charge of the state, PK Mishra was his top aide in the Chief Minister’s Office and stayed in this post for the next few years. In this role, senior officials recall that it was PK Mishra who had introduced Narendra Modi to the intricacies of the bureaucracy and government.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested an indigenously-developed low weight, fire and forget Man Portable Antitank Guided Missile (MPATGM) in the ranges of Kurnool on September 11.

According to a press release, the missile was launched from a man portable tripod launcher, while the target was mimicking a functional tank. The missile hit the target in top attack mode and destroyed it with precision. All the mission objectives were met, the press release added.

This is the third series of successful testing of MPATGM. The missile is incorporated with state-of-the-art Infrared Imaging Seeker along with advanced avionics. The test paves the way for the Army to have developed third generation man portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile indigenously.

Scientists on Tuesday unveiled a new species of pterosaur, the plane-sized reptiles that lorded over primeval skies above T-rex, Triceratops and other dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous.

With a wingspan of 10 m and weighing 250 kg, Cryodrakon boreas rivals another pterosaur as the largest flying animal of all time, researchers reported in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

“This is a cool discovery,” said David Hone, lead author of the study and a researcher at Queen Mary University in London.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has said that abrogation of Article 370 is the biggest achievement of the Modi government in the first 100 days of it is the second term. Addressing media in Jammu, Mr. Singh said that it is the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir who know the importance  and value of abrogation of the Article 370. He  said, abrogation of Article 370 will help in industrial growth, employment generation and improvement in the health sector and people will get freedom from family rule.  Dr. Jitendra Singh said that common man in the streets of Kashmir is rejoicing over the abrogation of Article 370 and it is a handful of families who are crying over it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch today the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) for eradicating the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis in the livestock from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. The programme aims at vaccinating over 500 Million Livestock including cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs against the disease. It will be  implemented for a period of five years till 2024 at a cost of 12, 652 crore rupees.
 
National Animal Disease Control Programme is a hundred per cent  Centrally funded programme. It also aims at vaccinating 36 million female Bovine Calves annually in its fight against the Brucellosis disease. The objective of the programme is to control Foot and Mouth Disease and Brucellosis by  2025 and their eradication by 2030. Both the diseases have a direct negative impact on the trade of milk and other livestock products. The launch of the scheme will give  a major push towards government's efforts in doubling the Farmers' Income.