India’s track and field legend PT Usha has been nominated for the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) ‘Veteran Pin’ for her outstanding service to the sport.

Usha is often called the “queen of track and field”. She won five gold medals -- 100 metres(m), 200m, 400m, 400 m hurdles and the 4x400 m relay -- besides a bronze in the Asian Games which were held at Jakarta in 1985 .

“We are delighted that you have been nominated by your Area Association as a recipient of the IAAF Veteran Pin for your long and meritorious service to the cause of World Athletics,” the IAAF CEO Jon Ridgeon informed Usha in a letter.

At the ISSF Junior World Cup, Anish Bhanwala today claimed gold in 25m rapid fire pistol competition to continue India's dominance in the tournament in Suhl, Germany.

Indian shooters, Adarsh Singh came fourth with a score of 17, while Agneya Kaushik finished sixth with nine points. India have so far won eight gold, seven silver and three bronze medals in the tournament.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday passed the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill which seeks to replace the 63-year-old Medical Council of India (MCI) to reform the medical sector in India, with focus of medical education.

The Bill also repealed the Indian Medical Council Act 1956, stating that the Council set up under it was corrupt. It was alleged that the process by which the MCI regulated medical colleges was flawed.

The new Bill will have the provision for making national standards in medical education uniform by proposing that the final year MBBS exam be treated as an entrance test for PG and a screening test for students who graduated in medicine from foreign countries. This exam will be called the National Exit Test (NEXT).

The "Find the Incredible You" campaign of the Tourism Ministry, has won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award, 2019. 

The campaign focuses on digital and social media and the promotion of niche tourism products of the country.

An official release said this year's awards attracted 198 entries from 78 organisations and individuals worldwide.

The campaign won the award under the "Marketing - Primary Government Destination" category.

The statement said, the Ministry of Tourism, as part of its promotional initiatives, annually releases Global Media Campaigns under the 'Incredible India' brand-line in the television, print, digital and social media platforms, in key and potential source markets overseas.

Star Indian sprinter Hima Das clinched her fourth gold in a fortnight as she won the 200m race with a creditable timing in the Tabor Athletics Meet in Czech Republic yesterday. 

Hima won the race in 23.25 seconds, which had a mediocre field with most of the competitors representing clubs of Czech Republic. 

Hima's compatriot VK Vismaya was second with a season of best 23.43 seconds.

Hima has a 200m personal best of 23.10 seconds. This was 19-year-old Hima's fourth gold since July 2 when she ran her first competitive race in Europe. 

Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal opened the 21st edition of Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship at the Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium in Cuttack this morning. 

The event will witness the top players from India, Australia, England, Malaysia, Scotland and Singapore among other nations competing for coveted titles.

The tournament will conclude on Monday.

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Anusuiya Uikey as Governor of Chhattisgarh. 

Biswa Bhusan Harichandan has been named as Governor of Andhra Pradesh. 

An official release said the appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their offices. 

State-owned defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries said on Wednesday it signed a $50 million follow-up contract to provide complementary missile systems to the Indian navy and India's MDL Shipyard.

The agreement involves a range of maintenance and other services for sub-systems of Israel Aerospace's naval medium range surface-to-air missile.

"This contract is a breakthrough as it advances us from system development and delivery to looking after the operational needs of our customers," said Boaz Levi, general manager of the Systems, Missiles & Space Group at Israel Aerospace.

In what marks a sign of deepening military ties between Sri Lanka and China, Beijing has 'gifted' a warship to Colombo. According to an agency report, the frigate — 'P625' arrived in Colombo last week. The frigate was commissioned into the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy as Tongling in 1994. the warship was decommissioned in 2015 and has been gifted to Sri Lankan Navy after a refit.

Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva, Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy thanked China and said that the gift would be taken as a token of friendship between the two countries, PTI reported citing Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency. According to China's mission in Colombo, 110 Lankan Navy personnel were trained for over two months in Shanghai for operating the ship.

The navy of the island nation which occupies a strategically important position in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has 50 combat and support ships. Last year, India had gifted an Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) to Sri Lanka besides two such vessels in 2006 and 2008.

Global beverages major Coca-Cola on July 16 announced top-level changes in its India and South West Asia unit with appointment of Sarvita Sethi as Vice-President-M&A and New Ventures, and Harsh Bhutani as Vice President - Finance (CFO).

Sethi, who was earlier VP Finance India and South West Asia, in her new role will provide leadership to business incubation, Coca-Cola said in a statement.

She will also continue to lead the M&A priorities for Coca-Cola's business in India and South West Asia, it added.