A total of 750 pilgrims have been selected through a computerised draw to take part in the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in Tibet, which is set to resume this year after a five-year suspension. The yatra’s revival comes as India and China make cautious efforts to normalise relations following a prolonged military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The pilgrimage, which will run from June to August, is organised annually by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It had been suspended since 2020—first due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later due to rising tensions and a military face-off in eastern Ladakh.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh conducted the computerised draw on Wednesday, selecting 750 participants from a pool of 5,561 applicants—4,024 men and 1,537 women—who had registered online.

Seventeen-year-old Indian shooter Kanak Budhwar won gold in the 10 metre air pistol at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. A junior World Championship silver medallist, Kanak scored 239.0 to top the eight-women final. She got the better of Moldova’s Anna Dulce, the reigning European champion, by 1.7 points.

Chinese Taipei’s Chen Yen-Ching was third. “I did not know Anna Dulce is a two-time Olympian and have never shot with a mindset of competing against anybody. It’s a battle with myself and I am glad I could give my best in the final,” Kanak said.

Kanak had to opt for pistol shooting over rifle because she was underweight for her age but the choice has worked out well. Five years ago, Kanak’s father Sudhir Singh Budhawar wanted to enrol her at Sandeep Nehra’s Abhinandan Shooting Academy in Rohtak. But her weight was just 32 kilograms. “Because of her weight, asking her to take up rifle shooting was not an option. I told her father that once she puts on some weight she can start pistol training. The good thing was her body posture was right. To win the junior World Cup gold today, edging out a two-time Olympian, will boost Kanak’s confidence. She can start her Olympic dream too,” Nehra said.

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday chaired a meeting to advance the rollout of electric buses under the PM e-Drive Scheme. The initiative is set to transform urban transit in key cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Surat.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries announced that approximately 4,500 electric buses will be allocated to Bengaluru, 2,000 to Hyderabad, 2,800 to Delhi, 1,000 to Ahmedabad, and 600 to Surat in the current phase of the scheme. This ambitious deployment underscores India’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions and modernizing its public transport infrastructure.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister Kumaraswamy emphasized the transformative impact of the initiative. “Thanks to the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, India is taking bold strides toward sustainable urban mobility,” he said. “From Bengaluru to Delhi, cities are actively embracing electric buses to make public transport cleaner, smarter, and more efficient.”

In a major step for India’s scientific advancement, Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Polar Bhavan and Sagar Bhavan at the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa. Costing 55 crore rupees, these state-of-the-art centres include world-class ice core labs and are among the first globally. The Minister emphasised their strategic role in climate science and ocean geopolitics, highlighting India’s leadership in the Blue Economy and Deep Ocean Mission. He reaffirmed India’s responsibility as a global guardian of polar regions. Citing the vision for a developed India by 2047, Mr. Singh called the launch a milestone toward global scientific and geopolitical prominence.

World Turtle Day 2025: Observed globally on May 23, World Turtle Day, is dedicated to raising awareness about the protection of turtles and tortoises, creatures that have existed on Earth for over 200 million years. This special day highlights the numerous threats they face, including habitat loss, illegal trade, and environmental degradation. World Turtle Day serves as a call to action to protect these ancient species and their ecosystems.

The history of World Turtle Day dates back to 1990 when Susan Tellem and Marshall Thompson, a husband-and-wife duo, founded the American Tortoise Rescue (ATR). Their mission was to rescue, rehabilitate, and protect turtles and tortoises, animals that face numerous threats.

The Justice PC Ghose Commission of Inquiry has issued notices to Telangana former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao, and former Finance Minister Eatala Rajendar in connection with the probe into the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. The top leaders of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are the first politicians to be summoned for cross-examination in the inquiry. Eatala Rajendar is currently a Lok Sabha Member from the BJP. The commission, which is investigating the alleged irregularities in the multi-crore irrigation project, has asked the former CM to appear on the 5th of next month, while Harish Rao on the 6th, and Eatala Rajendar on the 9th of June. It was learnt that they have been directed to respond to the notices within 15 days, confirming their willingness to attend the cross-examination. The issuance of these notices marks a crucial phase in the Commission’s proceedings, which began examining the project after structural damage was reported at the Medigadda Barrage. The Medigadda Barrage, a key component of Kaleshwaram, developed cracks and stability issues in late 2023, leading to widespread scrutiny of both the design and execution of the project.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) has earned an ‘Excellent’ rating from the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) for its performance in FY 2023-24. The rating places IREDA among the top four Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in India and the highest-ranked in both the power and NBFC sectors.

The DPE recently released the consolidated list of performance ratings for 84 CPSEs, based on the annual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the government. IREDA achieved a score of 98 and above, marking the fourth consecutive year it has received the top-tier ‘Excellent’ rating.

Commenting on the achievement, IREDA's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pradip Kumar Das said, “We are immensely happy to be recognized as the best performing CPSE in the NBFC and power sector, and to be among the top four CPSEs in the country. This achievement reflects our team’s collective dedication and strategic vision to accelerate India's renewable energy growth.”

Bihar took centre stage in India’s agri-food export push as the International Buyer-Seller Meet (IBSM) 2025 commenced in Patna on Monday. Organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) in collaboration with APEDA, TPCI, and the Government of Bihar, the two-day event aims to boost food exports, facilitate global trade linkages, and unlock the state’s rich agricultural potential.

The inaugural session was graced by Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, Industries Minister Nitish Mishra, and senior officials from MoFPI, APEDA, TPCI, and the Bihar government.

With participation from 70 international buyers representing 20 countries, including six global retail chains, along with 50 domestic and 20 institutional buyers, the meet is expected to generate strong procurement momentum through 400+ curated B2B meetings. Products such as rice, spices, makhana, and fruits are in focus, with global players like LuLu Group (UAE), SARTAJ (Japan), Datar & Sons (UAE) and Global Foods Trading (Germany) showing strong sourcing interest.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Wednesday announced the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), a new multi-dimensional analytical tool developed as part of its Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), to help financial institutions with advanced actionable intelligence for cyber fraud prevention.

FRI enables enhanced intelligence sharing with banks, UPI service providers and financial institutions, which in turn help tackle cyber fraud and financial crime.

It is a risk-based metric that classifies a mobile number in three categories: Medium, High, or Very High risk of financial fraud.

The move is set to help banks, non-banking financial companies, and UPI service providers prioritise enforcement and take additional customer protection measures in case a mobile number has high risk.

India has formally assumed the chairmanship of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) for the 2025–26 term during a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, the commerce and industry ministry said Wednesday.

Tokyo-based APO is an intergovernmental body that promotes productivity enhancement across the Asia-Pacific region through mutual cooperation and capacity building. It has 21 members at present.

India, led by Amardeep Singh Bhatia, secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) emphasised the importance of regional collaboration in driving digital transformation, sustainability, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the Governing Body Meeting of the APO, being held from May 20–22 in Jakarta, the ministry said in a statement.