Uttar Pradesh has rejuvenated many rivers through the initiative of State Mission for Clean Ganga and allied agencies, officials said on Thursday (May 14, 2026), adding that community participation and collective action is helping restore rivers, sustain agriculture, and reconnect people with their cultural heritage.

The initiative eyes to rejuvenate many other small rivers across the State. In Pilibhit, the Gomti river was rejuvenated along a 47 km stretch across 16 gram panchayats through widening and deepening of the channel, revival of 23 ponds, and construction of ghats, the river regained its continuous flow.

Senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer G Trinadh Kumar has assumed charge as Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) , the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

A senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 2002 batch belonging to the AGMUT cadre, Dr Kumar brings more than two decades of administrative and technical experience across forestry, environment, wildlife management, biodiversity conservation and natural resource management.

Before joining RINL, he served as Inspector General of Forests (Central) at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in Hyderabad. He also held the position of Regional Director, South Zone, at the Forest Survey of India in Bengaluru.

Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) has been honoured at the 12th Greentech CSR India Awards 2026, held in New Delhi on May 13, 2026, where it received Greentech Gold Awards in two key categories—Skill Development and Promotion of Education. The recognition highlights the company’s sustained efforts under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives aimed at empowering communities through education, capacity building, and vocational training.

The award acknowledges BCCL’s consistent contribution toward fostering inclusive growth by creating opportunities for skill enhancement and educational development, particularly for communities in and around its operational areas. Through its CSR programmes, the company has been working to build a more skilled and self-reliant workforce, aligning with broader national development goals.

This recognition at a national platform reinforces BCCL’s continued commitment to social development and its focus on long-term community upliftment through structured CSR interventions.

The Assam Government will introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the State Assembly on May 26. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made the announcement while addressing the media after chairing the first Cabinet meeting of his second term as Chief Minister.

Mr Sarma said a special session of the Assam Assembly will be held from 21st to 26th of May, during which the newly elected MLAs will take oath. He added that the UCC Bill would be tabled on the concluding day of the session. He said the proposed legislation aims to address issues including the legal age of marriage, polygamy, inheritance, and live-in relationships.

He clarified that religious practices would remain outside the scope of the Bill. Tribal communities living in both the hill and plain regions of the State will also be exempted from the provisions of the proposed law. State Cabinet approved the draft Bill in yesterday’s meeting. With this move, Assam is set to become the third State, after Uttarakhand and Gujarat, to table a Uniform Civil Code Bill.

Nursing professionals from Kerala have made the state proud by winning the National Florence Nightingale Awards 2026 in recognition of their meritorious work.

Among the awardees were major general Lisamma P V, additional director general of the Military Nursing Service (MNS), Manjumol V S, senior nursing officer at the Pangappara Government Medical College health unit, and Deepa Biju, assistant nursing superintendent at the National Academic Medical Organisation (NAMO) Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. In addition, Aysha Beebu K from Lakshadweep also received the award.

Major general Lisamma, hailing from Kollam, assumed the role of additional director general of MNS in May 2025. Her leadership and service have been widely recognised.

All India NR Congress leader N. Rangasamy was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Puducherry today for a record fifth term. At a ceremony held at the Lok Nivas, Puducherry, Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan administered the oath of office and secrecy. Malladi Krishna Rao of the All India NR Congress and A. Namassivayam of BJP were also sworn in as Ministers at the ceremony. Among those present were BJP National President Nitin Nabin, BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B. L. Santhosh, State BJP President V. P. Ramalingam, officials and party leaders.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has welcomed the issuance of a gazette notification for the establishment of the South Coast Railway Zone, with Visakhapatnam as its headquarters. In a social media post, Mr. Naidu described the development as a long-cherished dream of the people of the state finally becoming a reality. According to the Ministry of Railways, the new zone will begin official operations from the first of June this year.

The Chief Minister said that, as part of the reorganization of the Waltair Division, important sections such as Palasa and Ichchapuram will be merged into the Visakhapatnam Division. He noted that this restructuring is expected to significantly improve the transportation network in North Andhra.

Mr. Naidu also highlighted that coordination between the Visakhapatnam and Rayagada divisions would further strengthen railway operations. He added that the move would support industrial growth and overall development in the region.

St Stephen’s College will witness a historic transition on June 1, when Professor Susan Elias takes charge as its first woman principal. Her appointment marks the first time a woman will lead the institution in its 145-year-old history.

The decision was announced through an official notice by the college on Tuesday. Founded in 1881, St Stephen’s College is among the oldest and one of the most reputed colleges under Delhi university.

Professor Elias succeeds John Varghese, whose tenure was marked by tensions between the college administration and the university, along with opposition from sections of teaching staff. Just this week, teachers from the physics department approached the Delhi High Court and secured a stay against recent appointments made under the outgoing principal’s administration.

In a fresh push to create an "Islamic Nato", Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday signalled that Turkey and Qatar may join its mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to local media outlet Hum News, Asif said that talks on the arrangement were at various stages of completion and could include these countries in the future.

Last year, Pakistan signed a "Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement" with Saudi Arabia, which stated that any aggression against either nation would be treated as an attack on both. The pact even ignited fears in Islamabad that Pakistan may get drawn into the ongoing conflict in West Asia after Iran attacked several energy sites in UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Providing a fillip to the country’s pursuit of coal gasification, the Union Cabinet Wednesday approved a ₹37,500 crore package to boost the sustainable alternate mining method.

The package seeking to promote surface coal gasification entails conversion of coal into syngas (that is, synthetic gas) which be further used to produce downstream products like urea – about one-fifth of whose requirement is met through imports, methanol – approximately 80-90% of it is met through imports, ammonia on which there is complete import dependency, synthetic natural gas (SNG) and fertilisers, among other products.