In Chess, world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway clinched the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam 2025 in Paris, France, yesterday. He defeated American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura with a 1.5-0.5 match victory. With this, Carlsen won the 2 lakh US Dollars, followed by Nakamura, who won 1 lakh 40 thousand US Dollars. Moreover, Italian-American Fabiano Caruana crushed German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer in the battle of third place and took 1 lakh US Dollars, along with a spot in the Las Vegas Grand Slam.

Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi defeated Maxime Vacxhier-Lagrave of France by 1.5-0.5 points and bagged fifth spot with 50 thousand US Dollar prize money. Arjun will be in action next from the 17th of April at the Grenke Freestyle Open.

Chief Minister OF Telangana, Revanth Reddy, formally launched the Bhu Bharathi revenue portal in Hyderabad last evening. The portal is aimed at strengthening land security and bringing transparency to land records in the state. Addressing the officials on the occasion, Mr. Reddy said the Bhu Bharathi portal will provide permanent solutions to land issues through a dispute-free revenue policy. Mr Reddy also said the Bhudhar card would be issued to the landowners, which will have all the information related to the land.

The Bhu Bharathi revenue portal has been rolled out on a pilot basis in four mandals – Khammam, Mulugu, Kodangal, and Kamareddy blocks in the state. Mandal Revenue Officers (MROs) will visit every revenue village in these mandals to resolve all pending land-related issues by May 1. From then on, one block in each district will be selected for a similar exercise. The same will be expanded to the rest of the state from June 2nd.

The Consumer Affairs Ministry has framed draft rules for gas meters under the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011, which make it mandatory for all gas meters used for domestic, commercial, and industrial purposes to undergo testing, verification and stamping prior to their use in trade and commerce. “The re-verification of these gas meters is also prescribed under the rules to ensure their correctness when these are in use,” the Centre said in a press release here on Monday.

The Ministry said the primary objective of these new rules was to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability in the measurement of gas. “Verified and stamped gas meters will prevent overcharging or under-measurement, reduce disputes and provide guaranteed protection to consumers against faulty or manipulated devices. Consumers stand to benefit directly through fair billing, improved energy efficiency and reduced maintenance costs arising from standardised and compliant equipment,” the government release said.

Himachal Pradesh is celebrating its 78th Foundation Day today. On April 15, 1948, the state was formed by merging 30 small and large princely states. Since then, April 15 has been observed every year as ‘Himachal Day’. This year, the state-level main event is being held at Killar, the headquarters of the remote and tribal Pangi Valley in Chamba district. The event will be presided over by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. For the first time, the state-level Himachal Day celebration is taking place in Pangi Valley, generating great enthusiasm among the local residents. On this occasion, vibrant cultural programs showcasing the state’s rich heritage will also be presented.

QNu Labs, one of the startups selected by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the National Quantum Mission, has launched the world’s first and unique platform, Q-Shield. It empowers enterprises to protect their critical infrastructure. It also enables seamless cryptography management across any environment, including cloud, on-premises, or hybrid, on the occasion of World Quantum Day yesterday.

Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement that Q-Shield enables various services like Qosmos for key generation, QConnect for secured connectivity and QVerse for secured collaboration.

The launch of this platform adds one more step to India’s journey towards global leadership in quantum technology. The Ministry added that incubated at IIT Madras Research Park in 2016, QNu Labs is revolutionizing cybersecurity with quantum-safe solutions, positioning India as a global leader in quantum cryptography.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar unveiled the official logo of the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 in Patna on Monday (April 14, 2025). Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya unveiled the Games’s mascot during the programme organised at the Samvad hall of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

Mr. Kumar and Mr. Mandaviya also jointly released the theme song of the Youth Games, which will be held in the State for the first time from May 4 to 15. The Gaurav Yatra Rath of the sporting event was also flagged off.

Automobili Lamborghini has announced the appointment of Nidhi Kaistha as the new Head of Lamborghini India, effective April 1, 2025. In her new role, she will oversee sales, marketing and after-sales operations in India, the sixth-largest market for the luxury carmaker in the Asia Pacific region.

Nidhi Kaistha has replaced Sharad Agarwal, who joined Classic Legends late last year as the company's Chief Business Officer.

According to Automobili Lamborghini, Kaistha has over 25 years of experience across hospitality, aviation and automotive industries. In her last role, she was at Porsche India as Regional Sales and Pre-Owned Cars Manager.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has inaugurated the longest skywalk in the city which will connect SP Mukherjee Road to Kolkata’s famous Kalighat temple. The opening came on the eve of Poila Baishak (Bengali New Year) amid calls for peace, and communal harmony among the people of the State.

Many regions of West Bengal have been tense since April 8 after anti-Waqf protests turned violent in Murshidabad, which led to the deaths of three people. Further violence erupted in Bhangar on April 14. Cases of arson were reported from both places.

“Everybody has the right to conduct peaceful protests, but only after securing permission. No one should take law into their own hands. There may be provocation from various factions, but do not fall prey to that,” Ms. Banerjee said as tension continues to grip many parts of the State.

The Punjab government has banned the sale of hybrid paddy seeds (non-Basmati rice), citing that they are being sold at high prices in the state. The government has also said these seeds lead to a higher percentage of broken rice during milling — the process of removing the outer husk and bran layers from paddy (unmilled rice) to produce edible, white rice — compared to the standards set by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

The two issues have resulted in farmers receiving lower prices for their produce, according to the government. However, some of the farmers in Punjab and experts have opposed the ban.

The nation pays homage to the Chief Architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar on his 134th birth anniversary today. Several functions have been organised throughout the country to mark the occasion.

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh, Leader of House in Rajya Sabha J P Nadda, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Union Ministers and Members of Parliament and general public paid tributes to Dr B R Ambedkar at his statue in Parliament House complex today.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Ministers, Members of Parliament, Leaders of different political parties paid tributes to Dr Ambedkar at his portrait at the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan.