The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in partnership with Drone Federation India (DFI), has launched the National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research (NIDAR) as part of the ‘SwaYaan’ initiative, focusing on building human resource capacity in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The initiative was announced in an official statement by MeitY on Tuesday.

The launch event, held at Electronics Niketan, MeitY, was attended by government officials, industry leaders, and students from across the country via video conferencing. S. Krishnan, Secretary of MeitY, inaugurated the challenge by unveiling a concept video, launching the official website and registration portal (https://nidar.org.in), and releasing the NIDAR poster and rulebook.

In his keynote address, Krishnan highlighted the transformative potential of drones across key sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, logistics, healthcare, and infrastructure. He stressed that the NIDAR initiative would significantly contribute to India’s goal of becoming a global drone hub by 2030. “The NIDAR program is crucial to advancing drone technology on a larger scale and fostering the innovation required to tackle real-world challenges,” said Krishnan.

A dense shrub with light purple flowers found in the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district has been confirmed as a distinct species of the genus Uniyala. The botanically significant development is also interesting in that a specimen of this plant was first collected by researchers 27 years ago.

Researchers have named the new species, which is endemic to southwest India, Uniyala keralensis (family Asteraceae) after the State of Kerala.

E.S. Santhosh Kumar and S.M. Shareef at the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI), Palode, had collected a specimen in 1998 on one of their field exploration trips. In the years that followed, more specimens were gathered from different parts of the biosphere reserve which is located towards the southern end of the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot.

As the Donald Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on foreigners allegedly violating immigration laws, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has endorsed a new mobile application designed for self-deportation.

Musk's endorsement came a week after Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian student at Columbia University, self-deported from the US using the CBP Home App, becoming one of the first individuals in the country to utilise the feature.

Sharing a post by US Customs and Border Protection about the app, Musk, who is the chief of the US's governance reform agency DOGE, wrote on Sunday, "New app to assist in self-deportation!"

A federal judge on Saturday (March 16, 2025) barred the administration of President Donald Trump from deportations under an 18th-century law that Mr. Trump invoked just hours earlier, asserting the United States was being invaded by a Venezuelan gang and that he had new powers to remove its members from the country.

James E Boasberg, Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said he needed to issue his order immediately because the government was already flying migrants it claimed were newly deportable under Trump’s proclamation to El Salvador and Honduras to be incarcerated there.

“I do not believe I can wait any longer and am required to act,” he said during a Saturday evening hearing in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and Democracy Forward. “A brief delay in their removal does not cause the government any harm,” Boasberg added, noting they remain in government custody.

Globally, research on climate/environmentally driven infectious diseases has been largely biased towards vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, etc. Melioidosis is a bacterial infectious disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, and is primarily acquired by inoculation, inhalation and/or ingestion of soil- and water-dwelling environmental saprophytes. The disease is strongly influenced by environmental factors such as rainfall, temperature, and humidity. In 2016, The Lancet based on a prediction modelling study reported that about 1,65,000 people contract melioidosis annually worldwide, of which Southasia, including India, contributes to 44% of the global burden of melioidosis. The report attracted enormous scrutiny and attention by the medical fraternity, and microbiologists and clinicians in a few selected centres across India took cognisance of the situation to further unravel the mysterious disease.

There are many reasons why the melioidosis-causing bacteria, described over a hundred years ago, has continued to baffle the medical fraternity. First, the bacteria has a unique ability to cause a plethora of clinical manifestations ranging from a trivial skin infection to unresolving pneumonia and fulminant sepsis. With fatality as high as 50% in septicaemic cases, melioidosis is a medical conundrum. Second, the B. pseudomallei bacteria requires prolonged incubation conditions, and can escape detection in inexperienced microbiology laboratories, as chances of misidentification with common bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa are quite common. Third, the treatment of melioidosis is quite different from other infectious diseases as it requires an initial intravenous therapy followed by a prolonged eradication phase of 12-20 weeks. This puts a significant emphasis on correct diagnosis, as inadequate treatment runs a risk of recurrence.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Chandigarh have jointly developed two cutting-edge 32-bit microprocessors, Vikram 3201 and Kalpana 3201, specifically designed for space applications.

The first production lots of these microprocessors were handed over to Dr. V. Narayanan, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Isro.

Vikram 3201 is India's first fully indigenous 32-bit microprocessor qualified for use in the harsh conditions of launch vehicles.

A 32-bit microprocessor is a type of microprocessor with a data bus, registers, and address bus that are 32 bits wide. This means it can process 32 bits of data at a time, handle memory addresses of up to 4 GB, and execute 32-bit instructions.

It is an advanced version of the 16-bit Vikram 1601 microprocessor, which has been operational in Isro's launch vehicles since 2009.

Hyderabad Angels Fund (HAF) Launches SEBI Category 1 Fund to Boost Early-Stage Startup Investments

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], March 19: Hyderabad Angels Fund (HAF) was officially launched today at Ramanaidu Studios, marking a significant milestone in India’s startup investment landscape. The SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) is set to provide strategic co-investments for high-potential startups in the Pre-Series A to Series B stages, further solidifying Hyderabad’s position as a leading startup funding hub.

The event was graced by distinguished Guests of Honor, including BVR Mohan Reddy (Former Chairperson, NASSCOM), Ayodhya Rami Reddy (Member of Rajya Sabha, Ramky Group), Daggubati Suresh Babu (Indian Film Producer), and Srini Raju (Chairman, iLabs Venture Capital Fund). Each of them emphasized the importance of venture capital in driving entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic progress in India.

Paisabazaar, India's leading marketplace for consumer credit and free credit score platform, today announced the launch of PBMoney - a personal finance management platform designed to provide consumers with holistic insights and advise, to help them build stronger financial health.

Paisabazaar, through PBMoney, aims to deepen engagement with its large and diverse consumer base by offering a unified financial experience. PBMoney is built on the Account Aggregator framework, along with other data integrations, offering consumers a comprehensive view of their entire financial life. The platform consolidates financial accounts-including bank accounts, mutual fund portfolios, and stocks--into a single dashboard. In the coming months, PBMoney will also integrate data on insurance coverage and GST filings, providing consumers a complete understanding of their financial standing.

Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited (Piramal Finance), a leading Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), and Punjab & Sind Bank, one of India's premier public sector banks, have entered into a strategic co-lending partnership to enhance credit availability for middle- and low-income borrowers, with a special emphasis on rural and semi-urban regions.

This collaboration brings together Punjab & Sind Bank's deep financial expertise and extensive network of 1575 branches with Piramal Finance's unique 'High Tech + High Touch' approach. Additionally, Piramal Finance's strong presence across 514+ branches in 13,000 pin codes, serving 4.5 million customers in 26 states, will further strengthen outreach and accessibility.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited ("Canara HSBC Life Insurance") has entered a strategic distribution partnership with GIC Housing Finance Limited ("GICHF") to provide enhanced financial security solutions to GICHF's home loan customers. Through this partnership, Canara HSBC Life Insurance will offer its 'Group Asset Secure' product --a comprehensive credit life insurance plan--designed to protect borrowers and their families against loan liabilities in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

* Strategic alliance to offer credit life insurance, to provide financial protection for home loan customers

The partnership aims to support and enable India's intent and ambition of owning their own homes. With GIC Housing Finance's diversified customer pool, the alliance will unlock a viable financial protection provision for the customers of the company. By integrating a robust insurance solution into the home loan process, Canara HSBC Life Insurance and GIC Housing Finance are reinforcing their shared commitment to customer-centric financial solutions.