Union Health Minister JP Nadda chaired the ninth meeting of Mission Steering Group (MSG) of National Health Mission (NHM) on Tuesday at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital.

Union Ministers of State for Health & Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav and Anupriya Patel, Suman K. Bery, Vice chairman, NITI Aayog, VK Paul, Member, NITI Aayog were also present.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Mission Steering Group is the highest policy-making and steering institution under the NHM, providing broad policy direction and governance for the health sector. Secretaries of Ministries of Government of India including MoHFW, AYUSH, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Punchayati Raj, Development of North Eastern Region along with officials from Women and Child Development, Social Justice & Empowerment, Education, Housing and Urban Affairs, Department of Expenditure, NHSRC and Secretaries from various central ministries, Health Secretaries from high-focus states including Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura and senior officials from NITI Aayog and MoHFW also attended the meeting.

The 12th Regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum in Asia and the Pacific has been inaugurated today in Jaipur, India, marking a significant milestone in regional cooperation for sustainable waste management and circular economy initiatives. This Forum provides a critical platform for policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and development partners to discuss and implement sustainable solutions for waste management and resource efficiency. As economies in the Asia-Pacific region experience rapid urbanization and industrialization, the need for a shift towards a circular economy model has never been more urgent.

The Forum will focus on the principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (3R), aiming to create a roadmap for sustainable production and consumption patterns. Through insightful discussions, policy recommendations, and collaborative partnerships, the Forum will help strengthen global and regional commitments with a focus on resource efficiency, climate resilience, and environmental sustainability.

The last Forum was hosted in 2023 by Cambodia. India has previously hosted the Forum in 2018, when the 8th edition was held in Indore.

Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Chief of the Air Staff, inaugurated the 16th ‘JUMBO’ Majumdar International Seminar organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) on 04 March 2025 at Air Force Auditorium. The theme for the Seminar was ‘EVOLVING DYNAMICS OF AEROSPACE POWER’. The welcome remarks were delivered by Air Vice Marshal Anil Golani (Retd), Director General, CAPS.

‘Jumbo’ Majumdar International Seminar is an annual event organised by CAPS in commemoration of late Wg Cdr Karun Krishna Majumdar, an ace fighter pilot of pre-Independence India.

A host of topics ranging from Integrated Aerospace Management, Effective Space Exploitation for gaining ‘Control of the Air’, exploitation of Drones and Manned Unmanned Teams (MUMT) in future conflicts, impact of EW and Cyber on Aerial Warfare, the Way Forward for induction of Emerging and Niche Technologies to 5th gen aircraft by IAF, were discussed by the eminent panellist. The Seminar was attended by officials, researchers and aviation enthusiasts from varied fields and experiences. The Seminar reignited interest and excitement amongst the young and veterans alike and paved the way for future engagements in Aerospace domain.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated Vantara, an animal rescue, conservation, and rehabilitation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, where he spent time interacting with a variety of rescued animals. The visit underscored his deep commitment to wildlife protection and conservation efforts.

The inauguration was attended by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, along with Nita Ambani, Anant Ambani, and Radhika Merchant. The Prime Minister explored the centre’s extensive facilities, including its state-of-the-art wildlife hospital equipped with MRI, CT scan, and ICU services, aimed at providing advanced medical care to rescued animals.

During his visit, PM Modi was seen engaging with a range of animals, including Asiatic Lion cubs, a White Lion cub, a Clouded Leopard cub, and Caracal cubs. A video shared on his official YouTube handle captured heartwarming moments of him feeding and playing with these animals. The White Lion cub he fed was born at the centre after its mother was rescued, while the Caracals, once common in India but now a rare species, are being bred at Vantara under a captive breeding program for future release into the wild.

Tata Motors on Tuesday launched the first-ever trials of hydrogen-powered heavy duty trucks in order to assess their viability for long haul transportation solutions.

The trial phase will span up to 24 months and involves deployment of 16 advanced hydrogen-powered vehicles with varying configurations and payload capacities.

The trucks, equipped with Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines (H2-ICE) and Fuel Cell (H2-FCEV) technologies, will be tested on India's most prominent freight routes, including those around Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Surat, Vadodara, Jamshedpur and Kalinganagar.

A new species of bat, Hipposideros srilankaensis, was discovered in Sri Lanka. A decade-long study, led by Bhargavi Srinivasalu of the Department of Zoology, Osmania University, identified a new species of leaf-nosed bat.

This discovery, along with the taxonomic revision of the South Asian allies of Hipposideros galeritus, has been published in the prestigious international taxonomy journal Zootaxa. The team surveyed multiple locations across India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, collecting crucial samples and evidence to support their findings.

One of the scientists involved in the study, Prof C Srinivasulu, told TNIE, “The new species, Hipposideros srilankaensis, is distinguished by its unique morphological features, including a broad noseleaf, distinct ear shape, and cranial characteristics. Genetic analysis further confirmed its distinctiveness from other known species in the region.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) recognized the services of Chief Secretary, J&K Atal Dulloo, for the successful holding of elections for the 18th Lok Sabha in Jammu and Kashmir. Akashvani Jammu Correspondent reports that the Chief Secretary was presented with a ‘Certificate of Exemplary Leadership’ signed by the Chief Election Commissioner and two of the Election Commissioners. 58.11 per cent polling was recorded for the first time for the general elections held since 1989 across the UT which was over 14 per cent more than that of the elections of 2019 during which the overall percentage of polling was just around 44 per cent. For this purpose, 11 thousand and 629 polling stations had been established and 80 thousand and 724 polling personnel had been trained and made available to ECI for holding elections across Jammu and Kashmir. These were the first general elections of the J&K after its reorganization in the year 2019.

Private space firm Firefly Aerospace on Sunday announced the successful landing of its Blue Ghost Mission 1 on the Moon’s surface. The achievement marks the first fully successful commercial Moon landing in history, furthering Nasa’s partnership with private industry to advance lunar exploration.

“We have confirmation #BlueGhost stuck the landing! Firefly just became the first commercial company in history to achieve a fully successful Moon landing. This small step on the Moon represents a giant leap in commercial exploration. Congratulations to the entire Firefly team, our mission partners, and our @NASA customers for this incredible feat that paves the way for future missions to the Moon and Mars,” the company announced on X.

Krishna Jayasankar currently studying in Texas, United States, sent happy tidings from the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championship held in Albuquerque, as she became the new record-holder in indoor shot put among the Indian women.

The 22-year-old Krishna tossed the iron sphere to a new distance of 16.03 metres that bettered the previous Indian indoor best of 15.54m by Maharashtra’s Poornarao Rane, another US residing student athlete.

Krishna ended with a bronze medal for her effort which came in the last round, pushing Colorado State’s Makayla Long to the fourth spot as she was holding a medal chance with 15.98m until the last round.

At a time when the impact of freebies on the national economy is being debated, Jharkhand's spending estimates on "freebies" for FY 2025-26 exceed the budget allocations for all other departments, including Health, Education, and Rural Development.

Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore on Monday tabled the annual Budget of Rs 1, 45,400 crore for FY 2025-26 in the Jharkhand Assembly, an up of about 13 per cent than last year.

The state government made a significant allocation in its annual state budget for the "Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojna" (JMMSY) and free electricity scheme.