Former Assam cricketer Devajit Saikia has replaced Jay Shah as the secretary of the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI). Saikia took over the position, which was left vacant for a little over one month after Jay Shah took over the chairman's position in the International Cricket Council.

Saikia's first task as the secretary was to attend the meeting alongside BCCI president Roger Binny as the board discussed India's performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Sources told India Today that captain Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir attended the meeting.

A source close to the development said that the meeting had a lengthy and detailed discussion on India's current slump in Test cricket.

To enhance citizen feedback on police services, a QR code-based feedback system has been launched to collect feedback from public on their interactions with Telangana police.

General public can now scan QR codes displayed prominently at police stations, offices, and other key locations. Additionally, feedback is collected through outbound calls via the Citizen Feedback Call Centre, managed by the Centre of Excellence (CoE)-CID.

Telangana DGP, Dr. Jitender who launched the initiative on Thursday said that the key feedback touch points include petition submissions, FIR registrations, traffic violation e-challans, passport verification services, and other police-related services. “This initiative represents a significant step towards accountability, transparency, and enhanced public satisfaction with Police services in Telangana State,” said the DGP.

AI Touch LLP has been awarded funding under the Department of Telecommunications' TTDF scheme of USOF (now “Digital Bharat Nidhi”). AI Touch will develop components for disaggregated 5G RAN (Radio Access Network) including RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), Service Management and Orchestration (SMO), and Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) modules.

The project aims to develop a platform integrating SMO, RIC, and NWDAF modules for 5G RAN with an AI/ML-powered intent engine. It facilitates intelligent and automated control of RAN and Core nodes through AI/ML-based applications and closed-loop automation. The platform will demonstrate a sample application for managing user experience during congestion scenarios and provide interfaces for onboarding third-party applications. The platform will integrate Non-Real-Time RIC, Near-Real-Time RIC, SMO, and NWDAF to enhance network automation and performance. The RIC modules will support AI/ML-driven network optimization, SMO will enable cross-domain orchestration, and NWDAF will provide analytics and insights for better decision-making. These solutions will bring operational efficiency to the 5G network. The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier telecom R&D centre under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, will oversee the implementation of the project.

Veteran soldier Havaldar (retd) Baldev Singh, who fought four wars against Pakistan, passed away at his residence in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, a defence spokesman said on Tuesday. He was 93.

The revered war hero passed away due to natural causes in his hometown Naushera on Monday, the spokesman said, adding that his last rites will be performed with full military honours at his village later on Tuesday.

Born on September 27, 1931, at Naunihal village, Singh was just 16 when he volunteered to join the Bal Sena Force under the leadership of Brigadier Usman, Commander of the 50 Para Brigade, during the battle of Naushera and Jhangar in 1947-48.

Veteran journalist, poet, film producer and former Rajya Sabha MP Pritish Nandy died in Mumbai on Wednesday, just days shy of his 74th birthday on January 15.
Nandy, a Padma Shri awardee, died after a cardiac arrest at his home in south Mumbai and his last rites were performed in the evening, sources said.

Born in Bihar’s Bhagalpur in 1951, Nandy pioneered The Illustrated Weekly of India, revitalising its form and content, and hosted the hugely popular The Pritish Nandy Show on Doordarshan, with his 1985 interview of singer Kishore Kumar known for being one of the rare few that opened up the artist.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill to designate October as "Hindu Heritage Month" in the US state.

The bill was signed on Wednesday by DeWine in the presence of former state Senator Niraj Antani, who was the main sponsor and mover of the legislation last year, and several other community leaders from the State.

"I am so grateful to Governor DeWine for signing this bill to designate October as Hindu Heritage Month in Ohio. Governor DeWine has long had a close relationship with the Hindu community across Ohio and I am grateful for his leadership," Antani said.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) has achieved ‘Excellent’ rating for the performance MoU signed with the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) for the financial year 2023-24, with a score of 98.24 (rounded off 98). This marks the fourth consecutive year that IREDA has received ‘Excellent’ rating, showcasing its unwavering commitment to operational excellence and highest standards of corporate governance.

In the previous three years, IREDA consistently delivered exceptional results, achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating with scores of 93.50 in FY 2022-23, 96.54 in FY 2021-22 and 96.93 in FY 2020-21. These consistent achievements underline the organization’s dedication to driving India’s renewable energy goals.

Speaking on the achievement, Shri Pradip Kumar Das, CMD, IREDA, said, “Securing the ‘Excellent’ rating for the fourth consecutive year is a significant milestone for IREDA. It reflects the tireless efforts of our employees, the unwavering trust of our stakeholders, and the guidance of the Govt. of India. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all who have contributed to this success. Together, we are committed to accelerating India’s green energy transition and achieving our nation’s renewable energy goals.”

The Reserve Bank on Tuesday announced the names of the winners of the third edition of its Global Hackathon with the themes 'Zero Financial Frauds' and 'Being Divyang Friendly'.

The hackathon received an enthusiastic response with 534 proposals, of which 39 were received from teams outside India, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil, Morocco, among others.

The 28 finalists presented their solutions to an independent jury which selected the winners based on several parameters, including comprehensiveness, innovation, feasibility, scalability and compliance.

The winners of the hackathon were FPL Technologies; Xaults Technologies; Epifi Technologies; NapID Cybersec; H Vision India (Hasin Vaidya); Rupya Darshini (Parthiban R, Jebaraj V and Gobika S); and VisAst (Krimisha Deore).

In a significant development, India and the U.S. announced cooperation on co-production of U.S. sonobuoys for Undersea Domain Awareness (UDA) for the Indian Navy, a high-end technology that allows tracking submarines in the deep seas and oceans.

This is the latest in a series of cooperation measures between the two countries as both grow wary of the rapid expansion of Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean Region.

“Welcoming the advancement of discussions between Ultra Maritime (UM) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to enhance undersea domain awareness through a first-of-its-kind partnership on co-production of U.S. sonobuoys in support of the U.S. and Indian defence industrial bases,” said a fact sheet ‘The U.S. and India Committed to Strengthening Strategic Technology Partnership’ issued on January 6 at the end of U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to India on the aspect of deepening defence innovation and industrial cooperation.

Bharat Heavy Electricals said that it has successfully commissioned two units of the 6?170 MW Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project (PHEP-II) in Bhutan.

The said project was executed under a bilateral agreement between the Government of India and the Royal Government of Bhutan. PHEP-II is a greenfield hydroelectric project located in the Wangdue district of Western Bhutan.

The Francis Turbine installed at the site is designed to operate at a rated head of 241 meters, which is the highest for any Francis Type Hydro Turbine in Bhutan. Upon the full commissioning of all six units, the expected annual power generation will be 4,357 gigawatt-hours.