Coimbatore International Airport is awaiting a nod from the Cabinet for its expansion master plan and has already received approval from NITI Aayog, said Airport Director Mohammed Arif on Wednesday.

Addressing media persons at the airport on the sidelines of a briefing ahead of the Yatri Seva Abhiyan, he said the 627 acres required for the master plan had already been acquired and handed over to the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

He also said that by the end of this year, expansion works, such as the construction of pillars in the domestic security hold area would be completed.

Indian para-shooters Millie Shah and Rakesh Nidagundi delivered historic performances for India at the Changwon 2026 WSPS World Championships in South Korea, winning Gold and Silver in the team events.

Vijayi Bharat Foundation (VBF) athlete Millie Shah clinched the Gold Medal in the R2 Team Event, while fellow VBF athlete Rakesh Nidagundi secured the Silver Medal in the R1 Team Event, according to a press release from VBF.

The landmark results mark India’s first-ever team medals in rifle at the Para Shooting World Championships, with the two athletes together securing Gold and Silver for the country and further highlighting India’s growing strength on the international para shooting stage.

Union Minister of Jal Shakti, C R Patil has launched Swachh Seva Aankalan (SSA) during a virtual meeting with States and Union Territories. The Ministry of Jal Shakti said that SSA is an annual, Gram Panchayat level digital self-assessment framework developed for the assessment and monitoring of sanitation service delivery in rural areas. It has been developed by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) 2.0. The Ministry added that the multi-tier evaluation framework envisages the involvement of Gram Panchayats, Gram Sabhas, and State and UT level officials for strengthening sanitation service delivery at grass root level. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, V. Somanna. The Ministry further said that the move will further empower the Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas to review their achievements and progress and make focused efforts for improvement in the same.

The World Bank on Wednesday named Nobel laureate and University of Chicago professor Michael Kremer as its next chief economist, succeeding Indermit Gill, who retired last month. Kremer, 61, will take charge on 1 October, shortly before the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kremer won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences jointly with Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. He previously taught economics at Harvard University and currently serves as director of the Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago.

Kremer is known for using rigorous research to develop solutions to real-world development problems, particularly in developing countries. His research has covered education, health, water, finance and agriculture, while his programmes have supported small farmers and expanded access to vaccines and school health initiatives.

Three years after the martyrdom of Colonel Manpreet Singh and following repeated appeals by his family and representations by Anandpur Sahib MP Malvinder Singh Kang, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday dedicated the 200-foot-wide HR-2 road and a park in New Chandigarh to the decorated Army officer who laid down his life while defending the nation in Anantnag in 2023.Sharing the announcement on X, the Chief Minister paid tribute to Shaheed Colonel Manpreet Singh (Kirti Chakra) on his martyrdom anniversary.“I pay my heartfelt tributes to the great warrior, Shaheed Colonel Manpreet Singh (Kirti Chakra), who attained martyrdom while defending the nation in Anantnag. As a mark of respect to this braveheart, today we have named the road from Mullanpur Chowk to the T-Point ‘Shaheed Colonel Manpreet Singh Marg’ and the park in Sector 5-A ‘Shaheed Colonel Manpreet Singh Park’. The unparalleled sacrifice of this brave son of village Bharojian will always inspire our youth. Our martyrs are our pride and legacy, and the Punjab Government will always stand firmly with their families. Inquilab Zindabad,” Mann stated.

A hundred of the 2,451 newly appointed assistant professors across 211 new degree colleges in Bihar will undergo specialised training at Oxford University and various other premier global institutions as part of an international training programme funded by the state government.

Making the announcement during an orientation session held for the professors in Patna, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary stressed that the specialised training programme was aimed at providing quality education to students pursuing higher education. The teachers will learn modern teaching methods and boost their professional capabilities through the initiative, he said.

Choudhary further noted, “Bihar has acquired the distinction of being the first state in the country to launch 211 degree colleges in a single day.” He called on all teachers to ensure that their students maintain a minimum of 75% attendance in all classes.

An Indian firm and an American defence major on Tuesday announced that they will work together to support the development of India's high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle.

In a statement, Bharat Forge and Pratt & Whitney Canada said they will evaluate the integration of advanced turboprop engines into a HALE unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), being designed and developed under a programme by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Pratt & Whitney is a business of US-based RTX.

The collaboration supports India's indigenous unmanned aerial systems efforts under the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

HALE UAVs provide long-endurance surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance across land and maritime domains.

The Karnataka government on Tuesday approved the observance of September 15, the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya, as ‘Engineers’ Day’, in recognition of the invaluable contribution made by engineers toward the development and economic progress of the country.

The government also permitted the use of the title “Er.” (Engineer) before the names of engineers.

The government’s order came hours after Chief Minister D K Shivakumar made the announcement.

Engineers to use ‘Er.’ prefix
Recently on September 5 -- Teachers’ Day -- the state government allowed teachers in the state to use the prefix ‘Tr’ before their names as a mark of respect for their contribution to society.

The prefix is akin to professional titles such as ‘Dr’ for medical doctors and ‘Prof’ for professors.

The Keralam government is set to launch its highly anticipated ‘Reimagining Keralam’ Round Table Conference on September 16. Aimed at giving fresh momentum to Kerala's development and ensuring that announced projects are implemented within stipulated timelines, it begins in Thiruvananthapuram on September 16.

Organised under the theme "Ideas, Projects, Actions," the three-day event will be held from September 16 to 18 at the Lemon Tree and Hilton hotels in the state capital.

In what is being described as a first in Keralam's history, more than 40 departments and 73 projects are being brought together under a single initiative to prepare a comprehensive action plan. Priority will be given to projects that involve coordination across multiple departments, with discussions being held with the active participation of policy experts, investors and startups. Three days, six clusters and accelerated coordination of 73 projects have been identified as the key features of the initiative.

Odisha is set to get an integrated semiconductor manufacturing unit after the Unit Approval Committee (UAC) of the Falta Special Economic Zone (FSEZ) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry approved SiCSem Private Limited’s proposal to establish a silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor facility with an investment of ₹3,406.25 crore at Info Valley-II on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

The project, which was among the two semiconductor proposals approved for Odisha under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) last year, will come up on 21.889 acres at the Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) Park in Info Valley-II.

Sources said the UAC approval clears the way for SiCSem to establish an integrated semiconductor manufacturing facility covering fabrication, assembly, testing, marking and packaging of SiC semiconductor devices.