“There cannot be a greater service to humanity than giving life to another person”. This was stated by Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare during his address at the 13th Indian Organ Donation Day (IODD) ceremony, here today. Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar and Prof S P Singh Baghel, Union Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare and Shri Ma Subramanian, Minister of Health, Tamil Nadu were also present. The 13th IODD ceremony was held to felicitate deceased donor families for their brave decision of donating organs of their loved ones, to spread awareness on deceased organ donation and to recognize the contribution of medical professionals working in the field of organ donation and transplantation by awarding them.

Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has notified the creation of a new category of Ayush (AY) visa for foreign nationals for treatment under Ayush systems/Indian systems of medicine. The introduction of Ayush Visa fulfills the proposal for introduction of a special visa scheme for foreigners visiting India for treatment under Ayush systems/Indian systems of medicine like therapeutic care, wellness and Yoga.

A new chapter i.e. chapter 11A – Ayush Visa has been incorporated after Chapter 11 - Medical visa of the Visa Manual, which deals with treatment under the Indian systems of medicine and accordingly necessary amendments has been made in various chapters of the Visa Manual, 2019.

The 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on online gaming, casinos and horse racing is expected to be implemented from October 1 this year, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. However, in a reprieve to the online gaming sector, the government has clarified that the tax will be levied on the contest entry amount, excluding the winnings.

“The GST Council also recommended that valuation of supply of online gaming and actionable claims in casinos may be done based on the amount paid or payable to or deposited with the supplier, by or on behalf of the player (excluding the amount entered into games or bets out of winnings of previous games or bets) and not on the total value of each bet placed,” said Sitharaman on Wednesday after the 51st meeting of the GST Council.

India and Lesotho held the 5th round of Joint Bilateral Commission for Cooperation here on Wednesday.

The Indian side was led by Puneet R Kundal, joint secretary (E&SA) in Ministry of External Affairs and the Lesotho side was led by Thabang Polycarp Lekhela, Deputy Principal Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations of Lesotho.

“5th India-Lesotho Joint Bilateral Commission for Cooperation meeting held in Maseru today. Co-chaired by JS (E&SA) @prkundal & Deputy Principal Secretary Thabang Lekhela of Lesotho MFA,” Arindam Bagchi.

132nd Edition of Durand Cup is commencing from Thursday at Kolkata. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments conducted by the Indian Army every year in collaboration with the Durand Cup Federation.

This edition of the tournament will witness 36 league matches, four quarter final matches, two semi-finals, and culminating into the final match on September 3. In a remarkable display of national integration and sporting excellence, this month-long event with 43 matches will bring together 24 football teams from diverse regions of India including two teams from neighbouring countries, as per a release from Indian Army officials.

The Indian Railways is undertaking modernisation of 57 railway stations in Odisha under the Amrit Bharat station scheme. Under this scheme of the Indian Railways, the selected railway stations under the East Coast Railway (ECoR) zone will be developed with improved amenities for passengers.

The East Coast Railway in a release on Tuesday (August 1) shared the list of railway stations that have been identified for upgradation and modernisation. The upgradation and redevelopment of these railway stations and amenities will not only solve the congestion problem but also provide open spaces to people and beautify the station area.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday launched the Department of Forest & Environment's Amrit Brikshya Andolan web portal/mobile application and the Wood-based Industry (WBI) registration web portal, along with the theme song for the Amrit Brikshya Andolan, an initiative aimed at planting a total of 1 crore (10 million) commercially-viable saplings across the State by individuals from various walks of life on coming September 17.

In an effort to prevent dog attacks on children and the public, the Yogi government aims to establish Animal Birth Control Centers (ABC) in all municipal corporations and 58 district headquarters of Uttar Pradesh in a phased manner.

The state government’s effort to establish ABC centers have resulted in sterilizations of over 2.16 lakh dogs so far.

Notably, ABC centers are being operated in 11 urban local bodies of the state. For establishing these centers, a budget provision of Rs 15 crore has been made. The ABC Rules-2023 also make the establishment of such centers mandatory.

Karnataka minister MB Patil said on Wednesday that the state government and electronics manufacturing major Foxconn have signed the Letter of Intent (LOI) for two projects with an estimated investment outlay of Rs 5,000 crore.

An estimated 13,000 jobs are expected to be generated through investment intention.

According to Karnataka's Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil, the intended projects include a phone enclosure project for which FII (Foxcon Industrialist Internet), a Foxconn subsidiary, will invest Rs 3,000 crore and a semicon equipment project wherein Foxconn would invest Rs 2,000 crore in collaboration with Applied Materials.

Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena took over as the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, from Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, at Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the Naval War College Newport, USA.

Having excelled as a Navigation and Direction specialist with top honours, he served in the Direction team onboard the Aircraft Carrier INS Viraat, followed by significant roles as the Navigating Officer of INS Kuthar, Godavari, Delhi and as the Executive Officer of INS Mumbai.