Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted on phone with the Indian Badminton team that has scored the historic win at the Thomas Cup. The Prime Minister congratulated the team and said that sports analyst will have to count this as India’s finest sporting win.

He said that he is especially happy that the team did not lose any round. During his interaction, Mr Modi asked the players at what stage did they feel that that they are going to win. Badminton player Kidambi Srikanth informed Mr Modi that after the quarter final, the team’s determination to see it to the end became very strong. 

He also told the Prime Minister that team spirit helped and every player gave his 100 percent.The Prime Minister said that the coaches also deserve all the appreciation.

Buddha Purnima is being celebrated today. It not only marks the day when Gautam Buddha was born but also the day when he attained Nirvana under the Mahabodhi tree at Bodh Gaya.

Lord Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha Gautama on the full moon day in 563 BC at Lumbini in Nepal. His birth anniversary is also known as Vaisakhi Buddha Purnima or Vesak.  

The full moon day of May is the most important for Buddhists. Prince Siddhartha was born at Lumbini Grove on the full moon day, he attained enlightenment under the shade of the Bodhi tree and became Gotama Buddha at Bodh Gaya and after 45 years of teaching the Truth, when he was eighty, he passed away at Kusinara on the full moon day of May.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy and address the startup community during the Madhya Pradesh Startup Conclave being held in Indore, on 13th May at 7 PM via video conferencing.

He will also launch the Madhya Pradesh Startup portal, which will facilitate and help promote the startup ecosystem.

The Madhya Pradesh Startup Conclave will witness participation of various pillars of the startup ecosystem including policy makers from government and private sector, innovators, entrepreneurs, academicians, investors, mentors and other stakeholders. It will witness a variety of sessions including speed mentoring session, where startups will have dialogue with leaders of educational institutions and startup space; how to start startup session, where startups will be guided by policymakers; funding session, where entrepreneurs will learn about various funding methods; pitching session, where startups will get opportunity to collaborate with investors and put forth their ideas for funding; and ecosystem support session, where participants will learn about brand value and about promoting startup ecosystem in the state.

Indian boxers Shiksha (54kg), Jaismine (60kg) and Anamika (50kg) showed their skills and maturity to advance to the pre-quarterfinals at the 12th edition of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul on Thursday.

Shiksha, who faced Argentina's Herrera Milagros Rosario displayed brilliant temperament and skillset to convincingly win by unanimous decision without breaking a sweat.

Shiksha will next take on Mongolia's Oyuntsetseg Yesugen in the pre-quarterfinals on Sunday.

Yoga and Health Awareness Programme along with a Walkathon competition was organized by the Union Health Ministry in Nashik this morning. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Bharti Pawar inaugurated the programme. 

She said that in today's stressful life, cases of diseases like BP, Diabetes and Asthma have increased among the citizens and they should try to maintain their health through morning walk and Yoga.

The Minister said that the Central Government is organizing Walkathon and Health Awareness Programmes along with Yogasanas across the country to improve the health of the citizens of the country as well as to create health awareness among the citizens. This initiative has been launched from Nashik. 

In an important milestone, ISRO, India’s Space Research Organisation successfully conducted the static test of a human-rated solid rocket booster HS-200, a key component for the Gaganyaan manned mission programme. The test was conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, the spaceport of India. HS-200 booster loaded with 203 tonnes of solid propellant was tested for a duration of 135 seconds.

HS-200 rocket booster is the human-rated version of the well proven S-200 rocket booster of GSLV Mark-II satellite launch vehicle, popularly known as LVM3. The successful test today is a major step towards realising the prestigious human space flight mission of ISRO, the Gaganyaan. The event that took place at 7.20 a.m. today was witnessed by ISRO Chairman S. Somanath along with other senior ISRO scientists.

NITI Aayog launched the National Data and Analytics Platform on Friday. The platform aims to democratize access to public government data by making data accessible, interoperable, interactive and available on a user-friendly platform.

The platform was launched by Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Suman Bery in the presence of Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant and other senior officials from NITI Aayog.

On this occasion, Mr. Kant said, the rise of data and digital technologies are rapidly transforming economies and societies with enormous implications for governments’ daily operations. He said, this platform is a critical milestone which aims to aid country's progress by promoting data-driven disclosure, decision making and ensuring availability of data connecting till the last mile.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Economy Minister of United Arab Emirates Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri inaugurated India-UAE Economic Partnership Summit in Mumbai on Friday. Both leaders also launched India-UAE start-up bridge to boost the economy. This summit was organised by Confederation of Indian Industry.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Mr. Piyush Goyal said, India and UAE have huge potential to work together and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will significantly open the doors to a plethora of markets across the globe and help in building a future ready, more robust and resilient bilateral partnership.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the National Cyber Forensic Laboratory (NCFL) in Hyderabad this afternoon. During his day-long visit to the city, Mr Shah will take part in a couple of programmes.

Mr Shah will also address a public meeting on the concluding day of the month-long ‘Praja Sangrama Yatra’ Phase-2 taken up by BJP State President and Lok Sabha Member B. Sanjay Kumar. Mr Sanjay had a month-long Yatra which he started on 14th of last month coinciding with Dr BR Ambedkar birth anniversary. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today approved revised Scales of Accommodation-2022 (SoA) for Defence Services. This will ensure contemporary specifications in future projects and better standards of living for the personnel of the Armed Forces. The Defence Ministry said that the implementation of Scales of Accommodation-2022, would be a tremendous improvement in built facilities, infrastructure and specifications commensurate to contemporary requirements. 

Ministry of Defence has highlighted that this revision will enhance infrastructure development, enable usage of modern technology, give more flexibility to the executives and cater for users’ aspirations. The Ministry added that the enhanced scales will also be in line with the government vision and programmes like Swatch Bharat, Sugamya Bharat, Digital India, Green Buildings, Sustainable Development, Renewable Energy and reduction of Carbon Footprint.