Nisha Mehta, an alumna of the College of Nursing, AIIMS, Delhi, has been appointed as the health minister of Nepal, an official statement said on Sunday.

In a statement, AIIMS Delhi said, "This remarkable achievement is a moment of great pride for the institution and the nursing community at large." "Mehta's journey from bedside nursing to a key policy-making role reflects the expanding scope and leadership potential of the nursing profession," the statement said.

During her time at AIIMS, she consistently displayed exceptional leadership qualities, active participation in academic and co-curricular activities, and a strong sense of responsibility - traits that have clearly shaped her path toward higher leadership and public service, it added.

The Telangana government on Sunday passed the Telangana Employees Accountability and Monitoring of Parental Support Bill, 2026, in the Legislative Assembly. The Bill proposes to bring about salary deductions for private and public sector employees deemed to be neglecting and failing to support their parents.

The law will also be applicable to MLAs and MPs, as well as nominated members and elected representatives of local bodies.

The Bill allows salary deductions of up to 15% or Rs 10,000, whichever is lower.

Speaking during the debate over the Bill, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said, “The rights of parents should be protected by goodwill. But the Bill makes sure that the law is on the parents’ side when they are neglected.”

China’s flag carrier, Air China, has resumed direct flights between Beijing and North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang today after a gap of 6 years. This comes after the restoration of passenger train services between the capitals resumed on 12th March. Flights and passenger trains from China to North Korea had been suspended since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

However, North Korean carrier Air Koryo resumed flights between the capitals in 2023. China is Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner and major ally. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un travelled to Beijing in September last year to attend a massive military parade, marking the first time a North Korean leader had been present at a Chinese military parade in decades.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) on Tuesday announced the launch of the TV Rating Policy 2026, aimed at strengthening transparency, independence, and accountability in television audience measurement across India. The policy establishes comprehensive guidelines for the registration, operation, and audit of agencies that provide TV rating services.

According to the Ministry, the new framework is designed to enhance credibility in viewership data, ensure fair competition among broadcasters, and safeguard public trust in the media ecosystem. The policy replaces the earlier Guidelines for TV Rating Agencies, issued on January 16, 2014, and is now available on the MIB website.

India on Friday reaffirmed its support for Bangladesh’s quest for justice over the brutal crackdown by Pakistan during the 1971 war, with the government describing the events as a systematic campaign of violence against civilians.

“We all are aware of the terrible atrocities committed by Pakistan during ‘Operation Searchlight’ in 1971,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

“The genocide involved systematic and targeted murder of millions of innocent Bangladeshi people and mass sexual crimes against women,” he added.

Jaiswal said India stands firmly with Bangladesh in its “desire for justice,” underscoring New Delhi’s consistent position on the issue. He noted that the military operation not only led to widespread killings but also forced millions to flee into India as refugees.

An ageing NASA spacecraft is currently falling towards Earth due to increased solar activity, which has accelerated atmospheric drag. To prevent a catastrophic crash, NASA has awarded a $30 million contract to Arizona-based startup Katalyst Space Technologies to launch a rescue mission.

NASA in February announced that its Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which surveyed the sky for gamma-ray bursts for more than 21 years, was temporarily suspending most science operations in an effort to slow the spacecraft's orbital decay.

The space agency then noted that stopping these activities was aimed at enabling controllers to keep the spacecraft in an orientation that minimises drag effects, extending its time in orbit.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday released its ‘Payments Vision 2028’, which envisages a switch-on/switch- off facility across all digital payment modes, introducing a Payments Switching Service (PaSS), a Shared Responsibility Framework arising from unauthorised digital payment transactions and launching electronic cheques.

The vision lays out a roadmap for the evolution of India’s payments ecosystem over the next three years. It consists of 15 specific initiatives, which focus on user empowerment, strengthening safeguards against fraud, enhancing efficiency of cross-border payment frameworks and promoting ease of doing business, among others.

The Central bank plans to extend the switch-on and switch-off facility for domestic and international card transactions, currently available to customers and help them exercise greater control over their cards, to all digital payment modes.

A team of researchers have successfully used deep transfer learning (DTL), a non-invasive artificial intelligence-based tool, to study nest site fidelity in painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) in the National Zoological Park, Delhi.

The researchers chose a male painted stork with a distinctive injury scar on its neck and observed it over four consecutive breeding seasons from 2022 to 2025 to assess the nest site fidelity – a trait of using the same nesting site in successive breeding seasons.

They named the stork ‘Ringo’, in honour of drummer Ringo Starr of iconic pop music band The Beatles, for the study. A total of 2,349 high resolution images of Ringo, covering both sides and wing markings in the folded position, were photographed for the study. They also clicked 1,755 images, showing both the left and right sides of the wings of other nesting storks. These images collected during breeding seasons from 2022 to 2025 were used as a foundation for studying individual identification through unique features present in painted storks.

The government on Friday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend certain provisions for decriminalising and rationalising minor offences to further promote ease of doing business and living.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, was introduced by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada after incorporating recommendations of a select committee.

It seeks to amend certain enactments to decriminalise and rationalise offences to further enhance trust-based governance for ease of living and doing business.

Defence Ministry today signed contracts worth 858 crore rupees for the procurement of Tunguska Air Defence Missile System and Inspection (Depot Level) of the P8I Long-Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft. The Ministry said that the contract for the procurement of Tunguska Air Defence Missile Systems, valued at 445 crore rupees, for the Indian Army was signed with JSC Rosoboronexport, Russia, in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh. It said these cutting-edge missiles will enhance the country’s multilayered air defence capabilities against aerial threats, including aircraft, drones and cruise missiles. The agreement will further strengthen the Indo-Russian strategic defence partnership. Meanwhile, the contract for the Inspection (Depot Level) of the P8I Long-Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft for the Indian Navy under the Buy Indian category with 100% Indigenous Content, valued at four hundred 13 crore rupees, was signed with Boeing India Defense Private Ltd. This contract will ensure Depot-level maintenance of the P8I fleet at the in-country MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facility, which is in line with the Government’s commitment to Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India.