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Jitendra Singh launches indigenous Bharat Forecast System with 6-km resolution [27 May 2025]
Union Minister of Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the Bharat Forecast System — one of the world’s first indigenously developed high-resolution weather forecast models — at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, the Bharat Forecast System marks a significant technological milestone, enhancing India’s weather prediction resolution from 12 km to 6 km. With this, India can now provide more accurate, village-level weather forecasts, bolstering preparedness across sectors including agriculture, disaster management, and transport.
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India Celebrates Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded to Large Hadron Collider Experiments [26 May 2025]
The 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is awarded to co-authors of publications based on CERN’s Large Hadron Collider Run-2 data released between 2015 and July 15, 2024, at the experimental collaborations ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb. The $3 million prize is allocated to these four experiments at CERN and will be used by the collaborations to offer grants for doctoral students from member institutes to spend research time at CERN, giving the students experience working at the forefront of science and new expertise to bring back to their home countries and regions. 5,345 researchers were involved in ATLAS; while 4,550 researchers in CMS; 1,869 researchers in ALICE; and 1,744 researchers were involved in LHCb.
Indian scientists and researchers have played a significant role in the international collaboration for the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) and the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiments. Several Indian institutes, universities, and scientists have contributed both intellectually and technically to the experiment’s success. From detector development to data analysis, various teams of Indian researchers have been actively involved at every stage of the experiments, right from their inception. These contributions underscore India's commitment to global scientific collaboration and its pivotal role in the success of the LHC experiments.
This prestigious award honours the collaborative and transformative research efforts that deepened our understanding of the Higgs boson, the quark-gluon plasma, matter-antimatter asymmetry, and physics beyond the Standard Model. Scientific teams belonging to several institutes from across the world have been working in a collaborative manner to achieve the objectives of the CERN experiments. India, a committed and active partner in the LHC program, proudly acknowledges this international recognition and celebrates its significant contributions to the experiments and the LHC infrastructure.
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India overtakes Japan to become world’s 4th largest economy [25 May 2025]
India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy and is now poised to surpass Germany to claim the third position within the next 2.5 to 3 years, according to NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook report released earlier this month, stated that India is set to become the fourth-largest economy in 2025. India’s nominal GDP is projected to rise to $4,187.017 billion, surpassing Japan’s estimated $4,186.431 billion. India continues to be the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is the only country expected to record over 6% growth over the next two years.
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Mizoram Achieves Full Functional Literacy [20 May 2025]
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Mizoram, Shri Lalduhoma, officially declared Mizoram a fully literate state, marking a historic milestone in the state’s educational journey. With this achievement, Mizoram becomes the first state in India to attain full literacy. The announcement was made during a special function held in Aizawl, the state capital, in the esteemed presence of Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for Education, Government of India, Dr. Vanlalthlana, Hon’ble Minister of School Education, Higher & Technical Education, Mizoram, Shri Khilli Ram Meena, IAS, Chief Secretary to the Government of Mizoram, Shri David Lalthantluanga, Special Secretary, School Education Department, Government of Mizoram, State dignitaries, officials, and students of Mizoram University. Mizoram, which attained statehood on 20th February 1987, spans a geographical area of 21,081 km² (8,139 sq mi). As per the 2011 Census, it recorded a literacy rate of 91.33%, ranking third in India. Building on this strong foundation, the ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (New India Literacy Programme) was implemented to identify and educate the remaining non-literate individuals.
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Barcelona claim 28th LaLiga title after 2-0 win at Espanyol [16 May 2025]
Barcelona secured their 28th LaLiga title after they beat city rivals Espanyol 2-0, securing an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid with two games left to play.
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Neeraj Chopra conferred honorary rank of Lt Colonel [15 May 2025]
India’s star athlete Neeraj Chopra has been conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. The double Olympic medallist’s appointment, published in The Gazette of India, came into effect on April 16.
Chopra, who made history by becoming India’s first Olympic gold medallist in track and field at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, cemented his legacy with a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Games. With two Olympic medals, he is now India’s most successful individual Olympian. He was earlier enrolled as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the rank of Naib Subedar in the Indian Army on 26 August 2016. He was promoted to Subedar in 2021 following his heroics in Tokyo.
Chopra has joined a distinguished list of Indian Olympians who have been honoured with military titles. Abhinav Bindra, the nation’s first individual gold medallist from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was conferred the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, while shooter Vijay Kumar was made an honorary Captain following his silver medal win in 2012.
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DRDO develops high-pressure polymeric membrane for sea water desalination [15 May 2025]
Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully developed an indigenous nanoporous multilayered polymeric membrane for high-pressure sea water desalination. Defence Materials Stores and Research & Development Establishment (DMSRDE), the Kanpur-based laboratory of DRDO, has developed the technology for desalination plant in Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships, based on their operational requirement to address the serious challenge of stability when exposed to chloride ions in saline water. The development has been completed in a record time of eight months. DMSRDE, along with ICG, successfully carried out initial technical trials in the existing desalination plant of Offshore Patrolling Vessel (OPV) of ICG. The initial safety and performance trials of the polymeric membranes were found to be fully satisfactory. The final operational clearance will be given by ICG after 500 hrs of operational testing. Presently, the unit is under testing and trials on OPV. This membrane will be a boon for desalination of sea water in coastal areas after certain modifications. It is another step by DMSRDE in the journey of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
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Dr. Ajay Kumar Assumes Charge as Chairman, Union Public Service Commission [15 May 2025]
Dr. Ajay Kumar, Former Secretary, Ministry of Defence took the Oath of Office and Secrecy as Chairman, Union Public Service Commission today. The Oath was administered by Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla (Retd.), the senior most Member of the Commission. Having pursued a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Dr. Ajay Kumar has done his M.S. in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota, USA and Ph.D in Business Administration from Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, USA. He was also conferred an Hon. Doctor of Philosophy by Amity University in 2019. Dr. Ajay Kumar belongs to the 1985 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Kerala Cadre. During his illustrious career of more than thirty five years, he has served in key positions in the State Government of Kerala as well as in the Centre. Some of his important assignments in the State were Managing Director, Electronics and Information Technology Department; Principal Secretary, Information Technology Department. At the Centre he held the significant portfolios of Director, Science & Technology; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; Director General, National Informatics Centre; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology; Secretary, Defence Production. In his last assignment, he served as Secretary, Ministry of Defence.
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Cabinet approves semiconductor unit in Uttar Pradesh [14 May 2025]
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the establishment of one more semiconductor unit under the India Semiconductor Mission. Already, five semiconductor units are in advanced stages of construction. With this sixth unit, Bharat moves forward in its journey to develop the strategically vital semiconductor industry. The unit approved today is a joint venture of HCL and Foxconn. HCL has a long history of developing and manufacturing hardware. Foxconn is a major global electronics manufacturing company. Together, they will set up a plant near Jewar airport in the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority or YEIDA. This plant will manufacture display driver chips for mobile phones, laptops, automobiles, PCs, and the myriad of other devices that have a display. The plant is designed for 20,000 wafers per month. The design output capacity is 36 million units per month. The semiconductor industry is now shaping up across the country. World-class design facilities have come up in many states across the country. State governments are vigorously pursuing the design firms. Students and entrepreneurs in 270 academic institutions and 70 startups are working on world-class class latest design technologies for developing new products. 20 products developed by the students of these academic students have been taped out by SCL Mohali. The new semiconductor unit approved today will attract investment of Rs 3,700 crore.
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Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was sworn in as 52nd Chief Justice of India. [14 May 2025]
Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. He made and subscribed to the oath of office before the President.Born on November 24, 1960, Justice Gavai entered the legal profession in 1985 and began independent practice at the Bombay High Court in 1987, later moving to its Nagpur Bench. He was appointed a judge of the Bombay High Court in November 2003 and elevated to the Supreme Court in May 2019.
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Jitendra Singh launches indigenous Bharat Forecast System with 6-km resolution [27 May 2025]
Union Minister of Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the Bharat Forecast System — one of the world’s first indigenously developed high-resolution weather forecast models — at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, the Bharat Forecast System marks a significant technological milestone, enhancing India’s weather prediction resolution from 12 km to 6 km. With this, India can now provide more accurate, village-level weather forecasts, bolstering preparedness across sectors including agriculture, disaster management, and transport.
-
India Celebrates Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded to Large Hadron Collider Experiments [26 May 2025]
The 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is awarded to co-authors of publications based on CERN’s Large Hadron Collider Run-2 data released between 2015 and July 15, 2024, at the experimental collaborations ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb. The $3 million prize is allocated to these four experiments at CERN and will be used by the collaborations to offer grants for doctoral students from member institutes to spend research time at CERN, giving the students experience working at the forefront of science and new expertise to bring back to their home countries and regions. 5,345 researchers were involved in ATLAS; while 4,550 researchers in CMS; 1,869 researchers in ALICE; and 1,744 researchers were involved in LHCb.
Indian scientists and researchers have played a significant role in the international collaboration for the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) and the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiments. Several Indian institutes, universities, and scientists have contributed both intellectually and technically to the experiment’s success. From detector development to data analysis, various teams of Indian researchers have been actively involved at every stage of the experiments, right from their inception. These contributions underscore India's commitment to global scientific collaboration and its pivotal role in the success of the LHC experiments.
This prestigious award honours the collaborative and transformative research efforts that deepened our understanding of the Higgs boson, the quark-gluon plasma, matter-antimatter asymmetry, and physics beyond the Standard Model. Scientific teams belonging to several institutes from across the world have been working in a collaborative manner to achieve the objectives of the CERN experiments. India, a committed and active partner in the LHC program, proudly acknowledges this international recognition and celebrates its significant contributions to the experiments and the LHC infrastructure.
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India overtakes Japan to become world’s 4th largest economy [25 May 2025]
India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy and is now poised to surpass Germany to claim the third position within the next 2.5 to 3 years, according to NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook report released earlier this month, stated that India is set to become the fourth-largest economy in 2025. India’s nominal GDP is projected to rise to $4,187.017 billion, surpassing Japan’s estimated $4,186.431 billion. India continues to be the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is the only country expected to record over 6% growth over the next two years.
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Mizoram Achieves Full Functional Literacy [20 May 2025]
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Mizoram, Shri Lalduhoma, officially declared Mizoram a fully literate state, marking a historic milestone in the state’s educational journey. With this achievement, Mizoram becomes the first state in India to attain full literacy. The announcement was made during a special function held in Aizawl, the state capital, in the esteemed presence of Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for Education, Government of India, Dr. Vanlalthlana, Hon’ble Minister of School Education, Higher & Technical Education, Mizoram, Shri Khilli Ram Meena, IAS, Chief Secretary to the Government of Mizoram, Shri David Lalthantluanga, Special Secretary, School Education Department, Government of Mizoram, State dignitaries, officials, and students of Mizoram University. Mizoram, which attained statehood on 20th February 1987, spans a geographical area of 21,081 km² (8,139 sq mi). As per the 2011 Census, it recorded a literacy rate of 91.33%, ranking third in India. Building on this strong foundation, the ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (New India Literacy Programme) was implemented to identify and educate the remaining non-literate individuals.
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Barcelona claim 28th LaLiga title after 2-0 win at Espanyol [16 May 2025]
Barcelona secured their 28th LaLiga title after they beat city rivals Espanyol 2-0, securing an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid with two games left to play.
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Neeraj Chopra conferred honorary rank of Lt Colonel [15 May 2025]
India’s star athlete Neeraj Chopra has been conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. The double Olympic medallist’s appointment, published in The Gazette of India, came into effect on April 16.
Chopra, who made history by becoming India’s first Olympic gold medallist in track and field at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, cemented his legacy with a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Games. With two Olympic medals, he is now India’s most successful individual Olympian. He was earlier enrolled as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the rank of Naib Subedar in the Indian Army on 26 August 2016. He was promoted to Subedar in 2021 following his heroics in Tokyo.
Chopra has joined a distinguished list of Indian Olympians who have been honoured with military titles. Abhinav Bindra, the nation’s first individual gold medallist from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was conferred the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, while shooter Vijay Kumar was made an honorary Captain following his silver medal win in 2012.
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DRDO develops high-pressure polymeric membrane for sea water desalination [15 May 2025]
Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully developed an indigenous nanoporous multilayered polymeric membrane for high-pressure sea water desalination. Defence Materials Stores and Research & Development Establishment (DMSRDE), the Kanpur-based laboratory of DRDO, has developed the technology for desalination plant in Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships, based on their operational requirement to address the serious challenge of stability when exposed to chloride ions in saline water. The development has been completed in a record time of eight months. DMSRDE, along with ICG, successfully carried out initial technical trials in the existing desalination plant of Offshore Patrolling Vessel (OPV) of ICG. The initial safety and performance trials of the polymeric membranes were found to be fully satisfactory. The final operational clearance will be given by ICG after 500 hrs of operational testing. Presently, the unit is under testing and trials on OPV. This membrane will be a boon for desalination of sea water in coastal areas after certain modifications. It is another step by DMSRDE in the journey of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
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Dr. Ajay Kumar Assumes Charge as Chairman, Union Public Service Commission [15 May 2025]
Dr. Ajay Kumar, Former Secretary, Ministry of Defence took the Oath of Office and Secrecy as Chairman, Union Public Service Commission today. The Oath was administered by Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla (Retd.), the senior most Member of the Commission. Having pursued a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Dr. Ajay Kumar has done his M.S. in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota, USA and Ph.D in Business Administration from Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, USA. He was also conferred an Hon. Doctor of Philosophy by Amity University in 2019. Dr. Ajay Kumar belongs to the 1985 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Kerala Cadre. During his illustrious career of more than thirty five years, he has served in key positions in the State Government of Kerala as well as in the Centre. Some of his important assignments in the State were Managing Director, Electronics and Information Technology Department; Principal Secretary, Information Technology Department. At the Centre he held the significant portfolios of Director, Science & Technology; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; Director General, National Informatics Centre; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology; Secretary, Defence Production. In his last assignment, he served as Secretary, Ministry of Defence.
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Cabinet approves semiconductor unit in Uttar Pradesh [14 May 2025]
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the establishment of one more semiconductor unit under the India Semiconductor Mission. Already, five semiconductor units are in advanced stages of construction. With this sixth unit, Bharat moves forward in its journey to develop the strategically vital semiconductor industry. The unit approved today is a joint venture of HCL and Foxconn. HCL has a long history of developing and manufacturing hardware. Foxconn is a major global electronics manufacturing company. Together, they will set up a plant near Jewar airport in the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority or YEIDA. This plant will manufacture display driver chips for mobile phones, laptops, automobiles, PCs, and the myriad of other devices that have a display. The plant is designed for 20,000 wafers per month. The design output capacity is 36 million units per month. The semiconductor industry is now shaping up across the country. World-class design facilities have come up in many states across the country. State governments are vigorously pursuing the design firms. Students and entrepreneurs in 270 academic institutions and 70 startups are working on world-class class latest design technologies for developing new products. 20 products developed by the students of these academic students have been taped out by SCL Mohali. The new semiconductor unit approved today will attract investment of Rs 3,700 crore.
-
Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was sworn in as 52nd Chief Justice of India. [14 May 2025]
Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. He made and subscribed to the oath of office before the President.Born on November 24, 1960, Justice Gavai entered the legal profession in 1985 and began independent practice at the Bombay High Court in 1987, later moving to its Nagpur Bench. He was appointed a judge of the Bombay High Court in November 2003 and elevated to the Supreme Court in May 2019.
