Punjab to Develop Nangal as a Tourist Hub & Jhajjar Bachauli as the First Leopard Safari
The Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, announced major initiatives to boost tourism and wildlife conservation in the state. Nangal will be developed into a major tourist hub, with an initial budget of Rs. 10 crore, while Jhajjar Bachauli Wildlife Sanctuary in Sri Anandpur Sahib will be transformed into Punjab's first leopard safari destination. These initiatives are part of the 'Badalda Punjab' Budget 2025-26, presented by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. The projects aim to enhance tourism, preserve biodiversity, create employment, and uplift cultural heritage in Punjab.
Bank of Baroda Goes Live with PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme
Bank of Baroda went live with the new Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi (PM-Vidyalaxmi) Scheme to provide financial support to meritorious students.
The PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme is an initiative by the central government for students seeking financial assistance to pursue higher education and to ensure that financial constraints do not deprive the youth of India from pursuing quality higher education.
The PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme is a special loan product that enables collateral-free, guarantor-free education loans, made accessible through an entirely digital application process.
N. Chandrasekaran Joins IMF Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship & Growth
Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran joined the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva announced. The Council, comprising leaders from business, finance, academia, and policymaking, will advise on policies to stimulate innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity-led growth.
SpaceX Launches Private Astronauts on First Crewed Polar Orbit
SpaceX launched the first human spaceflight directly over Earth's polar regions — a days-long, privately funded orbital mission involving four astronauts.
Named "Fram2" after the famed Norwegian ship built in the 19th century for Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, the mission featured a range of experiments including taking the first X-ray in space and growing mushrooms in microgravity.
Eugenio Chacarra Clinches Maiden DP World Tour Title at Hero Indian Open 2025
Spain's Eugenio Chacarra captured his first DP World Tour title in stunning fashion at the 2025 Hero Indian Open, overcoming an early setback to secure victory by two shots at the challenging DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurugram, Haryana.
Gulveer Singh Sets New 10000m National Record at the Ten 2025
During the Ten 2025 athletics meet at San Juan Capistrano in the USA, India's Gulveer Singh broke his own record and created a new national record in the men's 10000m event, as per Olympics.com.
Singh clocked an impressive 27:00.22s and finished sixth.
The race was won by Ishmael Kipkurui (26:50.21), who broke the NCAA record. Habtom Samuel finished second with 26:51.06 while Adrian Wildschutt secured third place in 26:51.27. The Ten is a World Athletics Continental Tour silver-level meet.
India Launches 'Operation Brahma' For Quake-Hit Myanmar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Myanmar's Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and assured India's humanitarian assistance to help deal with the devastating aftermath of the earthquake that struck Myanmar. The conversation between the two leaders came just hours after India launched 'Operation Brahma', an emergency relief mission aimed at providing disaster relief, search and rescue operations, and medical assistance to the affected regions.
India, Japan Sign Loan Agreements for 6 Projects
India and Japan signed loan agreements worth 191.736 billion Japanese yen for six projects under Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) to India. The six projects are in forest management, water supply, urban transport, aquaculture, biodiversity conservation and investment promotion.
Centre Appoints IFS officer Nidhi Tewari as PM Modi's Private Secretary
The government issued a memorandum announcing the appointment of Nidhi Tewari, a 2014-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tewari has been serving as Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) since November 2022. Earlier she was Under Secretary at Disarmament and International Security Affairs Division at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
IAF Participating in Multi-nation Wargame in Greece
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating in a 12-day mega wargame in Greece from March 31 to April 11 aimed at simulating modern-day air warfare challenges. The assets deployed by the IAF for the biennial INIOCHOS-25 exercise at the Andravida air base include Su-30 MKI fighter jets along with combat enabler IL-78 and C-17 Globemaster aircraft.
The exercise will further reinforce India's strategic partnerships-and bolster its capabilities in joint operations with friendly nations.
IAF Participating in Multi-nation Wargame in Greece
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating in a 12-day mega wargame in Greece from March 31 to April 11 aimed at simulating modern-day air warfare challenges. The assets deployed by the IAF for the biennial INIOCHOS-25 exercise at the Andravida air base include Su-30 MKI fighter jets along with combat enabler IL-78 and C-17 Globemaster aircraft.
The exercise will further reinforce India's strategic partnerships-and bolster its capabilities in joint operations with friendly nations.
The exercise has integrated multiple air and surface assets from fifteen countries under realistic combat scenarios, designed to simulate modern-day air warfare challenges.
Modi Inaugurates First Private Sector Defence Drone Runway
PM Narendra Modi unveiled India's first private sector military drone testing runway and loitering munition test facility during a visit to Nagpur.
The first-of-its-kind testing facility has a 1.27-km long runway dedicated to developing indigenous Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) and High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones for the Indian Armed forces. The PM also dedicated a 1,080-acre test range for loitering munition at the same complex, geared to develop next-generation munition by Solar Defence and Aerospace.
IIM Ahmedabad to Launch First International Campus in Dubai by September 2025
The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) organised its 60th convocation at the Louis Kahn Plaza. While announcing the new campus, IIMA Director Professor Bharat Bhasker revealed that the institute's first international campus would open in Dubai in September 2025. This will make IIMA the first of the Indian Institute of Management to go international.
The convocation also saw the launch of the Madan Mohanka Centre of Excellence in Case Method of Learning, sponsored by industrialist and IIMA alumnus Madan Mohanka from the PGP 1967 batch. The center is aimed at strengthening the case study method of instruction.'
Professor and ex-chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Dr S Somanath was the guest of honour for the day. He conferred degrees on more than 1,200 students on four programmes.
NFRA and IIT Kanpur Jointly Organise a Hackathon on Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI
The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur jointly organised a Hackathon to encourage students to build cutting-edge solutions using Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI.
The objective of the Hackathon was to demonstrate democratising complex financial statements so that financial information is more readable and understandable, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said.
The challenge given was to transform financial data into clear, engaging stories to enable well informed decisions. The hackathon tried to address the challenge, leveraging GenAI. Teams attempted transformative solutions to simplify financial statements and unlock deeper insights.
NITI Aayog Organises National Workshop on "Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Challenges, Best Practices, and Policy Interventions"
A one-day National Workshop on 'Internationalisation of Higher Education in India', was organised by the Education Division of NITI Aayog, as a part of the NITI–State workshop series, an initiative under the State Support Mission, and in collaboration with its knowledge partners, IIT Madras, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), and Acumen at the IIT Madras campus in Chennai.
The workshop brought together officers from the Centre, State and UT Governments, Institutions of National Importance, Central Universities, State Public Universities, Private Universities, Deemed Universities, International Universities, and representatives from several countries and deliberated on challenges, best practices and policy interventions for implementing internationalisation initiatives in Indian higher education at the systemic and institutional levels as envisioned in the National Education Policy 2020.
The 37th Kathak Mahotsav 2025, organised by Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, a constituent unit of Sangeet Natak Akademi, concluded successfully in New Delhi. This six-day festival was a landmark event, featuring the world's first-ever Kathak Literary Festival along with seminars, exhibitions, and captivating dance performances. The festival showcased all major Kathak gharanas—Lucknow, Jaipur, Banaras, and Raigarh—through performances by distinguished artists. The event also focused on royal patronage, evolution of Kathak bols, and literary documentation, making it an unforgettable celebration of both the artistic and intellectual aspects of Kathak.