Morning Digest | Nitu, Saweety punch their way to World Boxing titles; SC gives States, UTs and High Courts three months to set up online RTI portals, and more

A combo picture of India’s Nitu Ghanghas (left) and Saweety Boora displaying their gold medals won at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship held at IG Stadiun in New Delhi on March 25, 2023.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Women’s World Boxing Championships | Nitu, Saweety punch their way to World titles in contrasting style

Promising youngster Nitu Ghanghas and experienced hand Saweety Boora boxed out of their skin to overcome tough opponents in the 48kg and 81kg finals and claim their maiden titles in the World women’s boxing championships at the K.D. Jadhav Hall in New Delhi on March 25.

In Uttarakhand, point and shoot plastic

Small steps can bring big changes. The Uttarakhand government has chosen the Char Dham yatra route that includes temples at Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri to implement a unique waste-disposal system in the Himalayas, Uttarakhand tourism secretary Sachin Kurve has confirmed.

Supreme Court gives States, UTs and High Courts three months to set up online RTI portals

The Supreme Court has directed States and Union Territories to set up and operationalise online Right to Information (RTI) portals within three months to ensure transparency in governance.

Canada ‘very closely’ following the developments in Punjab: Foreign Minister Melanie Joly

Canada is “very closely” following the developments in Punjab and will continue to address the concerns of the community, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has said amid Punjab Police’s crackdown on radical preacher Amritpal Singh.

As Amritpal remains elusive, Akal Takht chief priest raises question over Punjab Police ability

As pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh remained elusive almost a week after a crackdown began against him and his outfit, Waris Punjab De, Giani Harpreet Singh, chief priest of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhism, on Saturday raised question over the ability of the Punjab Police.

Report by citizen-lawyer collective highlights how routes chosen for religious processions trigger communal riots

A 176-page report published by a collective of citizens and lawyers brings to the fore how organisers of religious processions pick certain communally sensitive routes to provoke violence.

’Significant drop’ achieved in EPF’s actuarial deficit, Centre informs Rajya Sabha

A “significant drop” has been achieved in the actuarial deficit of the Employees’ Pension Fund (EPF), according to the Central government. This has become possible thanks to improvement in the quality of data in respect of members of the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 and amendments carried out based on recommendations of the actuarial valuation report, and suggestions of the Union Finance Ministry while agreeing to the minimum pension proposal.

Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification and Adani row not linked: BJP

Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and accused him of “distracting from the issue”. Mr. Prasad alleged that Mr. Gandhi had “thoughtfully” insulted people belonging to the Backward Classes.

India’s first cable-stayed rail bridge nearing completion

Twenty years in the making, the delayed construction of the Anji Khad bridge in Jammu’s Reasi district is a major chink in the Indian Railways’ ambitious plan to seamlessly connect Kashmir to Jammu, and the rest of India.

Google is bilingual in India, whether users ask for it or not

There’s a reason people in India have been seeing bi-lingual search results on Google. Since December 2022, the company has been picking up the region a user is physically located and processing their search history to provide information in two languages. Users in New Delhi will see results in English and Hindi, and users in Tamil Nadu see results in English and Tamil.

Britain, nine partners train Ukraine military recruits

Before the war in Ukraine, Igor, 27, from Odesa, used to make handmade leather products, while Oleksiy, 34, from Mykolaiv, owned a car service station. Today, they are among almost 2,000 Ukraine military recruits undergoing five weeks of basic training in the U.K. under an initiative called Operation Interflex.

MSMEs not static, but growing in size, asserts Finance Ministry

The Finance Ministry has sought to dismiss the “narrative” that India’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are stagnating, citing data that it asserts shows smaller firms evolving into larger units in recent years. However, industry representatives are not sure the numbers have been correctly interpreted by the Ministry.