India’s iconic festival of lights, Deepavali, has been officially inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The announcement was made on Wednesday during the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), hosted for the first time in India at the Red Fort, New Delhi.

“Deepavali commemorates the victory of good over evil, the triumph of light, and the unity and diversity of the Indian diaspora around the world, as well as all those who appreciate Indian culture. In the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — the Indian belief that the whole world is one family — this festival celebrates our shared identity as a global family,” said Vivek Agarwal, Secretary, Union Ministry of Culture.

The session, chaired by Vishal V Sharma, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO, runs from December 8 to 13. Delegates from nearly 80 countries are examining 67 nominations that showcase traditions, practices, and cultural expressions cherished globally.

Hailing the inclusion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, “People in India and around the world are thrilled. For us, Deepavali is closely linked to our culture and ethos. It is the soul of our civilisation. It personifies illumination and righteousness. The addition of Deepavali to the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List will contribute to the festival’s global popularity even further. May the ideals of Prabhu Shri Ram keep guiding us for eternity.”

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar described the recognition as “a recognition of the festival’s immense cultural, religious and spiritual significance and of its role in bringing people together.”

Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan welcomed the global acknowledgement, calling it a moment of national pride. In a social media post, he said Deepavali “is not merely a festival, but a civilisational phenomenon that unites the nation and resonates across the world.”

With Deepavali’s inclusion, India now has 16 elements on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Earlier, India’s 15 elements included Ramlila, Vedic chanting, Kutiyattam, Ramman, Chhau, Kalbelia, Mudiyettu, Buddhist chanting of Ladakh, Manipur’s Sankirtana, the Thatheras’ metal craft, yoga, Nawrouz, Kumbh Mela, Kolkata’s Durga Puja, and Gujarat’s garba.

Deepavali has been inscribed under the “Social practices, rituals and festive events” domain. The inscription formally recognises it as a living cultural tradition of global value, affirming the need to safeguard associated rituals and practices for future generations while enhancing the festival’s international visibility and strengthening India’s cultural profile worldwide.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

Andhra Pradesh is set to spearhead India’s solar manufacturing revolution with the establishment of the country’s first integrated 6 GW solar ingot and wafer production facility in Anakapalli district. The project, born out of a Memorandum of Understanding signed at a recent partnership summit, has been approved by the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB).

ReNew Photovoltaics, a subsidiary of ReNew Energy Global PLC, will invest Rs 3,990 crore to set up a greenfield plant at Rambilli in Anakapalli. The facility will be India’s first commercial-scale integrated ingot-wafer manufacturing unit, producing critical components for solar cells and modules.

The SIPB, chaired by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, approved the proposal on Thursday, which is now slated for Cabinet approval next week. Once operational, the plant will reduce India’s dependence on imported solar components, particularly from China, supporting the nation’s ambitious target of 300 GW of solar capacity by 2030.

The state-of-the-art facility will be built on approximately 130–140 acres of land, which has already been identified for development. The project is expected to be completed by March 2026, with commercial production commencing by January 2028.

The plant will create around 1,200 high-skilled and semi-skilled jobs, and its operations will require a continuous power supply of 95 MW along with 10 million litres of water. The initiative is supported under the Government of India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for solar manufacturing, underscoring the push towards self-reliance in renewable energy.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

Summary

Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata, has added another feather to its cap as its student team, Team Waterloo, emerged as National Winners at the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2025.

The national triumph of Team Waterloo reinforces Heritage Institute of Technology’s commitment to nurturing future-ready innovators.

Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata, has added another feather to its cap as its student team, Team Waterloo, emerged as National Winners at the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2025 in the Software Edition. The team won for the NCIIPC India (a unit of NTRO) problem statement SIH25232, earning national recognition for developing a technologically advanced solution to detect and analyse illegal mining activities. The achievement was formally honoured at the national ceremony, where the team was felicitated on stage by AICTE Chairman Prof. T.G. Sitharam.

Team Waterloo’s award-winning platform stood out for its depth and real-world applicability. The solution integrates SAR-based deep learning detection, DEM-driven volumetric analysis, automated illegal mining assessment, and 2D and 3D geospatial visualisation, all within an offline-ready analytical environment. Designed to support actionable intelligence, the platform addresses a critical national challenge with precision, speed, and scalability.

A defining moment of the finale tested the team’s resilience and adaptability. Midway through the competition, officials from NTRO directed all finalists to shift from multispectral data to a purely SAR-based architecture. Rising to the challenge, the Heritage team re-engineered the entire system overnight, retraining a new SAR model, rebuilding backend pipelines, and enhancing the analytical interface using CesiumJS and Three.js. Their swift pivot and technical execution drew strong appreciation from the jury for accuracy and innovation under extreme time constraints.

Selected from 72,165 ideas and over 68,000 participating teams, and emerging victorious among 1,360 national finalists, the win places Heritage Institute of Technology among the top performers of SIH 2025, widely regarded as one of the most competitive editions of the hackathon.

The winning team comprised Ankit Kumar, Soumyadipta Dey (Lead), Jitaditya Ray, Samadrita Ghosal, Mayukh Sen, and Arnab Ghosh, mentored by Prof. Joydeb Hazra, SPOC, Smart India Hackathon, HITK, and Prof. Mousiki Kar of the institute.

Congratulating the students, Shri P.K. Agarwal, CEO, Heritage Group of Institutions, said the victory reflected the institute’s strong culture of innovation and national problem-solving. Prof. Basab Chaudhuri, Principal, Heritage Institute of Technology, added that the team’s performance showcased the strength of Heritage’s academic ecosystem and its focus on producing engineers capable of delivering impactful solutions under pressure.

The national triumph of Team Waterloo reinforces Heritage Institute of Technology’s commitment to nurturing future-ready innovators who can address complex real-world challenges with technology-driven solutions.

source/content: telegraphindia.com/edugraph (headline edited)

Summary

Two students and an educator from India were announced among 15 finalists from across the globe competing for the World Education Medals 2025.

The winner of each of the three medals will be announced next month and honoured at the Education Leaders Forum in London.

Two students and an educator from India were on Thursday announced among 15 finalists from across the globe competing for the World Education Medals 2025. Raul John Aju, a 16-year-old student from Kerala who founded AIrealm Technologies Pvt Ltd, and Bengaluru student Ashwat Prasanna who founded EyeSight are among the five shortlisted in the medal’s “Students” category.

Vineeta Garg, Head of IT at a Delhi school, is named among the five finalists for the World Education Medal in the “Educators” category.

“With changemakers like Raul John Aju, Ashwat Prasanna, and Vineeta Garg, I am confident we are moving in a positive direction for the future,” said Mayank Dhingra, Director and Global Head of Education Business and Strategy at HP – the IT company behind the medals. “Their innovative efforts demonstrate a promising path forward for education, ensuring it evolves to meet the needs of future generations,” he said. The World Education Medals were founded by HP to spotlight the innovative work of those using artificial intelligence (AI) to transform education and close learning gaps.

source/content: telegraphindia.com/edugraph (headline edited)

At a ceremony held at Namo Ghat, the Ports, Shipping, and Waterways minister inaugurated the vessel’s commercial operations.

At a ceremony held at Namo Ghat, the Ports, Shipping, and Waterways minister inaugurated the vessel’s commercial operations.

The Minister said it was a matter of national pride that India has now joined the list of countries such as China, Norway, the Netherlands, and Japan that operate hydrogen-powered vessels.

“This proves that our technical capabilities are ready for the future. This has been made possible due to the Prime Minister’s visionary leadership. The speed and approach with which every sector has been advancing has ensured that inland waterways now play an important role in India’s development journey,” he said in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency.

Uttar Pradesh’s Minister of State for Transport (Independent Charge) Dayashankar Singh, Minister of State for Ayush, Food Safety and Drug Administration (Independent Charge) Dayashankar Mishra, and Minister of State for Stamp and Court Fees and Registration (Independent Charge) Ravindra Jaiswal were among the public representatives present on the occasion.

According to an official statement, the initiative is part of the ongoing modernisation of India’s inland waterways under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has prioritised clean transport, improved connectivity and enhanced public convenience.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

CEO Satya Nadella says it is company’s largest investment in Asia, with focus on cloud growth and digital sovereignty.

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday said the company is deepening its commitment to India’s artificial intelligence ecosystem with massive infrastructure investments.

Microsoft is also strengthening its cloud footprint and focusing on skilling millions of Indians for an AI-driven future, he said.

Speaking at a Microsoft event here, Nadella said, “We are very excited about investing in India to make sure that we’re able to bring the best in class infrastructure here, the USD 17.5 billion investment,” calling it Microsoft’s largest investment in Asia.

The Microsoft Chairman underlined the rapid expansion of the company’s cloud footprint across the country.

“We’re building on Azure as the world’s computer and we have 70 plus data centre regions all over the world. In India, the footprint continues to grow. We now have central India, West India, South India, and we have a partnership with Jio as well,” he said.

He further said that a new data centre region would become operational in 2026.

“We are very excited that in 2026, we will have a new DC in south central and then the most exciting part for me is that it’s 100 per cent sustainable,” he said.

Nadella also emphasised the importance of digital sovereignty and cybersecurity in an era of expanding AI deployment.

“We are taking sovereignty and making sure that there’s a portfolio of options for sovereignty. So you have the public cloud, you have sovereign controls in public cloud…” he noted.

He warned that sovereignty cannot be viewed in isolation from security.

“Cyber security is a signals game–you can be sovereign and not have global intelligence–you’ll be vulnerable in fact,” he said, noting that Microsoft processes “trillions of daily signals” to secure platforms from Azure to Windows.

Nadella said he recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was very encouraging of this investment (USD 17.5 billion), in particular, to drive society, the economy and growth.

This commitment, he noted, comes on top of the USD three billion investment he had announced during his last visit.

On India’s talent landscape, Nadella said the company will double down on its skilling programmes.

“We are now going to skill 20 million people across India in AI skills,” he said, adding that initiatives such as the government’s E-Shram programme demonstrate how AI can uplift unorganised workers.

He also highlighted India’s growing influence in the global developer ecosystem.

“India is slated to become the number one community in the world with GitHub by 2030,” he said, praising the “engagement and the type of projects that are coming out of this place, the contributions from India.” GitHub is a web-based platform for version control and collaboration that is primarily used by developers to store, manage, and share software code. It is built on top of Git, an open-source version control system, and provides a user-friendly graphical interface and a large suite of collaboration tools.

Nadella closed his speech by reiterating Microsoft’s mission. “At the end of the day, this is all about empowering every person and every organisation in India to be able to achieve more. Let’s keep building.”

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

More than 1,000 delegates from over 180 countries have come together for the six-day UNESCO meeting, which began on December 8.

Deepavali, the festival of lights celebrated across India and the diaspora, was on Wednesday inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)’s representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as New Delhi hosts the ongoing session of the intergovernmental committee at the Red Fort.

Describing the festival, UNESCO said on its official website, “Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is a light festival celebrated annually by diverse individuals and communities across India, that marks the last harvest of the year and the start of a new year and new season. Based on the lunar calendar, it falls on the new moon in October or November and lasts several days. It is a joyous occasion that symbolises the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. During this time, people clean and decorate their homes and public spaces, light lamps and candles, set off fireworks, and offer prayers for prosperity and new beginnings”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the inscription as a moment of collective pride and said, “For us, Deepavali is very closely linked to our culture and ethos. It is the soul of our civilisation. It personifies illumination and righteousness. The addition of Deepavali to the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List will contribute to the festival’s global popularity even further.”

Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat welcomed the development as “a historic day for India”, saying the honour celebrates Deepavali’s universal message—“hope over despair, harmony over division, and light for all.”

Government officials said that the capital has curated performances, lighting rituals, and exhibitions on traditional arts associated with Deepavali for a grand celebration.

“December festivities will include illumination of key government buildings, decorative installations across public spaces, diya displays, and district-level cultural programmes on Deepavali. All government buildings will be decorated, diyas will be lit at the Red Fort, and Diwali markets will be set up across the city,” Delhi’s cultural minister Kapil Mishra said.

More than 1,000 delegates — including committee members, experts, accredited NGOs and practitioners — from over 180 countries have come together for UNESCO’s 20th Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee session from December 8 to December 13.

The UNESCO meeting was formally opened by external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, who described India’s cultural heritage — from rituals and languages to craftsmanship and music — as the most “democratic expression of culture,” owned collectively and passed down through generations.

Jaishankar urged participating nations to strengthen efforts to protect and transmit their cultural inheritances “in the shared pursuit of peace and prosperity.”

The inaugural ceremony saw participation from Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, UNESCO director-general Khaled El-Enany, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, and India’s delegate to UNESCO Vishal V. Sharma.

For the Deepavali nomination, the Sangeet Natak Akademi coordinated extensive consultations, gathering community inputs, written and audiovisual testimonials, and expert guidance from practitioners, scholars, writers and poets to reflect the festival’s pan-Indian character and its deep resonance among global Indian communities.

Intangible cultural heritage, as UNESCO defines it, includes the practices, knowledge, expressions, objects, and spaces that communities see as part of their cultural identity. Passed down over generations, this heritage evolves, strengthening cultural identity and appreciation of diversity.

India now has 15 elements on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list, ranging from yoga and Vedic chanting to the Kumbh Mela, Garba, Ramlila and Bengal’s Durga Puja. The country has also forwarded a nomination for Bihar’s Chhath Puja for the next evaluation cycle.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headlines edited)

The Navy said that the MoU will further boost Defence Research and Development (R&D) collaboration and drive technological innovation.

India and Brazil on Tuesday struck an understanding in the area of the Exchange of Information related to Maintenance of Scorpène-class Submarines and other Naval Vessels.

As per the Indian Navy, the landmark tripartite Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Indian Navy, Brazilian Navy, and Mazagon Dockyard Ltd during the ongoing visit of the CNS to Brazil.

The Indian Navy said, “The MoU will enhance life-cycle support, enable experience sharing in maintenance, logistics and training, and strengthen cooperation between government agencies and industry of both nations.”

The Navy added that the MoU will further boost Defence Research and Development (R&D) collaboration and drive technological innovation in sustaining Scorpène-class submarines and other naval platforms.

Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of Naval Staff, on Tuesday proceeded on an official visit to Brazil from December 9 to 12, 2025.

The visit, according to the Indian Navy, is aimed at consolidating the “robust and growing maritime partnership between the Indian Navy and the Brazilian Navy, an important pillar of the broader India–Brazil Strategic Partnership.”

Elaborating on the visit, the Navy said, “During the visit, the CNS will hold discussions with senior leadership of Brazil, including Defence Minister Jose Mucio; Admiral Renato Rodrigues de Aguiar Freire, Chief of the Joint Staff of the Brazilian Armed Forces; and Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen, Commander of the Brazilian Navy.”

“These interactions will provide an opportunity to review ongoing bilateral maritime cooperation, enhance operational-level linkages, and explore new avenues for collaboration between the two navies.”

The visit includes engagements with operational commands, and visits to naval bases and shipyards of the Brazilian Navy.

Discussions will focus on shared maritime priorities, naval interoperability, capacity building, and collaboration within multilateral frameworks, including the broader South–South cooperation.

The visit by the Chief of the Naval Staff reaffirms the Indian Navy’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with the Brazilian Navy in maritime security, professional exchanges and capacity building, thereby contributing to stability in the global maritime commons.

India and Brazil have been working on strengthening defence ties. In October, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin in New Delhi. Brazil’s Defence Minister José Múcio Monteiro Filho was also present.

The leaders reviewed the progress of ongoing defence initiatives and identified priority areas for joint work, including co-development and co-production of defence equipment.

India and Brazil share a strategic partnership, and the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to advance defence cooperation with a focus on military-to-military exchanges, joint exercises and training visits.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri and INS Sukanya had earlier rendered relief assistance and heli borne SAR support.

As part of the ongoing Operation Sagar Bandhu, which was launched to provide urgent Search and Rescue and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) support to Sri Lanka, Indian Navy has deployed four more ships INS Gharial, Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 54, LCU 51 and LCU 57 for supplying HADR stores to cyclone-affected regions of Sri Lanka.

INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri and INS Sukanya had earlier rendered relief assistance and heli borne SAR support.

The Indian Navy on Monday informed that the three LCUs (Landing Craft Utility) arrived at Colombo on Sunday morning and handed over critical relief material to the Sri Lankan authorities. INS Gharial is scheduled to arrive at Trincomalee on Monday to continue the humanitarian assistance mission.”

The LCUs are designed to land troops and heavy equipment direct to the beaches. “With a 1000 tons of supplies for providing succour, this deployment of ships underscores the strong people to people ties between India and Sri Lanka and Indian Navy’s commitment to providing timely humanitarian assistance to our IOR neighbours.”, Navy added.

As reported by The New Indian Express, the Indian Armed forces and the High Commission in Colombo had launched Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief actions forthwith, after devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah across the island nation.

The Indian Air Force was quick to respond, deploying one C-130 and one IL-76 from Hindon Air Base near Delhi on the night of November 28/29 to airlift 21 tonnes of relief material along with over 80 NDRF personnel and eight tonnes of rescue equipment. Essential rations and critical supplies were delivered to support affected communities.

The IAF reaffirmed the spirit of ‘neighbourhood first’, saying, “India stands firmly with Sri Lanka in this hour of need.”

Later the IAF had sent two more MI-17V5 helicopters, with 22 personnel and essential HADR supplies to support ongoing Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.

In the first go, responding quickly, relief supplies from INS Vikrant and INS Udaygiri, including 4.5 tons of dry rations, 2 tons of fresh rations, and essential items, were handed over to the Sri Lankan authorities as assistance to the affected families.

INS Sukanya was sent subsequently from Visakhapatnam with additional relief material and is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka soon.

Indian High Commission officials in Colombo had also chipped in providing food, water and assistance amid severe flight disruptions.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

This was announced by Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi while addressing the inaugural session of the Global Energy Leaders Summit 2025 in Puri.

India has recorded its highest ever non-fossil capacity addition of 31.25 gigawatts (GW), including 24.28 GW of solar energy, in the current fiscal, said Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi on Saturday.

Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day Global Energy Leaders Summit 2025 (GELS 2025) in Puri, Joshi also announced 1.5 lakh rooftop solar units for Odisha which would benefit over 7 lakh people in the state, particularly from the economically weaker sections. The units would be provided under the New Utility Led Aggregation Model under the PM Surya Ghar Yojana which is consumer owned.

“In the last 11 years, the country’s solar capacity has grown from 2.8 GW to around 130 GW, a rise of more than 4,500%. Between 2022 and 2024 alone, India contributed 46 GW to global solar additions, becoming the third-largest contributor,” Joshi said.

This ensured that India is a key driver of an explosive global surge in renewable energy. “After taking nearly 70 years to reach 1 Terawatt (TW) of renewable energy capacity in 2022, the world achieved 2 TW by 2024, adding the second terawatt in just two years,” the minister added.

India holds the world’s fifth-largest coal reserves and is the second-largest consumer of coal. “Even with this abundance, India is steadily balancing coal with renewable energy as the transition gathers pace. With global mechanisms now shaping industrial competitiveness, India’s shift towards renewable energy has become even more urgent and strategically important,” he added.

Odisha advances in renewable energy adoption

With over 3.1 GW of installed renewable capacity, clean energy now accounts for more than 34% of the state’s total installed power capacity. “Under the PM Surya Ghar Yojana, 1.6 lakh households have applied for rooftop solar installations. A total of 23,000 installations have been completed, and more than 19,200 families have received subsidies exceeding ₹147 crore directly into their bank accounts,” he said.

Joshi said the overall ecosystem created by PM Modi — ease of doing business, investor confidence, infrastructure, demand-driven schemes and strong Centre–state cooperation — has driven India’s renewable energy expansion.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi stressed upon the need for uninterrupted power, particularly for rural and poorer masses. Citing Odisha’s high percentage of more than six percent of the state’s GDP allocated to capital expenditure, he said, “Odisha was investing in future generations and electricity was a top priority and critical infrastructure.”

An official release said the summit in Puri was the first step in building a vibrant Community of Practice that brings together policymakers, innovators and industry leaders to accelerate India’s clean energy transition. The focus of the summit is to shape the future of energy in the country. GELS 2025 will be the first pan-India initiative bringing together the Union, states, industry, researchers, institutions and global leaders, it added.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)