Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated India’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)–based Public Distribution System (PDS), marking a major step towards digitising welfare delivery for nearly 80 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Under the system, programmable e-Rupee tokens will be credited to beneficiaries’ RBI-linked digital wallets. These…
Bhubaneswar: India is set to build its first underwater twin-tube road and rail tunnel beneath the Brahmaputra River, linking Assam with Arunachal Pradesh in a landmark infrastructure project valued at ₹18,662 crore. The 34-km integrated corridor will feature a four-lane highway and a railway line, with cross passages every 500 metres to ensure emergency evacuation…
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Higher Education Department has decided to advance the admission and academic calendar for undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) courses for the 2026–27 session to ensure timely commencement of classes and examinations. According to officials, the registration process for UG and PG admissions will begin early, with classroom teaching scheduled to start on…
Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed officials to ensure piped drinking water reaches every village in Odisha by March 2027, stressing universal and equitable access, especially in tribal-dominated regions. Calling the initiative a mission-mode priority, the CM said no revenue village should be left out and urged the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water…
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday launched 250 new ambulances at Kalinga Stadium, marking the second phase of the state’s emergency medical transport expansion. With an investment of ₹111 crore, the government plans to deploy 428 new ambulances, strengthening rapid response services across the state. Earlier, 150 ambulances were inducted in December…
Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: Residents in several areas of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are likely to face temporary power outages on February 11 as Tata Power Central Odisha Distribution Limited (TPCODL) undertakes scheduled mechanical upgrades, repair works, and electrical maintenance. According to TPCODL, electricity supply in Bhubaneswar will be disrupted at different time slots between 6:30 AM and 5:00…
Bhubaneswar: The long-standing aspiration of integrating Odisha into India’s national high-speed rail (HSR) network is edging closer to reality, with projections suggesting a transformative Bhubaneswar–New Delhi travel time of just 8 to 9 hours. Currently, the journey takes 24 to 30 hours by conventional rail. The push is backed by a record ₹10,928 crore allocation…
Bhubaneswar: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday flagged off 500 new air-conditioned electric buses, taking the capital’s electric public transport fleet to 4,286 buses and making Delhi the largest electric bus city in India. The Chief Minister, accompanied by senior BJP leaders, also inaugurated Delhi’s first electric inter-state bus service connecting the capital to…
Bhubaneswar: A proposed inter-state economic corridor linking Ranchi, Rourkela and Raipur (RRR) is gaining momentum, with officials highlighting its potential to transform industrial connectivity and trade across Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The corridor is anchored by two major road infrastructure projects — the under-construction Raipur–Ranchi–Dhanbad Expressway and the proposed 156-km Rourkela–Ranchi highway — designed to…
Bhubaneswar: In a major step towards promoting inclusive and equitable access to competitive education, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched a new initiative to provide free online coaching for students from Scheduled Castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and other disadvantaged sections across India. The programme, implemented in partnership with the Physics…