Category news

The Odisha Budget 2026–27 has outlined a major cultural and spiritual revitalisation plan centred on the heritage of Shri Jagannath Dham, Puri, with a strong focus on preservation, infrastructure development, and digital inclusion for devotees worldwide.

A significant allocation of ₹1,000 crore has been proposed for the establishment of a state-of-the-art Jagannath Museum and Library in Puri. The proposed institution aims to safeguard centuries of religious traditions, archival materials, and cultural knowledge associated with the Jagannath heritage, while also presenting them in an accessible, modern format.

In addition, the budget includes provisions for the restoration and conservation of key heritage structures within the temple precinct and surrounding areas. These efforts are intended to strengthen the cultural integrity of Puri as one of India’s most important spiritual centres.

The government also plans to introduce a digital initiative named “Samarpan”, which will enable devotees across the globe to make virtual offerings. This platform is expected to deepen engagement with the diaspora and modernise traditional forms of worship.

Key Objectives of the Initiative

• Heritage Conservation: Protect and restore historically significant structures linked to the Jagannath tradition.
• Knowledge Preservation: Create a dedicated museum and library to archive religious texts, rituals, and cultural records.
• Digital Devotion: Launch the “Samarpan” platform to facilitate online offerings from global devotees.
• Cultural Strengthening: Reinforce the identity and legacy of Jagannath heritage on a national and international stage.
• Pilgrimage Development: Enhance the overall infrastructure and visitor experience in Puri.

Chandigarh, Mar 25: In today’s age of curated social media lives and constant comparisons, employee wellbeing is emerging as a core focus for organizations. Godrej Properties Ltd. emphasizes that fostering authentic workplace culture is key to creating resilient, engaged, and motivated teams.

Megha Goel, CHRO, Godrej Properties Ltd., highlighted,

“Scroll. Like. Share. Repeat. Perfect pictures and effortless routines online can intensify feelings of inadequacy at work. True wellbeing isn’t about perks or programs—it is embedded in daily culture, leadership behavior, and how employees feel seen, heard, and supported.”

A recent Workplace Discrimination Report shows that while 76% of employees feel safe speaking up, one in four remains silent. Recognizing this, Godrej Properties advocates for a holistic approach to employee wellbeing, built on three pillars:

• Being Seen: Employees thrive when their efforts, resilience, and small achievements are recognized consistently, fostering a sense of belonging and value.
• Being Heard: Creating safe spaces for employees to voice ideas, concerns, and dilemmas encourages participation, trust, and psychological safety.
• Being Supported: Policies around flexibility, mental health, and growth pathways, coupled with empathetic managerial support, ensure that employees feel genuinely cared for and empowered.

By embedding these principles into organizational strategy, Godrej Properties aims to counteract the silent pressures of comparison culture and encourage authenticity at work. The company believes that workplaces must celebrate real efforts and diverse voices, ensuring teams feel connected, acknowledged, and supported every day.

Megha Goel added, “In a world that often celebrates perfection, authentic workplaces matter. When employees feel truly seen, heard, and supported, they are better equipped to contribute meaningfully, innovate, and thrive.”

The festive spirit of devotion and purity comes alive at The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa as the resort presents a specially curated Festive Vegetarian Experience from March 24 to March 31, 2026, celebrating the auspicious occasions of Ram Navami on March 26 and Mahavir Jayanti on March 31. Designed to reflect the essence of these sacred festivals, the culinary team at the resort invites guests to indulge in a thoughtfully crafted menu that highlights the richness of traditional vegetarian cuisine while embracing the spirit of mindful and sattvic dining.

Guests can immerse themselves in a serene and soulful culinary journey at Seasonal Tastes, where a selection of wholesome vegetarian delicacies will be served with a contemporary touch. From comforting festive preparations to elegant vegetarian specialties, every dish is designed to complement the spiritual significance of the celebrations while offering guests a refined dining experience amidst the tranquil surroundings of the resort. We offer Sabudana ke khichdi, Vrat ke aloo, Kala channa sundal, Dal bhari puri or Rajgiri puri and Makhane ki kheer or Coconut barfi and satavik food.

Commenting on the festive offering, Vijay Chandran, General Manager, The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa, said,

“At The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa, we believe festivals are best celebrated through meaningful experiences that bring people together. Our specially curated vegetarian menu for Ram Navami and Mahavir Jayanti reflects the purity, simplicity, and rich culinary heritage associated with these occasions. We look forward to welcoming guests and offering them a memorable festive dining experience rooted in tradition and wellness.”

The Festive Vegetarian Experience will be available from March 24 to March 31, 2026, at Seasonal Tastes at The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa. Guests can enjoy the specially curated Navratri Thali making it an ideal opportunity for families and devotees to celebrate the sacred festivals with mindful indulgence and exceptional hospitality.

What: Festive Vegetarian Thali 

Where: Seasonal Tastes, The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa 

When: March 24 to March 31, 2026

Raipur: The first-ever Khelo India Tribal Games will kick off on Wednesday in Chhattisgarh, bringing together around 1,300 athletes from across the country to compete in nine sporting disciplines.

The event will be hosted across three venues—Raipur, Jagdalpur, and Sarguja—and will feature competitions for 106 gold medals. The Games mark a major step in promoting tribal talent and expanding India’s grassroots sporting ecosystem.

A total of around 3,800 participants, including athletes, coaches, and officials, will be part of the sporting event, which will continue until April 3.

Odisha has sent the largest contingent with 125 athletes among the 30 participating states and Union Territories. Host state Chhattisgarh follows closely with 121 participants, while Jharkhand and Assam have fielded 107 and 106 athletes respectively.

Medals will be contested in sports such as archery, athletics, football, hockey, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling. Traditional games like mallakhamb and kabaddi will be featured as demonstration sports, highlighting India’s rich indigenous sporting heritage.

Athletics will offer the highest number of gold medals (34), followed by swimming (24), wrestling (18), and weightlifting (16).

Speaking about the significance of the event, Hockey India president and former Olympian Dilip Tirkey said the Games represent a proud moment for tribal athletes and a valuable platform to showcase their talent at the national level. He noted that the initiative aligns with the vision of promoting sports participation among youth across the country.

The Khelo India Tribal Games aim to nurture emerging talent from tribal regions and strengthen India’s ambition of becoming a stronger sporting nation by identifying and supporting athletes at the grassroots level.

Pic Credit: Pexel

New Delhi: Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 is set to expand its focus beyond the installation of pipes and pumps, aiming to ensure long-term, sustainable access to safe drinking water in rural India.

The upgraded phase of the mission emphasizes not only expanding household tap connections but also strengthening water source sustainability, improving quality monitoring, and enhancing local water management systems.

Officials said the new approach seeks to address challenges such as groundwater depletion and seasonal water scarcity by promoting community participation and efficient resource management.

The initiative builds on the progress of the original Jal Jeevan Mission, which significantly increased rural tap water coverage across the country. The second phase is expected to deepen its impact by ensuring reliability, quality, and long-term water security for every household.

With a stronger focus on sustainability and decentralised management, Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 aims to move beyond infrastructure delivery towards a more resilient and future-ready drinking water system.

Odisha: The state’s Mission PoWaR is emerging as a major initiative aimed at transforming rural areas through a convergence-based development approach focused on infrastructure and essential services.

Under the mission, significant investments have been allocated to strengthen connectivity and improve basic facilities across villages. The plan includes ₹3,491 crore for rural roads, ₹2,050 crore for bridges, and ₹1,000 crore dedicated to ensuring all-weather connectivity, aiming to improve access even in remote regions.

Alongside infrastructure development, the initiative places strong emphasis on providing reliable electricity supply and safe drinking water to every village. Officials say the programme is designed to create inclusive growth by linking remote habitations with mainstream development.

Mission PoWaR focuses on coordinated efforts across departments to accelerate rural transformation, improve mobility, and enhance the quality of life for rural communities.

The initiative is expected to play a key role in strengthening rural Odisha’s infrastructure backbone while supporting long-term socio-economic development.

The Union government has launched Prakriti 2026, an international conference on carbon markets and climate action, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, and global experts to discuss sustainable growth and emission reduction strategies.

The conference focuses on strengthening carbon market frameworks, improving global cooperation, and exploring innovative solutions to address climate change challenges.

It is being organised by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The event reflects India’s growing emphasis on clean energy transition and climate-responsible development.

Experts are expected to deliberate on policy improvements, market mechanisms, and ways to enhance transparency and participation in carbon trading systems.

Prakriti 2026 aims to support global climate goals while positioning India as a key contributor in shaping sustainable economic practices.

India’s sports industry has achieved a significant milestone, crossing the $2 billion mark for the first time, reflecting strong growth and increasing commercial potential. The sector expanded by 13.4% year-on-year to reach approximately $2.13 billion (Rs 18,864 crore), underlining its rapid evolution in recent years.

Over the past four years, the industry has nearly doubled in size, registering an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 19%. This steady rise highlights growing investments, expanding fan engagement, and the increasing commercialization of sports across the country.

Cricket continues to dominate India’s sports economy, contributing a massive 89% of the total revenue—an increase from 85% the previous year. With earnings of about Rs 16,704 crore, cricket alone now surpasses the total value of the entire Indian sports industry recorded just a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the share of other emerging sports has declined to 11%, indicating a widening gap between cricket and the rest of the sporting ecosystem. Despite efforts to promote disciplines such as football, badminton, and kabaddi, cricket’s overwhelming popularity and financial strength continue to drive the market.

The latest figures highlight both the success and the imbalance within India’s sports landscape. While the overall growth signals a positive outlook, experts believe there is a need to further support and invest in non-cricket sports to ensure more balanced and sustainable development across the sector.

Stuttgart, March 24, 2026 – Automha, together with Comau, is showcasing a full portfolio of end-to-end logistics solutions at LogiMAT 2026 (Hall 1, Booth F37), Europe’s most important International Trade Show for Intralogistics Solutions and Process Management, taking place in Stuttgart, Germany from March 24–26. The solutions on display are designed to optimize the entire logistics value chain – from inbound handling to automated storage and outbound shipping – addressing the needs of both third-party logistics (3PL) operators and manufacturing intralogistics environments.

By combining Automha’s expertise in high-density automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) with Comau’s advanced robotics, mobile automation solutions, intelligent vision systems and digital integration capabilities, customers can now rely on a complete offering that covers all phases of the logistics flow: inbound product handling, intelligent storage strategies, automated storage and retrieval, order preparation and synchronized shipping. This integrated 360° approach ensures seamless connectivity across the entire logistics process and can include, when required, process design, software orchestration and turnkey solutions implementation.

Pietro Gorlier, CEO of Comau, affirms: “The global automation and logistics market is expected to exceed 10% CAGR, driven by sustained mid-to-high growth across key segments over the next several years*. With our combined process knowledge, systems and software expertise, we are perfectly positioned to deliver turn-key solutions that cover the entire intralogistics value chain, from the design and optimization of warehouse layouts to automated process flows and outbound material handling.”

During the three-day event, visitors have the opportunity to discover Quaterways, Automha’s advanced multidirectional shuttle system, designed to move orthogonally along aisles and easily access storage channels, enabling fully automated storage and retrieval operations. Unlike traditional shuttle solutions, which are limited in movement or require dedicated transfer systems between different warehouse areas, Quaterways introduces a truly multidirectional movement logic, allowing the shuttle to operate continuously and smoothly both along main aisles and within storage channels. This approach enables significant reductions in cycle times, increased storage density, simplified system architecture and improved operational flexibility, especially in high-variability environments.

Integrated with Automha’s proprietary Warehouse Management System (AWMS), Quaterways offers high versatility, enabling maximum storage density, operational flexibility, and real-time control. Its ability to manage multiple pallet formats within the same channel and dynamically optimize movement paths makes Quaterways particularly well suited for complex environments, such as those typical of 3PL and e-commerce operations.

Autosat GTR, the latest evolution of Automha’s Autosat shuttle technology, will also be featured at the booth. A benchmark solution for high-density pallet storage, with over 12,500 units installed worldwide and a presence in 79 countries, Autosat GTR is available in 20 standard models. It is designed to handle a wide range of pallet types and load units while maintaining full compatibility with major racking systems and forklifts, allowing for easy integration into both new warehouses and existing infrastructures.

Comau’s MyMR autonomous mobile robots will also be on display as will its MATE-XT and MATE-XB wearable exoskeletons, which enhance material handling efficiency and operator ergonomics across logistics and manufacturing workflows. MyMR AMRs provide flexible, software-driven material transport between storage areas and production lines, enabling just-in-time supply and reducing non-value-added movements. The wearable robotic exoskeletons, MATE-XT and MATE-XB, are engineered to improve worker safety and productivity during repetitive or overhead tasks, including truck unloading and manual sorting activities, by reducing shoulder and lower-back muscle strain.

* In-house estimates based on published market research..