"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."

- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Lathika Saju

Indian-American Engineer Sethuraman Panchanathan Wins Prestigious 2026 Bueche Award

The National Academy of Engineering NAE has named Panchanathan the recipient of its Arthur M Bueche Award recognising his leadership in science and technology policy technological development and efforts to strengthen connections between industry government and universities He is also the first person from Arizona to receive the award in its more than four-decade history The honour comes after a career spanning engineering research innovation and science policy including his tenure as the th director of the US National Science Foundation NSF It Started With the MoonLong before he became a prominent figure in American science and technology Panchanathan was an eight-year-old boy standing in a queue in Chennai It was and he had accompanied his father to the American Center to see rocks brought back from the Moon during the historic Apollo mission The rocks themselves did not leave the young Panchanathan particularly impressed What captured his imagination was

16 Sep 2026
Star Citizens

Iron Lady of Assam, Sanjukta Parashar Becomes First Woman Officer to Lead CRPF’s CoBRA

When an elite force built for some of the country s toughest terrains gets its first woman commander it is a moment that stands out Senior IPS officer Sanjukta Parashar popularly known as the Iron Lady of Assam has taken charge as Inspector General of the Central Reserve Police Force s elite CoBRA Commando Battalion for Resolute Action She is the first woman officer to head the specialised jungle-warfare force A -batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre Parashar brings years of experience in counter-insurgency operations field policing and national security investigations to the demanding assignment She succeeds -batch IPS officer Danesh Rana as IG CoBRA Built for the Toughest TerrainCoBRA is among the CRPF s most specialised operational formations Its commandos are trained for jungle and guerrilla warfare including long-range patrols intelligence-based missions ambushes and counter-ambushes Operating in dense forests hilly terrain and areas affected by armed violence demands

16 Sep 2026
Star Citizens

India Sets Guinness World Record with the World’s Longest Steel Slag Road

What if the waste left behind by steel production could help build India s roads A project in Raigarh Chhattisgarh has shown exactly how this can work Jindal Steel Limited in collaboration with CSIR Central Road Research Institute CSIR-CRRI has earned a Guinness World Records title for constructing the world s longest road built exclusively with processed steel slag aggregates The -km four-lane divided road is equivalent to lane-km and has been designed to handle heavy commercial traffic It uses around tonnes of processed electric arc furnace EAF steel slag across its full pavement depth Turning Steel Slag Into Road MaterialSteel slag is a non-metallic by-product generated during steel production It forms when impurities in iron combine with materials such as lime and dolomite at extremely high temperatures Instead of treating this material as waste the project processes it into engineered road aggregates The slag undergoes controlled ageing and stabilisation

15 Sep 2026
Good News

Auto Akka Raji: The Chennai Driver Turning Rides into Acts of Kindness

For many schoolgirls in Chennai getting to school safely can be a challenge But for more than years Raji Ashok has been making that journey a little easier Known affectionately as Auto Akka Raji gives free rides to government-school girls travelling through areas such as T Nagar Kodambakkam Anna Nagar and Perambur Her effort may seem like a simple act of kindness but for the girls she helps it means a safer and more comfortable way to reach school On a typical school day Raji makes two trips in the morning and three in the evening She helps around to girls a day often giving up nearly in potential earnings to provide the rides for free She Understands the Value of EducationRaji s motivation comes partly from her own life More than three decades ago she had to discontinue her college education after marrying and moving to Chennai She had

15 Sep 2026
Positive Reads

Global Sustainability Leaders Gather in Gujarat for World Circular Economy Forum 2026

The stage is set at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar Gujarat as the prestigious World Circular Economy Forum WCEF begins today Held for the first time in South Asia the two-day global gathering will bring together more than stakeholders from over countries under the theme Circular Economy Transition for People and Prosperity The forum will be jointly inaugurated by Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel Turning Waste into WorthAt its heart WCEF is about rethinking how the world uses resources Instead of following the traditional model of taking resources making products and eventually throwing them away a circular economy seeks to reuse refurbish and recycle materials keeping them in circulation and giving them renewed economic value The approach can reduce waste conserve resources and create new opportunities for businesses and communities Where Ideas Meet InnovationThe forum will feature four plenary sessions

15 Sep 2026
Good News

Dhiraj Bommadevara Becomes First Indian Male Recurve Archer to Win World Cup Final Gold

India s Dhiraj Bommadevara has achieved a landmark feat in international archery The -year-old Army archer scripted history at the Archery World Cup Final in Saltillo Mexico becoming the first Indian male recurve archer to win the prestigious individual title And he did it the hard way Facing Japan s Nakanishi Junya the World No Dhiraj battled through a tense five-set final that went all the way to a shoot-off After the match ended - the Indian held his nerve when it mattered most Dhiraj shot a to win the gold while Nakanishi managed a nbsp From Comebacks to the CrownSeeded second in the eight-man field Dhiraj had already made a powerful statement earlier in the tournament He defeated T rkiye s Olympic medallist Berkim T mer - in the quarterfinals before producing another dominant - victory over France s Jean-Charles Valladont in the semifinals The final however demanded something

15 Sep 2026
Sports Spirit

Why Are Corals So Colourful? The Amazing Science Behind Their Bright Hues

A coral reef can look like an underwater rainbow Brilliant fish dart between corals glowing in shades of red pink purple and green But beneath those striking colours lies a fascinating partnership between tiny animals and microscopic algae Corals are living animals made up of tiny creatures called coral polyps These polyps build the hard skeleton that forms the familiar structure of a coral The skeleton itself is ghostly white So where does the colour come from The answer begins with tiny algae living inside the coral s tissues Tiny Algae Big ContributionKnown as zooxanthellae these single-celled algae have a remarkable relationship with coral Using sunlight they carry out photosynthesis and produce sugars The algae use some of these sugars themselves while much of the remaining food up to percent can be passed on to the coral In return the coral provides the algae with a protected place to live

15 Sep 2026
The Whys and Hows

Army Doctor and Mother of Two Shivani Sangwan Completes 122-Km Ladakh Ultra

The mountains of Ladakh are unforgiving even for seasoned athletes Yet Colonel Shivani Sangwan took on one of India s toughest high-altitude endurance races and emerged with a th-place finish A superspecialist officer of the Army Medical Corps and a mother of two Col Sangwan completed the -km Silk Route Ultra within its demanding -hour cut-off The race began at Kyagar village in Nubra Valley and ended at Leh Market taking runners through an extraordinary landscape and an even more demanding physical challenge Running Against the AltitudeThe course featured an altitude gain of around metres steep gradients thin air and unpredictable mountain weather Runners also had to negotiate five intermediate cut-offs leaving little room for slowing down The event admits only around experienced ultra-runners with strict qualification requirements ensuring that participants are prepared for the extreme conditions For Col Sangwan the finish was another chapter in a growing record of

15 Sep 2026
Star Citizens

Sqn Ldr Neha Devi Becomes First Non-Ladakhi Woman to Complete Khardung La 72K in Under 9 Hours

At an altitude where every breath can feel like a challenge Squadron Leader Neha Devi has delivered a remarkable feat of endurance The Indian Air Force officer completed the -km Khardung La Challenge in hours minutes and seconds securing third place in the Open Female category Her performance has earned accolades from the Indian Air Force and a place in the history of one of India s toughest ultra-running events More remarkably Neha became the first non-Ladakhi woman across all editions of the Khardung La Challenge to break the nine-hour mark A Race That Tests Every LimitThe Khardung La Challenge is not an ordinary long-distance race The route climbs to an extreme altitude of feet while around km of the course lies above metres according to the event organisers At such heights the thin air adds another layer of difficulty to an already demanding -km course Every kilometre calls for

14 Sep 2026
Star Citizens

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