Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum on Monday and interacted with foreign delegates at the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament House complex in New Delhi.

The forum, which began earlier in the day, brought together parliamentary leaders from BRICS member and partner countries to discuss ways to strengthen parliamentary cooperation and promote people-centric development.

Presiding Officers and parliamentary leaders from BRICS member and partner countries attended the event alongside Union Ministers, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh, Presiding Officers of State Legislatures, Members of Parliament and other dignitaries.

Earlier, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chaired the meeting and welcomed delegates from BRICS member nations. He emphasised the importance of dialogue, mutual respect and cooperation among participating countries.

In his inaugural address, Birla highlighted the significance of hosting parliamentary delegations from BRICS member nations in India, the world’s largest democracy.

“On this occasion, the presence of parliamentary delegations from BRICS member nations in India, coming to the world’s largest democratic nation and sharing a joint commitment, will in itself be a special experience,” he said.

Birla said the presence of BRICS parliamentary representatives in India reflected their shared commitment to dialogue, mutual respect and democratic values.

He also noted that the BRICS Parliamentary Forum marks its 20th anniversary this year. He pointed to the organisation’s rapid expansion and its growing capacity to influence global developments and international relations.

The Lok Sabha Speaker highlighted BRICS’ global significance, noting that its member nations represent nearly half of the world’s population, cover about one-third of the global landmass and account for a substantial share of the global economy and international trade.

“These reflect our collective strength and global responsibility,” he said.

Birla acknowledged the geographical, cultural, linguistic and social differences among BRICS countries but stressed that their shared commitment to democratic values and humanity united them.

He also thanked BRICS member nations for unanimously adopting the joint statement at the BRICS Summit held in New Delhi under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chairmanship.

Birla underscored the role of parliaments in building mutual understanding and trust among nations, easing international tensions and addressing global challenges through peaceful means.

“Parliaments can play a special role in strengthening mutual understanding and trust, reducing international tension and resolving global challenges peacefully,” he said.

The Lok Sabha Speaker further highlighted BRICS’ potential to strengthen the Global South’s voice and influence in international affairs.

“BRICS has the ability to become an empowered voice of the Global South. We have to make sure that our ambitions are not just limited to mere discussion, but should also be practical and achievable,” he said.

Voice-first AI and translation tools can help expand multilingual access to academic and research content, government officials said.

BHASHINI’s multilingual AI ecosystem integrates language datasets, AI models, APIs and applications to support various language technology needs.

The platform has recorded more than 10 billion cumulative AI inferences. It supports text in 36 Indian languages, voice in 23 Indian languages and 35 international languages.

BHASHINI’s website translation plugin also enables multilingual access across more than 800 government websites, according to an official statement.

The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), under Digital India Corporation (DIC) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), participated in the 29th International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD-2026), held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi from October 23 to 25.

Representing DIBD, Baishali Chakraborty led a session on BHASHINI’s multilingual artificial intelligence capabilities and their potential to make scholarly knowledge accessible across languages.

The session explored how BHASHINI’s Language-First Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) can help higher education institutions, libraries and research repositories overcome language barriers and expand access to academic content.

A live demonstration of Shrutlekh showcased real-time speech transcription with simultaneous translation. The demonstration highlighted its potential applications in lecture halls, research seminars, conferences and academic discussions.

The session also examined how AI-powered translation could support electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), including lengthy and specialised academic documents. Presenters showcased BHASHINI Pragati, a document translation workbench developed for the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), to demonstrate structured document translation and review.

According to the official statement, the workbench can process large documents ranging from 100 to 500 pages while incorporating quality checks and data security measures.

Harshad Sharma, Senior Manager (Finance) at DIBD, said making research and scholarly knowledge accessible across Indian languages would help build a more inclusive knowledge ecosystem.

He added that BHASHINI’s multilingual AI capabilities, including document translation and speech technologies, could help universities, libraries and research repositories reach wider audiences. Sharma also stressed the importance of engaging with academic institutions to understand their needs and develop reliable solutions for translating theses, dissertations and other research content across languages.

Tilak Varma delivered another clutch performance to lead India’s comeback win against New Zealand in the second T20I at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday.

India stood at 70/5 after 10.5 overs when Tilak smashed an unbeaten 51 off just 26 balls to turn the game around. His explosive knock guided India to a thrilling four-wicket victory as the visitors chased down New Zealand’s 180 with one ball to spare.

Nitish Kumar Reddy also played a crucial role, scoring an unbeaten 26 off 13 balls before hitting the winning runs off Jacob Duffy’s fifth delivery in the final over. The victory gave India a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Tilak and Nitish outshone Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips, who had helped New Zealand build a competitive total and put India under pressure. Santner exploited the spin-friendly conditions to claim four wickets for 21 runs. The slow surface also helped the pace bowlers, making run-scoring difficult on the same pitch that had witnessed India chase 226 in the series opener.

Earlier, Phillips smashed 70 off 43 balls, while Bevon Jacobs contributed 58 off 46 deliveries to help New Zealand post 180/5 on a challenging surface.

India began the chase with eight consecutive dot balls as Matt Henry bowled a maiden over to Sanju Samson, beating the batter’s bat three times. Abhishek Sharma broke the silence on the ninth delivery but soon miscued a shot against Jacob Duffy towards deep point.

Abhishek could have departed for just one run when Nathan Smith caught him at deep square leg in Duffy’s second over. However, Duffy overstepped, and the umpire called a no-ball to give the Indian opener another chance.

Abhishek capitalised immediately, hitting a four off the next delivery. India accelerated to 37 without loss in four overs after the difficult start.

New Zealand soon regained control as Duffy dismissed Samson for 14 with a slower delivery that the batter hit straight to cover. Returning batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also failed to make an impact, scoring just four off eight balls before Daryl Mitchell took a sharp catch at cover off Nathan Smith.

Captain Santner then strengthened New Zealand’s grip on the contest. He dismissed Abhishek in his first over when the batter failed to clear deep mid-wicket. Santner struck twice more in the 11th over, removing Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel to leave India struggling at 71/5.

Naman Dhir fought back with an aggressive 31 off 17 balls to keep India in the contest. Although Bevon Jacobs dropped a straightforward catch at point, Dhir made New Zealand pay for the mistake. He also attacked Michael Bracewell in the 14th over, smashing a six and a four.

Santner ended Dhir’s resistance in his final over to complete his four-wicket haul, leaving India with a steep challenge. However, Nitish joined Tilak at the crease, and the pair refused to surrender.

India needed 46 runs from the final 18 balls when Nitish and Tilak attacked Duffy for 17 runs in his third over. Tilak opened the 18th over with consecutive fours, benefiting from a misfield by Glenn Phillips at deep mid-wicket.

The Indian vice-captain continued his assault, pulling a crucial four before launching a six to finish the over. Their late surge reduced the target to 11 runs from the final six balls.

Duffy bowled the final over with New Zealand forced to bring an extra fielder inside the 30-yard circle because of a slow over rate. Tilak struck a boundary through cover off the second ball and reached his half-century with a couple on the next delivery.

Tilak showed his frustration when Nitish declined a tight second run, but Nitish made amends by hitting a double towards deep backward square leg off the penultimate ball to seal the victory.

Earlier, Phillips and Jacobs had rescued New Zealand after the hosts lost three wickets for just 41 runs in 5.2 overs. Phillips scored 70 off 43 balls, while Jacobs made 58 off 46 deliveries as they stitched together a 116-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

The pair rebuilt the innings on the same surface that had hosted the high-scoring opening T20I. However, the pitch offered greater assistance to bowlers this time, as batters struggled to score against hard lengths.

India’s bowlers exploited the conditions with disciplined spells, particularly during the powerplay and at the death. Arshdeep Singh claimed two wickets, helping restrict New Zealand to 180/5.

The hosts posted a competitive total, but Tilak and Nitish’s late assault ensured India crossed the finish line to strengthen their lead in the series.

Brief Scores:
New Zealand 180/5 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 70, Bevon Jacobs 58; Arshdeep Singh 2-33, Prince Yadav 1-30)
India 181/6 in 19.5 overs (Tilak Varma 51, Naman Dhir 31; Mitchell Santner 4-21, Nathan Smith 1-34)

AI pioneer Andrew Ng said artificial intelligence is unlikely to cause mass job losses and will instead create new opportunities for workers who reskill.

He urged students and professionals to acquire new skills rather than fear machine-driven job losses. Ng made the remarks at the NDTV World Summit.

He called on education providers and training programmes to prepare people for the changing nature of work instead of focusing solely on skills that employers demand today.

Ng said current AI systems cannot yet eliminate the vast majority of jobs. He added that AI often boosts worker productivity, helping businesses expand and hire more people. “There will be hope and it’s not nearly as bad as the hype says it will,” he said.

He accused many businesses of exaggerating the threat of AI-driven job losses to inflate their perceived potential or attract public relations attention. He also cited recent data suggesting that AI creates more jobs than it destroys.

Ng pointed to software engineering as an example of how AI can reshape employment rather than reduce it. “Certainly, in the United States, the number of software engineer job postings is up because when we make software engineers much more productive, we want to hire a lot more of them,” he said.

He expects similar trends across other sectors as businesses adopt AI tools more widely.

“We’re readying them not for the jobs of 2026 or even, heaven forbid, the jobs of 2024, but for the jobs of 2028 and beyond. So that’s the challenge ahead of us,” he said.

However, a recent paper by MIT Institute Professor and economist Daron Acemoglu warned that the current direction of AI development could deepen inequality and increase job losses unless the industry prioritises tools that complement workers.

Acemoglu argued that policymakers and industry leaders should shift the AI debate away from artificial general intelligence (AGI) and speculative fears towards practical policies that encourage the development of “pro-worker” AI systems.

Dr Saurabh Garg, Secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening the National Statistical Systems Training Academy (NSSTA) as a key training institution for the Indian Statistical Service (ISS).

PR Meshram, Director General (Data Governance) at MoSPI and chairman of the Committee for Reforming Capacity Building of ISS officers, submitted the committee’s report to Dr Garg.

The committee included senior MoSPI officials, knowledge partners and industry experts. Dr Garg commended the committee and the NSSTA team for their efforts and comprehensive, forward-looking recommendations to prepare future-ready data leaders.

According to an official statement, implementing the recommendations will strengthen India’s capacity-building framework and equip ISS officers to meet emerging data requirements and contribute to the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’.

The committee reviewed existing ISS training programmes, identified emerging skill requirements and recommended future-oriented training aligned with Mission Karmayogi’s Competency Based Capacity Building (CBCB) framework.

The proposed framework addresses the evolving responsibilities of ISS officers in data governance, advanced analytics, emerging technologies and evidence-based policymaking, supporting the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’.

The committee prepared the report through a consultative, evidence-based process. It drew on the Statistical Training Needs Assessment, existing ISS training programmes, Mission Karmayogi frameworks, international best practices, committee deliberations and stakeholder consultations, the statement said.

The report outlines a future-ready capacity-building roadmap built around three interconnected components.

The System of Today reviews the existing ISS training ecosystem, capability-building practices and institutional arrangements at NSSTA.

The System of Tomorrow establishes a role-linked, competency-based framework covering seven priority capability pillars.

Strategic Recommendations propose actionable measures to strengthen ISS training, develop future-ready competencies and enhance NSSTA’s institutional capacity, helping the academy transition to the envisioned system.

The report also presents an integrated framework covering the ISS training ecosystem, capability pillars and institutional architecture. It defines role-specific expectations and assesses the functional, domain-specific and behavioural competencies officers need to perform their duties effectively.

If you use messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram without keeping the registered SIM card in your phone, new rules expected to take effect from January 1, 2027, could affect how you access your accounts.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has set December 31, 2026, as the deadline for messaging platforms to comply with SIM-binding requirements aimed at curbing cyber fraud and the misuse of Indian mobile numbers.

Under the proposed rules, users could lose access to messaging accounts if they remove, deactivate or replace the SIM linked to the account.

The framework requires messaging apps that use Indian mobile numbers for registration to verify that the registered number remains linked to an active SIM card or eSIM on the device.

In practical terms, users may no longer be able to access their accounts indefinitely after removing the SIM they used to register.

If users remove or replace the registered SIM, or allow it to become inactive, the app could restrict access until they restore the same number through a valid SIM card or eSIM profile.

The government introduced the measure as part of a broader effort to combat cybercrime, phishing operations and so-called digital arrest scams.

According to the DoT, fraud networks have exploited Indian mobile numbers by purchasing SIM cards, registering messaging accounts and operating those accounts from outside India.

Authorities believe linking messaging accounts more closely to active SIM cards will make it harder for fraudsters to misuse Indian numbers in cross-border scams.

The government has also cited the substantial financial losses that cyber fraud has caused Indian consumers in recent years as a key reason for tightening the rules.

WhatsApp and Telegram are among the platforms expected to fall under the requirements because they use phone numbers to register and identify users.

However, reports suggest that Snapchat may not fall under the SIM-binding mandate. Signal’s status remains unclear, as reports indicate that the platform had not responded to government communications when authorities reviewed the issue.

The available information does not indicate that WhatsApp will stop working on specific iPhone or Android models from January 1, 2027. Instead, the proposed restrictions focus on SIM verification and account authentication rather than device brands or operating systems.

The changes could particularly affect users who keep their registered SIM card in a secondary phone while accessing WhatsApp on another device. They could also affect people who remove the SIM after registering their accounts or rely primarily on Wi-Fi instead of cellular services.

Users with dual-SIM phones may also need to ensure that the number linked to their messaging account remains active and meets the platform’s requirements.

The rules are expected to cover both physical SIM cards and eSIM profiles. Users who keep the registered number active through an eSIM may avoid issues related solely to the absence of a physical SIM card, provided their setup meets the applicable verification requirements.

Stars: 4.5 Stars (****)

Imagine a Pakistani intelligence operative losing his memory after an accident in India and waking up convinced that he works as an Indian counter-intelligence officer. This identity mix-up drives the chaos in Udta Teer. Written and directed by Akash A Kaushik, the film turns this confusion into comedy with hilarious situations, punchy dialogues and a background score that amplifies the humour.

Story – Madness, Mayhem and Plenty of Laughs!

Udta Teer shines when it lets its comedy take centre stage. The sheer absurdity of the situations keeps the audience entertained, while witty dialogues and impeccable comic timing make even the simplest exchanges funny. The background score also deserves praise for adding to the humour and occasionally delivering laughs of its own. The film keeps the chuckles coming as the madness unfolds.

What Works – The Laughs Keep Coming!

Ayushmann Khurrana leads the madness with his sharp comic timing, while Sara Ali Khan adds to the fun with her performance. The dialogues stand out as one of the film’s biggest strengths, delivering several genuinely funny lines. The background score also elevates the comedy with perfectly timed musical cues.

The late Mukul Dev leaves a mark as Azhar Maqsood, while Ram Kapoor and Gulshan Grover bring their distinctive styles to the mix. Rahul Bose, Suhail Nayyar and the rest of the ensemble further enrich the film with their performances.

What Could Have Been Better – A Tighter Edit

The runtime, particularly in the second half, holds the film back. As the story progresses, some sequences feel stretched and slow down the pace. A tighter edit could have kept the momentum going and made the comedy more effective. Given how well the humour works, a crisper second half could have elevated the overall experience.

Quick Specs

Akash A Kaushik writes and directs Udta Teer. Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, Guneet Monga Kapoor and Achin Jain produce the film, with Raunaq Bajaj serving as co-producer. Dharma Productions and Sikhya Entertainment back the project.

The film features Ayushmann Khurrana, Sara Ali Khan, Rahul Bose, Ram Kapoor, Suhail Nayyar, the late Mukul Dev, Raghubir Yadav, Brijendra Kala and Gulshan Grover, among others. Sachin-Jigar compose the music, while Amitabh Bhattacharya pens the lyrics.

Final Thoughts

Udta Teer delivers plenty of laughs through its witty dialogues, well-timed performances and a background score that knows exactly when to join the fun. Although the second half could have benefited from a shorter runtime, the film offers enough humour to make the ride worthwhile. If you enjoy comedies that embrace absurdity and never take themselves too seriously, Udta Teer makes for an entertaining pick!

India carried their rich run-scoring form from the West Indies series into New Zealand, as Sanju Samson’s 33-ball 67 and Naman Dhir’s unbeaten 42 off just 15 balls powered them to a record chase of 226, their highest-ever in T20Is, and a four-wicket victory over New Zealand before a sell-out crowd at Hagley Oval on Thursday.

Earlier, on a fresh pitch, Glenn Phillips smashed an unbeaten 40-ball 82 to lift New Zealand to an imposing 225/4. However, Samson and Dhir produced outstanding performances, while dew aided India’s pursuit, as the visitors completed the chase with two balls to spare in a run-fest that yielded 455 runs before a packed crowd.

India celebrated their record-breaking chase, while New Zealand rued their inability to deliver tight overs and maintain consistent fielding despite a few bright moments. Wayward bowling in the powerplay and 17 extras allowed India to seize control and keep the hosts on the back foot. The teams will meet again at the same venue on Saturday for the second match of the series.

India began their chase with Matt Henry beating Samson on the first ball, but Abhishek Sharma launched the final delivery of the over for six, recording his seventh first-ball six in T20Is — the most by any batter in the format. Samson struck consecutive fours off Adam Milne before Lockie Ferguson’s erratic opening over, which featured several wides, yielded 22 runs.

Milne struggled even more in his next over, as Abhishek struck two edged fours and two sixes to collect 26 runs. Samson then launched Henry over mid-on for six, giving India their 350th T20I maximum of the year — the most by any team in a calendar year. India continued to find boundaries, and Samson reached his fifty off just 23 balls with a six and a four off Michael Bracewell. Bracewell dismissed Abhishek (29 off 12 balls) in the same over, forcing him to slice the ball to short third man, as India finished the powerplay at 94/1.

Mitchell Santner shifted the momentum in the ninth over when he bowled Samson with an under-edge. The wicketkeeper’s superb knock featured eight fours and four sixes. Tilak Varma, whom India promoted to number three, struggled to score and managed just six runs off 11 balls before Bracewell caught him in the deep. Santner then dismissed Ishan Kishan for one, leaving India at 122/4.

Axar Patel ended a 22-ball boundary drought by finding the gap between deep mid-wicket and deep square leg against Santner. He and captain Shreyas Iyer then plundered 20 runs off Henry’s third over. Ferguson dismissed Axar for 24 off 14 balls when a fielder caught him at short mid-wicket, but Finn Allen dropped Iyer in the same over.

With India needing 48 runs off 24 balls, Santner returned after a nasty fall but conceded 19 runs as Dhir struck a six and a four. Ferguson then dropped Dhir at short third man, and the batter punished the mistake by hitting two more fours off Smith. Milne dismissed Iyer for 42 off 28 balls at the start of the 19th over, with Santner completing the catch, but Dhir kept India’s hopes alive.

India needed eight runs off the final over. New Zealand also faced a slow-over-rate penalty, which helped India’s cause. Dhir drove a full toss from Henry through the boundary for four before sealing the victory with a top-edged six over the wicketkeeper, sending the Indian dressing room into celebration.

Earlier, Finn Allen scored 45, while Daryl Mitchell and Bevon Jacobs contributed useful cameos of 28 and 31, respectively. Phillips stood out for the Black Caps, smashing boundaries across Hagley Oval with remarkable timing and placement. His intelligent running between the wickets further strengthened New Zealand’s innings.

New Zealand scored 65 runs in the powerplay, added 93 in the middle overs and smashed another 67 in the final five overs. Every Indian bowler conceded at least 10 runs per over.

Axar Patel proved the most expensive, conceding 51 runs for one wicket, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/49), Arshdeep Singh (1/45), Mayank Yadav (1/40) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (0/40) also struggled to contain the batters.

India’s fielders compounded the problem with a dropped catch and several fumbles in the deep.

After India elected to bowl, returning pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar swung the ball early and beat Tim Seifert with his first delivery in a tidy opening over.

However, the New Zealand openers soon attacked. Bhuvneshwar overstepped in the third over, allowing Seifert to exploit the free hit before launching a six onto the roof. New Zealand collected 17 runs from the over.

Arshdeep, playing his 100th T20I, also struggled to contain the batters. Allen smashed three consecutive fours, and Seifert added another as New Zealand scored 17 more runs. Mayank struck in his first over when Seifert edged a delivery behind to Samson after scoring 24 off 17 balls. Allen and Mitchell then attacked Axar, hitting two sixes in the final over of the powerplay, with Mitchell lofting one over long-on.

Axar eventually dismissed Allen, who mistimed a lofted shot to long-off and departed for 45 off 24 balls. Mitchell received a reprieve when Abhishek dropped him at long-on off Mayank with the batter on 16. Mitchell capitalised on the mistake with consecutive boundaries before Arshdeep dismissed him for 28, ending his 42-run partnership with Phillips after a fielder caught him at short third man.

Jacobs announced his arrival with a six off his first delivery, while Phillips struck three fours off Axar in the 14th over. One of those boundaries followed a misfield by substitute fielder Prince Yadav.

The 16th over brought more drama when a delivery struck Bhuvneshwar on the wrist and Jacobs hit a free hit straight to a fielder, losing his wicket even though the delivery did not count.

Phillips then raced to his 13th T20I half-century with a six off Mayank during an 18-run over. Arshdeep, however, ran out Jacobs for 31 off 16 balls, a knock that included three sixes, after kicking the ball onto the stumps.

Michael Bracewell survived an lbw decision after a successful review as New Zealand crossed the 200-run mark in the 19th over. India’s slow-over-rate penalty forced them to bring an extra fielder inside the 30-yard circle for the final over.

Phillips signed off with a switch-hit four off Bhuvneshwar, helping New Zealand post a total that would have challenged most teams but ultimately fell short against an Indian side determined to make history.

Brief Scores:
New Zealand 225/4 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 82 not out, Finn Allen 45; Mayank Yadav 1-40, Arshdeep Singh 1-45)
India 230/6 in 19.4 overs (Sanju Samson 67, Naman Dhir 42 not out; Michael Bracewell 2-37, Mitchell Santner 2-39)

Hockey Haryana staged a comeback to defeat Hockey Madhya Pradesh 2-1 in the Division ‘A’ final and lift the title at the 16th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2026 in Jhansi on Wednesday. Uttar Pradesh Hockey secured third place by beating Hockey Punjab 3-1.

Haryana Rally to Win the Title

Mohammad Zaid Khan put Hockey Madhya Pradesh ahead with a field goal in the 14th minute. Haryana responded in the second quarter when Navraj Singh converted a penalty corner in the 21st minute to level the score at 1-1.

Both teams fought to break the deadlock, but Joginder Singh delivered the decisive goal in the 50th minute by converting a penalty corner to seal Haryana’s 2-1 victory.

Haryana booked their place in the final after defeating Punjab 4-2 in a shootout following a 3-3 draw in the semi-final. Madhya Pradesh secured their final berth by beating Uttar Pradesh 5-3 in the other semi-final.

Uttar Pradesh Claim Third Place

Uttar Pradesh Hockey defeated Hockey Punjab 3-1 in the third-place match to claim the bronze medal.

Akash Pal scored two field goals in the 15th and 21st minutes to give Uttar Pradesh a 2-0 lead at half-time. Punjab fought back when Pawandeep Singh scored a field goal in the 41st minute, reducing the deficit to 2-1.

Chandan Yadav then converted a penalty corner in the 58th minute to secure Uttar Pradesh’s 3-1 victory.

Uttar Pradesh had lost 3-5 to Madhya Pradesh in the semi-final, while Punjab suffered a shootout defeat against Haryana after their semi-final ended in a 3-3 draw.

Haryana Dominate Chandigarh in the Quarter-finals

Earlier in the tournament, Hockey Haryana defeated Hockey Chandigarh 5-1 in the quarter-finals.

Manjeet opened the scoring in the 20th minute, and Harpal struck twice in the 26th and 28th minutes to give Haryana a commanding 3-0 lead at half-time.

Pankaj extended Haryana’s advantage with a field goal in the 51st minute. Captain Singh scored Chandigarh’s only goal in the 59th minute, but Shubham restored Haryana’s four-goal lead with a field goal in the final minute.

Punjab Edge Maharashtra in a Shootout

Hockey Punjab overcame Hockey Maharashtra 5-4 in a shootout after both teams finished regulation time at 1-1.

Ujwal Singh gave Punjab the lead by converting a penalty stroke in the seventh minute. Punjab held their advantage until the 49th minute, when Ravi Paresh Bharadia scored from a penalty corner to equalise for Maharashtra.

The shootout produced a tense finish, with Gurjot Singh, Simranjot Singh, Lovenoor Singh, Dilraj Singh and captain Harjeet Singh all converting their attempts for Punjab. Maharashtra scored four times through Dhairyashil Jadhav, Babu Venkati Metkar and Prajwal Moharkar.

Punjab goalkeeper Paras Malhotra played a crucial role by saving Ajinkya Jadhav’s attempt in the third round, helping Punjab secure the 5-4 shootout victory.

Final Standings: Division ‘A’
Champions: Hockey Haryana
Runners-up: Hockey Madhya Pradesh
Third place: Uttar Pradesh Hockey

Haryana’s comeback victory in the final capped an impressive campaign, while Uttar Pradesh secured the bronze medal with a convincing performance in the third-place match.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a notice to Nestlé India on Wednesday over claims about its Lactogen Pro 1 Powder. The regulator asked the company to provide scientific evidence to support its claim that the product contains easily digestible whey protein.

FSSAI said the claim appeared on the product’s packaging or advertising materials.

The regulator directed Nestlé India to submit scientific evidence, relevant documents and supporting materials within the prescribed timeframe.

“FSSAI has issued notices to Food Business Operators (FBOs) regarding misleading claims and non-compliant promotions involving products like Lactogen Pro 1 Powder, Nan Excella Pro Stage 1 and infant milk substitutes,” the regulator said.

FSSAI noted that the product packaging or advertising material carried the claim: “Contains Whey Protein, which is a part of milk protein that is easy to digest.” It asked the company to provide scientific evidence supporting the claim about whey protein’s digestibility.

The regulator also directed the company to submit the required documents and supporting evidence within the stipulated period.

The notice forms part of FSSAI’s broader crackdown on misleading claims and promotional practices that violate food safety regulations. The exercise covers several products marketed by different companies, including nutritional supplements and infant feeding products such as Complan and Nan Excella Pro Stage 1.

FSSAI requires food companies to support claims on product labels, packaging and advertisements with adequate scientific evidence. Companies must also ensure that their promotional material complies with India’s food safety and advertising regulations.

The regulator said the notices require the companies concerned to explain why it should not initiate action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations framed under it. The companies must submit their responses within the stipulated period from the date of issuance of the notices.