Category Archives: News

STARTRADER Raises Lloyd’s of London Client Fund Insurance to USD 30 Million in Aggregate

The aggregate cover increases thirtyfold from USD 1 million, applies to available balances and open positions in the event of insolvency, and remains free to clients.

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Startrader Financial Markets Limited (Mauritius) has raised the aggregate limit of its client fund insurance, underwritten by Arch and other Lloyd’s of London syndicates, from USD 1 million to USD 30 million, effective October 1, 2026. The policy covers available balances and collateral supporting open positions, responding above a per-client retention where insolvency coincides with covered misconduct.

Client fund protection increasingly shapes broker choice. Because insolvency is remote, cover size often goes unexamined until it matters, making early action a governance decision, not a marketing one.

The policy covers only eligible clients of this entity, not other STARTRADER entities, and complements its segregation of client funds from company assets.

“Insurance is not something clients think about on a good day. It matters on the worst one, and a ceiling that only looks adequate until it is tested is not much of a ceiling.”

–  Peter Karsten, CEO, STARTRADER

The higher limit will apply automatically from October 1, 2026, with no action required. Claims must be submitted to the appointed insolvency practitioner, with an Investor Compensation Claim Form, within 12 months of the insolvency event.

About STARTRADER

STARTRADER is a global multi-asset broker empowering retail and institutional partners to access global markets through a range of platforms, including MetaTrader, STARTRADER APP, and STAR Copy. Regulated in five jurisdictions (CMA, ASIC, FSCA, FSA, and FSC), STARTRADER combines strong governance with a client-first approach, serving both retail clients and partners with a commitment to transparency, reliability, and long-term growth.

Disclaimer: This announcement is for information only and is not investment advice or tailored to your circumstances. Forward-looking statements cannot be guaranteed. The insurance is an excess-of-loss policy subject to its full terms, conditions and exclusions, which prevail in any conflict. It covers only loss of client cash or securities caused by covered misconduct following an insolvency event, not trading losses. Payments may be less than a client’s loss and depend on the insolvency practitioner’s determinations and the firm’s policy compliance. Clients are beneficiaries of a discretionary trust with no direct claim against the insurer. CFDs are high risk and may not suit all investors. Not intended for distribution where contrary to local law or regulation.

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Yellow.ai Launches Nexus EDGE, the Agentic Desktop Interface That Resolves Employee IT, HR, and Operations Issues — Not Just Answers Them

Deployed to every employee’s computer, Nexus EDGE sees the problem on the device, understands it against the company’s knowledge and systems, and fixes it on the spot — all within the user’s existing permissions

SAN MATEO, Calif., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Yellow.ai today announced the launch of Nexus EDGE, an agentic desktop application that brings the company’s Nexus Universal Agentic Interface directly to the employee’s computer. Unlike enterprise search tools and assistants that find an answer and hand the work back to the employee, Nexus EDGE resolves IT, HR, and Operations issues itself — on the actual machine, in real time, and strictly within the role-based permissions the employee already holds.

The launch establishes a new category Yellow.ai calls Employee Experience Automation (EX Automation): the extension of agentic AI from customer experience into the daily working life of every knowledge worker.

“For a decade, employee help tools have competed on how fast they can answer a question,” said Raghu, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Yellow.ai. “But employees were never asking for answers. They were asking to get on with their day. Nexus EDGE is the first interface that closes the gap between knowing the fix and doing the fix — on the device, automatically, and safely.”

The problem EDGE solves. When an employee’s VPN fails before a deployment window, or a new hire’s software won’t install, or finance needs a report from an app they touch twice a year, today’s tools point them to a knowledge-base article and a queue. The answer arrives; the work does not. Nexus EDGE was built to cross that line — from retrieval to resolution.

How it works. Nexus EDGE pairs a cloud reasoning brain, the Nexus Agent, with a local agent that lives on the desktop. EDGE perceives the live screen and application state through built-in computer-use capability and a suite of operating-system-level tools; it reasons over the company’s knowledge base, SOPs, and backend enterprise applications; and when a fix is required, it pulls the correct, current remediation from the Nexus Agent and runs it locally to resolve the issue. The intelligence sits in the cloud, the hands sit on the desktop, and the two operate as one system.

Security as the boundary, not a feature. Every action Nexus EDGE takes is scoped to the role-based access controls of the signed-in user. EDGE acts as that employee, within their permissions, and never beyond them — giving security teams governed, auditable automation without privilege escalation.

What it delivers. In early deployments, Nexus EDGE targets resolution of common employee issues on the device without a ticket, reduces L1 ticket volume to IT and HR teams, and returns multiple hours per employee per year to productive work.

“Nexus changed how enterprises handle customer conversations. Nexus EDGE does the same thing for the people inside the enterprise,” said Rashid Khan, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Yellow.ai. “We stopped building tools that watch employees work, and built one that does the work with them.”

Nexus EDGE is available now for enterprise deployment. To request a demo, visit yellow.ai/nexus-edge.

About Yellow.ai

Yellow.ai (Bitonic Technology Labs Inc.) is an enterprise agentic AI platform serving 650+ customers across the US, Middle East, India, Asia-Pacific, and South America. Its Nexus Universal Agentic Interface powers autonomous customer and employee experiences at scale across voice, chat, and now the desktop. Learn more at yellow.ai.

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CAS announces collaboration with Novartis to advance AI-ready reaction informatics

Researchers will gain an integrated synthetic data foundation and an advanced custom search platform to support reaction data discovery and analysis 

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, today announced a collaboration with Novartis Biomedical Research focused on enhancing reaction data accessibility and supporting AI-enabled research. The initiative will leverage CAS unique scientific data curation expertise and science-smart technology to give Novartis researchers integrated, searchable access to proprietary experimental reaction data alongside more than 160 million+ scientist-curated reactions from the authoritative CAS Content Collection™. 

Scientific research generates valuable reaction data stored across a variety of research systems and repositories, including electronic lab notebooks, reports, shared drives, and partner platforms. Bringing information from these sources together can help researchers more efficiently discover, access, and analyze reaction data across the research enterprise. Foundational to this collaboration is the application of CAS data transformation services, via CAS Intelligence Hub^SM, to organize and standardize Novartis’ extensive collection of experimental reaction data, helping make these valuable research data assets more readily accessible for computational research, machine learning, and AI applications.

“This exciting collaboration reflects the critical importance of a strong scientific data infrastructure, alongside domain-specific technology and expertise, to enable today’s rapidly evolving drug discovery workflows,” said Tim Wahlberg, Interim President, CAS. “We are pleased to extend our long-standing relationship with Novartis to help make this data a more accessible and valuable AI-ready resource.” 

As part of this project, CAS will also collaborate with Novartis to develop a customized discovery platform built on the CAS SciFinder® architecture. This platform is designed to enable Novartis researchers to search, analyze, and cross-reference their enriched internal reaction data and CAS data simultaneously. By addressing a long-standing challenge of efficiently and comprehensively searching internal and external data together, this effort also lays the foundation for future CAS platform capabilities, including large language models and agentic AI. 

About CAS 

CAS connects the world’s scientific knowledge to accelerate breakthroughs that improve lives. We are the scientific data intelligence partner empowering global innovators to capture the promise of AI and achieve real-world results. CAS builds the world’s largest collection of scientist-curated data. That foundation underpins our portfolio of science-smart insights platforms and integrates with R&D workflows for more confident decisions and reliable predictions. As a pioneer at the intersection of scientific data and AI-driven discovery, CAS enables leaders in life sciences, chemistry, and materials with the unique capabilities and expertise that deliver transformative innovation. CAS is a division of the American Chemical Society. Connect with us at cas.org. 

Media Contacts 

Peter Carlton 

Senior Communications Manager, CAS 

CAS-PR@cas.org

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Elsevier launches ClinicalKey Nursing AI, a new evidenced-based clinical AI solution built specifically for nurses

Developed to fit around nursing workflows, ClinicalKey Nursing AI gives nurses fast, traceable answers to clinical questions at the point of care.

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today Elsevier announced the global launch of ClinicalKey Nursing AI, the clinical AI tool built specifically for nurses and designed to support both point of care decision-making and professional growth across the nursing career journey.

With the pressure and demands on nurses continuing to rise, healthcare systems have made significant steps to harness AI’s potential, but current AI tools are focused on physicians and disconnected from the reality of nurses’ daily workflow. Elsevier’s global Clinician of the Future 2026; Nurses Edition report found that only 41% of nurses are using AI for work compared to 57% of doctors, and with a lack of nursing specific tools available, nurses are more likely to use tools that are generic, less trustworthy and not suited to their daily work.

As the latest innovation from Elsevier, ClinicalKey Nursing AI gives nurses the ability to ask clinical questions using natural language, providing instant support for daily nursing practice, such as procedures, medications and discharge planning. Elsevier’s nursing solutions are trusted by over 2,800 hospitals across the world, and this launch continues this longstanding partnership with nurses.

ClinicalKey Nursing AI is purpose built for nurses. Grounded in the world’s leading evidence-based information from Elsevier’s corpus of content and reputable nursing organizations, content from nursing journals, guidelines and clinical skills supports the nurse’s clinical judgement at the bedside while keeping the nurse in full control. By providing fast, traceable answers with clear citations, nurses spend less time searching for answers and have more time delivering essential care to their patients.

Tracy Gosselin, PhD, RN, FAAN, Chief Nurse Executive at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center said: “Having clinical AI solutions specifically designed for nurses’ complex workflows is essential. For too long, nurses have been relying on AI tools that are too generic or made for physicians. Elsevier has been a longstanding supporter of nurses, and I’m delighted to see a product like ClinicalKey Nursing AI now available for the nursing profession.”

In a pilot study with registered nurses, over nine out of ten said ClinicalKey Nursing AI made them more confident in clinical decision making, and that the tool fitted in with their daily workflow, while three quarters said it saved them time on their shift.

Dustin Bass, DNP, MHA, RN, CEN, NEA-BC, President of the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) said “For five decades, ENA has delivered evidence-based, practical education that supports emergency nurses every day. This new platform extends that commitment by giving nurses access to the information they need, when they need it, helping them feel more confident and prepared to care for their patients.”

ClinicalKey Nursing AI provides nurses with access to expanded clinical content, keeping them up to speed with advancements and updates for nursing practice and clinical skills:

• Full text journals, including the Journal of Emergency Nursing, AACN Advanced Critical Care, the American Journal of Infection Control and Geriatric Nursing.
• Elsevier’s Clinical Skills, including acute care, critical care, mental health, oncology and general emergency.
• Best in class clinical practice books, including ENA’s Emergency Nursing Core Curriculum and Sheehy’s Manual of Emergency Care books, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Procedure Manual for Progressive and Critical Care, Critical Care Nursing and Goldman-Cecil Medicine.

Omry Bigger, President of Clinical Solutions at Elsevier said: “Nurses have told us they are choosing between AI tools that are generic or built for physicians or simply having no AI support at all. ClinicalKey Nursing AI is built solely on clinical information nurses can trust, so they can get quick and verified answers without interrupting their workflow. We are proud to provide this advanced solution to nurses who play such a fundamental role in the delivery of healthcare.”

Elsevier is rolling out access to ClinicalKey Nursing AI to its customers this year.

Find out more about ClinicalKey Nursing AI here.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a global leader in advanced information and decision support. For over a century, we have been helping advance science and healthcare to advance human progress. We support academic and corporate research communities, doctors, nurses, future healthcare professionals, and educators across 170 countries in their vital work. We help impact makers achieve better outcomes with research and clinical-grade solutions built on the world’s leading evidence-based scientific and medical content, precision AI, and expert human assessment. We champion inclusion and sustainability, working with the communities that we serve. The Elsevier Foundation supports research and health partnerships around the world.

Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, visit www.elsevier.com and follow us on social media @elsevierconnect.

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Microland Foundation and Nilgiris District Administration join hands for a healthier, cleaner and more resilient Nilgiris

Two landmark initiatives to strengthen community health and sustainable waste management across the district

UDHAGAMANDALAM, India, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In a significant step towards strengthening the social and environmental resilience of the Nilgiris, the Nilgiris District Administration and Microland Foundation (MLF) have entered into two strategic partnerships aimed at addressing some of the district’s most important community and environmental priorities.

The two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) focus on Pain-Free Nilgiris (PFN), a district-wide initiative to strengthen palliative and geriatric care, and Solid Waste Management in Masinagudi, an initiative designed to establish a sustainable and community-led model for waste management in one of the Nilgiris’ most ecologically sensitive regions. Together, these initiatives represent a broader commitment by the District Administration and Microland Foundation to build stronger local systems, empower communities and create models that can deliver lasting impact across the Nilgiris.

Building a healthier and more robust Nilgiris

Pain-Free Nilgiris (PFN) is a district-wide initiative focused on strengthening access to palliative and geriatric care, particularly for people living with serious or life-limiting illnesses.

The initiative brings together healthcare institutions, government stakeholders, civil society organisations, frontline workers and community networks to create stronger coordination across the continuum of care. By strengthening referral systems, frontline capabilities and community support, PFN seeks to bring quality care closer to people and their homes. The ambition goes beyond providing individual services; it is to strengthen the ecosystem of care across the district, enabling communities and local institutions to work together to improve the quality of life for some of the Nilgiris’ most vulnerable residents.

Creating a model for sustainable waste management

The second partnership focuses on Masinagudi, where the District Administration and Microland Foundation will work together to strengthen the existing waste management ecosystem.

The initiative will focus on improving waste segregation, collection, processing and resource recovery, while strengthening the operations of the Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) in Masinagudi. Equally important will be capacity building for sanitation workers and local institutions and greater participation by the community. Partners like Gandhipet Welfare Society will serve as the implementation partner, supporting the day-to-day operations and management of the Resource Recovery Centre. Masinagudi’s unique combination of conservation, tourism and community livelihoods makes it an important setting for developing a model that demonstrates how environmental protection, responsible waste management and community participation can work together.

A long-term commitment to the Nilgiris

Microland Foundation’s engagement with the Nilgiris has evolved over several years through partnerships with communities, government departments, educational institutions, healthcare providers, NGOs and civil society organisations. Its work in the region spans healthcare, palliative care, education, climate awareness, environmental sustainability, solid waste management and community capacity building. The Foundation’s approach has been to work alongside local stakeholders, strengthen existing systems and build solutions that are locally relevant and can be sustained over the long term.

The latest partnerships mark an important next step in that journey, moving from individual interventions towards integrated, community-embedded models that strengthen the district’s capacity.

Tmt. Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru, I.A.S., District Collector, Nilgiris, said, “These initiatives demonstrate the power of public-private partnerships in addressing complex challenges through collective action. By strengthening local capacities, improving service delivery, and enabling the adoption of better systems, processes and tools, such collaborations help create sustainable solutions that will support long-term development across the Nilgiris.”

Kalpana Kar, Managing Trustee, Microland Foundation, said, “The Nilgiris is a region of extraordinary natural beauty, cultural richness and close-knit communities. Our commitment is to work with the District Administration and our partners to strengthen the systems that enable these communities to thrive. Whether it is ensuring that people receive compassionate care closer to home or creating sustainable solutions for protecting the environment, we believe lasting impact comes from collaboration, community ownership and building capabilities that endure. These partnerships are an important milestone in our continuing commitment to the Nilgiris.”

Rajashree Pinnamaneni, President, Gandhipet Welfare Society, said, “Masinagudi is a unique landscape where conservation, tourism and community livelihoods intersect. We are honoured to lead the implementation of this initiative and look forward to working alongside the local body, communities and Microland Foundation to build a cleaner and more sustainable waste management system that protects the ecological character of the Nilgiris while improving the quality of life for residents.”

Towards a model Nilgiris

The two initiatives are united by a common philosophy: lasting change is created by strengthening local capabilities, building partnerships and enabling communities to take ownership of solutions.

The next phase will focus on implementation, stakeholder engagement, capacity building and institutional strengthening. The longer-term objective is to develop practical, sustainable and replicable models that can strengthen health and environmental outcomes not only in the communities directly served, but potentially across the wider Nilgiris.

Together, the Nilgiris District Administration and Microland Foundation are working towards a vision of a healthier, cleaner, compassionate and resilient Nilgiris, where community well-being and environmental stewardship reinforce each other.

About Microland Foundation

Established in 2016, Microland Foundation advances inclusive and lasting social change across four interconnected priorities: Employability, Health, Education and Environment.

The Foundation works alongside communities and partners to develop solutions that address immediate needs while building the capabilities and systems required for long-term progress. Its approach combines technology, innovation and local knowledge, with a strong emphasis on community ownership, collaboration and creating models that can be replicated and scaled.

For more information, visit: https://www.microland.com/about/microland-foundation

Media contact: somya.trivedi@microlandfoundation.com

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Oracle Unveils Fusion Claw + Expands Agentic Applications: NYSE Content Update

NYSE issues a pre-market daily advisory direct from the trading floor.

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provides a daily pre-market update directly from the NYSE Trading Floor. Access today’s NYSE Pre-market update for market insights before trading begins. 

Kristen Scholer delivers the pre-market update on September 29th

• Oracle introduces new solutions that combine AI reasoning with enterprise computation.
  • Fusion Claw is designed to allow for highly complex work to be completed more autonomously at scale.
  • Customers can take advantage of Fusion Claw through 25 new agentic applications that can reason, compute, adapt, and execute specialist-grade work.
  • Oracle’s EVP of Applications Development Chris Leone will join NYSE Live to discuss how the new offering will enable customers to drive growth and serve customers.
• Envisagenics is partnering with Boehringer Ingelheim to identify precision cancer targets.
  • The two companies will look to develop therapies for hard-to-treat solid tumors.
  • Envisagenics says that it’s looking to transform alternative RNA splicing to engineer a new era of drug discovery. 
  • Envisagenics Co-founder and CEO Maria Luisa Pineda will join NYSE Live to take viewers through how the collaboration is advancing precision medicine in the fight against cancer.
• Investors are monitoring elevated Treasury yields while awaiting key economic data.
  • The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield ended Monday above 5.2%
  • The August PCE Price Index and the September jobs report headline upcoming economic reports.
  • More than 70% of traders expect the Fed to raise interest rates in October, according to the latest data.

Opening Bell

Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) celebrates its 25^th anniversary of founding

Closing Bell

Vanguard celebrates the launch of three new ETFs

For market insights, IPO activity, and today’s opening bell, download the NYSE TV App and check out the NYSE YouTube: TV.NYSE.com and YouTube.com/@NYSEofficial

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ICICI Prudential Life leads with Claim Settlement Ratio of 99.31% in Q1-FY2027

MUMBAI, India, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has declared a claim settlement ratio of 99.31% for Q1-FY2027, the highest among top life insurance companies in India based on the public disclosures (Form L-39 and L-40). During the quarter, the Company settled individual death claims amounting to ₹414.08 crore. Notably, the Company’s average value per claim was ~₹15 lakh, the highest among the leading life insurers for Q1-FY2027.

Mr. Sarang Gokhale, Chief – Underwriting and Retail Claims, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said: “At ICICI Prudential Life, we are committed to making the claims process simple, seamless and timely for our customers and their families. In Q1-FY2027, our claim settlement ratio was highest in the industry at 99.31% and our average claim settlement turnaround time for non-investigated claims was just 1 day from last document received date. Besides, we settled ₹414.08 crore in death claims.

Our customer-first approach and strong focus towards digitalisation empowers us to settle claims quickly and provide timely financial relief when families need it the most. The claimants can lodge and track claims easily through our mobile app, WhatsApp, chatbot and website.

Under our ‘Claim for Sure’ initiative, we paid ~₹75 crore within one day for eligible claims. We continue to strengthen our digital processes, so families receive timely support when it matters most.”

About the Company

The Board of Directors recently approved a proposal to rename the Company as ‘ICICI Life Insurance Limited’, subject to relevant approvals. The Company commenced its operations in FY2001 and has consistently been amongst the top life insurance companies in India on sum assured market share and new business premium market share basis.

The Company offers an array of products in the Protection and Savings category which match the different life stage requirements of customers, enabling them to provide a financial safety net to their families as well as achieve their long-term financial goals. The digital platform of the Company provides a paperless buying experience to customers, empowers them to conduct an assortment of self-service transactions, provides a convenient route to make digital payments and facilitates a hassle-free claims settlement process.

The Company operates on the core philosophy of customer-centricity and has developed and implemented various initiatives to provide cost-effective products, superior quality services, consistent fund performance and a hassle-free claim settlement experience to our customers.

At June 30, 2026, the Company had an AUM of Rs. 3.34 lakh crore and a total in-force sum assured of Rs. 48.06 lakh crore. It is also the first insurance Company in India to be listed on both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Limited and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Limited.

Disclaimer

Except for the historical information contained herein, statements in this release which contain words or phrases such as ‘will’, ‘expected to,’ etc., and similar expressions or variations of such expressions may constitute ‘forward-looking statements’. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, opportunities and growth potential to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the actual growth in demand for insurance and other financial products and services in the countries that we operate or where a material number of our customers reside, our ability to successfully implement our strategy, including our use of the Internet and other technology, our exploration of merger and acquisition opportunities, our ability to integrate mergers or acquisitions into our operations and manage the risks associated with such acquisitions to achieve our strategic and financial objectives, our growth and expansion in domestic and overseas markets, technological changes, our ability to market new products, the outcome of any legal, tax or regulatory proceedings in India and in other jurisdictions we are or become a party to, the future impact of new accounting standards, our ability to implement our dividend policy, the impact of changes in insurance regulations and other regulatory changes in India and other jurisdictions on us. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof. This release does not constitute an offer of securities.

Contact: 

Email: corpcomm@iciciprulife.com 

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Railways Approves Rs 122-Crore Doubling Of Barbil-Bolanikhadan Section In Odisha

Keonjhar, Sept. 29 (UDN): Indian Railways has approved the doubling of the 6-km Barbil-Bolanikhadan railway section in Odisha at an estimated cost of Rs 122 crore, aimed at expanding freight capacity on one of the state’s key mineral transportation routes.

 Representational Image 

The project, under the South Eastern Railway, is expected to facilitate an additional 8.9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of freight movement once commissioned and help reduce delays in the operation of freight trains.

Single-Line Route Handles Heavy Mineral Traffic

The Barbil-Bolanikhadan stretch is currently a single-line section carrying around 9 MTPA of freight.

The route handles nearly six loaded rakes of iron ore every day, with high-grade iron ore and pellets forming a major share of the freight traffic.

The material is transported from SAIL’s Bolani mines and private sidings, including those operated by Rungta and Khatau Narbheram, to steel plants and ports.

Capacity Expansion To Support Industry

The section has been identified under Indian Railways’ Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridor, making the doubling project significant for mineral and industrial freight movement in the region.

Railway authorities expect the additional track to ease congestion and improve the movement of freight trains, particularly as mining activities and industrial capacity expand.

The project is also expected to strengthen rail connectivity between mineral-producing areas, industrial units and ports, supporting the movement of raw materials and finished products.

Additional 8.9 MTPA Freight Capacity

With the second line in place, the railway section is projected to handle an additional 8.9 MTPA of freight.

The capacity enhancement is expected to help address anticipated pressure on the existing single-line route arising from planned expansion of mining operations, steel production and port-related activities.

The doubling of the short but strategically important stretch is thus expected to provide additional rail capacity for Odisha’s mineral-rich Keonjhar region and facilitate more efficient freight transportation.

Thunderstorm Alert: IMD Issues 3-Day Yellow Warning For 14 Odisha Districts

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 29 (UDN): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a three-day yellow warning for thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in 14 districts of Odisha, beginning Tuesday and continuing through October 2.

 Representational Image 

The weather advisory covers isolated locations across the identified districts, where surface winds may reach speeds of 30 to 40 kmph during thunderstorm activity.

Yellow Warning Till September 30

For Day-1, valid until 8:30 am on September 30, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds of 30-40 kmph are likely at one or two places in:

Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khordha and Nayagarh.

Alert Continues Through October 1

The same weather conditions are expected during Day-2, from 8:30 am on September 30 to 8:30 am on October 1.

The IMD has forecast thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds reaching 30-40 kmph at one or two places in the same 14 districts.

Similar Warning On October 1-2

For Day-3, from 8:30 am on October 1 to 8:30 am on October 2, the IMD has maintained the yellow warning for the same districts.

Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds of up to 30-40 kmph may occur at one or two places during this period.

Residents in the warned districts have been advised to remain alert during thunderstorm activity and follow local weather advisories.

Puri Srimandir To Suspend Darshan For Four Hours On September 30 For Banakalagi

Puri, Sept. 29 (UDN): Public darshan at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri will remain suspended for around four hours on Wednesday, September 30, to facilitate the Banakalagi Niti of the Holy Trinity.

 Representational Image 

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), in a notification, said the special ritual will be performed on Ashwin Krushna Chaturthi Tithi. Accordingly, devotees will not be allowed darshan from 6 pm to 10 pm after completion of the second Bhoga Mandapa offering.

Banakalagi Niti At Srimandir

Banakalagi, also known as Srimukha Sringara, is a significant ritual during which the facial features of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan are given a fresh coat of natural colours.

The ritual is performed on the deities seated on the Ratna Singhasana and is traditionally carried out by the Dutta Mohapatra servitors.

Darshan Suspended During Ritual

The Banakalagi ritual is performed in a secluded manner, with the temple doors closed to devotees while the sacred face decoration is undertaken.

The ritual generally takes around four to five hours. During this period, public darshan remains suspended and only authorised Dutta Mohapatra servitors participate in the ritual.

The term Banakalagi is traditionally associated with Bana, meaning forest, and Lagi, meaning to apply, reflecting the ritual’s traditional use of natural colours and materials.

The ritual is generally performed twice a month, on a Wednesday or Thursday, according to the temple’s established ritual schedule.

Devotees planning to visit Srimandir on Wednesday evening have been advised to take note of the temporary suspension of darshan between 6 pm and 10 pm.