📚 Kalinga Literary Festival names 2026 Book Award winners

The Kalinga Literary Festival has revealed the winners for its 2026 Book Awards across five categories. These awards cover Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translation, and Debut categories. The prize ceremony will take place at Ek Bharat, Anek Bol Festival on December 18 at Travancore House, New Delhi. Winners include Vauhini Vara for Nonfiction and Ruchir Joshi for Fiction among others. The festival will present these accolades to the celebrated authors next December.

✨ Sonali Kulkarni on jealousy towards Tabu

Sonali Kulkarni admitted to feeling pure jealousy when Tabu won the National Film Award for Maachis in 1997. The actress, who is currently promoting her Telugu movie The Paradise with Nani, expressed her strong desire for national recognition. She later met Tabu in Mumbai while shooting for Mission Kashmir, describing the moment as beautiful. This meeting highlighted how stars are just human beings, according to Kulkarni. Her next film, The Paradise, is scheduled to hit theaters on September 24. 🎬

🌍 India hits climate goals early with green push

A key speaker detailed India's significant strides in environmental conservation and sustainable infrastructure at an international conference. India's per capita carbon emissions are currently under half the global average, unlike developed nations. The nation is the only G20 country to meet all COP21 Paris Summit commitments ahead of schedule. Over the last twelve years, solar capacity jumped from 2 GW to over 160 GW, alongside railway electrification and water conservation. Future focus areas include rooftop solar schemes and green hydrogen transit. 🌍

♻️ AI helps recycle old milk bottles super fast ♻️

Artificial intelligence is now helping turn used milk bottles into new plastic packaging within two weeks. This process takes place at the Biffa Polymers site in Redcar, UK. In the last 20 years, the plant has successfully recycled over 10 billion plastic bottles. The AI uses optical and infra-red scanning to identify plastic types, even when bottles are crushed or distorted. This tech frees up the 200-person workforce to focus on quality control and other important tasks.

⛽ Maruti brings CNG with AMT to Baleno, Swift & Dzire

Maruti is expanding its CNG offerings to include AMT powertrains in the Baleno, Swift, and Dzire S-CNG models. This move brings CNG convenience to previously manual-only variants across these popular cars. Pricing starts from Rs 7.92 lakh for the Swift S-CNG AMT, with Baleno starting at Rs 8.32 lakh. This democratizes low-running-cost options for city commuters looking for automatic convenience. The cars share a 1.2L petrol engine paired with a 55L CNG tank for better fuel economy.

😥 Tractor rampage during Ganesh immersion tragedy

A nine-year-old girl, Varshita, was killed, and seven others were seriously injured when a tractor went out of control. This incident happened on the night of Friday, September 18, 2026, at the Sivanagar Bramhamgari Temple in Dharmavaram. The accident occurred when the tractor driver lost control on a narrow stretch while the devotees were preparing for the procession. Police have taken the driver into custody and seized the vehicle, registering a case. Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav assured the affected families that the government would cover all medical expenses. 😥

🚑 School bus hits lorry near Ambur; students injured

Four students and the school bus driver were injured when the bus collided with a container lorry on NH 48. This incident occurred at Vadaputhupatti village, near Ambur town in Tirupattur district on Saturday, September 19, 2026. The students were from St. Joseph’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School, and the driver P. Sugumar sustained head and leg injuries. Residents subsequently blocked the highway demanding better safety measures, like a subway or bridge. Officials eventually pacified the crowd, assuring them that steps would be taken for route safety. 😟

🛰️ Russian cargo ship docking with ISS today

The Progress 96 cargo spacecraft is set to meet up with the International Space Station today, September 19th. This mission involves Russia, with the spacecraft launching from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, September 16th. The freighter is carrying approximately 3 tons of food and fuel for the seven crew members currently aboard. Progress 96 will remain attached to the ISS for roughly five months before being deorbited. After its stint, it will be sent to burn up safely in Earth's atmosphere. 🚀

📉 TMC candidate drops out of Rejinagar bypoll

A Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate has withdrawn their nomination from the Rejinagar bypoll race. This withdrawal follows the earlier situation in Nandigram, effectively meaning Mamata Banerjee has lost both bypoll picks. The news was updated on September 19, 2026, at 11:45 IST. This development indicates a potential setback for the TMC's political maneuvering in the region. Further updates are expected as this story continues to unfold. 📉

🏭 WBPDCL starts selling excess coal to NTPC

West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited began supplying its surplus coal to the National Thermal Power Corporation on Friday, September 18, 2026. This move follows WBPDCL becoming self-reliant and no longer depending on Coal India Limited since 2024-25. Under the MMDR Act, 2021, WBPDCL can sell 50% of its annual coal production after meeting its needs. The corporation plans to sell a total of 3.5 million tonnes of coal by March 2027. This marks a shift for the state power utility into the open market. 🏭

🗳️ Mamata's candidate quits Rejinagar bypoll

Mamata Banerjee's party candidate, Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, withdrew his nomination from the Rejinagar by-election on Saturday. This decision followed his complaint about harassment of party workers by the state administration in Rejinagar. Both Nandigram and Rejinagar by-elections are scheduled for October 6. This follows his candidate's withdrawal from Nandigram on Friday. Mamata Banerjee has now lost candidates in both these crucial seats. 😥