The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of Airports Authority of India (AAI) for development of Green Field Airport at Kota-Bundi (Rajasthan) at an estimated cost of Rs.1507.00 Crore.
Kota, situated on the banks of the Chambal River, is recognised as the industrial capital of Rajasthan.
In addition, Kota is renowned as the Educational Coaching Hub of India.
The Government of Rajasthan has transferred 440.06 hectares of land to AAI for development of a Greenfield Airport, suitable for operation of A-321 type aircraft.
The project includes construction of a Terminal Building spanning an area of 20,000 sqm capable of handling 1000 Peak Hour Passengers (PHP) with annual capacity of 2 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA),Runway 11/29 of dimensions 3200m x 45m, Apron with 07 parking bays for A-321 type aircraft, two Link Taxiways, ATC cum Technical Block,Fire Station, car park and allied work.
The existing Kota Airport is under the ownership of Airports Authority of India (AAI). It comprises a runway (08/26) of dimensions 1220 m x 38 m, suitable for Code 'B' aircraft (such as DO-228), and an apron capable of accommodating two such aircraft. The terminal building spans an area of 400 sqm and is capable of handling 50 passengers during peak hours.
The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), a constituent board of the Quality Council of India (QCI), today launched its new Medical Application Portal designed for ISO 15189:2022 applicant laboratories.
The online portal was unveiled during a virtual event titled “GOING LIVE”, marking a major step in NABL’s mission to enhance ease, efficiency, and transparency in the accreditation process.
The newly launched NABL Medical Application Portal has been reimagined to mirror the real-world operations of medical laboratories,
offering a streamlined application process with improved user experience, reduced timelines, and greater accuracy. The portal introduces several enhancements including a restructured application flow, standardized templates, a comprehensive pre-registration checklist, an intuitive interface, and
a multi-user access feature that enables laboratories to assign multiple users with distinct access rights. This is expected to accelerate data entry, enhance oversight, and ensure accountability throughout the accreditation lifecycle.
Chairperson, QCI- Jaxay Shah.
Press Registrar General of India (PRGI) Yogesh Baweja has said the Press Sewa portal has been introduced as a single-window solution to simplify the registration process for newspapers and periodicals. He said the initiative will enhance transparency, speed up approvals and improve the ease of doing business for publishers and resolve the issues faced by publishers.
PIB Hyderabad Additional Director General Shruti Patil highlighted that this was the first interactive session of its kind in Telangana, designed to clarify publishers’ queries and provide guidance on the new Registration of Periodicals Act (PRP Act). She also announced that PIB Hyderabad, with the support of PRGI, would soon establish a dedicated helpline for publishers.
The proposed GST reforms through a two-tier tax structure and lower tax rates on household goods will lead to an estimated average revenue loss of Rs 85,000 crore a year, but will boost consumption by Rs 1.98 lakh crore, SBI Research Report said.
The Centre has proposed a 'next-gen GST' under which the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be a two-rate structure of 5 and 18 per cent based of classification of items as 'merit' and 'standard'. Also, a 40 per cent tax will be levied on 5-7 select goods, including demerit goods like pan masala and tobacco.
SBI Research Report estimated that the effective weighted average GST rate has come down from 14.4 per cent at the time of inception to 11.6 per cent in September 2019. Given the current rationalisation of rates, we believe that effective weighted average GST rate may come down to 9.5 per cent.
However, the consumption boost, which totals for a 0.6 per cent increase in GDP, would not stoke inflation as taxes on mass consumption items are going to go down in the proposed GST regime.
Overall, we believe CPI (consumer price index) inflation may be moderated in the range of 20 to 25 basis points.
Since the GST rate of essential items (food, cloth, etc.) is expected to decline from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, the CPI inflation in this category may also come down by 10-15 basis points after considering a 60 per cent pass through effect on food items.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved construction of 6-Lane Access-Controlled Capital Region Ring Road (Bhubaneswar Bypass - 110.875 km) in Odisha on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at a total capital cost of Rs.8307.74 crore.
Currently, connectivity between Rameshwar to Tangi on existing National Highway experience significant congestion due to high traffic volumes, passing through highly urbanized cities Khordha, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. To address these challenges, the project is proposed to be developed as 6-Lane Access-Controlled Greenfield Highway.
The project will provide significant benefit to Odisha and other eastern States by diverting heavy commercial traffic away from Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Khordha Cities. This will enhance the efficiency of freight movement, reducing logistics cost and driving socio-economic growth in the region.
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has indigenously developed and licensed to industry India’s first silicon photonics-based high-speed quantum random number generator (QRNG) in a deal worth ₹1 crore.
The Technology Transfer Office (TTO), IIT Madras, signed the Rs. 1 crore licensing agreement with Indrarka Quantum Technologies Pvt Ltd for the commercial deployment of the silicon photonic QRNG.
Developed at the Centre for Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuits and Systems (CPPICS), IIT Madras, the milestone underscores the technology’s strategic value and,
potential to advance India’s quantum innovation ecosystem.
Earlier, a prototype QRNG module was delivered to DYSL-QT, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Subsequently, an advanced version of the QRNG module was developed and successfully deployed at the Society for Electronic Transactions and Security (SETS), Chennai, for quantum security applications.
According to commerce department data, export destinations that witnessed contraction during April-July are: the Netherlands (-21.2 per cent), the UK (-11.2 per cent), Singapore (-11.8 per cent), Saudi Arabia (-11.8 per cent), South Africa (-16.3 per cent), Italy (-9.2 per cent), France (-17.3 per cent), and Malaysia (-28.8 per cent).
The 20 countries accounted for 69 per cent of India’s total value of goods exported during the first four months of FY26.
During the same period, India’s exports grew 3 per cent to $149.2 billion as outbound shipments to the US grew by over a fifth. While the US continued to remain India’s largest export market,
the share of exports to the county rose 22 per cent in April-July as compared to 19 per cent a year earlier.
Exporters said that global demand has remained sluggish due to the uncertainties caused by the imposition of country-specific reciprocal tariffs by the US on several nations.
The Non-performing Asset (NPA) rate against outstanding amount under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) for Scheduled Commercial Banks has risen from 5.47 per cent at the end of March 2018 to 9.81 per cent as on March 2025, Parliament was informed.
The NPA rate against the amount of loan disbursed under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) for Scheduled Commercial Banks, as on March 2025, is 2.19 per cent as compared to 2.71 per cent at the end of March 2018, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
PMMY scheme mainly caters to those segments of society which have been outside the formal credit system because of a lack of collateral, business experience, etc, she said.
The NPA rate under PMMY is higher than the average MSME NPA rate because the loans under the scheme are collateral-free and,
are often provided to new business entrepreneurs who may lack business experience and expertise, she said.
As regards NPA for MSMEs, she said, it was 3.60 per cent against the outstanding amount as of March 2025.
The Lok Sabha passed the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025 on August 19, 2025, paving the way to set up one of the country’s premier educational institutions in Guwahati, Assam.
The Bill, which aims to amend the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017, was passed without discussion amid continuing Opposition protests against the SIR.
The 21 IIMs currently operational in the country have achieved a brand status, said Mr. Pradhan, adding that there has been a demand to set up IIMs in other countries as well. The IIM Dubai campus will open next month, he added.
The Bill noted that the Union and Assam governments had signed a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) with representatives of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), promising the comprehensive development of the State. The establishment of an IIM in Guwahati, as an institution of national importance, is part of the Special Development Package (SDP) provided to Assam.
President Droupadi Murmu gave assent to The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 on August 18, 2025, stated a Gazette notification by the Central Government. The Bill, which promises to revamp India’s sports administration, has now become an Act.
The National Sports Governance Bill seeks to regulate the various sports administrators in India.
The Bill mandates the creation of a National Sports Board (NSB) which will oversee all sports federations, including India’s richest sports body – the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The cricket board had been opposing coming under RTI as it is not dependent on government funding.
In addition, aspirants for the top positions in national federations will be required to serve just one term in the Executive Committee, instead of the “overly restrictive” eligibility rule of two terms prescribed earlier, to encourage “younger administrators and athlete-leaders”.
A person shall not be qualified to contest for election or seek nomination to, the posts of the President or the Secretary General or the Treasurer, unless such person is a sportsperson of outstanding merit or, has previously served as a member for at least one full term in the Executive Committee of the National Sports Body or as the President, or
the Secretary General or the Treasurer in its affiliate unit,” the Act states.
In the 16th Asian Shooting Championship, Rashmika Sahgal has won gold, India’s third individual yellow medal on day two of the competition at Shymkent in Kazakhstan. Rashmika clinched the junior women’s air pistol crown with her impressive score of 241.9, a yawning 4.3 ahead of silver-winning Korean Han Seunghyun.
Earlier, Manu Bhaker, a double Olympic bronze medallist, bagged another individual international medal as she shot 219.7 in the women’s 10m air pistol final to finish third. It was double delight for Rashmika (qualification score 582), as she combined with Vanshika Chaudhary (573) and Mohini Singh (565) to win the team gold in the event.
Manu (583) also won a team bronze in women’s air pistol alongside reigning Asian Games champ Palak (573) and Suruchi Phogat (574).
