The Indian Army contingent departed for the 7th edition of India-Uzbekistan joint military Exercise DUSTLIK. The Exercise is scheduled to be conducted at Gurumsaray Field Training Area, Namangam, Uzbekistan from 12 to 25 April 2026. Exercise DUSTLIK is a yearly event conducted alternatively in India and Uzbekistan.
Exercise DUSTLIK is a yearly event conducted alternatively in India and Uzbekistan. Last edition was conducted at Foreign Training Node, Aundh (Pune) in April 2025.
The Indian Armed Forces contingent comprising 60 personnel is being represented by 45 personnel from the Indian Army, majorly from a Battalion of the MAHAR Regiment and 15 personnel from the Indian Air Force.
The Uzbekistan contingent also comprises of approximately 60 personnel, from Uzbekistan Army and Air Force.
Aim of Exercise DUSTLIK is to foster military cooperation and enhance combined capabilities to execute joint operations in semi-mountainous terrain.
First edition of Indian Navy’s biannual Commanders’ Conference 2026 is scheduled over a period of three days at Nausena Bhawan, New Delhi, from 14 Apr to 16 Apr 2026.
The Apex Level Conference offers a stage for comprehensive review of Navy’s operational posture to protect national maritime interests, capability development and strategic alignment with national security objectives.
This edition holds significant importance in the light of swift naval deployments to safeguard India’s Energy Security, amidst ongoing conflict in West Asia with convergence of Multi-National Forces (MNFs) in the Indian Ocean Region.
he Conference also bears prominent significance in reaffirming Navy’s operational doctrine, inter-services coordination and technology driven response mechanisms post ‘Op Sindoor’.
The Conference features addresses by the Chief of Defence Staff and the Home Secretary, and embedded discussions with senior naval leadership.
According to Tracxn’s India Tech Annual Funding Report 2026, India’s tech start-ups raised $11.7 billion in FY26, marking an 18 per cent decline from $14.3 billion in FY25, but a 20 per cent increase compared to $9.7 billion raised in FY24. India ranked as the fourth-highest-funded country globally in FY26, behind the US, the UK and China, but ahead of Germany and France.
India’s tech start-up ecosystem recorded 129 acquisitions in FY26, compared to 151 acquisitions in FY25 – a 15 per cent decline during the year, according to the report. The number of acquisitions also saw a 2 per cent drop compared to 132 acquisitions in FY24.
Resulticks stood out with a $2 billion acquisition by Diginex, making it the highest-valued acquisition in FY26, followed by Brahma’s acquisition by Polymarket at a deal value of $1.2 billion.
NPCI Bharat BillPay (NBBL) said that Axis Bank was live on the Banking Connect platform, joining other major banks such as SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.
It is also building features such as Direct-to-Merchant Settlements, Third-Party Verification (TPV), and mandate and lien capabilities,
which will expand its utility for businesses with more complex or high-volume payment requirements, it said.
This integration will enable the bank’s 37 million customers to experience a faster checkout process and a more intuitive netbanking journey across more than 4,800 merchants in India, NBBL said in a statement.
The Banking Connect platform offers simplified onboarding, reduces time for integration and allows payment aggregators to ‘activate merchants’ through standardised application programming interfaces (APIs) and toolkits.
Space agency ISRO has successfully conducted the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission at the space station in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
The system is essential to ensure safe recovery of the crew module -- the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight -- during re-entry and landing.
The IADT-02 follows the successful completion of the first IADT, which took place on August 24, 2025 at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Air drop tests recreate the last leg of a spacecraft's return to the Earth. An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different scenarios.
These are the deployment of the parachute system in case the mission is aborted mid-flight, system performance when one parachute fails to open, and the spacecraft's orientation and safety during splashdown, etc.
In the first IADT, a 4.8-tonne dummy crew module was dropped from a height of three km by a Chinook helicopter.
After the module's release, a parachute system, comprising 10 parachutes, was deployed, helping the capsule decelerate to a safe splashdown speed.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) outlined its medium-term strategy for April 2026 to March 2029 under the Utkarsh 2029 framework, aiming to reinforce its position as a world-class, full-service central bank.
Vietnam’s Vingroup said it had entered into an agreement with the Maharashtra government to explore investments worth about $6.5 billion across multiple sectors in the state.
The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Maharashtra government, establishing a collaborative framework to explore strategic investments across multiple sectors in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and broader Maharashtra, Vingroup said in a statement.
The investments amounting to approximately $6.5 billion include integrated urban townships, electric mobility solutions, renewable energy, and social and public infrastructure, it added.
Besides, through group firms such as Vinschool, Vinmec, and Vinpearl, Vingroup said it will explore the development of social and public infrastructure projects across education, healthcare, public electric bus transportation, and tourism services, contributing to the completion of its integrated ecosystem in the local market.
World Homoeopathy Day observed each year on April 10, commemorates the birth anniversary of Dr. Hahnemann, the founder of Homoeopathy.
The theme of World Homoeopathy Day 2026 is “Homoeopathy for Sustainable Health”.
India accounts for one of the largest homoeopathic workforces in the world.
Homoeopathy first entered India in 1810 when German missionaries began distributing the medicines.
India has 3.45 lakh registered homoeopathy doctors, 8,593 homoeopathy dispensaries, 277 homoeopathy educational institutions and 34 research centres.
Consequent upon the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), Shri Anand Kumar Pal, Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS), has assumed the charge of Chief Adviser (Cost) in the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
A 1997-batch officer of the ICoAS, Shri Anand Kumar Pal was serving as Additional Chief Adviser (Cost) in the Ministry of Defence.
He has previously worked in the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Public Enterprises, Fertilizer Industries Coordination Committee (FICC), Directorate General of Trade Remedies, Ministry of Defence,
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), and the Department of Revenue.
During his tenure in the Ministry of Defence, he played a significant role in achieving substantial cost savings in the procurement of defence armaments, equipment, and platforms.
NITI Aayog released two reports titled “Ease of Doing Research & Development in India” and the “Survey Report on Ease of Doing R&D in India” on 9th April 2026 in New Delhi, aimed at enabling a more efficient, facilitative, and innovation-driven research ecosystem in the country.
The Government of India has commenced the nationwide Commemoration of the 200th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule through a two-year-long celebration starting from 11 April 2026 to 11 April 2028.
The commemoration has been approved by the National Implementation Committee (NIC) under the chairmanship of the Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation, vide its approval dated 6 April 2026.
The nationwide commemoration was formally launched today (11 April 2026) through an inaugural programme organised by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment under the Inter-State Cultural Diversity Programme titled “Phule Across India” at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre (DAIC), New Delhi.
To guide and oversee the commemoration at the national level, the Government of India has constituted a High-Level Committee under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, comprising 126 Members. The Committee includes a wide spectrum of dignitaries and eminent personalities, including former Presidents, former Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Governors,
Chief Ministers, Members of Parliament, senior officials, academicians, jurists, spiritual leaders, cultural figures, and social activists.
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (1827–1890) was a pioneering social reformer who dedicated his life to the upliftment of the marginalized and the promotion of education and social equality.
Asha Bhosle, a legendary Bollywood singer who became a cultural icon, has died aged 92, her son has confirmed.
Her death marks the end of an era in Bollywood music - with her career spanning more than eight decades and encompassing more than 12,000 songs.
Her pervasive presence in Bollywood earned her the 1997 hit Cornershop tribute Brimful of Asha, and she was also known internationally for a collaboration with British musician Boy George.
Over her career, she recorded more songs than any other female singer of her time.
The Guinness World Records recognised her for the most studio recordings. She received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and the Padma Vibhushan.
Guinness World Record (Most Recorded Artist): 2011
Dadasaheb Phalke Award: 2000
Padma Vibhushan: 2008
Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar felicitates her sister Asha Bhosle along with Usha Mangeshkar, in Mumbai in 2013.
The General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/65/271 of 7 April 2011, declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight “to celebrate each year at the international level the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals.
On 4 October 1957 the first human-made Earth satellite Sputnik I was launched into outer space, thus opening the way for space exploration. On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth, opening a new chapter of human endeavour in outer space
