The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, has successfully concluded the first cohort of BHARATI (Bharat's Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for Export Innovation),
its flagship export enablement and acceleration programme aimed at fostering innovation-led growth in India's agri-food export sector. Beyond supporting stakeholders, BHARATI seeks to cultivate a dynamic ecosystem aligned with India's target of achieving exports worth USD 50 billion in APEDA-scheduled products by 2030.
The programme was launched to identify, nurture and support high-potential startups developing innovative products, technologies and solutions that can enhance India's agricultural and processed food exports.
The inaugural cohort comprised 100 startups from 22 States and 2 Union Territories, selected through a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process from over 700 applications received from across the country. The cohort included 68 agri-food product startups, 26 export-enabling technology and service providers, and
six innovators working in the areas of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, traceability, quality assurance and compliance solutions.
Within three months of the commencement of the programme, startups supported under the BHARATI initiative have demonstrated significant progress in advancing innovation-led agri-export solutions.
Two agri-tech startups collaborated to export approximately 37 MT of GI-tagged Jardalu mangoes to Dubai, while another startup achieved the first-ever sea shipment of nutraceutical-based and botanically infused ready-to-cook millet functional food products to Auckland, New Zealand, using millet sourced from Karnataka-based Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India and the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Israel have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at enhancing cooperation in public sector auditing.
The meeting culminated in the signing of the MoU between the Supreme Audit Institutions of India and Israel.
According to the release, the MoU provides a framework for enhanced cooperation in public sector auditing through the exchange of professional knowledge, methodologies, technical expertise, training opportunities and best practices.
Discussions were also held on the feasibility of organising bilateral seminars alternately in India and Israel to facilitate the exchange of professional expertise, experiences and innovative practices in areas of mutual interest.
India has secured the 13th position globally in the QS World Future Skills Index 2027, highlighting the country's growing focus on future technologies, skill development and workforce readiness.
Demonstrating academic excellence and a strong interest in AI-related domains, seven students of Computer Science Engineering (CSE) at Chandigarh University have received the prestigious IndiaAI Fellowship of Rs. 1 lakh each for their innovative projects exploring the use of AI and ML applications in the fields of education, disaster response, traffic management,
Deep Learning-Based Real-Time Traffic Violation Detection, emergency support, Geospatial Intelligence, RolePlaying Games, and Deep Neural Network for Real-Time Yoga Pose Correction, showcasing AI's transformative potential in addressing real-world challenges.
The recipients of the prestigious IndiaAI Fellowship for 2025-26 from Chandigarh University include five students of B Tech (AI & ML) - Shreyam Sinha, Harpreet Singh, Ashirvad Satyendra Singh, Kriti Upadhyay and Muskan.
The IndiaAI Fellowship was also awarded to two other CSE students - Saurav Yadav, a student of B Tech in Computer Science and Business Systems (CSBS), and Shubham Bajaj, a student of B Tech (Gaming and Graphics) at Chandigarh University
The Belgian physicist and Nobel laureate François Englert passed away on June 18 aged 93. Englert’s best known work paved the way for the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. His contributions have changed the way physicists understand the fundamental nature of the universe.
The Higgs boson became popular as the “god particle” worldwide and settled a long-standing problem in physics.
In the early 1960s, he was working on the mystery of how subatomic particles get their property of mass. In 1964, together with the American-Belgian physicist Robert Brout, he published a landmark paper titled ‘Broken Symmetry and the Mass of Gauge Vector Mesons’.
It proposed what is now known as the Brout-Englert-Higgs (BEH) mechanism.
Brout and Englert theorised that the vacuum of space is not empty but filled with a fundamental field. By interacting with this field, otherwise massless particles would acquire the property of mass.
Regulated entities will be required to put in place a board-approved model risk management framework (MRMF) covering all models, including artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) models, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) draft Guidance on Regulatory Principles for Model Risk Management, released on Wednesday.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mandated that NBFCs with an asset size of Rs. 1 trillion and above, based on their latest audited balance sheet, will be classified as upper-layer entities, and would hence be subjected to enhanced regulatory oversight. The directions come into force with immediate effect.
The RBI said these entities will be identified annually for scale-based regulation, while the asset-size threshold for classification will be reviewed every three years.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the GARUDA (Green-Channel: AIF Rollout Upon Document Acknowledgement) mechanism, transitioning the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) framework from a traditional pre-clearance model to a fast-track, accountability-driven disclosure model.
By introducing this regulatory green channel, SEBI aims to eliminate bureaucratic friction and accelerate time-to-market for fund managers, allowing private capital to flow into the economy much faster.
Under the newly overhauled structure, SEBI has categorised AIF schemes to streamline approvals based on investor sophistication. Angel Funds and Accredited Investor-only (AI-only) schemes can now launch immediately once the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) is filed and SEBI acknowledges receipt, completely bypassing the previously mandatory merchant banker certification.
For these specialized funds, the responsibility of compliance shifts entirely to self-certification by the fund’s CEO and Compliance Officer. Meanwhile, Regular Schemes will benefit from a vastly compressed 10-working-day approval window, while Large Value Funds (LVFs) continue to operate under their pre-existing fast-track waivers.
S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday said energy stress, sub-par monsoon and slowing global growth will pull down India's GDP growth to 6.6 per cent in the current fiscal.
The Indian economy recorded 7.7 per cent growth in the 2025-26 fiscal and 7.1 per cent in 2024-25.
S&P's FY27 growth projection is in line with the RBI estimate of 6.6 per cent.
In its report titled 'Economic Outlook Asia-Pacific Q3 2026: AI-Exposed Markets To Outperform', S&P said the region's outlook is shaped by resilient global activity, energy market stress, and an AI-driven tech export boom.
S&P said consumer inflation would be 0.5-0.6 percentage points higher in the third quarter in India, and it will rise to 5.1 per cent in the current fiscal year as manufacturers pass on higher energy costs to consumers, alongside recent increases in prices of petrol, diesel, and cooking gas.
India’s Commonwealth Games-bound boxers finished with a rich haul of 12 medals, including eight golds, capping off a commanding display at the invitational 56th Grand Prix Usti nad Labem in Czechia.
The five-member women’s team led the charge by winning four gold medals and one silver.
Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain in 75 kilogram, reigning Asian champion Preeti Pawar in 54 kilogram, Sakshi Chaudhary in 51 kilogram and Priya Ghanghas in 60 kilogram all struck gold by registering unanimous victories in their respective finals.
Parveen Hooda in 65 kilogram added a silver medal to complete an impressive showing by the women’s squad.
The Men’s team matched the women’s success with four gold medals. Jadumani Singh 55 kilogram, Sachin 60 kilogram, Ankush 80kilogram and Narender in plus 90 kilogram emerged champions in their respective categories.
Lovlina defeated Italy’s Melissa Gemini 5-Nil in the final, while Preeti outclassed France’s Jeyssa Marcel by a similar margin.
Sakshi beat France’s Mayssoun Bourega 5-Nil and Priya secured a dominant win over home favourite Barbora Maxova of Czechia. Jadumani defeated England’s Abdul Burton 4-1 in the final, while Sachin and Ankush registered comprehensive 5-Nil victories over Hungary’s Veres Rohland and Czech Republic’s Florian Daniel.
Narender edged past Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan 3-2 in a closely fought heavyweight final.
Aditya Pratap Yadav in 65 kilogram and Kapil Pokhariya in 90 kilogram settled for silver medals after narrow defeats in their title bouts, while Sumit Kundu in 70 kilogram claimed bronze.
On 25 June, the global maritime community comes together to celebrate the Day of the Seafarer. This year, we launched the campaign 'My Harassment-Free Ship', a bold initiative to promote a culture of respect and zero tolerance for bullying and harassment at sea.
The Day of the Seafarer 2025 is more than a celebration—it’s a call for action. 'My Harassment-Free Ship' is about changing the maritime culture to one where every seafarer feels safe, valued, and protected at sea. Explore the Interactive World Map, access campaign materials, and join us in making every ship a harassment-free workplace.
