Reliance Foundation Founder and Chairperson Nita Ambani has received the Fortune India Most Powerful Women (MPW) honour at the Fortune India Most Powerful Women event in Mumbai, where business leaders, policymakers and entrepreneurs gathered to discuss leadership, finance, technology and inclusive growth.
Under the leadership of Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation has touched over one hundred million lives across India, including 29 million children.
The programme included panel discussions on financial inclusion, women in technology, next-generation leadership and family businesses, besides fireside conversations.
The recognition comes days after Ambani announced the India–America Health Alliance during the 44th Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin in Tampa, Florida.
The partnership between the Reliance Foundation and the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin will expand telemedicine services, strengthen training for healthcare workers and support collaborative medical research between India and the United States.
Under the initiative, physician specialists based in the United States will provide telemedicine consultations to patients in India's towns and villages through Jio's fifth-generation (5G) network. The partners also aim to produce up to 500 peer-reviewed research publications over the next decade.
Legendary playback singer S Janaki fondly known as the Nightingale of the South passed away at the age of 88 today in Mysuru, Karnataka.
Spanning over six decades, her career saw her singing in nearly 48000 songs in multiple languages, including Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. She was the voice behind generations of film stars.
She collaborated with legendary music directors like Ilaiyaraja, M S Viswanathan, K V Mahadevan, A R Rahman, among others. Janaki won the National Film award for Best female playback singer for Senthoora Poove, the debut directorial venture of Bharathiraja in Tamil in the year 1988. She is conferred with 33 State Film Awards.
She was chosen for Padma Bhushan in 2013. She became one of India’s most celebrated voices, delivering countless songs, whether classical compositions, romantic melodies, folk songs, comic numbers and emotionally charged duets.
Singara Velane Deva, Chinnanchiriya Vannaparavai and Sakalakala Vallavan in Tamil, Naguva Nayana, Jothiyali Jothejotheyali and Chinnada Mallige Hoove in Kannada are some of the finest songs rendered by S Janaki that showcase the depth and sweetness of her voice.
Chitkara University has launched the Atal Incubation Centre – Chitkara Incubation Foundation (AIC-CIF) and AIC-PRIDE Labs, established through a combined investment of up to ₹20 crore over five years by the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, Government of India, and Chitkara University.
The centre will support research commercialisation, entrepreneurship and technology-led economic growth in Drone Technologies, Agritech, and Renewable Energy.
The inauguration also marked the launch of the ATL Sarthi Punjab initiative by the Atal Innovation Mission.
The initiative aims to strengthen and mentor Atal Tinkering Labs across Punjab, helping students progress from school-level innovation to startup development.
AIC-CIF will support startups through acceleration programs, mentorship, funding opportunities, product validation, industry partnerships, intellectual property support, and regulatory guidance.
The new incubation centre adds to Chitkara University’s efforts to support research, innovation, and entrepreneurship by bringing together academia, industry, government, and investor networks to help technology startups grow.
India has emerged as the fastest-growing major economy for investment in intangible assets, signalling a shift towards a more knowledge-driven economy powered by software, innovation, research, and intellectual property.
According to the latest World Intangible Investment Highlights 2026 report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Luiss Business School, India recorded the highest recent growth in intangible investment among the world's 15 largest economies.
The Indian Navy on July 11 inducted the indigenously built advanced stealth frigate INS Mahendragiri into its Eastern Fleet during a ceremony held in Visakhapatnam.
Navy Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan described the warship as a symbol of India’s growing maritime capability and technological self-reliance.
The commissioning is particularly significant as it marks the induction of the sixth indigenous stealth frigate from the Navy’s Project 17A into the force within just one-and-a-half years.
Since January 2025, six of the seven Project 17A frigates have been commissioned, including INS Mahendragiri.
The seventh and last of them, INS Vindhyagiri, is also expected to be commissioned this year.
INS Mahendragiri is built with over 75% indigenous content, has a displacement of approximately 6,670 tonnes and the capability to reach speeds of up to 28 knots.
It is equipped with the BrahMos supersonic surface-to-surface missiles, a combination of multifunction radar and medium-range surface-to-air missiles, which can detect and kill aerial threats at extended ranges.
It also boasts anti-submarine warfare capabilities, with its arsenal including an indigenous rocket launcher, torpedo launchers, an Integrated Anti-Submarine Defence System, an Electronic Warfare suite and a Close-In Weapon System for short-range threats, and an embarked multi-role helicopter.
Project 17A frigates are versatile multi-mission platforms designed to address current and future challenges in the maritime domain, including threats from adversarial submarines in the deep sea. They have been designed by Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and overseen by Warship Overseeing Team (Kolkata).
The warships are fitted with an advanced weapons and sensor suite compared to the earlier Project 17 (Shivalik) class. These ships are configured with Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion plants, comprising a diesel engine and a gas turbine that drive a Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) on each shaft, and an Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).
In a significant step towards improving telecom services in rural India, the Department of Posts (DoP) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The MoU is signed in New Delhi to conduct a nationwide app-based survey to assess the mobile network performance of Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) - Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and BSNL - across over 5.68 lakh villages in India.
Leveraging the Department of Posts' unparalleled network of more than 1.40 lakh rural Branch Post Offices, the survey will be conducted by Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDSs) during their routine delivery operations using a specially developed Android-based mobile application developed by TRAI.
Covering villages across all States and Union Territories, the initiative will generate field-level data on mobile network performance to identify connectivity gaps, improve telecom infrastructure, and support evidence-based policy decisions for strengthening digital connectivity across rural India.
Under the MoU, the Department of Posts will carry out field survey operations through its nationwide postal network, while TRAI will provide the survey application, technical support, training and centralized monitoring.
The one-year partnership is expected to strengthen telecom service quality, bridge digital connectivity gaps, and further the vision of a digitally empowered and inclusive India.
In a significant step towards strengthening digital infrastructure and accelerating broadband connectivity across rural Gujarat, Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) under Department of Telecommunications (DoT) signed an Addendum to the signed Agreement for implementation of the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) in the State under the State-led model at Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi.
The Addendum was signed between Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), DoT; Government of Gujarat; Gujarat Fibre Grid Network Limited (GFGNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for implementation of the Amended BharatNet Programme in the State of Gujarat.
The Assam government on July 10, 2026 presented a ₹2,85,084 crore Budget for the 2026-27 financial year and proposed to raise the tax exemption limit for small tea growers by four times and cut VAT on piped natural gas by almost 10 percentage points.
Presenting his maiden Budget, Assam Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah also announced to continue all the major schemes rolled out during the last five years, while stating that he aims to cut Budget deficit to ₹419 crore.
The Budget estimates of financial year 2026-27 show a receipt of ₹1,51,843.23 crore under the consolidated fund of the state... After adding the receipt of ₹1,34,466.22 crore under public account and ₹2,000 crore under contingency fund, the aggregate receipts amount to ₹2,88,309.45 crore.
As against this, the total expenditure from the consolidated fund in the 2026-27 fiscal is estimated at ₹1,56,714.88 crore, Baruah said.
He further said that taking into account the expenditure of ₹1,26,369.57 crore under public account and ₹2,000 crore under contingency fund, the aggregate expenditure for the year is estimated at ₹2,85,084.45 crore.
"This, together with the opening deficit of ₹3,644.26 crore will lead to a Budget deficit of ₹419.26 crore at the end of the financial year 2026-27. The Budget for the financial year 2026-27 targets a fiscal deficit of 3% of the State's projected GSDP," he added.
In a bid to provide relief to small tea growers, the finance minister proposed to enhance the agricultural income tax exemption threshold from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹10 lakh.
The per capita income has more than tripled from ₹60,817 in the 2015-16 fiscal to ₹1,85,429 in financial year 2025-26.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken another significant step towards preserving Ayodhya’s cultural and religious heritage by renaming the town of Bhadarsa in Ayodhya district as ‘Bharat Nagar’.
The government’s decision has been welcomed with great enthusiasm by devotees, who feel that their Sanatan faith has received due recognition.
Bharat Nagar is located near Bharat Kund, the sacred site associated with Bharat's penance during Lord Shri Ram's 14-year exile. According to tradition, Bharat placed Lord Ram's khadau (wooden sandals) on the throne as a symbol of his authority and governed Ayodhya from Nandigram while living an ascetic life. The region is revered as the land of Bharat Ji's penance.
Local traditions suggest that the place was originally known by names such as ‘Bharat-Dasha’, ‘Bharat-Vaas’, or ‘Bharat-Sthan’. Over time, changes in local pronunciation and language are believed to have transformed ‘Bharat’ into ‘Bhadar’ and ‘Dasha’ or ‘Vaas’ into ‘Sa’, eventually resulting in the name ‘Bhadarsa’.
Former Qatar Emir and Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has died at the age of 74.
Sheikh Hamad ruled Qatar from 1995 until 2013, a period marked by rapid economic growth, infrastructure expansion and a growing international profile for the energy-rich nation.
Among the major milestones during his tenure were the adoption of Qatar's first permanent constitution in 2004 and the introduction of municipal elections, which allowed women to vote and contest seats for the first time.
His years in office also coincided with the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, the 2012 UN Climate Change Conference, the Doha Agreement, the Fatah-Hamas Doha Agreement.
Woman passengers will not be able to avail free bus service in Delhi from August 1, as the government has made the 'Pink Saheli’ smart card mandatory for such travel.
Concerned over the slow adoption of the Pink Saheli card by women commuters, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has also launched a special drive across its buses advising women to get the cards.
With effect from August 1, pink tickets shall be issued only to those women passengers who have a valid Pink Saheli smart card, which they need to tap at the time of boarding. These passengers will continue to avail free bus service as per the terms of the scheme.
According to officials, it has been decided to gradually phase out the existing paper-based pink ticket and shift to a smart card-based system for availing the benefit of free bus travel.
The Delhi government has set up 50 authorised centres across the city to facilitate the issuance of Pink Saheli smart cards.
So far, around 11 lakh cards have been distributed across the city, and the government aims to increase the figures to 13 lakh by the end of July, after which the card will be made mandatory.
AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) has partnered with Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services to launch a co-branded retail credit card that offers rewards on UPI, contactless and e-commerce transactions, as lenders and fintech firms continue to expand their credit card offerings through partnerships.
The AU Zaggle Co-Branded Retail Credit Card will be available on both Visa and RuPay payment networks, allowing customers to choose their preferred network. The card will be distributed through the zagg.money app, the company's website and assisted channels.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has retained its position as the world's third most powerful air force for the fifth consecutive year in the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA) 2026 Global Air Power Rankings.
The rankings place the IAF behind only the United States and Russia, while keeping it ahead of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in seventh place and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in 18th.
