The Indian and United States armies commenced the 22nd edition of their annual bilateral military exercise, Yudh Abhyas 2026, with a focus on high-altitude warfare, long-range precision fires, counter-drone capabilities, and greater operational interoperability. The exercise, being held from September 9 to 28,
saw the deployment of Arctic-trained soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, for high-altitude training in India.
The U.S. Army’s 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force (3MDTF) will also participate in the exercise, bringing advanced long-range precision fires and
integrated command-and-control capabilities into the drill. A key feature this year is the deployment of advanced counter-drone capabilities to India for the first time under the exercise framework. The U.S. Army’s Mobile Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System will be integrated into the training,
allowing the two armies to jointly work on countering emerging unmanned aerial threats on the battlefield.
Uttar Pradesh has received new investment proposals worth Rs 5,196 crore in the textile sector, which is the state’s largest employment generator after agriculture. The state aimed to develop the entire value chain — from fibre to yarn, yarn to fabric, fabric to garment, garment to brand, and then to the global market.
During the conclave, CM Adityanath launched the UP Tex Mitra portal and inaugurated the Hathkargha Bunkar Samriddhi Yojana. Memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for new investment proposals worth Rs 5,196 crore in the textile sector were signed at the event. Letters of comfort worth Rs 163 crore and subsidy support of Rs 60 crore were also distributed.
The government has launched the operational guidelines for the third phase of the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP 3.0), with an outlay of Rs.565.5 crore for 2026-31, aimed at integrating land records, maps, registrations and related data through a GIS-based digital framework.
Under DILRMP 3.0, each state will be able to develop its own "land stack" by integrating land-related datasets and systems through APIs. These state-level stacks will form the building blocks of a federated national land stack, enabling interoperability while retaining ownership and control of data with the authorities concerned.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) repealed the regulations requiring a 12-minute ceiling on advertisements in a clock hour of television programming, following the government’s decision to remove the cap for television channels. TRAI issued the Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels)
(Repealing) Regulations, 2026, repealing the corresponding 2012 regulations along with all orders and directions issued under them. The repeal will come into effect from the date of its notification in the Official Gazette, according to the release by the Press Information Bureau. The regulations were primarily introduced to monitor and
enforce the advertisement-duration ceiling prescribed under Rule 7(11) of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), through a notification published in the Official Gazette on August 21, omitted Rule 7(11), effectively removing the 12-minute advertisement-duration cap for television channels.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched two agentic artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, AiNxt and Agentic Orchestration & Messaging (AtOM), at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 in Mumbai.The platforms are designed to use AI to automate enterprise workflows and processes across India’s digital payments ecosystem.
AiNxt is positioned as an enterprise-grade platform for building and deploying AI agents, AtOM is focused on automating integration, change management, partner onboarding and certification processes across payment ecosystems.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has set up a committee to work on a guaranteed-return pension scheme for the non-government sector.As an interim step, the PFRDA has introduced a retirement-income scheme that is not guaranteed but is designed to grow the retirement corpus for people between the age of 60 and 80,
allowing subscribers to draw down monthly.
Further, the PFRDA was working on bonds that could provide inflation-protected outcomes for the proposed guaranteed-pension products, noting that annuities currently available in the market were not inflation-protected — a gap the new bonds were meant to address.
Under the scheme, pension-account funds can be used to pay hospital bills directly, supplemented by topup insurance of roughly 8-10 times the subscriber’s own contribution.
Md Kounain Quraishi’s maiden First Class century (116 n.o., 190b, 13x4, 4x6) was the icing on the cake for East Zone as it clinched the Duleep Trophy after 14 years, beating South Zone by virtue of its first-innings lead on the final day of the summit clash at the MAC Stadium in Chennai.
Ishan Kishan eventually declared at 388 for seven just before tea to finish 760 runs ahead and bring the curtains down on the game. Incidentally, East’s last Duleep triumph also came at this venue in 2012 against Central Zone.
The U.K. has recognised India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme as a qualifying criterion for pricing relief under its carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), a move that would reduce the tax burden on domestic exporters.In a communication addressed to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power,
the U.K.'s HM Treasury confirmed that the CCTS has been included in the U.K.'s published indicative list of overseas carbon pricing schemes assessed as qualifying criteria under a provision of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Calculation of CBAM Rate and Determination of Carbon Price Relief) Regulations 2026.
The Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) has been notified by India with the objective of reducing, removing, or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions from the Indian economy by pricing such emissions through the trading of Carbon Credit Certificates.
The financial support for implementation of the CCTS would be met by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency from fees and charges collected from entities under the scheme and its own resources.
The State Cabinet approved the Karnataka Aerospace Policy 2026-2031, focusing on aerospace, defence, aviation and space research and development expecting about Rs.60,000 crore investment over the next five years. To encourage private sector investments and to provide capital subsidy,
the government has classified focus areas and non-focus areas with zones. The capital subsidy has been fixed at 30% in zone 1 and 25% in zone 3. While the previous capital subsidy was between 1.75% and 2.25% in the previous policy in the non focus areas, it has been hiked to 25% now.
India has joined a US-led global partnership aimed at speeding up the development of secure and reliable 6G wireless networks, The initiative brings together India, the US and 24 other countries, including the UK, Germany and Japan. The partnership is focused on coordinating national 6G strategies well ahead of the technology’s expected rollout,
with 6G networks likely to start replacing 5G systems in the 2030s.US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and India’s Minister of State for Commerce Jitin Prasada discussed the future of 6G during the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The US launched its “Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security” in July,
with backing from 24 other countries across Europe, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.
The initiative is being led by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which comes under the US Department of Commerce. It aims to advance the objectives outlined in US President Donald Trump’s December 2025
Memorandum, titled “Winning the 6G Race”.
The memorandum described 6G networks as important to US national security, foreign policy and economic prosperity.India has already laid out its ambitions for the next generation of wireless technology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released India’s 6G Vision document on March 22, 2023.
Anak Krakatau, the active volcanic island located in Indonesia's Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra, erupted again in September 2026, sending a column of volcanic ash several kilometres into the sky and reminding authorities of the volcano's persistent activity.
Anak Krakatau, meaning "Child of Krakatoa" in Indonesian, emerged from the sea in 1927 after the catastrophic 1883 Krakatoa eruption, one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in recorded history, and is part of the Krakatau volcanic complex, remaining one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The 18th BRICS Summit will begin at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi tomorrow, with the national capital putting its finishing touches in place for the grand event. The two day Summit will bring together eleven major emerging and developing economies, including Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, India, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa,
and the UAE. The theme of India’s Chairship 2026 is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
World leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan and
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described India as a key engine of global growth after the country’s economy expanded 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The stronger-than-expected performance was driven by services and exports, even as the economy faced an energy price shock, said Julie Kozak,
Director of the IMF’s Communications Department. Her comments came in response to questions on India’s latest growth figures, its macroeconomic data, and the effect of higher crude oil prices on a major energy importer.India’s latest GDP release incorporated a new index of industrial production and a new producer price index series.
The 5th Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Awards were conferred on Swachh Vayu Diwas 2026 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to recognize the best-performing cities and wards for improving air quality under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
On the occasion, the Ministry also released a Compendium of Best Management Practices under NCAP, showcasing successful air-pollution control initiatives adopted by different cities.
