The output of eight core infrastructure sectors, which account for two-fifths of India’s industrial output, expanded by 0.7% annually in May, its slowest in nine months, according to the provisional data released on Friday by the commerce ministry.

This growth stood at 6.9% in May 2024, while April 2025 growth was revised upward from 0.5% to 1%.

The Index of Eight Core Industries measures the combined and individual output of key industries, which include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity.

In a remarkable achievement ahead of International Yoga Day, Andhra Pradesh has secured a global recognition for its innovative “Floating Yoga” event conducted on the Krishna River in Vijayawada. Organised as part of the state’s YogAndhra 2025 campaign on 11th June, the event featured over a thousand yoga practitioners performing asanas on 200 water crafts including kayaks, jet skis, punts, sand boats and floating platforms. The Floating Yoga record stands as a testament to Andhra Pradesh’s creative approach in promoting wellness, cultural pride, and community engagement through yoga.

Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupendra Yadav launched the Gharial Species Conservation Programme by releasing Gharial hatchlings into the Gerua River at Katarniaghat in Bahraich today. On this occasion, the Union Minister said that forests and wildlife are the natural heritage of this earth. Union Minister added that scientific measures will have to be adopted to prevent human-wildlife conflict.

Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav also inspected the Gharial breeding centre located in Trans Gerua and reviewed the conservation work.

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday graced the opening of Rashtrapati Tapovan and Rashtrapati Niketan at Dehradun. She also inaugurated public amenities, including the Visitor Facilitation Centre, the Cafeteria, and the Souvenir Shop, and laid the foundation stone for Rashtrapati Udyan at Rashtrapati Niketan.

President Murmu had also inaugurated an amphitheater at Rashtrapati Niketan yesterday.

Rashtrapati Tapovan, situated on Rajpur Road in Dehradun, is a 19-acre Presidential Estate nestled in the Himalayan foothills, emphasizing spiritual retreat and ecological preservation. A dense forest patch rich in native vegetation, Tapovan hosts 117 plant species, 52 butterflies, 41 bird species, and 7 wild mammals, including some protected species. The area features natural bamboo groves and undisturbed woodland ecosystems, President's Secretariat said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that today yoga offers a pathway to peace amid growing stress, unrest, and instability in various parts of the world. Addressing the celebrations on 11th International Day of Yoga along the scenic coastline at Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh,  the Prime Minister said Yoga is the pause button humanity needs to breathe, to balance, to become whole again. On the occasion, he made a special appeal to the global community urging to mark Yoga Day as the beginning of Yoga for Humanity 2.0, where Inner Peace becomes Global Policy. He emphasised that yoga should not remain merely a personal practice but evolve into a medium for global partnerships. He called upon every nation and every society to integrate yoga into their lifestyle and public policy. PM Modi envisioned a collective effort to advance a peaceful, balanced, and sustainable world saying Yoga should guide the world from conflict to cooperation, and from stress to solutions.

ESAF Small Finance Bank MD and CEO K Paul Thomas has been elected as chairman of Sa-Dhan, an RBI recognized self-regulatory organisation (SRO) and an association of microfinance and impact finance institutions.

The decision was taken at the annual general meeting which saw participation of about 100 members, Sa-Dhan said in a statement on Friday.

Consequent to the election of the new members, Sa-Dhan Board reconstituted with Paul Thomas as the chairperson; Sadaf Sayeed, MD & CEO, Muthoot Microfin; and Mukul Jaiswal, MD Cashphor, as co-chairs; and Vivekananda Salimath, Chair IDF, as Treasurer, it said.

Noida International Airport on Friday said it has partnered with Anlon Technology Solutions to deploy India's first indigenously built runway rubber removal machine (RRM).

The Cleanjet RRM is a domestically manufactured solution for critical airport operations. Built on a robust Eicher Pro 6028 chassis, this innovative machine is designed to ensure the highest standards of runway safety and efficiency at Noida International Airport, according to a statement.

The machine efficiently removes rubber deposits, paint markings, and oil spills from runways, taxiways, and aprons. It uses ultra-high-pressure water jets, making the entire process 100 per cent chemical-free. This ensures a safe and skid-free surface for aircraft operations without harming the environment or airport pavement, it added.

India’s Velavan Senthilkumar signed off with a bronze medal after losing to second seed Alex Lau Tsz Kwan of Hong Kong in the men’s singles semifinal at the Asian Squash Championships here on Friday.

The Indian, ranked 45th in the men’s singles chart, went down 1-3 (9-11, 11-13, 11-5, 6-11) to the world number 41 Lau in a marathon 65-minute last four clash.

Both the losing semi-finalists are awarded bronze at the continental showpiece.

This was Senthilkumar’s second consecutive medal at the continental event. He had clinched a silver in the 2023 edition.

With his loss, India’s campaign also came to an end in the individual contest.

The Hockey India Masters Cup for men and women kicks off today in Chennai. This 10-day tournament, hosted by the Tamil Nadu Hockey Unit, features men in the 40 age group and women over 35. Twelve men’s teams and eight women’s teams are taking part in the event. There will be group matches followed by the knockout stage and the finals.

In the women’s opening matches, Himachal Pradesh will play Maharashtra, followed by Karnataka vs Kerala at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium.

In the men’s opening game, Punjab will face Puducherry at the same venue. The match will begin at 1:30 PM.

This is the first edition of the tournament, providing a special platform for veteran hockey players in India.

The universe has two kinds of matter. There is invisible dark matter, known only because of its gravitational effects on a grand scale. And there is ordinary matter such as gas, dust, stars, planets and earthly things like cookie dough and canoes.

Scientists estimate that ordinary matter makes up only about 15% of all matter, but have long struggled to document where all of it is located, with about half unaccounted for. With the help of powerful bursts of radio waves emanating from 69 locations in the cosmos, researchers now have found the “missing” matter.

It was hiding primarily as thinly distributed gas spread out in the vast expanses between galaxies and was detected thanks to the effect the matter has on the radio waves traveling through space, the researchers said. This tenuous gas comprises the intergalactic medium, sort of a fog between galaxies.