After extensive inter-ministerial consultations, the Centre has finally decided to lease out 11 Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports through five bundled concessions, official document reviewed by businessline showed.

Accordingly, the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) has given in-principle approval for the leasing out of the airports.

The development marks a key step forward in the Centre’s plan to bring private-sector participation into the operations, management and development of these airports.

The daily global average sea surface temperature has reached its highest level on record in August 2026, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union. The extra-polar ocean region, covering waters between 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south, averaged 21.1 degrees Celsius (°C) on August 22. The previous record of 21.09°C was set on March 1, 2024.

The new record, at 21.104°C according to the ERA5 dataset by Copernicus, was only slightly higher than the previous peak. The same value was also recorded on August 21. Both days were about 0.67°C above the 1991-2020 daily average for that point in the year, the widest such gap of 2026 so far.

The timing of the record is also notable. Global ocean temperatures are typically highest in March and April, after the southern hemisphere summer. This record was reached in August.

The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) under the finance ministry and the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL), set up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, on Monday signed an agreement to boost exports of pharma products.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is aimed at facilitating legitimate international trade and preventing the diversion of pharma products.

Recognising India's position as a leading global supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), bulk drugs, formulations, biologics, and medical devices, the MoU aims to balance the promotion of India's pharmaceutical exports with effective regulatory oversight, the finance ministry said in a statement.

All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi has introduced a new course titled GARBHINI MITRA to Strengthen Ayurveda-Based Maternal Wellness Support for the 2026-2027 academic session.

The Ministry of AYUSH said that the six-month course is designed to develop trained personnel to provide appropriate health education, lifestyle guidance, and community-level support to women during pregnancy and the postnatal period.
The ministry noted that Candidates of 18 years or above, who have passed the Senior Secondary examination from any recognized board are eligible to apply before its last date that is 31st August.

Once completed, candidates can work as Garbhini Mitra Assistants, Prenatal or Postnatal Care Assistants, Antenatal Wellness Guides and Maternal Health Support Workers, across different Ayush centres, maternity clinics and wellness institutions.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), through MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), has launched the third cohort of its GENESIS Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) programme to support aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, students and early-stage startup founders in turning technology-driven ideas into viable ventures.

GENESIS EIR 3.0 was launched at the GENESIS NextGen Startup Summit – Coimbatore Edition, held on August 4 at Rathinam Global University in Coimbatore. The call for applications is now open, with eligible applicants able to apply until September 3, 2026.

The programme is part of the GENESIS (Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups) scheme, which seeks to identify, support and accelerate startups, particularly those emerging from Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

Union Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan has said that more than two lakh individual micro food processing enterprises have benefited from Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme so far.

Speaking at PMFME Conclave in New Delhi today, Mr Paswan said, out of total beneficiaries, about 80 per cent are first-generation entrepreneurs and 44 per cent of them are women. He said, the scheme which was launched in 2020 has provided ten lakh direct employment.

Mr Paswan said that food processing is the key to economically empowering farmers. He said Free Trade Agreements, being signed with various countries, are opening up global markets for Indian products. Mr. Paswan highlighted the PMFME scheme has transformed the lives of many people, enabling them to market their products not only across India but also in international markets

In a pioneering initiative aimed at strengthening the operational capabilities of women in India’s counter-terrorism framework, the National Security Guard (NSG) Training Academy in Manesar has commenced the first Mahila Commando Conversion Course (MCCC) for women personnel from State Police Forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

The NSG described the initiative as a new milestone in Nari Shakti, saying the course is aimed at preparing women personnel for demanding specialised roles in counter-terrorism operations. The intensive 12-week course has been designed to develop physically robust, technically proficient and operationally prepared women commandos.

The training programme includes rigorous physical conditioning, weapons handling and marksmanship, tactical intervention, hostage rescue and other specialised aspects of counter-terrorism operations.

More than 100 organizations came together at National India Hub, the World's Largest Indian Community Center, for INDIA FEST 2026, joined by India's dance icon Prabhu Deva, Chitra Tripathi and Lt. Gen. K.J.S. Dhillon and several Elected Officials turning August 15 into a powerful celebration of unity, volunteerism and community service.

The celebration became historic when Illinois State Senator Ram Villivalam, joined by six other State Legislators, presented an Illinois Senate proclamation recognizing August 15 as "National India Hub Day," honoring National India Hub's growing community impact and commitment to service.

At the heart of National India Hub is a unique model that has brought more than 150 organizations onto one collaborative platform. Each organization maintains its own identity and mission while sharing space, volunteers, knowledge, connections, and resources to collectively serve more people.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced an Information Technology Resilience Index (ITRI) for market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), including stock exchanges and depositories, as part of efforts to strengthen the resilience and oversight of their IT systems.

Under a circular issued on August 24, the regulator said the index would assess MIIs across nine parameters, including availability, security, integrity, governance, reliability and monitoring, business continuity, modularity and flexibility, scalability, and other relevant factors.

Availability and security would carry the highest weightage of 20% each, followed by integrity, governance, reliability and monitoring, business continuity, and modularity and flexibility at 10% each. Scalability and the remaining parameter, including incident handling, would account for the remaining 5% each.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will complete 10 years of operations on August 25, marking a decade of transformation in India’s digital payments ecosystem and emerging as a globally recognised real-time payments platform.

Launched on August 25, 2016, by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), UPI has become a key pillar of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure and a major driver of financial inclusion.

According to data released by the government, annual UPI transaction volume increased from 1.78 crore in FY 2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in FY 2025-26, registering an almost 13,000-fold increase.