India and Japan on Thursday agreed to further deepen defence and maritime security cooperation, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi signing a Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation in New Delhi.

The agreement provides a framework for strengthening cooperation between the Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, including information sharing on Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), Search and Rescue (SAR), and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).

The two Defence Ministers held the Japan-India Defence Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi, where they reviewed the expanding bilateral defence partnership under the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

In a discovery that challenges current theories of planetary formation, astronomers have discovered an unusually dense, giant exoplanet that boasts 23 times the weight of Earth while remaining predominantly rocky. The 170-million-year-old planet is more than 2.5 times larger than Earth!

The celestial body, named GJ 523b, has been informally dubbed a "mega-Earth"- a rare category of exceptionally massive, dense, rocky worlds.

According to research led by Max Kroft at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the exoplanet is approximately 2.5 times wider than Earth (with a radius roughly 2.55 times larger), but packs an extraordinary amount of matter into its size, resulting in a staggering density of about 126.82 grams per cubic inch.

Fintech firm PhonePe on Thursday announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to integrate its enterprise data intelligence platform, PulsePro, into the PM GatiShakti framework.

The platform transforms aggregated and anonymised transaction data into market signals, allowing organisations to access real-world activity trends across various geographies and categories for smarter, data-based decision-making.

The collaboration is aimed at supporting national infrastructure planning, economic analysis, and holistic urban and rural development through granular, hyperlocal insights, the company said in a statement.

Under the agreement, PhonePe PulsePro metrics will be integrated into the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan portal, which is managed in collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N).

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has paid tribute to Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur on his 118th birth anniversary today.

Mr Singh said that Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur took several steps for the all-round development of Tripura, contributing significantly to the development of agriculture, healthcare, education, infrastructure and communication systems during his reign. In a social media post, he said that Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur also promoted inclusiveness and harmony among different communities and his remarkable legacy continues to inspire generations.

On the occasion of World Photography Day, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw today interacted with photographers following the Cabinet briefing in New Delhi.

The Minister appreciated the contribution of photographers in capturing and documenting important moments of public life and national events through the power of visual storytelling. Mr Vaishnaw also clicked photographs with the photographers, marking World Photography Day through informal interaction with the media fraternity. World Photography Day is observed every year on 19 August to celebrate the art, craft and impact of photography and recognise the role of photographers in documenting history, society and significant events.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved four projects of the Railway Ministry with a total cost of approximately Rs 9,450 crore.

The projects include the construction of a fourth line between Kharagpur in West Bengal and Bhadrak (Ranital) in Odisha, covering 173 km, and a fourth line between Bhadrak and Haridaspur in Odisha, covering 75 km.

They also include the laying of the third and fourth lines between Gummidipundi in Andhra Pradesh and Gudur in Tamil Nadu, covering 90 km, and between Cuttack and Paradeep (Badabandha) in Odisha, covering 72 km.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has proposed a registration system under which a medical practitioner, once registered with a State Medical Council and allotted a Unique Identification (UID) number in the National Medical Register, would be eligible to practise across India without obtaining fresh registration or a licence in another State.

The proposal is part of the draft Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, notified by the NMC on August 11, 2026. The draft seeks to amend the 2023 regulations governing registration and licensing of doctors. The NMC has invited objections and suggestions for 30 days from the date of notification.

India hosted the eighth BRICS Youth Energy Summit 2026 virtually on August 17 under its BRICS Chairship, bringing together more than 100 young energy professionals, policymakers, academics and representatives of international organisations to discuss ways to strengthen energy cooperation among BRICS countries.

The summit was held under India’s overarching BRICS Chairship theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, while the Energy Track was guided by the theme “सर्वेषां ऊर्जम्” (Energy for All), reflecting India’s emphasis on universal, affordable and inclusive access to energy.

Participants included young professionals from academia, government institutions and energy ministries of BRICS member countries, along with representatives of the BRICS Youth Energy Agency (BRICS YEA), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

At least 1,776 job aspirants received appointment or offer letters after being interviewed by companies participating in Kaushal Mahotsav, a job fair organised by the central government at a stadium in South Dinajpur district’s Balurghat on Tuesday.

This was the first-of-its-kind event hosted as part of the Centre’s skill development initiative in South Dinajpur, a north Bengal district that shares its border with Bangladesh.

The one-day job fair began at the stadium on Tuesday morning. Around 7,000 candidates had registered for the event by Monday, with the largest number of participants coming from South and North Dinajpur districts and Malda.

Sukanta Majumdar, the Union minister of state for education, said around 3,000 candidates had been interviewed and many had been shortlisted.

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), a Maharatna public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Power, has received the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) Recognition of Partner Company Award in the ‘Innovation in Exit Pathways’ category.

The award has been conferred at a ceremony organised by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, on August 14. Power Grid's Director (Personnel) Dr Yatindra Dwivedi received the award from Ministry of Corporate Affairs' Secretary Dr Pallavi Jain Govil in the presence of senior officials from the ministry.

Power Grid has been participating in the Prime Minister Internship Scheme, launched in December 2024, as a partner company on a pan-India basis. Till December 2025, the company participated in Pilot Rounds 1 and 2 and offered 6,265 internship opportunities under the scheme.

As part of its efforts to facilitate employment opportunities for interns, Power Grid, in coordination with the Power Sector Skill Council (PSSC), uploaded details of PMIS interns who completed their training with the company on the Rozgaar portal of PSSC.