The defence ministry on Monday announced inking an agreement with American defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aircraft for the Indian Navy at a cost of Rs 1,943 crore.

The Ministry said the lease will strengthen the Navy’s ability to maintain persistent surveillance across the Indian Ocean Region, amid growing strategic activity in the maritime domain.

“The MQ-9B Sea Guardian HALE RPAS, equipped with advanced systems, state-of-the-art sensors and sophisticated payloads, will significantly enhance the Indian Navy's Maritime Domain Awareness capabilities,” the ministry said in a press release.

Chennai-based deeptech start-up Meine Electric will deploy its first pilot Iron-Air Battery system for Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) applications at the NTPC Simhadri Thermal Power Station.

Speaking to businessline, Priyansh Mohan, Co-Founder & CEO, Meine Electric said that the pilot project will be a ‘multi hundred’ kilowatt hour (kwh) battery storage system without sharing exact details given confidentiality agreements with NTPC. The deployment is expected to be completed by early 2027.

“The primary objective is to demonstrate thermal flexibilisation using our long duration batteries instead of the traditional gas peaker plants,” he said.

Indian Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth has been conferred the rank of Honorary General of the Nepal Army by President Ramchandra Paudel during an investiture ceremony at Sheetal Niwas in Kathmandu yesterday.

Nepal Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal, India’s Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava and high officials of the Nepal Army and the Nepal government were present during the ceremony. General Seth reached the Himalayan Nation on Sunday on an official visit at the invitation of his Nepalese Army counterpart, General Ashok Raj Sigdel.

The conferral of the honorary rank continues a long tradition that started in 1950, under which Nepal and India confer the honorary rank of general on each other’s army chiefs.

India today launched its first-ever Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems of India at the 17th Session of the UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The document highlights the rich diversity, ecological significance and socio-economic importance of India’s grasslands, savannas, deserts and other open natural ecosystems. Speaking virtually on the sideline of the event, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said that the Guide is an important step towards recognising India’s open natural ecosystems and stressed the need for their science-based conservation alongside forests. The Minister said modern science reinforces the understanding of local communities that healthy grasslands are indispensable for biodiversity, livelihoods and climate resilience.

The Ministry said that the Guide brings together information on major Open Natural Ecosystems across India, covering their geographical settings, ecological characteristics, biodiversity, and the communities and tribes associated with them. It is expected to serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, conservation practitioners, development agencies and communities working towards the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of India’s grasslands and other Open Natural Ecosystems.

India and Armenia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday to facilitate cooperation in research, development, innovation and shared production within the defence sector, according to the Ministry of Defence.

In a post on X, the Ministry of Defence stated, "Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh called on Minister of High Tech Industry of Armenia Mr Davit Tadevosyan in Yerevan on August 17, 2026. The two sides signed an MoU on cooperation in research, development, innovation and shared production in the defence industry, reaffirming their commitment to expand bilateral defence industrial cooperation in areas of mutual interest."

Earlier on Monday, the Defence Secretary met Armenian Defence Minister Suren Papikyan in Yerevan to explore potential pathways to enhance bilateral defence engagement.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday handed over approval for 2,89,355 pucca houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) in Rajasthan, involving an outlay of ₹3,473 crore.

During a state-level PMAY-G programme in Baran, Chouhan also handed over an approval letter for ₹340.59 crore for agricultural development initiatives, including those under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY), to Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.

Addressing the gathering, Chouhan said the approvals would help transform the lives of families still living in kutcha houses and fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to providing permanent houses to poor families.

Vignesh Vemula and Saranya Narahari emerged as champions at the Asian junior blitz championship in Mumbai on Monday. India, in fact, claimed five of the six medals on offer.

Viresh Sharnarthi and V.S. Nandish won the silver and the bronze in the open section to make it a clean sweep for the host. In the girls’ event, Sannidhi Bhat took the bronze.

Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Haryana and Hockey Karnataka continued with their winning run in the Women Junior National Championship in Pune on Monday.

In a Division B’s Pool B match, Karnataka produced a dominant show to thrash Goans Hockey 9-0. Pearlin Ponnamma AG scored four goals, finding the net in the 4th, 48th, 54th and 59th minutes.

India on Monday hosted the seventh meeting of the BRICS Working Group for Cooperation in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Pune, bringing together delegates from BRICS member countries to strengthen cooperation in emerging digital technologies and next-generation communication networks.

The in-person meetings are being held under India’s BRICS Chairship and are guided by the Chairship theme of “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” The ICT Track is being advanced under the theme “Innovate, Cooperate and Transform (ICT) for a Resilient Future.”

Inaugurating the meetings, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary Amit Agrawal welcomed delegations from participating BRICS countries and outlined the four pillars of India’s ICT Track. Representatives of the participating member countries also delivered opening remarks.

The government on Monday approved 31 projects worth ₹7,877 crore under the electronics component manufacturing scheme (ECMS), with the fresh investments expected to spur production worth ₹82,243 crore and generate nearly 10,000 jobs across 10 states, IT Secretary S Krishnan said at an event jointly organised by Elcina and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity).

The approvals cover a range of products, including capital goods, camera and display modules, anode materials, enclosures, connectors, transducers, rare-earth permanent magnets, acetylene black, optical transceivers, speakers and microphones, relays, hermetic terminals, electrolyte additives, antennas, metallised films for capacitors, coils, filters, capacitors, metal shielding covers and copper clad laminates.

The projects include those from Jyoti CNC Automation, SkyQuad Electronics & Appliances, Epsilon C2GR, Micromax Precision Moulding, TXB Optics, Quantum Magnetics, Sensata Technologies, PCBL Chemical, Rosenberger Interconnect, and Amphenol Interconnect.

The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the National Awards 2025, with athlete Tejaswin Shankar, chess stars Vidit Gujarathi, Divya Deshmukh and badminton duo of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly among those nominated for the Arjuna Awards.

The National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports. Based on the recommendations of the Selection Committee chaired by a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra, the Government has decided to confer awards on the following sportspersons, coaches and entities under various categories, as per a press release from the ministry.

The 'Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games' is given for good performance over a period of the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.