Former India defender Ilyas Pasha died on Thursday after a long illness, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) informed while expressing condolences. He was 61 and is survived by his wife, two daughters and two sons.

Pasha, a dedicated and soft-spoken footballer, built a notable career in defence, mainly playing as a right wing-back. He was known for his precise timing, calm attitude and sharp game awareness. His disciplined positioning and careful tackles made life difficult for opposing wingers, giving his goalkeepers added confidence.

At the international level, Pasha made his senior India debut on January 27, 1987, against Bulgaria in the Nehru Cup at Kozhikode. He earned eight international caps, featuring in two Nehru Cup tournaments (1987 and 1991), the 1991 SAF Games and the 1992 Asian Cup qualifiers.

A Pixxel-led consortium has formally signed an agreement with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to build and operate India’s national Earth Observation (EO) satellite constellation. The agreement was signed on Wednesday in Bengaluru, marking India’s first privately led national EO system under a public-private partnership framework.

Under the new arrangement, Pixxel will design, build, own, and operate the constellation on behalf of the government. The project is being positioned as a major shift in how national space infrastructure is developed - moving from fully state-built systems to privately executed and financed models.

Fintech major Razorpay's offline payments arm, Razorpay POS, on Thursday said it has secured licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to act as an offline payment aggregator.

With this authorisation, Razorpay now holds all three key RBI licences-online payment aggregator, cross-border payment aggregator (secured in December 2025), and offline payment aggregator, according to a company statement.

The PA-P licence will allow Razorpay POS to further scale its in-store payment infrastructure, supporting high-volume transactions for diverse sectors ranging from large retail chains to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

"For us, regulation isn't an afterthought; it's core to how we build. Securing the RBI's Offline Payment Aggregator License further strengthens our ability to support businesses with scalable, compliant in-store payments as they expand their omnichannel presence," Razorpay MD and Co-founder Shashank Kumar said.

The foundation stone for the country’s first integrated private satellite plant was laid at Khoraj in Sanand in Gujarat today, marking a significant milestone in India’s space technology sector. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Electro-Optical Payload Factory of Azista Space was performed in the presence of Gujarat’s Science and Technology Minister, Arjun Modhwadia, today. This facility, known as the ‘Palmnaro’ plant, is set to become a premier hub for the indigenous manufacturing of satellites and advanced optical payloads by the private sector.

Speaking at the event, Minister Arjunbhai Modhwadia remarked that Gujarat is successfully carrying forward the legacy of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai by evolving into a new national centre for space technology. He noted that the establishment of this plant will take the resolve of a self-reliant India to new heights. Once completed, the high-tech plant is expected to significantly boost India’s aerospace manufacturing ecosystem and generate high-skilled technical employment in the region.

As part of the 16th National Voters’ Day celebration, various awareness programmes were held in the district on Friday.

The National Voters’ Day is celebrated every January 25, the foundation day of the Election Commission of India. As part of the celebrations on Friday, various awareness programmes were conducted at Salem Government Arts College in Kumarasamipatti.

District Collector R. Brindha Devi presided over the celebrations and the Voters’ Day awareness pledge was taken by the students. The Collector viewed the logo drawn by the students.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid homage to freedom fighter Parbati Giri of Odisha on her birth centenary. In a social media post, Mr Modi said that she played a commendable role in the movement to end colonial rule. He said, Parbati Giri’s passion for community service and work in sectors like healthcare, women’s empowerment and culture is noteworthy. Last month, in his Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani, Prime Minister Modi had said that Parbati Giri participated in the Quit India Movement at the age of 16 and her inspiring life will continue to guide every generation.

A sightseeing helicopter carrying three people has gone missing near Mount Aso, one of Japan's most active volcanoes. As per BBC, the aircraft took off from a zoo in Aso City at 10:52 local time (01:52 GMT) on Tuesday for a 10-minute tour but never returned, local reports say, quoting police. An object resembling an aircraft was spotted by a police helicopter inside the crater of Nakadake, one of Mount Aso's five peaks, at around 16:00. Authorities have yet to confirm if it is the missing helicopter.

The helicopter had two Taiwanese passengers - a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s- and a Japanese pilot on board. The missing helicopter's 64-year-old pilot was a seasoned veteran with 40 years of flying experience, local media reported. The Aso Volcano Museum noted that the weather was cloudy that morning, making it difficult to clearly see Nakadake.

The central government on Monday announced the country’s first tailings policy, setting guidelines for exploration of critical minerals from primary as well as the secondary sources like mine dumps and tailings of existing mines.

Tailings refer to the leftover waste material after valuable minerals are extracted from crushed ore.

The government had, in its last Union Budget, announced to launch a policy for “recovery of critical minerals from tailings”.

The policy was required because the occurrence of critical and strategic elements is not just restricted to the solid mineral resources under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines but may also be available in other commodities which are being dealt with by various other ministries.

India needs to up the ante after ranking sixth among 11 Asian countries in the newly released Asia Manufacturing Index (AMI) 2026, which measures the relative competitiveness of major manufacturing economies across eight key pillars and 43 sub-parameters.

In its third year, the Index — released by Dezan Shira & Associates, a pan-Asian market entry advisory firm headquartered in Hong Kong — places India behind key Asian competitors in the global manufacturing race. Malaysia has moved up to second place for the first time in 2026, replacing Vietnam, which has slipped to third.

Among developed economies, Singapore has climbed one rank to fourth, overtaking South Korea, which has dropped to fifth. These shifts, the study says, reflect intensifying regional competition.

Mr Bakul Limbasiya, Founder of Bhathwari Technologies, has been honoured with the APO National Award, a distinguished national recognition celebrating exceptional individual contributions to productivity enhancement, innovation, and leadership in India. Instituted by the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) and administered in India by the National Productivity Council (NPC) under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India, the award is widely regarded as one of the country’s most credible acknowledgements of excellence in advancing productivity and competitiveness across industries.

The recognition carries particular significance as it not only acknowledges Mr Limbasiya’s personal journey and achievements, but also marks a defining moment for India’s lab-grown diamond (LGD) industry. Traditionally, the APO National Award has been conferred upon eminent leaders such as Mr Anil Naik of Larsen & Toubro and Dr Verghese Kurien, reflecting its legacy of honouring individuals who have shaped India’s industrial and economic narrative. The inclusion of the lab-grown diamond sector among its recipients highlights the industry’s growing strategic, technological, and economic importance.