Manipuri film Boong, produced by Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment, won the prestigious BAFTA Award for Best Children’s & Family Film in London yesterday. The film’s debutant director, Lakshmipriya Devi, made an emotional plea for peace in her acceptance speech after receiving the coveted trophy from Paddington Bear, the lead character starring in the West End show Paddington The Musical. She was joined on stage by producers Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani and the assistant director of Boong, Rahul Sharda. The Manipuri film, starring Gugun Kipgen and Bala Hijam, beat international competition from other nominees ‘Lilo and Stitch’, ‘Arco’ and ‘Zootropolis 2’.

The action thriller ‘One Battle After Another’ dominated the 79th British Academy Film Awards, popularly known as the BAFTAs, winning six awards including Best Film. Paul Thomas Anderson was named Best Director for ‘One Battle After Another.’ He also won awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography, and dedicated his directing honour to late producer and assistant director Brit Adam Somner. Vampire saga “Sinners” and gothic horror “Frankenstein” won three awards each. Ryan Coogler took Best Original Screenplay for ‘Sinners,’ while Wunmi Mosaku won Supporting Actress.

Wild card Vaishnavi Adkar delivered the performance of her young career on Saturday, reaching her first-ever singles final at an ITF W100 event with a commanding straight-sets win over Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee.

The 21-year-old from Pune, ranked 690 in the world, stunned the second seed and World No. 126, 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals in Bengaluru — becoming the first Indian since Sania Mirza to reach a singles final at an ITF W100 or higher tournament.

Adkar’s run has been nothing short of remarkable, with two top-150 scalps en route to the title clash.

In a major boost to India’s clean-energy manufacturing sector, Waaree Energies committed to establishing India’s largest integrated lithium-ion battery gigafactory at Rambilli in Anakapalli district with an investment of ₹8,175 crore.

According to an official release, the greenfield facility will have a capacity of 16 GWh and cover the complete battery value chain, including cell manufacturing, battery packs and Battery Energy Storage Systems.

The project received in-principle approval from the State Investment Promotion Board. Welcoming the investment, IT & HRD Minister Nara Lokesh said the project marks a significant milestone in the State’s clean-energy journey.

The World Day of Social Justice is being observed today. The day is dedicated to tackling critical global issues like poverty, exclusion, gender inequality, and unemployment. The United Nations designated the day in 2007 to promote the values of fairness, human rights, and social protection for all.

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in collaboration with National Law University will organise a special programme to observe the day today. Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment B. L. Verma will lead the Reading of the Preamble to the Constitution. The Ministry said, collective reading will reaffirm the nation’s commitment to the ideals of Justice including Social, Economic and Political along with Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, as enshrined in the Constitution.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 13th edition of Exercise MILAN-2026 at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, marking the start of the premier multilateral naval exercise. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Singh said, this edition reflects the global maritime community’s confidence in India as a trusted and responsible maritime partner.

He said, this year, with the participation of 74 nations, MILAN 2026 stands as the largest and most inclusive edition to date, a reflection of the confidence of the global maritime community.

He said the exercise has grown from a regional initiative to one of the world’s prominent naval engagements, reflecting the country’s steady and credible maritime outreach. He said the exercise aims to enhance interoperability among participating navies, strengthen professional competence through the exchange of best practices, and deepen bonds of friendship.

The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Kerala Nativity Card Bill, introducing an official Nativity Card to certify Keralite identity for administrative and service-related purposes. The card will be recognised as an authoritative document for various social requirements provided by the Kerala Government.

As per the Bill, a native of Kerala is defined as a person born in the state, who has not acquired foreign citizenship, or a person whose parent or ancestor was born in Kerala and has not taken foreign citizenship. Alternatively, one of their ancestors must have been born in Kerala, and the applicant must not hold foreign citizenship. Those who have already acquired foreign citizenship are not eligible for the card. Furthermore, the Nativity Card will become void if the holder acquires foreign citizenship after the card is issued.

Individuals born outside Kerala (who have not acquired foreign citizenship) due to their parents' or ancestors' employment or livelihood-related reasons will also be considered 'natives.'

At a remote and barren Sahara desert site in Niger, scientists have unearthed fossils of a new species of Spinosaurus, among the biggest of the meat-eating dinosaurs, notable for its large blade-shaped head crest and jaws bearing interlocking teeth for snaring slippery fish.

It prowled a forested inland environment and strode into rivers to catch sizable fish like a modern-day wading bird - a "hell heron," as one of the researchers put it, considering it was about 40 feet (12 meters) long and weighed 5-7 tons.

The dinosaur presented a striking profile on the Cretaceous Period landscape of Africa some 95 million years ago as it hunted large fish like coelacanths in the region's waterways. Its bony cranial crest, about 20 inches (50 cm) tall, resembled a curved sword called a scimitar, and it had a large sail-like structure on its back and an elongated crocodile-like snout.

India joined the Pax Silica group on on Friday (February 20, 2026), teaming up with the United States and other countries that have sought to build a common supply chain for electronics and critical minerals.

At an event during the AI Impact Summit, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw signed a document formally including India in the group, along with U.S. Undersecretary of State for economic growth, energy, and the environment Jacob Helberg.

Mr. Helberg has been a major force in creating the group, which had its inaugural summit at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. last December. In a brief impassioned address on Friday, Mr. Helberg asserted that “we have allowed the foundations of our economic security to drift,” adding that it was important for countries like India and the U.S., who had both rejected “a king oceans away”, to reclaim sovereignty over their supply chains.

The AI Impact Summit 2026 being hosted by New Delhi has been making headlines every day for different reasons, but one highlight that is intriguing and even motivating for many is that the youngest keynote speaker at the AI summit is an eight-year-old boy Ranvir Sachdeva, who is being hailed as a child prodigy. Ranvir is infact the youngest keynote speaker at this year's AI summit, where he will be speaking about his own case of an Indian AI model.

Ranvir said he will also addressing how his actions are contributing to India's GDP. "I'm here as the youngest keynote speaker at the India AI Impact Summit. I'm talking about how I'm linking ancient Indian philosophies to modern-day technologies. I'm also covering the different approaches which the rest of the nations are building AI,” he told new agency, ANI. "I'm talking about how India is building AI with. I'm sharing my own use case of an Indian AI model just released and how I'm contributing to India's GDP and driving AI literacy with it."

Lumina Datamatics, a strategic partner to global publishers and eCommerce retailers, is delighted to announce that Sameer Kanodia, Managing Director & CEO, Lumina Datamatics, and Vice Chairman & CEO, TNQTech, has been conferred the prestigious CEO of the Year® Award for the second year in a row.

The honor was presented on 16th February 2026 at a distinguished ceremony held at Taj Lands' End, Mumbai, recognizing exceptional leadership, business excellence, and sustained impact. The award underscores Sameer's consistent contribution to driving organizational growth, fostering innovation, and upholding strong values across the organization.