Reigning Paralympics champion Harvinder Singh and world No. 1 Sheetal Devi led the charge as India signed off their World Archery Para Series Stage III campaign in Ahmedabad on a high, winning two gold and four bronze medals, on the final day today. World No. 1 and reigning world champion Sheetal Devi held her nerve in a dramatic shoot-off to win the para compound women’s individual gold, while double Paralympics medallist Harvinder, paired with Bhawna, to clinch gold medal in the para recurve mixed team event. In the recurve mixed team final, double Paralympics medalist Harvinder and Bhawna made short work of China’s Liang Qiurong and Xia Lei, winning 6-nil in straight sets. Bhawna then added another bronze in an all-Indian para recurve women’s bronze-medal play-off, defeating compatriot Rajshree Rathod 6-nil.

Sheetal returned in the evening session and produced a composed performance against Kazakhstan’s Aizada Seidan in a thrilling compound women’s individual final. Sheetal, thus, completed a medal double, having earlier teamed up with Toman Kumar to win bronze in the compound mixed team event. India also picked up a bronze in the para compound women’s individual event, with Sarita edging out China’s Wang Huiting. The campaign ended with another bronze for Toman, as the world No. 1 and reigning world champion defeated Iraq’s Abbas Kadhim in the para compound men’s individual event for his second medal of the competition.

India and Sri Lanka exchanged Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) on upgradation of L70 Guns for the Sri Lankan Air Force, and cooperation between National Cadet Corps and National Defence Colleges of both the countries. The upgradation of these air defence guns will strengthen the air defence architecture of critical assets in Sri Lanka. The MoU on academic cooperation will facilitate knowledge sharing to further strengthen the academic bonds between them and formalise the NCC youth exchange programme between India and Sri Lanka.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on visit to Sri Lanka, today called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo and discussed the entire spectrum of the multi-faceted partnership between India and Sri Lanka. During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed that India and Sri Lanka will keep working jointly to ensure the safety, security, peace and prosperity of the region. President Dissanayake reiterated that Sri Lanka would never allow its territory to be used for any activities inimical to India’s security interests. Both sides also reaffirmed that as civilisational twins, close neighbours and maritime partners, they would continue to work together for their development and welfare of the people.

The domestic photonics market is expected to grow fourfold to USD 10 billion by 2031 driven by demand from data centres and other electronics devices requiring high data speed, a senior official of industry body Indian Photonics Association said on Wednesday.

Newly formed India Photonics Association (IPA) has 65 members, including SFO Technologies, GX Quantum Photonics, Lightspeed Photonics, Tejas Networks, etc.

“The present direct market for photonics in India is around USD 2.5 billion. It is expected to grow by 4 fold to USD 10 billion by 2031. The photonics technology will enhance speed and reliability in electronics products. We will work with industry, government and other stakeholders to make the Indian ecosystem lead the global ecosystem in photonics,” IPA Secretary General Ashwini Aggarwal said.

The Karnataka Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Karnataka Aerospace Policy 2026-31, targeting investments of Rs 60,000 crore and the creation of 60,000 jobs, with the government seeking to expand the state's aerospace, defence, aviation and space manufacturing ecosystem beyond Bengaluru.

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara said the policy would cover the entire state and offer differentiated incentives based on focus and non-focus areas to attract private investment. The government intends to encourage aerospace and defence manufacturing, aviation, space technologies, drones, avionics and related industries.

The policy seeks to leverage Karnataka's existing aerospace ecosystem, including the HAL base in Bengaluru, while encouraging companies to establish manufacturing and other facilities outside the state capital.

Stanzin Tsangyang, a 24-year-old woman from the remote mountainous Zanskar region of Ladakh, has created history by becoming the first woman from the area to be commissioned as an officer in the Indian Army. She received her commission at the passing-out parade held at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai on September 5, marking a significant achievement for her family and the young women of her region.

Tsangyang’s journey from the high-altitude region of Ladakh to a military academy in southern India was shaped by years of hard work, discipline and perseverance. Her achievement is particularly notable because she entered a career that was unfamiliar to many young people in her remote home region.

The National Steering Committee of the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) approved Strategic Investment Plans (SIPs) with an aggregate project outlay of ₹735.70 crore for ITI clusters in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana at its 5th meeting held yesterday. The meeting was held under the chairpersonship of Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

The approvals take the total sanctioned investment under PM-SETU to ₹2,171 crore across nine ITI clusters, further accelerating the creation of modern, industry-led and future-ready ITIs across the country.

The meeting was attended by Dilip Kumar, Director General, Directorate General of Training (DGT); G Madhumita Das, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser; Manasi Sahay Thakur, Joint Secretary, MSDE; senior officials from the Ministry and State Governments; representatives from multilateral development banks; and industry partners.

India has joined the United States and 24 other nations in a global initiative to guide the development and deployment of next-generation 6G telecommunications networks, the US Department of Commerce announced on Monday.

In a post on X, the Department noted that the agreement was finalised following a bilateral meeting between US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada on the sidelines of the G20 Innovation Ministerial.

"Secretary Lutnick met with Indian Minister of State for Commerce Jitin Prasada on the sidelines of the G20 Innovation Ministerial to discuss the future of 6G. Today, we are pleased to announce that India has joined the U.S. and 24 other countries in the effort to ensure that next generation networks reflect our shared security interests, strengthen our competitiveness, and drive innovation in 6G," the US Department of Commerce wrote.

Australia is stepping up its engagement with India’s private space sector, with the two countries signing five new industry partnerships covering satellite communications, research and development, and launch and re-entry technologies.

The agreements were signed over the last two days as part of an Australian business delegation’s engagement with India’s growing space ecosystem, Nathan Davis, Trade and Investment Commissioner, Austrade, New Delhi, told businessline on the sidelines of 9th edition of Bengaluru Space Expo.

One of the partnerships brings together Australian satellite communications company LatConnect 60 and NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), while another involves the University of Western Australia and Space Industry Association of India (SIA) India for research, development and education collaboration.

he Ministry of Coal, along with Coal India Limited (CIL), today celebrated key milestones under its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives — the Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojana (TBSY) and Nanha Sa Dil — and launched the Comprehensive CSR Framework for Indian Coal Companies, at an event held at New Delhi.

The event was graced by Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Coal and Mines, and Shri Satish Chandra Dubey, Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines, along with Shri Vikram Dev Dutt, Secretary to the Govt. of India, Ministry of Coal, in the presence of senior officials, medical experts, implementing partners, and beneficiary families.

Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojana (TBSY)
Launched to address the treatment needs of children suffering from Thalassemia and Aplastic Anaemia — rare genetic blood disorders — TBSY has grown from an initial network of 4 hospitals to 21 empanelled hospitals across the country. CIL is the only Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) in India to have undertaken a healthcare initiative of this scale for rare genetic blood disorders such as Thalassemia and Aplastic Anemia. Under the scheme, up to Rs. 10 lakh per patient is extended directly to empanelled hospitals for Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT), against a total outlay of Rs. 130 crore across four phases. To date, more than 1,050 BMTs have been completed, with the overwhelming majority of treated children now leading normal, healthy lives. The scheme is implemented in coordination with Thalassemics India, with monitoring guidance from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

India is getting closer to using satellite communication services – such as Elon Musk’s Starlink. As per reports, the Digital Communications Commission (DCC), has approved most of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s recommendations on satellite spectrum. This move clears the way for the government to assign spectrum to satcom companies for commercial services in India.

According to reports from Moneycontrol and Economic Times, DCC gave approval to TRAI’s recommendations last week. The DCC is the apex decision-making body of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The DoT is expected to take the proposal to the Cabinet for final approval.

Satcom services including Starlink, Amazon Leo, Jio Satellite Communications, and Eutelsat OneWeb, still need security clearances to begin operations in the country.