Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday (August 27, 2025) launched the country's first National Biofoundry Network, describing it as a step towards making biotechnology a driver of India's economy, environment and employment.

The Minister said the National Biofoundry Network comprises six institutions to help scale up proof-of-concept developments, enhance indigenous biomanufacturing, and create employment opportunities.

"India's bioeconomy has grown from just $10 billion in 2014 to $165.7 billion in 2024, and we are now working towards a target of $300 billion by 2030," Mr. Singh said, urging young Indians to actively participate in the BioE3 Challenge for Youth, which invites ideas for safe and sustainable biotechnology innovations.

India and Bhutan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors, including livestock.

The MoU was signed in Thimphu by Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, on behalf of India, and Thinley Namgyel, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, representing the Royal Government of Bhutan.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the MoU marks a milestone in the partnership between the two countries, reaffirming their shared commitment to food security, sustainable farming, and rural prosperity.

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya today felicitated the young footballers of Minerva Academy Football Club, Mohali, in New Delhi, terming their victories across Europe as a new beginning for Indian football and going forward. The Under 14 and 15 squad of 22 players scripted history in July and August this year by completing a never before achieved European treble, winning the Gothia Cup in Sweden, the Dana Cup in Denmark, and the Norway Cup in Norway.

In his interaction with footballers, Dr. Mandaviya said that this is a new beginning for Indian football in the country’s quest to achieve more glory in the international arena. The Minister also urged the young athletes to keep in mind ‘nation first’ wherever they participate. He said that more emphasis has to be given towards sports science, nutrition and mental resilience of these youngsters through psychologists. This will keep India on the winning path. He added that these youngsters have to maintain their high confidence level and their passion towards the sport.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed a 15-year Sales and Purchase Agreement with Indian Oil Corporation to supply one million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas from its lower-carbon Ruwais LNG project. Under the agreement, LNG will be delivered to ports across India, supporting the country’s growing energy demand and enhancing its energy security.

By 2029, Indian Oil will become ADNOC’s largest LNG customer, with a total offtake of 2.2 million tonnes per annum, comprising 1.2 million tonnes from ADNOC’s Das Island operations and 1 million tonnes from Ruwais. Rashid Khalfan Al Mazrouei, ADNOC Senior Vice President for Marketing, said the agreement reflects the robust energy partnership between the UAE and India, adding that the Ruwais project will provide more lower-carbon gas to meet global demand while supporting industrial growth and energy transition.

In a breakthrough for military medical care, Army Hospital Research and Referral (AHRR) has become the first government institute in the country India and the second in South Asia to perform Robotic Custom Laser Cataract Surgery using the state-of-the-art ALLY Adaptive Cataract Treatment System. This achievement marks the Ophthalmology Department’s successful entry into the frontier of robotic, bladeless, and computer-guided eye surgery with its first-ever Femto-second Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery (FLACS). The integration of this cutting-edge technology at AHRR underscores the Armed Forces’ commitment to delivering the most advanced, safe, and effective healthcare for its personnel & their families. FLACS ensures both precision and optimal outcomes, critical in military medicine.

The country’s factory output, based on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), records growth of 3.5% in July 2025, driven by 5.4% growth in the manufacturing sector, according to the latest official data released on Thursday, August 2025. The IIP growth had stood at 1.5% in the previous month of June 2025.

The country’s industrial output earlier recorded this level of growth at 3.9 per cent in March 2025. It had expanded by five per cent in July 2024.

“Driven by 5.4% growth in manufacturing sector, Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a 3.5% year-on-year growth in July 2025," the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation said in a statement.

Seasoned campaigner Ajaya Babu Valluri and young lifter Bedabrat Bharali produced record-breaking performances to clinch gold medals at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, here Thursday.

In the senior men's 79kg, National Games champion Ajaya lifted a total of 335kg, including a championship record 152kg in snatch and 183kg in clean and jerk.

After fouling his first attempt at 148kg, he lifted the same weight in his second before raising it to 152kg, eclipsing the previous snatch record of 147kg set by Nigeria's Edidiong Joseph Umoafia.

An MoU was signed in Gandhinagar between Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) and Worldwide Media Private Limited in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel for hosting the 70th Filmfare Awards 2025.

The agreement was signed by TCGL's Managing Director, Prabhav Joshi, and Rohit Gopakumar of Worldwide Media. Under the Cinematic Tourism Policy 2022, Gujarat has emerged as a hub for the film industry. Hosting the Filmfare Awards will be a landmark in this journey, as per the press release from the Gujarat CMO.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister also unveiled the iconic Filmfare Trophy - the Black Lady.

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan released two landmark doctrinal publications - Joint Doctrine for Special Forces Operations and Joint Doctrine for Airborne & Heliborne Operations - during RAN SAMWAD Tri-service seminar at the Army War College in Dr Ambedkar Nagar, Madhya Pradesh on August 27, 2025. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh were also present during the release ceremony.

Formulated under the aegis of Doctrine Directorate, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff with active participation from the three Services, these doctrines lay down the guiding principles, operational concepts and interoperability frameworks for conduct of Special Forces missions and Airborne Operations.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief of Defence Staff lauded the three Services for their professionalism, adaptability and commitment to jointness, noting that these doctrines would serve as pivotal references for planners, commanders and operators in the evolving battlespace.

A team of scientists has discovered an extremely rare quadruple star system in the Milky Way, according to a new study. The system — known as UPM J1040−3551 AabBab — consists of a pair of cold brown dwarfs orbiting a pair of young red dwarf stars, a configuration never seen before, the analysis said.

The study, ‘Benchmark brown dwarfs – I. A blue M2 + T5 wide binary and a probable young [M4 + M4] + [T7 + T8] hierarchical quadruple’, appeared in the September issue of the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The research was led by Professor Zenghua Zhang, of Nanjing University, and also involved scientists from the University of Hertfordshire (the UK), the Brazilian National Astrophysics Laboratory, the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, and the Center for Astrobiology in Spain.

The scientists involved in the study have said that their findings would help them better understand brown dwarfs, which are difficult to detect and examine.