Gujarat has introduced an e-Zero FIR system for cyber financial fraud cases, allowing victims to initiate the legal process without visiting a police station, in a move aimed at speeding up investigations and improving the chances of preventing financial losses.

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi formally launched the 'Cyber Financial Fraud e-Zero FIR' service in Gandhinagar on Monday.

Under the new mechanism, complaints lodged through the national cybercrime helpline, 1930, will automatically generate an e-Zero FIR, which will then be forwarded electronically to the jurisdictional police station for further action.

Scientists have developed a low-cost technology that could make rechargeable zinc-air batteries more efficient, safer and cheaper, offering a potential boost to green energy storage and electric mobility.

The breakthrough, achieved by a team led by Dr S. Devaraj at SASTRA Deemed University with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), centres on a new nanofluid electrolyte that improves battery performance while reducing corrosion.

Researchers said the electrolyte remains stable for more than three months and can improve the efficiency of the battery’s air cathode while protecting the zinc anode from corrosion. The technology has been granted an Indian patent and is ready for commercial use.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Union Cabinet’s approval of the Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana Rasayan (BHAVYA Rasayan) Scheme and the expansion of the Ballari-Guntakal railway section will strengthen India’s industrial ecosystem, logistics network and economic growth.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister said the BHAVYA Rasayan Scheme marks an important step towards strengthening India’s chemical and petrochemical sector through the development of modern chemical parks equipped with plug-and-play infrastructure, utilities and robust environmental safeguards.

He said the initiative would reduce logistics and production costs, attract investments, enhance exports, promote import substitution and generate employment across multiple sectors.

The Ministry of Coal released AAROH: Annual Report on Mine Closure, which it described as India's first comprehensive documentation of scientific mine closure and repurposing practices, at an event in New Delhi on Wednesday. The report, developed by the Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), documents 42 scientifically closed coal mines, with each profile carrying reclamation and post-mining land-use outcomes, before-and-after visuals, and QR code-linked documentary videos.

The report was launched by Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Coal Satish Chandra Dubey, German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann, EU Delegation Deputy Head Ewa Suwara, and Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt. Reddy also inaugurated an exhibition on mine closure and repurposing, featuring Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries, NLC India Ltd, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), NTPC and private miners.

XFive boats, converted into e-boats under the ‘Electric Boat Conversion Pilot Project’, started plying on the Ganga in Varanasi on Thursday.

The Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) in collaboration with GAIL (India) Limited, have launched the ‘Electric Boat Conversion Pilot Project’ under which five boats were converted into e-boats by fitting them with batteries.

The boats are equipped with GPS tracking to operate three round trips between Assi Ghat and Namo Ghat.

Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari inaugurated the first five converted electric boats on Thursday and dedicated them to the boatmen at Namo Ghat.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will launch trading in India's first exchange-traded energy derivative linked to a domestic benchmark on July 27, with the introduction of Indian Natural Gas Futures.

The cash-settled contract is aimed at enabling transparent, India-centric price discovery for the domestic natural gas market.

In a post on X, NSE said, "India's first exchange to introduce Energy Derivatives referenced to a domestic benchmark. A new milestone in India's commodity derivatives market."

According to an earlier NSE circular, the exchange has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch the contracts in its commodity derivatives segment. Trading will begin on July 27, with monthly contracts available as per the launch calendar.

The Home Ministry’s cybercrime arm, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, has ordered Microsoft subsidiary GitHub to remove Bluetooth-based messaging application Bitchat, according to a notice.

“The Government of India does not like technologies like Bitchat and wants it taken down,” said the app’s developer and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Friday (July 24, 2026) in an X post, sharing a copy of the notice dated July 23.

A query sent to I4C in this regard elicited no immediate reply.

‘Friday’ and ’13’ have proved lucky for the Elon Musk-owned SpaceX. The space tech giant on Friday launched its Starship rocket on another test flight that marked the spacecraft’s most successful mission yet, deploying 20 next-generation Starlink satellites before making a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. This was SpaceX’s 13th Starship test flight.

Standing 407 feet (124 metres) tall, the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas. The mission lasted about an hour, ending with the spacecraft descending gently into the Indian Ocean, where it remained afloat, a first for Starship, news agency Associated Press reported.

The flight was closely watched by NASA, which is counting on Starship to serve as the lunar lander for its Artemis programme, including the Artemis III mission that aims to return astronauts to the Moon.

India has secured a lower 10 per cent US tariff under Washington’s new Section 301 forced-labour regime, placing it on par with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan after New Delhi tightened its import rules to prohibit goods made with forced labour. The tariffs India is facing are simultaneously below the 12.5 per cent rate that will apply to economies including Vietnam, Thailand, China and Turkey.

Trade experts cautioned that while the lower tariff band is a positive outcome, New Delhi must ensure that any bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US also addresses unresolved issues such as the proposed US tariffs on pharmaceuticals, threatened penalties linked to purchases of Russian oil, and a separate ongoing Section 301 investigation into excess industrial capacity.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed allowing portfolio managers to invest clients’ funds in foreign securities and take unhedged short positions through equity exchange-traded derivatives as part of a comprehensive review of the SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2020 aimed at expanding investment avenues and aligning the regulatory framework with evolving market dynamics.

The proposals have been put out for public consultation through a consultation paper on the draft SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2026.

According to the consultation paper, portfolio managers are currently not permitted to invest client funds in foreign securities.