World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit Bazaar, a digital B2B Marketplace, has been launched in Melbourne today. In a social media post, the Consulate General of India in Melbourne said that this initiative will bring together more than 50 Indian and Australian filmmakers for over 465 meetings that will pave the way for co-productions, investment opportunities, global distribution tie-ups and vital knowledge exchange. It added that the launch of WAVES Bazaar in Melbourne will strengthen the creative bridges across borders. On the sidelines of the event a letter of intent was signed between National Film Development Corporation of India and National Film and Sound Archive of Australia for Cooperation in Film Presentation and Archival Exchange.

To ensure top Indian cricketers maintain a high level of fitness and improve their aerobic capacity, the rugby-centric Bronco Test — involving multiple shuttle runs of 20 metres, 40 metres and 60 metres — has been introduced.

The Indian Express understands the suggestion came from the Indian team’s strength and conditioning coach Adrian le Roux who also wants the fast bowlers to clock more running miles instead of being gym-focused. Head coach Gautam Gambhir is also on the same page.

This comes after the five-Test series in England during which the fitness levels of a couple of fast bowlers were found not up to scratch while only pacer Mohammed Siraj played in every match.

Indian Army has initiated a landmark collaboration with state officials of Assam & Manipur to foster efficient cooperation, cohesion and mutual understanding. Exercise Samanvay Shakti 2025 was inaugurated today at Laipuli, in Tinsukia district of Assam. This Military-Civil Integration Exercise aims at fostering synergy between security forces, government departments and civil institutions to address the region’s complex challenges through a unified and coordinated approach.

The inaugural session witnessed participation from the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, District Administration, Police, Intelligence Agencies, NDRF, SDRF, Medical Officials, BRO & GREF, Railways, educational institutions and security officials from OIL India, IOCL and Coal India alongwith representatives of the local media.

A similar exercise is being undertaken in Manipur from 20-30 August, which included aspects of Disaster management, Healthcare, Education, Public Works Development, Forest Department initiatives, Narcotics, Irrigation, Road Safety, Employment opportunities in Armed forces, Sports, Coordination amongst the state police, Army and paramilitary forces along with the Infrastructure development through Operation Sadbhavna.

India’s infrastructure output, as measured by the combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI), has increased by two per cent in July this year compared to the same period year ago. Four of India’s core sectors including of steel, cement, fertiliser, and electricity recorded positive growth during the last month, according to the provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry today. Steel production witnessed a robust growth of 12.8 per cent, Cement production increased by 11.7 per cent, Fertilizer production gained two per cent and Electricity generation was up by half a per cent. Conversely, Coal production plunged 12.3 per cent. Natural gas dipped by 3.2 per cent, Crude Oil production fell by 1.3 and Petroleum Refinery production was down by one per cent in comparison with July, last year. Meanwhile, the final growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for June this year stood at 2.2 per cent. The cumulative growth rate of ICI during April to July period is provisionally reported at 1.6 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Paris Olympian Anant Jeet Singh Naruka won a close contest against Mansour Al Rashidi 57-56 to win gold in the men’s skeet final at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

Naruka had won a silver in the last edition and kept his composure under pressure to beat the seasoned former Asian Games champion. Naruka, who finished fourth in the mixed skeet event at the Paris Olympics narrowly missing out on an Olympic medal, has been consistent in his performance at the top level. Last year he won a silver medal in the World Cup Final in Delhi.

At the ongoing Asian meet, Naruka finished third in qualifying with a score of 119. In the 60-shot final Naruka was in top form and fired 29 of his first 30 targets. He took the lead, shooting 35 of 36 targets and was one hit ahead of his rival with 10 shots to go. Both shooters missed one in the tense final round, handing Naruka the prized medal. The women’s skeet trio of Maheshwari Chauhan, Ganemat Sekhon and Raiza Dhillon combined for a bronze in the team event.

In a demonstration of its strategic military capabilities, India on Wednesday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile ‘Agni 5’ from Odisha’s Chandipur.

According to the ministry of defence (MoD), the launch validated all operational and technical parameters. The missile was successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur and was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command, the ministry said.

“Intermediate range ballistic missile ‘Agni 5’ was successfully test-fired from the integrated test range, Chandipur in Odisha on August 20," the MoD said in a brief statement. “The launch validated all operational and technical parameters. It was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command."

The estimated population of saltwater crocodiles, one of the largest reptiles in the world, has increased in the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve (SBR) from last year, according to a population survey by the State’s Forest Department.

“In comparison [to 2024], there is an increase in the number of all demographic classes [of saltwater crocodiles], specifically in the hatchling class. This is an encouraging sign as sighting of hatchlings is very rare and difficult in the terrain of Sundarbans,” the Forest Department report titled ‘Population Assessment and Habitat Ecology Study of Saltwater Crocodiles in Sundarbans 2025’ says.

According to the report released on Monday (August 18, 2025), the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest of all crocodilians and the largest reptile in the world. They are “hypercarnivorous apex predators” that keep flowing water ecosystems clean by feeding on the carcasses and wild remains in the water.

Scientists have developed two potential antibiotics using artificial intelligence (AI) that could kill drug-resistant gonorrhoea and MRSA. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used generative AI algorithms to scan through a list of potential molecules to predict which one could work as an antibiotic for the superbugs.

AI also helped scientists avoid structures that could be harmful to humans or too similar to existing drugs, according to the study published in the journal Cell. After identifying the molecules, both new antibiotics were able to kill strains of bacteria that are becoming increasingly difficult to treat with existing antibiotics.

"We're excited because we show that generative AI can be used to design completely new antibiotics," Professor James Collins, MIT, was quoted as saying by the BBC.

As informed by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), India currently hosts three Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): the Koraput region in Odisha, the Kuttanad farming system in Kerala, and the Saffron Heritage of Kashmir. The Koraput region is renowned for its subsistence paddy cultivation, predominantly on highland slopes, and is home to a vast diversity of paddy landraces and farmer-developed varieties. It also harbors rich genetic resources of medicinal plants, deeply interwoven with the indigenous tribal communities and their traditional knowledge systems. The Kuttanad system in Kerala stands out as a unique below-sea-level farming landscape, comprising wetlands for paddy cultivation and fish catching, garden lands for coconut and food crops, and inland water bodies for fishing and shell collection. Meanwhile, the Saffron Park of Kashmir represents a rich agro-pastoral system characterized by traditional saffron cultivation, intercropping, and the use of organic farming practices, all of which contribute to maintaining local biodiversity and soil health.

GIAHS is an FAO programme. Schemes and policies of Government of India support these sites. As reported by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, for economic revival of saffron cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir has been supported under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).

In 1817, the Hindu College was established in Calcutta to provide what its founders demanded — a ‘liberal education’ for Bengal’s youth. About a decade later, in 1826, a 17-year-old Anglo-Portuguese aspiring poet, Henry Derozio, was appointed lecturer in the senior wing of the college. His teachings gained him a loyal following of students, who debated politics and challenged orthodoxy and Brahmanical supremacy in a caste-ridden society. Although Derozio was dismissed from the institution in 1831 and died later the same year of cholera, his legacy left a deep imprint on the minds of his students.

In her book, India’s First Radicals: Young Bengal and the British Empire, published by Penguin Random House India Pvt. Ltd. (2025), academic and author Rosinka Chaudhuri examines the subsequent activities of this group of students who, in the 1840s, came to be known as Young Bengal. Chaudhuri credits the group with many firsts, including forming India’s first political party — the Bengal British India Society — in 1843 in association with British orator and prominent abolitionist George Thompson. She further notes that Young Bengal generated a language of leftist politics in India, and they were among the earliest advocates of constitutional reform under colonial rule.