Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong on Monday announced a series of initiatives that China will roll out for the benefit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.

“Going forward, China plans to implement 100 ‘small and beautiful’ livelihood projects in member states that require them. It will provide RMB 2 billion yuan in grants to SCO member states within this year, and will issue an additional RMB 10 billion yuan in loans to the member banks of the SCO Interbank Consortium over the next three years,” Xu posted on X.

He added that from next year, China will double the number of SCO-specific scholarships and launch an SCO Innovative PhD programme to jointly train high-caliber talent in academics as well as scientific and technological research.

Prolific Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc announced his immediate retirement from T20 international cricket on Tuesday (September 2, 2025), saying he wanted to focus on his Test and ODI career.

“Test cricket is and has always been my highest priority,” the 35-year-old said in a statement, ruling himself out of the T20 World Cup in February-March.

“I have loved every minute of every T20 game I have played for Australia, particularly the 2021 World Cup,” he added.

Starc, who played 65 matches for his country in the shortest format, was part of the Australia side that lifted the world title that year.

His 79 wickets in T20Is make him the second-highest for Australia after Adam Zampa.

India achieved a historic milestone at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, securing 50 gold medals to lead the medal tally for the first time in the championship’s history.

India’s total medal count reached 99, including 26 silver and 23 bronze medals. Host nation Kazakhstan finished second while China finished third in the medals tally.

India’s Ankur Mittal produced a world record-shattering performance on the final day yesterday to clinch gold in the men’s double trap event.

The senior team’s standout performances included Elavenil Valarivan’s second Asian title in women’s air rifle with an Asian record score. She also won gold with Arjun Babuta in the mixed team event.

The 7th meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) was held on Thursday, with both sides agreeing to expand collaboration in training, industrial partnerships, maritime security and military exercises.

The talks were co-chaired by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Amitabh Prasad and Staff Maj Gen Saad Mohammed H Alkathiri from the Saudi side.

The two sides reviewed progress made since the last JCDC meeting and expressed satisfaction that most of the significant decisions taken earlier had been implemented. They also discussed training capabilities and cooperation in new areas such as cyber security, information technology, disaster management and tactical communication.

Delhi recorded the highest number of road accident deaths in 2023, with 1,457 fatalities from 5,834 mishaps, making it the worst-affected city for the second consecutive year, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The ministry published its ‘Road Accidents in India 2023’ report on Thursday. It revealed that nearly 173,000 people died on Indian roads in 2023, averaging one fatality every three minutes. This represented a 2.6 per cent rise in deaths compared with 2022, while the number of injuries increased by 4.4 per cent to more than 460,000.

Bengaluru recorded 915 deaths, making it the second-worst affected city in the country for successive years. Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of accidents (67,213), while Uttar Pradesh recorded the greatest number of deaths (23,652).

President Droupadi Murmu today presented the SCOPE Eminence Awards 2022-23 to Public Sector Enterprises in New Delhi.

Addressing the gathering, President Murmu said, Central Public Sector Enterprises CPSEs Public Sector Enterprises have been a powerful instrument of economic growth and social inclusion since independence.

She said, CPSEs also laid the foundation for industrialisation, infrastructure development, social upliftment and balanced regional development. President Murmu said, apart from economic and financial contributions, CPSEs have given priority to balanced and inclusive growth, keeping national goals paramount. The President said, CPSEs will play a crucial role in achieving the national goal of building a developed India by the year 2047.

She said, CPSEs are playing an effective role in the direction of building Atmanirbhar Bharat and they are making significant contributions to the Make-in-India campaign.

Troops of the Indian Army’s Spear Corps and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) undertook four days of firepower drills under simulated battlefield conditions in central Arunachal Pradesh.

The exercise named Achook Prahar was conducted from August 25 to 28, the Army stated on Friday (August 29, 2025).

“The exercise served as a joint validation of operational preparedness under simulated battlefield conditions. Mortars, machine guns, rockets, and grenades were employed to validate synergised response, accuracy, and battlefield effectiveness,” it said.

India today won a ‘double gold’ in the Men’s 25m Standard Pistol individual and team events at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship at Shymkent in Kazakhstan.

In the indivdual event, Rio de Janeiro Olympian Gurpreet Singh secured the gold medal with Amanpreet Singh winning the silver. The duo also led the country to victory in the team event alongside Harsh Gupta to bag the yellow metal. The other gold medals of the day were won in the 50m Rifle Prone

Junior team and 25m Standard Pistol Junior team events.
With this, India’s overall medal tally has risen to 82, including 44 golds, 20 silver and 18 bronze.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the two-day national conference of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Parliamentary Committee at Bhubaneswar this morning. The Conference is being attended by Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh, Union Ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Chairman of the Committee Faggan Singh Kulaste and other dignitaries.

30 members of the Parliamentary Committee on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Welfare are also attending the Conference. More than 120 delegates from across the country, including the Chairman and Members of such committees of Parliament and 19 states, have come together on one platform. The theme of the conference is ‘The Role of Parliamentary and Legislative Committees in welfare, development and empowerment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes’.

The Conference, which is being held for the first time outside Delhi, will also hold deliberations on constitutional safeguards for Scheduled Tribes and measures undertaken by various states for tribal development. Earlier on the day, the Lok Sabha Speaker also visited an exhibition being held at the Conference venue showcasing Odisha’s rich tradition of handicrafts, handlooms, culture, and art.

The 17th Edition of BioFach India will be held from tomorrow to 1st September at the India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida. The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry said that over twenty-seven Farmer Producer Organization from the North-Eastern Region will showcase their wide range of products under the Mission Organic Value Chain Development for the North-Eastern Region at the event.

The event will bring together organic producers, buyers, businesses, policymakers, and stakeholders from across the globe to discuss opportunities and challenges in the organic sector. The Ministry said that the participation of FPOs at the event marks a significant step towards strengthening their presence in national and global markets.

Meanwhile, it will increase the visibility of North-Eastern organic products, build partnerships, and highlight the region’s rich agricultural ecosystem.