The Gujarat Forest Department has launched a Plastic Waste Management Project around the Ramsar-designated Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary, with an initiative to purchase plastic waste collected by villagers while strengthening efforts to protect the wetland's fragile ecosystem.

The Rs 2.94-crore project has been approved under the Project for Eco-Restoration in Gujarat (PERG), supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It is being implemented by the Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary, Wildlife Division, Sanand, in collaboration with local gram panchayats, Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) and community members.

Gujarat Minister for Forests and Environment Arjun Modhwadia said that by establishing a scientific plastic waste management system around this globally important wetland, we aim to eliminate plastic pollution and protect Nalsarovar's unique ecosystem.

India had a strong showing at the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) 2026 in Romania, with Shrilakshmi Venkatraman taking home the gold medal. Aarav Anil Rao, Nishanth Shankar Lakshmanan and Advay Misra also made the podium with bronze medals, while Soham Amit Pednekar earned an honourable mention.

The international competition attracts pre-university students from more than 40 countries. Instead of testing memorised knowledge, the Olympiad asks participants to decode unfamiliar languages and identify patterns using reasoning and analytical skills.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), with support from the Gates Foundation and Dalberg Advisors, has announced the winners of the National Climate Stack Innovation Challenge, a national initiative to advance DiCRA (Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture) as a Digital Public Infrastructure for rural climate resilience.

The Challenge was launched to mobilise India’s scientific, academic and innovation ecosystem to develop credible, near-term climate hazard forecasting models and decision-ready applications for agriculture, rural finance, insurance and public planning.

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate the commercialisation and global market access of India’s Geographical Indication (GI) products. The collaboration aims to promote quality standardisation, wider market access and digital enablement of GI products, while strengthening the One District One Product ecosystem.

Under the initiative, GI collectives and authorised users will be facilitated to onboard digital platforms, including the Open Network for Digital Commerce and Government e-Marketplace, under the Bharat GI banner. The Ministry further added that the partnership will also focus on capacity building and enhancing market opportunities for artisans, weavers and producer collectives. The initiative is expected to strengthen India’s GI ecosystem and support the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Vocal for Local.

VinSpace, a unit of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, has ‌signed a launch contract with SpaceX for its ⁠satellite missions, the company said on Tuesday.

VinSpace’s satellites ‌will launch on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare ‌mission in 2027, ‌joining ⁠multiple other customers ⁠on a shared launch, it said in a statement

VinSpace handles the research, ‌development, manufacturing and in-orbit operation of its satellites, and said the project supports ‌its strategy aimed at building capabilities across the space value chain, ⁠including satellite design and manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing, ‌launch management, operations and data services.

A Chinese rocket carrying a communications satellite failed in its launch, state media said, attributing the failure to a "flight anomaly" as reports and videos suggested the spacecraft had exploded in mid-air.

Beijing has ploughed billions of dollars into its space programme in recent years to achieve what President Xi Jinping calls the country's "space dream".

Monday's rare launch failure involved a Long March 7A carrier rocket, which lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China's southernmost province of Hainan at 8:02 pm (1202 GMT), state news agency Xinhua said.

An "anomaly" occurred when the rocket, which was carrying the Zhongxing-4B communications satellite, was in flight, Xinhua added.

The cause of the failure is under investigation, it said.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to join its `Moon Base’ programme, marking an expansion of India-US cooperation in lunar science and exploration, according to a US Embassy statement.

The invitation was extended during the ninth meeting of the India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group, held at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru on August 5-6.

“NASA invited ISRO to join its Moon Base program, building on the two countries’ partnership under the Artemis Accords,” the statement issued on Tuesday noted.

Deepak Dhar, an IINSA distinguished professor and one of India’s most respected theoretical physicists, has been awarded the 2026 Dirac Medal by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), a recognition considered among the highest honours in the field of physics.

The award, instituted in 1985, has over the decades been associated with some of the biggest names, including Stephen Hawkings, in theoretical physics.

Dhar is one of four physicists selected this year in recognition of their significant contributions to statistical mechanics.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has removed the requirement of submitting physical duty payment challans while applying for Export Obligation Discharge Certificates (EODC) under the Advance Authorisation (AA) and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Schemes.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry said that for voluntary duty payments made on or after 1st of this month, exporters will no longer be required to submit physical challans along with their applications for closure of authorisations. The Ministry said the measure is expected to speed up processing, reduce avoidable correspondence and ensure greater consistency in decision-making across DGFT Regional Authorities.

It added that replacing manual submission and verification with authenticated digital records will shorten timelines, improve data accuracy, minimise human intervention and enhance transparency. It will also reduce transaction costs and compliance burden for exporters, particularly MSMEs, by cutting documentation, follow-ups and physical interface.

India’s Asiatic lion population has risen to 891 in 2025 from 523 in 2015, marking an increase of more than 70 per cent in a decade, the government said on Monday. The latest population estimate represents a 32 per cent rise from 674 lions in 2020.

The figures were highlighted by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on World Lion Day. The 16th Asiatic Lion Population Estimation, conducted in May 2025, found 891 lions across the Greater Gir landscape in Gujarat.

The latest figure represents a 32 per cent increase over 2020. The minister’s statement credited forest officials, conservationists and local communities for the recovery.

The achievement follows decades of conservation efforts after the Asiatic lion was pushed close to extinction. Only around 40-60 lions remained in and around Gir in the early 1900s because of overhunting and habitat loss. India established the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in 1965 and subsequently expanded protected areas as the population recovered.