The Centre will retain the pari passu model in the upcoming phase of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM 2.0), signalling a preference for tighter fiscal management even as it doubles down on building a domestic chip ecosystem.

Pari passu, a Latin term meaning “on equal footing”, refers here to a funding structure in which government incentives are released in proportion to a company’s own capital expenditure. Under ISM 1.0, the Centre committed to providing 50 per cent fiscal support for project costs, but disbursed this support only as firms invested their own money. In effect, public funds move step-by-step with private spending, rather than being front-loaded.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav launched the website and logo for the 1st International Big Cat Alliance IBCA Summit 2026 in New Delhi this evening. During the event, he also released a promotional film on the Summit.
Addressing the occasion, Mr Yadav said, the summit is an important milestone towards a landmark global gathering dedicated to the conservation of the world’s iconic big cats. He informed that India will host the first IBCA Summit on 1st June this year in New Delhi, with participation expected from Heads of State and Heads of Government of Member and Observer countries.

Highlighting India’s journey in big cat conservation, the Minister noted that it has been marked by commitment, innovation, scientific management, institutional collaboration and community participation. Referring to the success of Project Tiger and initiatives for lion, leopard, snow leopard and cheetah conservation, he stated that India has demonstrated that conservation and development can go hand in hand, strengthening ecosystems, improving livelihoods, resilience, and mitigating climate challenges. Mr Yadav informed that a key outcome of the Summit would be the adoption of the first-ever global declaration on big cat conservation, titled the ‘Delhi Declaration’, which will articulate shared priorities, strengthen transboundary cooperation and promote a landscape-based approach for conserving big cats and their habitats.

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras Global Research Foundation has announced the establishment of its first centre in the United States, expanding India’s deep-tech innovation footprint into global ecosystems.

The announcement of the centre at Menlo Park in California, which was launched on April 24, was made at the SelectUSA Investment Summit at National Harbour in Maryland near here on Tuesday.

“The Menlo Park centre, enabled through our partnership with CA Startups, is a strategic anchor for IITM Global’s US operations,” Thirumalai Madhavnarayan, CEO of the IIT Madras Global Research Foundation, told PTI.

SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Ramapuram, on Wednesday launched the Mission Mausam Urban Testbed and observational facilities, developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The facility is aimed at monitoring aerosols, clouds, precipitation, atmospheric dynamics, and thermodynamic parameters across the city to enhance monsoon prediction and provide early warnings of severe weather.

M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, inaugurated the facility in the presence of A. Suryachandra Rao, Director, IITM, Pune; R. Shivakumar, Chairman, SRMIST, Ramapuram, Chennai & Trichy; Thara Prabhakaran, Project Director, IITM; and M. Sakthi Ganesh, Dean (E&T), SRMIST.

India and Japan strengthened their strategic partnership in science and technology with the exchange of key agreements in the fields of healthcare innovation and emerging technologies during a high-level bilateral meeting in the national capital.

According to an official statement from the Ministry of Science & Technology, on Tuesday, the meeting took place in the presence of Japan’s Minister for Science and Technology Policy and Minister of State for Space Policy, Kimi Onoda and Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh.

The discussion expanded cooperation across critical and frontier technologies, with the exchange of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of health and medical devices between the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Development activist and leadership trainer R. Balasubramaniam and economist K. V. Raju from Karnataka have been appointed as full-time members of NITI Aayog by the Centre. This marks the first time that two distinguished professionals from the State have been appointed simultaneously to the policy-making body.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the chairman of the NITI Aayog, reconstituted the body by appointing new members. Economist Ashok Lahiri, former BJP MLA in West Bengal, has been appointed as vice-chairman.

Media mogul Ted Turner, who pioneered the modern 24-hour news culture when he launched the CNN channel, has died at the age of 87, the network has announced.

In 1980, Turner launched Cable News Network as the first dedicated rolling news channel, which soon became a central part of the media landscape.

US President Donald Trump paid tribute to him as "one of the greats of broadcast history, and a friend of mine".

Current CNN CEO and chairman Mark Thompson described Turner as "the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognise him and his impact on our lives and the world".

The Indian Cabinet on Tuesday approved the much-awaited Mission for Cotton Productivity with an estimated expenditure of ₹5,659.22 crore over a five-year period (2026–27 to 2030–31) which is aimed at addressing the sector’s bottlenecks, declining growth, and quality concerns.

The Cotton Mission was proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech in February 2025 and the government has formulated it after 15 months.

“The Mission envisages accomplishing the production of 498 lakh bales (170 kg each bale) of cotton by enhancing lint productivity from 440 kg/hectare to 755 kg/hectare by 2031. Approximately 32 lakh farmers will be benefitted leading to self-reliance. Promotion of Kasturi Cotton Bharat for traceability and certification, targeting trash reduction <2 per cent and promotion of natural fibres like flax, ramie, sisal, milkweed, bamboo and banana. This is a milestone in making the country self-reliant in Cotton Sector,” the government said in a statement.

Sameer Sanjay Pote has assumed charge as the 19th Flag Officer Submarines (FOSM) on 1 May 2026, succeeding Chetan C Chandegave in a key leadership transition for India’s submarine arm.

Distinguished Naval Career

An alumnus of the Indian Naval Academy, Rear Admiral Pote was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 January 1996.

An Anti-Submarine Warfare specialist, he brings extensive operational and staff experience to the role, strengthening the Navy’s underwater warfare capabilities.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) to strengthen collaboration in digital forensics, cybersecurity, and advanced technology research.

The MoU was formally exchanged between Vivek Chandra Verma, CEO of UIDAI, and S. O. Junare, Director of the Gujarat Campus of NFSU.

Strengthening India’s Digital Security Ecosystem

The strategic partnership aims to create a structured framework for cooperation in areas critical to safeguarding India’s digital infrastructure. With cyber threats and digital fraud on the rise, the collaboration is expected to accelerate research, capacity building, and innovation in emerging technologies.