National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to establish the NHAI Centre for Economics of Transportation, Mobility and Logistics at NCAER. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said that the centre will serve as a dedicated platform for undertaking applied economic research on transportation, mobility and logistics. The focus of the centre will be on generating actionable insights to support long-term planning, investment and policy formulation in the road and transport sector. The Ministry said that beyond research, the Centre will serve as a knowledge hub for the transportation sector by disseminating findings through policy briefs, working papers and flagship reports.

The Centre will be anchored by an Advisory Committee comprising leading economists, transportation specialists, public policy experts and eminent academicians, along with NHAI’s Member (Finance) and the Director General of NCAER.

India has secured the 13th position globally in AI-economy readiness, according to the QS World Future Skills Index 2027, released today by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the global higher education analytics firm. While the ranking positions India as the leader among South Asian and lower-middle-income nations, the report flags a widening mismatch between the country’s booming labour market transformation and the quality of skills its universities are producing.

India achieved a perfect score of 100 on QS’s Economic Capacity sub-indicator — the highest in the world — driven by its consistent GDP growth, labour market investment, and aggressive infrastructure spending. India has been the fastest-growing economy in the G20 for three consecutive years, and its AI-related investments have already reached $90 billion as of February 2026.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday inaugurated a Rs 405-crore gold mining and processing project at Jonnagiri in Kurnool district, marking the beginning of commercial gold production in the state.

The chief minister also laid the foundation stone for the second phase of the project, which is being developed by Geo Mysore Services India Private Limited and Deccan Gold Mines Limited.

“This project opens a new chapter for Andhra Pradesh in the mining sector and is expected to contribute significantly to industrial growth and employment generation,” an official release said.

The government allotted 1,500 acres for the project, of which mining activities have commenced on 600 acres in the first phase. Expansion to the remaining area is planned in subsequent stages.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday launched the Auto Mutation System and Paperless Registration 2.0, marking another step towards good governance, transparency, and digital administration in the state.

Residents will no longer be required to submit separate applications for mutation of land records. Mutation documents can now be downloaded from home.

The Chief Minister launched the initiatives at a programme attended by Revenue Minister Vipul Goel, Public Works Minister Ranbir Gangwa, and Additional Chief Secretary Sumita Misra, among others. Deputy Commissioners joined the event virtually.

President Droupadi Murmu will confer the Padma Awards 2026 at the second Civil Investiture Ceremony this evening at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. According to the official statement, the president will confer 65 Padma Awards, including two Padma Vibhushan, seven Padma Bhushan and 56 Padma Shri.

Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, actor Mammootty, playback singer Alka Yagnik and cricketer Rohit Sharma are among 65 prominent personalities who will receive the coveted Padma Awards from the President. On Republic Day eve, the government had announced 131 Padma awards for 2026, including five Padma Vibhushan awards.

The Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are given in various disciplines of activities: art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India and the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Israel have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at enhancing cooperation in public sector auditing.

According to an official release, Matanyahu Englman, State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel and President of the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI), visited the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India along with a high-level delegation from the Office of the State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel.

During the visit, a bilateral meeting was held between the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, K Sanjay Murthy and Englman.

In Northern Australia, researchers recently observed a newly discovered spider species securing its prey by engineering a cone-shaped silk trap that violently catapults ants upward the moment they bite its tethered base, the BBC reports.

The unique hunting method was developed by the nocturnal predator to hunt for aggressive ants, which are dangerous and an unusual prey for arachnids. The cone-shaped trap can fling an ant at an extremely high force, the magnitude of which is 15 times higher than that experienced by jet pilots, BBC cited Professor and researcher Ajay Narendra as saying.

The species is yet to receive its scientific name; as of now, it is named “Ballista,” a weapon used to throw stones in a battle during ancient times.

IIT Madras-incubated electric aircraft start-up The ePlane Company is targeting commercial production of its air ambulance eVTOLs in 2028 with an initial manufacturing capacity of around 80 aircraft a year.

Speaking to businessline, Satya Chakravarthy, Founder, The ePlane Company said that the start-up has completed its first full-scale air ambulance prototype and has begun ground testing with flight tests expected between July and August. “We have already begun work on the second and expect to have full certification of the aircraft by the end of 2027,” he added.

Chakravarthy mentioned that while the start-up currently manufactures prototypes at its facility within IIT Madras’ Discovery Campus, it expects to set up a dedicated production unit or partner with an established manufacturer once the second prototype enters the certification phase.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors recently approved $1.5 billion in financing to support India’s structural reforms to boost private sector-led job creation and economic growth under the Boosting Job Creation in the Private Sector Development Policy Financing (DPF) Operation.

The DPF Operation, according to a World Bank statement, can create job opportunities for the 11 million youth who will be entering the labor market every year over the next two decades.

The DPF Operation builds on many structural reforms undertaken or initiated in recent years, including tax simplification, trade integration, and legislative and regulatory reforms to improve ease of living and the ease of doing business.

India has become the World’s Top Ship Recycling Nation in the year 2025. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said that as per the latest report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, India’s share of global ship recycling increased to 35.4 per cent in 2025 from 30.1 per cent in 2024.

The Ministry said that ship recycling in the country rose significantly to 2.99 million gross tonnes in 2025, up nearly 60 per cent from 1.86 million gross tonnes in 2024.

The Ministry added that with this achievement, the target set under Maritime India Vision 2030 to become the world’s leading ship recycling nation has been achieved five years ahead of schedule.