West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has assured the All India Football Federation of full government support to host India's biggest-ever international football fixture against five-time World Cup champions Brazil in Kolkata on October 3. This historic match will be India's first against a top-five FIFA-ranked nation, offering crucial exposure to the national team despite initial concerns over crowd management.
India Test captain Shubman Gill sustained two painful blows to his right hand during a training session in Colombo, just before a warm-up match against a Sri Lanka XI. Despite initial concerns, assessments suggest no serious damage, allowing Gill to continue preparations for the upcoming World Test Championship series.
Having registered a ninth-place finish in the 2023 edition held at Bhubaneswar, India will be aiming to bring the gold home, riding on the back of the momentum of two back-to-back Olympic bronze medals, an Asia Cup title win, two Asian Champions Trophy wins and an Asia Cup gold.
India-Pakistan matches were never meant to be predictable -- it was meant to be unforgettable, notes K R Nayar.
Sri Lankan spinners Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis have established the Galle International Cricket Stadium as their formidable stronghold, collectively taking 145 wickets, posing a significant challenge for visiting teams, especially India.
India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak lauded the team's productive warm-up victory against Sri Lanka, highlighting strong performances from both batters and bowlers, including Shubman Gill's quick 44 and Devdutt Padikkal's unbeaten 142, which set a positive tone for the upcoming two-match Test series.
Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra stated he is not 'obsessed' with consistently breaching the 90-metre mark in javelin, emphasising that winning major titles and maintaining consistency in challenging conditions are more important than chasing a specific distance.
Former India drag-flicker Jugraj Singh has lauded current captain Harmanpreet Singh as a 'trump card' for the upcoming FIH World Cup, citing his aggressive playing style and consistent performance in crucial moments. Jugraj, who sees his own reflection in Harmanpreet's game, rates him among the world's top three drag-flickers and believes the team is well-prepared to end India's long wait for a World Cup medal.
Former India fielding coach T Dilip reveals that Virat Kohli's unwavering intensity on the field and in practice sessions has a profound impact, compelling at least five other players to 'stretch their limits' and significantly elevating India's fielding standards.
Air India, SkyDrive, and Suzuki Motor Corporation have signed an initial pact to conduct a joint feasibility study on using electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for medical air logistics in India. This collaboration aims to address severe traffic congestion in major Indian cities, which poses challenges for time-critical medical transport, by developing last-mile emergency medical solutions.
India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has attributed the team's poor performance in the ongoing UK T20 tour to a transitional 'reset', a lack of game awareness, and failure to correctly read conditions, following their heaviest-ever T20I defeat.
Bowling coach Morne Morkel has indicated that India might field three left-arm spinners - Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Manav Suthar - in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
The All India Football Federation's decision to field two separate teams for the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup and an international friendly against Brazil has sparked controversy.
India will face South Korea in the Davis Cup Qualifiers Round 2 on September 18-19 in Seoul. South Korea, ranked 16th, chose hard courts for the tie, a surface they traditionally prefer. India, ranked 19th, secured their spot with a dramatic win over the Netherlands, while Korea upset Argentina. The winner of this tie will advance to the Davis Cup Final 8 in November.
The pilot-in-command of an Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that experienced a sudden 300-foot altitude drop last week has tested positive for a psychoactive substance, identified by sources as marijuana, in a confirmatory test. This development comes as Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu met with Air India executives to discuss the serious incident, which left 24 people injured.
Australian golf sensation Min Woo Lee, a winner on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, is set to make his debut at the DP World India Championship in October. He will join an impressive lineup of international stars, including Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, and Ryan Fox, at the Delhi Golf Club for the USD 4 million tournament, which also features top Indian golfers.
Australia's head coach Andrew McDonald has announced that the team will forgo traditional practice matches before their upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy Test series in India, opting instead for a short preparatory camp in sub-continental conditions. This strategic decision aims to better acclimatise players for the challenging Indian pitches.
The central government has revamped the Khelo India Scheme's funding pattern, allocating a Rs 565 crore component for states to co-share the cost of future sports infrastructure development projects over a five-year plan. This new model, part of a Rs 29,054 crore outlay, aims to increase state ownership and participation in sports development, significantly expanding the scheme's reach and athlete base.
Indian women's hockey captain Salima Tete believes the team's recent FIH Nations Cup triumph has instilled the confidence needed to compete for the top prize at the FIH Women's World Cup 2026, despite facing a challenging pool.
Microsoft has launched its fourth cloud region in India, located in Hyderabad, significantly expanding its hyperscale cloud presence. This move is part of a USD 20.5-billion investment in India's digital and AI infrastructure, aiming to support the country's rapid digital growth and meet increasing demand from major enterprises.
IT Secretary S Krishnan advocates for India to pursue "strategic autonomy" in the AI ecosystem by building domestic capabilities and diversifying global supply chains. He emphasized avoiding overdependence on single sources while integrating into trusted global networks, and also highlighted the need to consider an AI law and regulatory framework.
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) have successfully integrated the Maldives' instant payment system 'Favara' with India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This enables real-time fund transfers from Maldives to UPI-enabled Indian bank accounts, marking a significant step in cross-border digital financial connectivity and bilateral economic cooperation.
India will officially receive the Commonwealth Games flag at the closing ceremony on August 2, marking its role as the host for the 2030 centenary edition in Ahmedabad. The ceremony will feature a cultural presentation by Shankar Mahadevan and Rashmika Mandanna, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to attend.
Meta-owned WhatsApp has been granted more time to submit its response on the contentious 'username' feature and assured the government that it will not roll it out in India until discussions are complete, according to sources.
Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda, Simran Singhi, and Kavipriya Selvam are set to make their BWF World Championships debut as India hosts the prestigious badminton event after 17 years, offering a significant platform for these rising stars.
Indian golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri are set to lead the home challenge at the DP World India Championship, scheduled for October 15-18 at the Delhi Golf Club. The tournament will feature a star-studded international field including Major winner Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Ryan Fox, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Luke Donald, and Viktor Hovland. Both Sharma and Lahiri expressed excitement about competing on home soil, highlighting the event's significance for Indian golf.
Long jumper Shahnavaz Khan and high jumper Basant Kumar Meghwal, both recent World Athletics U20 Championships medalists, are now setting their sights on podium finishes at the upcoming Asian Games in Japan, aiming to improve their personal bests.
Microsoft has announced the activation of its latest data centre in Hyderabad, significantly expanding its Cloud infrastructure in India and enabling organisations to leverage AI-era services with enhanced local choice and security.
For the first time since 1998, no Indian umpire or technical official will be present at the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup, a situation that has left former international officials disappointed and calling for a structured pathway to develop and support Indian officiating talent.
VinFast has gone from an unknown brand to India's fifth-largest EV carmaker in just seven months, but its toughest battle is only beginning.
Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra has become a co-owner of the UBS Athletics Kids Cup, a grassroots initiative promoting sports among children. Having served as an ambassador, Chopra's new role aims to expand the programme's reach to one million children across India, fostering confidence, discipline, and a stronger sporting culture from the ground up.
'Applying AI to change the lives of Indians and at population scale -- just like we did with DPI [digital public infrastructure] -- is really where it's going to go.'
Former Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane believes India's recent Test struggles stem from the departure of senior players, emphasising the need for a core of seven to eight experienced cricketers in the longer format.
World champion boxer Jaismine Lamboria, a two-time Commonwealth Games medalist, has been chosen as India's flag-bearer for the closing ceremony in Glasgow. India is also set to host the next edition of the Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad in 2030, with a cultural handover segment planned.
In a no-filter conversation with Rediff's Rishika Shah, Miss India World Nikita Porwal has a few confessions to make.
BMW India CFO Carsten Lammers has expressed surprise at the extensive scale and prolonged duration of tax and Customs litigation in India, advocating for faster dispute resolution and simpler procedures to ensure business stability.
The schedule of India's athletes on the 11th and concluding day of Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow on Sunday.
Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Farveez Maharoof believes rookie pacer Gurnoor Brar could be the 'X-Factor' for India in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah during the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, suggesting he would be tempted to hand the 26-year-old his debut.
India's foreign exchange reserves saw a significant increase of $10.512 billion, reaching $692.866 billion for the week ending July 31, driven by a rise in foreign currency assets and gold reserves.
Indian Olympic medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain noticed an inaccurate map of India, missing the Northeast region, displayed at a popular Indian restaurant in Glasgow during a celebratory dinner. Following her observation, Boxing Federation of India president Ajay Singh confirmed that the restaurant management acknowledged the error and assured the Indian contingent that the map would be corrected.
