Senior Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma expressed confidence ahead of India's Women's Asia Cup match against Pakistan, highlighting India's consistent performance against their rivals. She emphasised the team's balanced batting and bowling units and their focus on playing good cricket. Deepti also praised young spinners Shree Charani and Prema Rawat for their talent and contributions.
India has rescued three more nationals, including a child, from Nepal's flood-hit Trishuli Bazaar, bringing the total evacuees to 169, while 275 Indians remain missing. The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that 1,907 Indians safely crossed into Nepal from China and India continues to provide extensive relief materials and expert teams to assist Nepal in its recovery efforts following the devastating flash floods.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated India's 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the April-June quarter, attributing it to the collective strength of the people despite global uncertainties. He criticised "doomsayers" as the economy showed resilience, exceeding expectations even amidst international conflicts and supply chain issues.
The All India Football Federation has announced a series of high-profile international friendly matches for the Indian men's national team. India will host Panama on September 26 in Bengaluru, followed by five-time world champions Brazil on October 3 and two-time world champions Uruguay on October 6, both in Kolkata. These matches represent a significant step for Indian football, offering the team a chance to compete against top-ranked global opponents.
India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) recorded an unprecedented 24.51 billion transactions valued at Rs 29.8 lakh crore in August, largely propelled by the Raksha Bandhan festival. This surge marks a 22% annual increase in volume and 20% in value, highlighting the expanding reach and depth of the UPI ecosystem. Experts anticipate further growth during the upcoming festive season, while UPI's international acceptance now spans 11 countries.
Non-resident Indians are increasingly investing in luxury homes in India, driven by geopolitical uncertainties, particularly the Iran war. This trend is observed across major cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, and the National Capital Region, with developers noting a significant rise in NRI pre-sales. While some see it as a temporary shift, others believe India is becoming a stable, long-term investment destination for NRIs, especially those from West Asia.
India's economy recorded a robust 7.8 per cent growth in the April-June quarter of fiscal year 2026-27, surpassing both market expectations and the Reserve Bank of India's forecast. This strong performance positions India as the world's fastest-growing major economy, demonstrating resilience despite global economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions, including the conflict in Iran. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation highlighted the sustained growth momentum amidst global headwinds.
'I moved out of my house at the age of 17 to pursue this dream. Since then, I've been doing everything by myself, managing everything by myself for this one dream of Miss Universe.'
The International Cricket Council has announced that India will host the inaugural Women's Champions Trophy from February 14 to 28, with matches scheduled in Mumbai and Vadodara. Sri Lanka was originally slated to host but was replaced due to ongoing governance issues in its cricket board. Six top women's teams will compete in this landmark tournament.
Neetal Narang has been appointed as India's first Safeguarding Officer for the upcoming Asian Games, a role mandated by the Olympic Council of Asia.
The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution, backed by India, to correct the world map for a more accurate representation of continental landmasses. The resolution addresses the distortions caused by the widely used Mercator projection, which minimises the perceived sizes of regions like Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, promoting an unbalanced global view. India supports the move towards more accurate cartographic practices, specifically endorsing broader use of Equal Area map projections.
A world-class Test team can't afford to have a bowling attack that allows batters to feel comfortable. To be the world's best Test team, all departments of the game should be strong and striking.
India-born Manjit Singh Bedi has been placed on the FBI's most wanted fraudsters list for allegedly orchestrating a significant US government benefits fraud scheme and subsequently fleeing to India.
Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj have joined South Zone for the Duleep Trophy final, while Tilak Varma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan could feature before India's Afghanistan series.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Kyiv, reiterating India's readiness to assist in ending the Ukraine-Russia war. He emphasised that solutions would not emerge from the battlefield and highlighted Prime Minister Modi's call for an end to the conflict. Discussions also covered humanitarian aid, the impact on commercial shipping, and bilateral trade, with Jaishankar inviting his Ukrainian counterpart to India for further talks.
India women's hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne discusses the team's preparations for the upcoming Asian Games, focusing on improved defence and sharpening goal-scoring skills. Skipper Salima Tete and senior player Savita Punia also share insights on the team's changed mindset and strategies, highlighting lessons learned from the recent Hockey World Cup.
India's foreign exchange reserves surged by USD 11.475 billion to a new record high of USD 740.803 billion for the week ended August 28, driven by the RBI's concessional forex swap initiatives.
Thirty-eight people, including 34 passengers, were safely rescued after a ferry suffered an engine breakdown off the Gateway of India in Mumbai. Police, alerted to the incident, coordinated with a local boat operator to tow the stranded vessel 'Anwari' back to shore.
Indian football head coach Khalid Jamil believes playing five-time world champions Brazil and two-time winners Uruguay at home will be a historic turning point for the sport in the country. These high-profile matches are crucial for preparing the team for next year's Asia Cup qualifiers and will boost player confidence and learning.
Raksha Bandhan takes on a different character as you travel across India.
Tickets for the upcoming T20 International match between India and West Indies at Indore's Holkar Stadium on October 11 will be sold exclusively online, with prices ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 12,500. The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association has appointed 'District by Zomato' as the official ticketing agency, allowing a maximum of four tickets per person.
Prasar Bharati Chairman Prasoon Joshi voiced concerns over AI's impact on India's cultural heritage, including music and endangered languages, advocating for human-AI collaboration. Meanwhile, a Spotify report revealed significant growth in royalties for Indian artists, with linguistic diversity driving economic strength in the creative industries, highlighting the platform's role in enabling talent across various Indian languages.
An Air India Airbus A320 experienced a near-simultaneous loss of all three hydraulic systems at 36,000 feet on a Phuket-Delhi flight, injuring 24 people. The pilot-in-command was subsequently terminated after testing positive for banned psychoactive substances, though the AAIB has not linked this to the technical failure.
India women's bowling coach Avishkar Salvi detailed the team's comprehensive workload management plans for all bowlers, ensuring optimal performance through various phases of training and rest. He also addressed the recent batting collapse against Thailand, acknowledging occasional shortfalls but highlighting the team's resilience and lower-order contributions.
The Indian men's football team, led by head coach Khalid Jamil, will play high-profile friendlies against Panama, five-time world champions Brazil, and two-time world champions Uruguay in September and October.
An Air India Airbus A320 experienced a near-simultaneous loss of all three hydraulic systems mid-flight, causing an altitude upset and injuring 24 people. A preliminary investigation revealed the pilot-in-command tested positive for a psychoactive substance post-flight, leading to their termination, while the technical aspects of the incident are still under scrutiny.
Former India international and coach Soumyadeep Roy is set to join the national table tennis squad for the upcoming Asian Games as a personal coach, five years after being embroiled in a match-fixing controversy at the Tokyo Olympics. Despite the past issues and the suspension of the TTFI, Roy aims to guide his players and contribute to India's medal prospects.
India's women's cricket team will face Hong Kong in their second Women's T20 Asia Cup match, aiming to address batting collapses experienced in their opening game against Thailand. Despite a comfortable win, the team seeks a more complete performance, with key players like Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma in form, while others like Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur look to regain form. Hong Kong, having lost to Thailand, will rely on players like Marina Lamplough and Kary Chan to challenge India.
VVS Laxman, BCCI's Centre of Excellence chief, will coach the Indian men's cricket team at the upcoming Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. He will be assisted by Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, and Subhadeep Ghosh. Gautam Gambhir, the regular head coach, will be with the senior team for the West Indies ODI series. Amol Muzumdar will continue as the head coach for the Indian women's team, who will also defend their title.
India A will play three four-day matches against New Zealand A in Christchurch starting October 24, serving as a crucial build-up for the senior Indian team's two-Test series against New Zealand later in the tour. These matches are part of New Zealand Cricket's domestic red-ball schedule.
Tilak Varma, despite his white-ball success, expresses a strong desire to play Test cricket for India, considering red-ball cricket his true strength. He discusses the challenges of balancing international white-ball commitments with domestic red-ball opportunities and his eagerness to participate in the Duleep Trophy final amidst a tight schedule.
'Every period of excessive optimism eventually gives way to a correction, while periods of extreme pessimism often create the best investment opportunities.'
The new range brings Ola's 46-series LFP cells to its most affordable scooter lineup aimed at India's mass-market electric vehicle (EV) buyers.
India's UPI International payment system is now playing a crucial role in humanitarian efforts, enabling seamless disaster relief donations from Indian users to Nepal's Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund, showcasing its growing global acceptance and utility beyond tourism. UPI IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: Unsplash Key Points UPI International, initially for Indian tourists, is now facilitating disaster relief donations to Nepal's Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund. The embassy of Nepal in India is actively encouraging Indian users to utilise their UPI apps for these contributions. This marks a significant shift, expanding UPI's cross-border use case beyond tourism to include inbound collection for foreign governments. The move positions UPI International alongside global payment giants like Alipay+ and UnionPay for international aid. Donors need to activate the UPI International feature on their apps to transact, with amounts converted from INR to NPR.
India's passenger vehicle sales are estimated to have surged by approximately 35 per cent to about 4.5 lakh units in August, driven by strong performances from major automakers like Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, and Mahindra & Mahindra, with the industry entering the festive season with optimism.
India opener Shafali Verma acknowledged the team's batting unit needs to address its shortcomings on turning pitches, despite securing a 94-run victory against Thailand in the Women's Asia Cup opener. Verma, who scored a brisk 64, noted that while the new ball came on well, the older ball gripped and turned, causing difficulties for the middle order. She emphasised the need for adaptation and praised Thailand's improving performance.
'Every batter has a shortcoming somewhere. You need to find where the shortcoming is.'
Australia A has announced a 14-member squad for their upcoming series against India A in Puducherry. The tour, featuring both four-day and one-day matches, is crucial for exposing players to subcontinental conditions and preparing them for future senior team tours to India, including a Test series next year. The squad includes several players with prior international experience.
Any military response to a cross-border terror attack from Pakistan will have to take into account the new alignments beginning to take shape in the region, points out former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in India reached Rs 29.8 lakh crore in August, approaching record levels. Volume also hit a new high of 24.51 billion transactions, driven by festive activities like Raksha Bandhan. The digital payment system continues its rapid growth, expanding its global presence to 11 countries, with further growth anticipated during the upcoming festive season and new use cases like credit on UPI.
