LIC is the only brand in the Brand Finance India 100 2026 report that has a top five rank in both brand value and brand strength.
The Indian Special Olympics football team secured a bronze medal at the Gothia Cup in Sweden, marking their third consecutive podium finish. Special Olympics Bharat president Malika Nadda praised the team's resilience and determination, while coaches highlighted the challenges of adapting to artificial turf and expressed ambitions for future gold medals.
A NITI Aayog report indicates that India's digital public infrastructure (DPI) initiatives could contribute 4 per cent of the GDP by 2030, a significant increase from the current 1 per cent.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that Telangana will host the 2026 Khelo India Youth Games, expected to take place in November, continuing the vision to spread national events across India.
World Bank South Asia Chief Economist Franziska Ohnsorge advocates for the removal of obstacles hindering the adoption of artificial intelligence to foster business growth and job creation, particularly in South Asia.
TeamLease Digital CEO Neeti Sharma discusses how AI is driving a structural reset in the tech industry, leading to layoffs, reshaping hiring practices, and increasing job insecurity.
'Similar to the case of the digital payment system where the government created a public platform and others joined in, we are exploring a similar structure to create a PPP platform where the compute required for AI could be accessed by the small player.'
Chhattisgarh's weightlifter Gyaneshwari Yadav has won a silver medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, bringing pride to the state and the country. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao congratulated her, highlighting her achievement as an inspiration for young athletes. Yadav's performance in the 53kg category involved a thrilling contest where she set new personal bests.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation for a USD 15 billion Google Artificial Intelligence data centre near Visakhapatnam, calling it a 'growth engine for India' and Asia's biggest such facility.
The Indian government has informed the Lok Sabha that the income-tax return (ITR) e-filing portal is functioning in a 'largely stable and efficient manner' despite a significant increase in traffic during the peak filing season. However, it acknowledged transient technical issues and disclosed that contractual penalties have been imposed on Infosys for project delays and service-level agreement failures.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated 11 years of the Digital India initiative, highlighting its role in redefining governance, empowering citizens, and accelerating all-round development. He emphasised its impact on digital payments, direct benefit transfers, and expanding digital public infrastructure, making technology a powerful instrument for 'Ease of Living' across India, including tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Indian companies' overseas expansion plans are holding strong despite geopolitical tensions in West Asia, driven by structural factors like supply-chain diversification, free trade agreements, and market expansion, according to Ajay Sharma, managing director and head of banking at HSBC India.
Merlinhawk Aerospace has partnered with Boeing India Defence to provide in-country maintenance, repair, and lifecycle support for advanced Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) systems on Indian military platforms. This collaboration aims to strengthen local support, reduce turnaround times, and enhance mission readiness for the Indian Navy, aligning with India's self-reliance goals in defence.
Merlinhawk Aerospace has partnered with Boeing India Defence to provide in-country maintenance, repair, and lifecycle support for advanced Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) systems on Indian military platforms. This collaboration aims to strengthen local support, reduce turnaround times, and enhance mission readiness for the Indian Navy, aligning with India's self-reliance goals in defence.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar announced India's ambitious plan to rank among the top 10 sporting nations by 2036 and top five by 2047. He highlighted the central government's commitment to sports development through initiatives like Khelo India, increased budget allocation, and a special fund for sports equipment and technology, emphasising sports as a tool for nation-building and youth empowerment.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar announced India's ambitious plan to rank among the top 10 sporting nations by 2036 and top five by 2047. He highlighted the central government's commitment to sports development through initiatives like Khelo India, increased budget allocation, and a special fund for sports equipment and technology, emphasising sports as a tool for nation-building and youth empowerment.
Indian companies LTM and Mastek announced new international partnerships for cloud, AI, and digital transformation. Jio BlackRock AMC launched a new hybrid fund. NMIMS partnered with Coursera for AI-enabled learning, and MakeMyTrip Foundation rebuilt a flood-damaged school in Manali.
ArcelorMittal has announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to automate its global manufacturing operations using AWS's cloud and AI capabilities. This collaboration aims to enhance safety, asset reliability, and energy efficiency by deploying AI at the point of production for predictive maintenance, quality control, and process optimisation.
The Sports Ministry has provisionally recognised the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) as a National Sports Federation (NSF), a move aimed at promoting motorsport and facilitating Formula 1's return to India. This recognition requires FMSCI to amend its constitution to comply with governance acts, and a Task Force is being established to assess the benefits and challenges of hosting major motorsport events.
Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato has called for the formulation of a more effective and stringent policy to curb cybercrimes, fraud, and digital scams. He highlighted the dual nature of artificial intelligence, which simplifies life but also presents serious challenges through misuse. Various experts and MLAs at a workshop emphasised the importance of cybersecurity education, personal digital responsibility, and empowering legislators to strengthen institutional resilience against cyber threats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged states to balance the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence with the need to safeguard against social challenges like cyber fraud and drug abuse. He also warned of the risks posed by El Nino conditions, calling for stronger water conservation measures and emphasising the collective resolve towards a 'Viksit Bharat'.
Experts at a discussion in Delhi emphasised the importance of ethical governance and indigenous capability in India's pursuit of becoming a global artificial intelligence power, ensuring technology serves the public good and maintains strategic autonomy.
The Sports Ministry has provisionally recognised the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) as a National Sports Federation (NSF). This status makes FMSCI eligible for financial grants and is a significant step in the government's efforts to bring Formula 1 racing back to India, with a Task Force also being formed to explore hosting major motorsport events.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a roundtable with AI startup CEOs and held bilateral meetings with global leaders at the India AI Impact Summit, focusing on AI's potential across sectors and international cooperation.
Parliament was informed that UPI has onboarded 55.49 crore users by June 2026, with transactions reaching 24,162 crore in volume and Rs 314 lakh crore in value in FY 2025-26. The platform, operated by NPCI, is expanding internationally through NIPL, facilitating cross-border payments and assisting other nations in building similar systems. Significant efforts are also underway by the Government, RBI, and NPCI to enhance the security and transparency of UPI transactions, including risk-based limits, security frameworks, and public awareness campaigns against cyber-crime.
Persistent Systems announced an agreement to integrate a team from Concise, a software engineering and IT consulting company, to expand its Eastern European footprint.
Housing sales fell 6 per cent in April-June to 90,715 units across seven major cities on subdued demand amid economic uncertainties and also rising home prices, according to Anarock data released on Monday. As many as 96,285 units were sold in the year-ago period across the top seven cities -- Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Delhi-NCR, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata.
AI reduces the time taken to find a target and launch a strike. This has led to a major increase in the pace of the conflict, with one report mentioning nearly 900 strikes launched on Iranian targets in the first 12 hours of an operation.
OpenAI reports India is a leading AI market with strengths in coding, data analysis, and reasoning, but adoption is heavily concentrated in top cities, highlighting a significant regional disparity.
State Bank of India Chairman C S Setty has expressed support for a 'pause' in policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee, believing it will help stabilise conditions and support economic growth. He also urged investors to look beyond short-term equity market movements and focus on India's structural transformation, driven by reforms and digital infrastructure.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw chaired a meeting focusing on Artificial Intelligence, emerging technologies, and electronics hardware manufacturing, highlighting India's progress and future roadmap in these sectors.
'It shows that access to these technologies cannot be taken for granted.'
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized significant assets from Earth Infrastructures Ltd., a Delhi-based real estate company, following accusations of defrauding homebuyers. The company is currently undergoing insolvency proceedings.
The Environment Ministry has designated the Natural History Museum (NHM) in Mizoram as India's 21st designated repository, significantly enhancing the country's biodiversity conservation and scientific infrastructure, particularly within the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot.
Reliance Jio is aiming to be one of the first scalable token service providers in the world by deeply adopting and integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations, said Jio Platforms group chief executive officer (CEO) Mathew Oommen at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
JNS Cloud Solutions, in partnership with upGrad Enterprise, has launched the Africa AI Skilling Initiative to accelerate digital transformation and address the skills gap in Africa.
Tashi Network and DroneVerse successfully conducted a live drone swarm field trial in Delhi, demonstrating advanced autonomous capabilities for defence and internal security. The trial showcased decentralised mesh technology, allowing drone swarms to maintain mission coherence even with communication disruptions, marking a significant step towards India's technological sovereignty in autonomous warfare.
Despite current headwinds, India remains the world's fastest-growing major economy and should not allow near-term challenges to obscure its long-term growth potential, said Jane Fraser, Citi Chair and Chief Executive Officer.
Delhi is set to establish its first underground Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) command centre at the new Delhi Fire Services headquarters, a facility designed to ensure uninterrupted coordination and protection for personnel during nuclear warfare, radiological leaks, or chemical disasters.
'...A new challenge has emerged in the form of Mythos.'
