In 1911, French pilot Henri Pequet flew the world's first official airmail, carrying over 6,500 letters and postcards, during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, now Prayagraj. The flight, which covered five miles in 13 minutes, marked a significant milestone in aviation and postal history. The mail included letters to Jawaharlal Nehru and King George V, and special commemorative postcards signed by Pequet are now prized collector's items. The event, which coincided with the Kumbh Mela, highlights the intersection of spiritual and technological advancements in India's history.
A joint operation by anti-narcotics agencies led to the seizure of about 700 kg of drugs and the arrest of eight Iranian nationals from Indian territorial waters off the Gujarat coast around Porbandar on Friday.
Man Singh became only the second Indian man to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Marathon Championships as he won the race with a personal best time in Hong Kong on Sunday.
Lootere deserves points for originality and novelty, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Lieutenant Commander Prerana Pravin Deosthalee will lead an all-male crew. She is currently the first lieutenant of INS Chennai, the missile destroyer that rescued a foreign merchant ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia last week.
Even as Russia and West Asia have been slugging it out for market share in India to sell their crude oil, the US is quietly making its moves on the sidelines. The US has doubled its share of the Indian crude market in the past few months, according to industry sources and ship-tracking data. Some of the increase in America's market share may have come at the expense of Russia, India's biggest crude oil supplier, said industry sources.
Ahead of Republic Day, the Indian Army announced on Thursday the addition of two new features to this year's parade: battlefield surveillance systems and a Defebce Research and Development Organisation tableau showcasing Pralay, short-range ballistic missiles.
Dipa Karmakar scripts history, becomes first Indian gymnast to win gold in Asian Senior Championships
Navy officials on Monday said that the swift response by the Indian Navy's mission deployed warship INS Sumitra ensured the safe release of the hijacked vessel and its crew.
The Indian Navy on Saturday said its guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam has deployed a team to help fire-fighting efforts on board British oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda which has got 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew members.
Earlier, Akash Anand completed his second first-class century and shared a 69-run stand with Tanush Kotian (33) to lead Mumbai's recovery after they ended the second day at 188 for seven.
There was no immediate confirmation from India's defence ministry on the withdrawal of the first batch of Indian military personnel from the Maldives as reported by the media in Maldives.
The project is critical as the region expects huge investments in the automotive, renewable energy, and space sectors.
The missile was fired by frontline corvette INS Prabal as part of a mega naval drill involving aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and a number of warships, attack helicopters, aircraft and other assets of the navy.
Naval assets take years to build, and therefore, not only is futuristic force planning essential, but indigenous projects must also be put into the pipeline, technologies developed and contracts for assets signed regularly so that the Indian Navy always remains a future-focussed force, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Captain Pawan Sehrawat helped India inflict the first All-Out with two touch points and gave his side a 10-4 lead.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu survived some tense moments before progressing to the women's singles second round, but it was curtains for Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth in the men's singles at the Badminton Asia Championships, in Ningbo, China, on Wednesday.
The Indian ships' participation in MALABAR-16, a maritime exercise with the US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, reflects the vital strategic importance of the region to India.
Narottam Morarjee Institute of Shipping, Mumbai (Established under the joint auspices of the Government of India and Indian Shipping Industry) opens 2008 admissions.
'He asserted in his usual jovial style that he was not an MBA like his audience at IIM-Ahmedabad but perhaps had an even better business degree: MBB'. 'He went on to explain to his perplexed, blue chip B-School audience that MBB stood for "Marwadi by birth"!' Shivanand Kanavi salutes Shashi Ruia, co-founder of the Essar group who passed into the ages on November 25, 2024 in Mumbai.
The resumption of two-carrier operations signals India's return to the elite clutch of navies that have the ship platforms and experience for operations that simultaneously involve more than one aircraft carrier.
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
Under capital expenditure, Rs 48,614 crore has been set aside for aircraft and aero engines while Rs 24,390 crore has been allocated for the naval fleet.
China said on Tuesday that it supports the Maldives in safeguarding its sovereignty, as the first batch of Indian military personnel operating a helicopter left the island nation and was replaced by a civilian crew.
A resurgence in Saudi Arabian supplies of crude oil to India coupled with an attack on an Iraqi tanker in August carrying crude to Europe may result in improved bargaining power for India with West Asian and Russian suppliers for winter supplies. Shipments of Saudi oil rebounded in September from August, surging to the highest since March while Russian oil shipments rose marginally as Saudi Arabia tried to claw back market share in Asia, according to industry sources and ship tracking data.
An Indian-flagged crude oil tanker is among two vessels that came under drone attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Southern Red Sea, the United States Central Command has said.
The fund will promote domestic shipbuilding of all types and sizes to reduce India's dependence on foreign ships.
Cruise ship Diamond Princess, carrying 3,711 people, arrived at the Japanese coast early last week and was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the novel virus on the ship. Around 60 people tested positive of the virus on Monday, taking the total number of those infected on the ship to 130.
A year after a Hamas attack against Israel on October 7 and the ensuing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, India's trade with most West Asian countries has largely escaped any major disruption, except with countries like Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. However, repeated flare-ups of geopolitical tensions in the region continue to drive up shipping and logistics costs.
Meanwhile, passengers began leaving the ship on Wednesday after the end of a two-week quarantine period that failed to stop the spread of the virus among passengers and crew.
The year was rich in content as far as Web series were concerned.
The government's initiative to migrate SEZ data from NSDL software to ICEGATE system for streamlined reporting of import data caused double counting of gold imports, resulting in inflated figures and the issue has now been largely rectified, government sources said. The downward revision has provided the actual picture of trade deficit (difference between imports and exports), which was earlier looking very high. The deficit for November will now be revised downwards from $37.84 billion to about $32.8 billion. Similarly, there will be a revision in overall import numbers as well.
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
Stock to watch: Shipping Corporation and Great Eastern Shipping
Madhya Pradesh's Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar has claimed that America was discovered by "our Indian ancestors", and not by Christopher Columbus as taught to students.
Gukesh, Liren eye breakthrough after series of draws in the Chess World C'ship.
In Ahmedabad to promote tourism in the island nation, Fernando said China has made a lot of investment in Sri Lanka and has been 'understanding its requirements in the past'.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu fought valiantly but was outperformed by sixth seed Han Yue of China in a gruelling pre-quarterfinal of the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo on Thursday.
This firing is a significant step towards achieving self-reliance in niche missile technology. Navy said.
On January 31, the Indian Army intercepted a Maldivian fishing boat engaged in fishing activities within the Maldives' Special Economic Zone (EEZ), located 72 nautical miles northeast of Dhidhdhoo, Haa Alifu Atoll, the Maldives' defence ministry claimed in a statement on Friday.
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