Trump's 50% tariffs kick in today, export of textiles, gems and jewellery worst hit

With the US deciding to implement the steep 50 per cent tariffs on merchandise from India starting Wednesday, exports of low-margin and labour-intensive goods ranging from apparel, textiles, gems and jewellery to shrimps, carpets and furniture, are set to become unviable in the American market, jeopardising low-skilled jobs in India. 

Govt looking into rare earth shortage, says PM; calls for 'swadeshi'

Acknowledging the ongoing shortage of rare earth materials faced by India's automobile industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that the Government was working towards building national capacity in critical minerals and would soon launch exploration missions.

Draft Startup Policy '25: Delhi govt proposes ₹200-cr venture capital fund

The Delhi Government has pro-posed setting up of a Rs 200-crore venture capital fund for investing in startups, among various other measures, as part of a draft for the Delhi Startup Policy 2025. The aim, as per the government, is to make the national capital "the most preferred destination for startups" in the next decade.

India seeks 'strong condemnation' of cross-border terror at SCO meet

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, India on Tuesday said it expects the grouping to strongly condemn cross-border terrorism.

Navy commissions 2 stealth frigates; will be game-changers, says Rajnath

In a major boost to the country's maritime strike capabilities, the Indian Navy Tuesday commissioned two multi-mission stealth frigates, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, each equipped with eight BrahMos missiles and featuring a suite of advanced weapons and sensors developed by the indigenous manufacturers.

2+2 Dialogue: India, US discuss energy security, defence ties amid tariff tensions

Amid the strain in ties over New Delhi's import of Russian oil, and even as the United States has is-sued a notification to implement the penalty tariffs on India effective from Wednesday, the two countries discussed energy security and increasing defence cooperation under the India-US 2+2 Dialogue framework.

school One-third students take pvt coaching, more common in urban areas, says Govt

Nearly one-third of school students take private coaching, and the trend is more common in urban areas, the Centre's Comprehensive Modular Survey (CMS) on education has found.

Landslides, flash floods leave trail of destruction in Himachal

Torrential rainfall over the past 48 hours caused a sharp rise in the water level of the Beas river, severely damaging a 40-km stretch of National Highway-3 between Kullu and Manali at multiple locations.

The Asia challenge

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Asian tour this week – first to Tokyo on a bilateral visit and then to Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit -could prove doubly consequential for Indian diplomacy. It offers a chance to impart fresh momentum to India's partnership with Japan while cautiously advancing the normalisation of ties with China.

Trump tariffs: Russian oil loadings slump, Sept-Oct deliveries to offer more clarity

Amid the US rhetoric against India's Russian oil imports, the key question is whether Indian refiners will meaningfully cut their appetite for Russian crude. While July and August have already seen a decline in deliveries of Russian crude at Indian ports, industry insiders attribute that largely to shrinking discounts on Moscow's oil, and not American pressure, as those cargoes would have been booked weeks before US President Donald Trump upped the ante against India in July and announced additional tariffs on Indian goods early August. 

US CONFIRMS ITS FIRST HUMAN CASE OF FLESH-EATING NEW WORLD SCREWWORM: WHAT IS THIS PARASITE?

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Sunday reported the first human case of the flesh-eating parasite, the New World screw-worm, in the country. The case, investigated by the Maryland Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was confirmed on August 4, and involved a person who had recently travelled to El Salvador. 

Navy's two new frigates

Two Nilgiri-Class stealth guided-missile frigates, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, were simultaneously commissioned into the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

The futuristic "sleek and stealthy" electronic warfare-capable vessels carry a formidable arsenal and send, as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh posted on X, "a message that India is fully capable of protecting its maritime borders and is ready to respond immediately to any challenge or situation".

ISRO conducts air drop test for Gaganyaan: why is it crucial to the mission?

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully carried out its first Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-1) on Sunday to evaluate the parachute-based deceleration system for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission. The system is critical for ensuring safe recovery of the crew module - the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight - during re-entry and landing.

The first crewed mission under the Gaganyaan programme is scheduled for 2027, and the first uncrewed mission is likely toward the end of this year.