Kautilya

PRAGATI 2026 Begins in Meghalaya, Bringing 12 Regional Armies Together for Joint Training

PRAGATI stands for Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region. The exercise has been designed as a platform where participating armies can train together, exchange professional experience and build stronger military-to-military understanding. Its guiding spirit is equality, friendship and mutual respect, making it more than just a military drill; it is also a regional confidence-building effort.

India and Italy Elevate Ties to Special Strategic Partnership, Set €20 Billion Trade Target by 2029

The joint declaration reflects a broad expansion of India-Italy cooperation across politics, trade, defence, technology, connectivity, migration, culture, education and multilateral affairs. Both leaders agreed to hold annual leader-level meetings, including on the sidelines of major international events, along with regular ministerial and institutional-level consultations. A Foreign Ministers-led mechanism will also be established to review the India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025–2029 and provide strategic direction to the newly elevated partnership.

Param Robotic Mule: Indian Army’s High-Altitude Logistics Takes a Four-Legged Leap

Param belongs to a growing class of Multi-Utility Legged Equipment, or MULE-type systems. Unlike wheeled vehicles, a four-legged robotic platform can move across uneven ground, climb obstacles, negotiate slopes, enter narrow spaces and operate in areas where normal vehicles cannot go. Such a system can be used for last-mile supply, surveillance, reconnaissance, perimeter security, mine or IED detection, sensor carriage and even emergency support in dangerous zones. The key advantage is simple: the robot can go first, carry the load, scan the route and reduce risk to soldiers.

Fennel Seeds in Ayurveda: Saunf as the Gentle Digestive Spice of the Indian Kitchen

In classical Ayurvedic language, fennel is commonly identified as Mishreya, Mishi or Madhurika. The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India identifies Mishreya as the dried ripe fruit of Foeniculum vulgare Mill., belonging to the Umbelliferae family, now commonly placed under Apiaceae. The plant is described as an aromatic herb, usually 1–2 metres high, cultivated widely in India and sometimes found wild. What we casually call fennel “seeds” are botanically the dried fruits of the plant.

Indian Researchers Discover Rare Blue Straggler–Brown Dwarf Binary in Ultra-Compact Orbit

The discovery is important because blue straggler stars are already among the more puzzling objects in star clusters. In a cluster where stars are expected to be of broadly similar age, blue stragglers appear brighter and bluer than the main-sequence turn-off point, making them look unusually young or rejuvenated compared to their stellar neighbours. This has long raised questions about whether they are formed through mass transfer, mergers, stellar interactions or more complex multi-star evolution.

India’s Industrial Superpower Test: The Shift From Assembly to Deep Manufacturing

The policy direction is now clearly visible. India’s Production Linked Incentive framework has become one of the central instruments for converting manufacturing ambition into factory-level investment. Across 14 sectors, PLI schemes had generated investments exceeding ₹2.16 lakh crore by the end of December 2025, while incremental production and sales crossed ₹20.41 lakh crore. The schemes have also resulted in more than 14.39 lakh direct and indirect jobs, with 836 applications approved across the PLI framework.

Sthanu Ravi Varma: The Chera Perumal King Who Made Kerala a Port, Temple and Knowledge Power

The most famous document of his reign is the Tharisapalli copper plate grant, also known as the Quilon Syrian Christian copper plates. This record is dated to the fifth regnal year of Sthanu Ravi, around 849–850 CE, and is one of the most important early medieval documents in Kerala history. It was issued at Kollam by Ayyan Adikal Thiruvadikal, the Venad chieftain under Chera authority, in favour of Mar Sapir Iso, a Christian merchant-leader connected with the establishment of a church and trading settlement at Kollam.

West Bengal Highway Handover Gives Strategic Boost to India’s Chicken’s Neck Corridor

The seven stretches were earlier under the national highway wing of the West Bengal Public Works Department. According to the press note cited by PTI, the handover proposals had remained pending for nearly a year despite repeated requests from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The state’s latest approval now allows central agencies to begin development work without the earlier administrative blockage.