May 18, 2026

Kautilya

Governance

Parliament Passes Landmark ‘Inland Vessels Bill, 2021’ to Repeal and Replace the Existing Inland Vessels Act, 1917

Parliament on Monday passed the Inland Vessels Bill, 2021, which aims to replace over 100 years old Inland Vessels Act, 1917 (1 of 1917) and usher a new era in the inland water transport sector and also to fulfil the vision of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, to make the Legislative framework user friendly and promote ease of doing business. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways moved the bill in Rajya Sabha today. Now the bill will be sent for the assent of President of India.

By Kautilya / August 8, 2021
Defense Diplomacy

Eastern Fleet Ships on Overseas Operational Deployment

    In pursuit of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and to enhance military cooperation with friendly countries, a Task Force of Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet is scheduled to proceed on an Overseas Deployment to South East Asia, the South China Sea and Western Pacific from early Aug 2021 for over two months. The deployment of the Indian Navy ships seeks to underscore the operational reach, peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between India and countries of the Indo Pacific.

By Kautilya / August 7, 2021
Research

New Technology can Enhance Solubility of Poorly Water-Soluble Multi-Herbal Extracts Using Nano-Encapsulation at Room Temperature

To overcome such limitations, herbal drugs can be encapsulated with suitable biopolymers as nanocarriers. The nanocarrier can significantly enhance the gastric emptying time and deliver higher amount of drug for a sustained period in the stomach. In addition, the amount of drug required to be incorporated to nanocarriers is much less than required when encapsulated in a tablet. This is very useful when using expensive phytomolecules. Optimal use of phytomolecules improves the cost-effectiveness and therapeutic efficacy of the product.

By Kautilya / August 7, 2021
Health

Scientists Discover A New Way to Detect Early Colon Cancer

Dr. Sengupta’s laboratory works on micro RNAs, which are small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules, silence the expression of many proteins. The micro RNAs are known to bind to the messenger RNA molecules that code for the proteins and thereby either inactivate or destroy them.

By Kautilya / August 7, 2021
Diplomacy Infrastructure

India, Bangladesh Resume Freight Services on Haldibari-Chilahati Rail Route After 56 Years

The distance between Haldibari Railway Station till the international border is 4.5 km, while that of Chilahati is around 7.5 km. till the ‘zero point’.  As of now, five links connecting India with Bangladesh have been made operational which include Petrapole (India) – Benapole (Bangladesh), Gede (India) – Darshana (Bangladesh), Singhabad (India) Rohanpur (Bangladesh), Radhikapur (India) – Birol (Bangladesh) with Haldibari-Chilahati forming the 5th such link.

By Kautilya / August 7, 2021
Vidya

146% Rise in Applications for ‘Study in India’ Programme

The number of applicants and online exam takers for the Study in India (SII) scholarships increased by 145.6% and 651.9%, respectively, providing a huge boost to the initiative, which had been struggling to gain traction for the previous three years. The number of nations represented in the programme increased considerably as well, from 12 in 2020-21 to 136 in 2021-22.

By Kautilya / August 7, 2021
Diplomacy Research

ISRO to Take Cooperation with European, Israeli Space Agencies to Higher Orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation is in talks with European and Israeli space organisations to improve collaboration and explore possible areas of collaboration. Last week, Mr. K Sivan, Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman of ISRO, conducted virtual discussions with Mr. Avi Blasberger, Director General of the Israel Space Agency (ISA), and Mr. Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA).

By Kautilya / August 6, 2021