A group of researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), along with University of Sydney, Australia, and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, has now shown that this textbook limit can be shattered in a solid, epitaxial crystal.
Unlike arrangements where UPI is accepted only at selected merchants or through individual acquiring networks, the Uzbekistan partnership connects UPI with the country’s national interoperable QR infrastructure, potentially giving Indian users access to a very broad merchant network across retail establishments, hotels, restaurants and service providers.
The bilateral meeting took place on the sidelines of the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, hosted by the Kyrgyz Republic. The summit also coincided with Kyrgyzstan’s Independence Day, adding a symbolic dimension to Modi’s visit to Bishkek.
The Bishkek meeting was the first face-to-face meeting between Modi and Putin in 2026. Their previous meeting had taken place in New Delhi during the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit in December 2025, when the two countries reaffirmed their Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership and laid out an expanded agenda covering trade, defence, energy, technology and connectivity.
The talks came at a particularly sensitive moment for the region, with continuing conflict and geopolitical tensions affecting energy markets, commercial shipping and international supply chains. Modi expressed concern over the escalation of tensions and reiterated India’s longstanding position that disputes should be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy rather than military confrontation.
The latest National Statistics Office estimates released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation show that India’s real GDP at constant 2022-23 prices increased to ₹81.36 lakh crore in Q1 FY 2026-27, compared with ₹75.46 lakh crore during the corresponding quarter of FY 2025-26. Under the revised national accounts series, growth in the comparable quarter of the previous year stands at 6.9%, meaning economic expansion accelerated appreciably during the latest quarter.
The foundation stones for the projects were laid on 29 August 2026 by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh. The programme forms part of the latest expansion of PMGSY-IV, which is focused on bringing all-weather road connectivity to habitations that remain outside the regular road network, particularly in mountainous and geographically difficult regions.
These technologies are emerging from the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems, or NM-ICPS, a ₹3,660-crore programme implemented by the Department of Science and Technology. A government technology review released on 31 August 2026 highlighted how the programme is moving from fundamental research towards deployable technologies across healthcare, telecommunications, agriculture, mining, cybersecurity and autonomous mobility.
The newly described species, Ghatiana karnataka, was discovered at Mavinkaru in the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary of Udupi district, where it inhabits moist lateritic habitats within the central Western Ghats. Its formal description was published on 21 July 2026 in the journal Species by Santanu Mitra of the Zoological Survey of India and Ajmeer K of the Karnataka Forest Department.
Bilateral merchandise trade between India and Brazil reached $15.07 billion in 2025-26. Reaching the new 2030 target would therefore require the two countries to roughly double their current trade relationship over the next several years.
