News on Indian Economy
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal met Paula Estévez Weinstein, Chile’s Vice-Minister of International Economic Relations, in Santiago on 26 August 2026, with both sides reviewing progress in the negotiations and reaffirming their intention to work towards an agreement that delivers commercially meaningful opportunities for businesses in both countries.
The programme is significant because CHESS is one of the DRDO establishments associated with high-energy technologies and directed-energy research. A collimated fibre laser array represents an important class of optical technology for generating, conditioning and directing multiple laser outputs with controlled beam characteristics, capabilities that have relevance to the broader development of scalable high-power laser systems.
The comparison became more relevant after DRDO successfully demonstrated MPATGM against a moving tank-type target in January 2026 using a top-attack engagement profile. That trial showed that the latest Indian configuration had moved beyond basic technology demonstration and was approaching the stage required for induction into the Indian Army. The result placed India much closer to possessing a domestically controlled weapon in the same broad battlefield category as Javelin.
The light-up was carried out on August 28, 2026, by NMDC Director (Technical) Vinay Kumar and Director (Commercial) Vivek Nishant Nath. NMDC announced the development on August 29, describing it as an important step towards the commissioning and operationalisation of the Nagarnar pelletisation facility.
Each of the new ferries will be approximately 24 metres long and eight metres wide and will have capacity for 100 passengers. The vessels will have a shallow draft requirement of about one metre, making them suitable for operation on inland waterways.
The latest figure was released by the Government of India on 29 August 2026. According to the official update, the area covered under the programme now represents about 8.11% of India’s net sown area, reflecting the gradual spread of drip and sprinkler irrigation across some of the country’s most water-stressed agricultural regions.
The patent, granted on 27 August 2026, covers an invention titled “A Process for Nanoemulsifiable Concentrate Formulations of Hydrophobic Bioactive Molecules.” More importantly, the technology has already moved beyond laboratory research and has been translated into CIFRI ARGCURE®, a field-oriented formulation developed to control Argulus and other ectoparasites affecting cultured fish. The patent award was formally announced by the Government of India on 28 August.
Artha is intended primarily for Indian enterprises and public institutions that require AI systems capable of handling Indian languages while allowing sensitive information and model workloads to remain within their own computing infrastructure.
The Ministry of Defence described the August 25 decision as an important step towards greater self-reliance in defence manufacturing. Instead of relying primarily on a small number of traditional production agencies, DRDO-developed conventional missile technologies can now be transferred to a wider pool of capable Indian manufacturers.
The progress was confirmed by the Government of India on 29 August 2026, following the fourth meeting of the India–Argentina Joint Trade Committee, held in Buenos Aires on 24 August. The government described the Catamarca venture as the first lithium mining initiative undertaken by an Indian company in Argentina and said opportunities for further engagement are now being explored in the Argentine provinces of Salta and Jujuy.
