In major ballistic barrage, Russia hits Kyiv with 41 missiles, 18 shot down

Russia Battered Ukraine's capital Kyiv overnight with one of its biggest ballistic missile barrages of the war, killing at least one person and wounding 16 others, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.

A series of powerful explosions thundered across the darkened city in an attack that involved 41 missiles of various types, the air force said, ravaging buildings across several districts and sparking fires.

Govt set to bring Bill to criminalise insult to Vande Mataram

The Government is all set to bring a Bill in the Rajya Sabha on the first day of the Monsoon Session that will make any obstruction or insult to the national song "Vande Mataram" a criminal offence - at par with the national anthem "Jana Gana Mana".

According to the List of Business for the Rajya Sabha for Monday, "The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026" is likely to be introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. 

Coming soon in Gujarat: A life-size Harappan town with markets, dockyards

Very Soon, visitors to Lothal, one of the most prominent outposts of the Indus Valley Civilisation, will be able to get a feel of walking through Harappan streets, dockyards, markets and civic spaces.

Just a few minutes away from the archaeological site, about 80 km from Ahmedabad, architects are recreating parts of the historic town for a museum that will be part of the Rs 4,000-crore National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC), whose first phase will be inaugurated within weeks.

Lothal is believed to have existed around 4,500 years ago, with excavations at the site revealing the world's oldest known artificial dock, connected to an old course of the Sabarmati river. 

Yamuna floodplains shrank by a third in a century: Study

Yamuna's Shrinking flood-plains and increasing flood vulnerability in Delhi are the result of changes that have unfolded over more than two centuries, according to a study published in April this year in the Journal of the Geological Society of India by researchers from the University of Delhi (DU) and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal.

The study has estimated that rapid urbanisation has narrowed the river's channel by about 68%, reduced its long-term channel-maintaining, or formative discharge by nearly 89%, and disconnected around one-third of its floodplains. 

Jail for 'illegal' live-in: MP Cabinet clears UCC draft Bill

The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet on Sunday approved the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, proposing a common civil law for all residents that bans polygamy, criminalises practices such as triple talaq and provides for potential imprisonment of couples in live-in relationships if they don't declare their status.

The draft legislation is expected to be introduced in the Assembly during the Monsoon Session beginning Monday. 

An uncertain world needs food, fuel, forex buffers

The Ongoing West Asia conflict has been considered the largest oil shock in history, taking off a fifth of the world's supply that used to transit the Strait of Hormuz daily. Yet, all through this, global crude prices haven't surged like they did in the previous shocks of 2022 or 2008. One reason has been the International Energy Agency-coordinated action, on March 11, for the release of some 426 million barrels by member countries from their emergency oil stockpiles over a four-month period. 

India once dominated textile trade. It needs institutions to make a mark again

Few Industries have shaped India's civilisation as profoundly as textiles. Long before modern concepts of global value chains emerged, textiles were already woven into India's economic, cultural and commercial fabric. Archaeological excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro (dating back 4,500 years) have uncovered spindle whorls, needles and dyeing artefacts, among the earliest evidence of textiles. What began in the Indus valley was sustained through centuries of trade, innovation and craftsmanship. 

Some hard questions to RBI over its growth optimism

In its last meeting, the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep interest rates unchanged and maintain a neutral stance. While the accompanying statements did lay out the rationale for the committee's decision, several issues, beginning with inflation, need to be clarified.

Directionally, inflation is expected to trend upwards through the year. The central bank's own forecasts have pegged inflation at 5.65 per cent in the second half of the year, up from 4.65 per cent in the first half. There is also the possibility of prices surprising on the upside, considering the situation in West Asia and uncertainty over the monsoon season. 

9 in 10 Indian adults have abnormal lipid level; low HDL most common

Most people associate high cholesterol with middle age, obesity or diabetes but according to data from a national study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-INDIAB, nine in 10 (87.3%) Indian adults have at least one abnormal lipid level, making dyslipidemia - an un-healthy balance of fats in the blood one of country's most widespread health problems.

The study analysed lipid profiles from 23,665 adults selected from the larger ICMR-INDIAB survey covering all states and UTs. People with dyslipidemia often feel healthy while un-healthy fats accumulate inside blood vessels over the years, narrowing arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. 

Shah lays stone of world's largest curd production plant foundation

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday laid the foundation stone virtually for the world's largest curd production plant while slamming the previous TMC government for stalling the entry of Gujarat-based dairy cooperative Amul into the state.

Part of the Rs 700-crore Amul Bengal Dairy Project, the plant coming up at Howrah Food Park in Howrah's Sankrail - will have a daily capacity to process up to 30 lakh litre milk and 10 lakh litre curd. 

Geo-tagging, scientific monitoring, revival plans: Chhattisgarh draws roadmap to curb river pollution

Geo-tagging of river origin points, district-wise River Revival Plans, scientific monitoring of river discharge, groundwater levels and water quality, and technical scrutiny by expert institutions-these are among the measures the Chhattisgarh government says it has taken to prevent river pollution. 

FY27 growth seen 6.5-6.8%: Deloitte

Deloitte India on Sunday projected India's economy to grow at 6.5-6.8% in the current fiscal, with growth expected to strengthen in the second half of the year supported by festive demand, monetary easing, and a gradual stabilisation in global conditions.

In its latest edition of Economic Outlook report, Deloitte said India entered 2026 in a Goldilocks phase, with macroeconomic fundamentals appearing unusually well balanced, but geopolitical developments altered the global landscape with tensions in the West Asia disrupting critical shipping routes, triggering volatility in commodity prices and weakening investor sentiment. 

India, Spain advance talks on UPI-Bizum interoperability

India and Spain have agreed to fast-track discussions on enabling interoperability between India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Spain's Bizum digital payments platform, the Commerce Ministry said on Sunday.

The two countries have also discussed ways to strengthen investment facilitation, improving mobility of professionals and promoting joint investments in Latin America, leveraging Spain's strategic position as India's gateway to Europe and Latin America. 

'Semicon 2.0 to drive investment for chips'

Provisions under Semicon 2.0 to provide incentives to Indian chip-making firms against equity are expected to drive largescale investment required for the development of advanced chips for technology such as artificial intelligence, a senior government official has said. 

Why domestic reserves are not enough to fuel India's nuclear ambitions

Earlier this month, India secured a long-term uranium supply deal with Australia, marking the first major out-come of the India-Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement signed nearly 12 years ago.

While the volume of uranium oxide, or yellowcake, to be supplied and the duration of the agreement have not been disclosed, the deal follows similar long-term uranium supply agreements signed with Canada and Kazakhstan earlier this year, underscoring New Delhi's efforts to diversify and secure fuel supplies for its planned expansion of nuclear power generation. 

Poor monsoon's impact on India's agri import bill

While the monsoon rainfall deficit is quite significant now, the worry is more from a strengthening El Niño in the months ahead.

Given that El Niño is known to raise temperatures, the upcoming winter could be relatively short and warm. That can potentially hurt the rabi crops too. 

Race for Low Earth orbit: What Vikram-1 launch means for India

India's first privately developed launch vehicle, Vikram-1, placed several technology demonstration satellites in Low Earth orbit (LEO) on Saturday morning.

The launch from Sriharikota by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace - India's first space unicorn - makes India only the third country globally to have private launch capability after the US and China. This comes after the government opened up the space sector to private companies in 2020 and formalised the framework under the Indian Space Policy of 2023.

Air pollution may be quietly damaging your kidneys

Not Just your lungs, high levels of air pollution may be damaging your kidneys too. Researchers found that increase in exposure to PM2.5 was linked to reduced filtration efficiency of the kidneys, according to a study that followed over 12,000 people for six to ten years. The findings were recently published in the journal Kidney International Reports. This decline was evident even when the researchers controlled other risk factors like diabetes and hypertension.