The National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, is visiting his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing for Special Representative-level talks on the boundary issue. The 25th round of SR-level talks will take place on August 25.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has informed that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar would make an official visit to Russia on August 23-24 to attend the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC). Jaishankar will also meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the CEOs of 20 Indian space startups, including Skyroot Aerospace, ahead of National Space Day, which commemorates the historic Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing. In his interaction, Modi encouraged young entrepreneurs to strengthen India’s space sector and build the country into a global space hub.
World News
A Tiangong Ultra, a Chinese humanoid robot built by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, has beaten the men’s world record made by Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt by completing the 100 metres in 9.39 seconds during a preliminary heat at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.
Iran has urged Qatar to move detained Iranian pilots from water to a hospital on land, saying they are reportedly in poor physical condition and that the location where they are being held is unsuitable. Qatar, however, has denied holding Iranian pilots, saying they had earlier violated Qatari airspace and did not respond to attempts to contact them. Doha has agreed to coordinate with Iran over the issue and has invited an Iranian delegation to review its search-and-rescue operations.
Sports News
Indian cricketer Devdutt Padikkal has scored his second century in the India vs Sri Lanka test series in Colombo. Padikkal had earlier scored his maiden Test century in the first tests against Sri Lanka in Galle.
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Indian former cricketer and leg spinner, Karn Sharma has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. In his cricket career, he has represented India in one Test series, two ODI’s and one T20I’s. Sharma has also played over 90 Indian Premier League matches for teams like Royal Challengers of Bengaluru, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings.
Business News
Indian Railways has launched its first 1.3-km-long double-stack container train, from Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) near Mumbai to Varnama in Vadodara Division on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC). Asper the national transporter, the train. carrying 360 TEUs (containers) departed from Mumbai at 7 pm on August 21, 2026, and covered 422 km to reach CONCOR’s GCT terminal at Varnama.
The GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) President Justice (Retd) Sanjaya Kumar Mishra expressed concern has expressed his concerns over the low number of filings, as the e-filing portal received only 74,758 appeals. The numbers are significantly below the GSTAT estimation of 2 – 2.5 lakh cases expected to reach the tribunal.
Education News
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced to re-conduct the All India AYUSH Post Graduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET) 2026 for 49 candidates who failed to finish their exams due to a power failure at a test centre in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The re-exam will be carried out on September 1, at 10 am, at Rajasthan College of Engineering for Women, Jaipur.
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The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), in collaboration with Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), has designed a digital platform named ‘India Pharma Archives’ that takes viewers through the 125-year-long history of Indian pharma. The platform was launched by the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare of India, Anupriya Patel, at the IIMA Healthcare Summit, in Ahmedabad.