Tested in diabetic mice at ETH Zurich, the wireless device lowers blood glucose within 90 minutes, with researchers planning further miniaturisation before human trials.

An Indian scientist in Switzerland has helped design a tiny wirelessly powered implantable device that removes excess glucose from the bloodstream without external insulin or medication, promising a novel bioengineering route to diabetes control.

In diabetic mice, the device improved blood sugar levels within 90 minutes and reduced body weight and triglyceride levels without any detectable adverse effects during six weeks of treatment, Debasis Maity and his colleagues at ETH Zurich said on Thursday.

The device, implanted under the skin and connected to a continuous glucose monitor via a smartphone, automatically activates when blood sugar levels exceed a pre-set threshold, enabling targeted removal of glucose, the researchers said.

“These are proof-of-concept experiments in lab mice,” Maity, a postdoctoral researcher at ETH, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, told The Telegraph in a telephone interview. “We would need to refine the technology and make the device even smaller before human trials.”

The International Diabetes Federation’s 2025 Atlas had estimated nearly 590 million adults worldwide, including over 90 million in India, living with diabetes, often coexisting with obesity. Current treatment relies largely on medications that lower glucose or body weight, but these therapies may produce side effects and typically involve lifelong treatment.

While some studies have suggested that diabetes and the dependence on medications could be potentially reversed through rigorous diet and lifestyle, poor adherence to the required regimens remains a major challenge in diabetes control.

The ETH team, supervised by Martin Fussenegger, professor of biotechnology and bioengineering, has developed an implant — housed in a 26mm by 14mm by 5mm casing — containing an electrocatalyst that removes excess glucose from the bloodstream at an adjustable rate.

The device could provide “a dose-controllable drug-free therapeutic alternative” for diabetes control, the scientists said in a paper set for publication in the US journal Science on Friday.

“The drug-free mode of action is relevant because current pharmacological therapies can be limited by adverse effects, tolerability, adherence, cost, and unresolved long-term safety questions,” they wrote.

An Indian scientist in Switzerland has helped design a tiny wirelessly powered implantable device that removes excess glucose from the bloodstream without external insulin or medication, promising a novel bioengineering route to diabetes control.

In diabetic mice, the device improved blood sugar levels within 90 minutes and reduced body weight and triglyceride levels without any detectable adverse effects during six weeks of treatment, Debasis Maity and his colleagues at ETH Zurich said on Thursday.

The device, implanted under the skin and connected to a continuous glucose monitor via a smartphone, automatically activates when blood sugar levels exceed a pre-set threshold, enabling targeted removal of glucose, the researchers said.

“These are proof-of-concept experiments in lab mice,” Maity, a postdoctoral researcher at ETH, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, told The Telegraph in a telephone interview. “We would need to refine the technology and make the device even smaller before human trials.”

The International Diabetes Federation’s 2025 Atlas had estimated nearly 590 million adults worldwide, including over 90 million in India, living with diabetes, often coexisting with obesity. Current treatment relies largely on medications that lower glucose or body weight, but these therapies may produce side effects and typically involve lifelong treatment.

While some studies have suggested that diabetes and the dependence on medications could be potentially reversed through rigorous diet and lifestyle, poor adherence to the required regimens remains a major challenge in diabetes control.

The ETH team, supervised by Martin Fussenegger, professor of biotechnology and bioengineering, has developed an implant — housed in a 26mm by 14mm by 5mm casing — containing an electrocatalyst that removes excess glucose from the bloodstream at an adjustable rate.

The device could provide “a dose-controllable drug-free therapeutic alternative” for diabetes control, the scientists said in a paper set for publication in the US journal Science on Friday.

“The drug-free mode of action is relevant because current pharmacological therapies can be limited by adverse effects, tolerability, adherence, cost, and unresolved long-term safety questions,” they wrote.

Maity graduated from the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College in Calcutta and earned a PhD from Bharathiar University, Coimbatore. He joined ETH six years ago and worked with Fussenegger on the development of implants to control metabolic disorders.

Their wirelessly powered implantable device contains tiny platinum-decorated gold particles embedded in a graphite base. The cluster of particles serves as an electrocatalyst that selectively converts glucose into gluconate, a compound rapidly excreted through the kidneys.

Since the device is electrically activated, the rate of glucose removal can be finely controlled. The implant, connected to a continuous glucose monitoring system, seeks to restore glucose balance by increasing removal when glucose levels exceed threshold levels but stopping as they reach target levels.

“At the current stage of the technology, we’ve demonstrated through lab experiments glucose clearance in approximately five litres of liquid, comparable to the typical blood volume in an adult human,” Maity said. The catalyst for those experiments measures 5cm by 5cm by 0.5cm.

He said future research will focus on efforts to miniaturise the implant and integrate it with an electrical power source such as a wireless charging system and a continuous glucose monitoring device.

“I think this is conceptually a fascinating idea — controlling glucose without drugs, without insulin, without lifestyle changes,” Ambrish Mithal, chair of endocrinology and diabetology at the Max Healthcare group in New Delhi who was not connected with the Swiss study, told this newspaper.

Mithal cautioned that something that works in lab mice need not always work in people, but he added: “this is the most novel thing I’ve seen this year on diabetes treatment strategies”.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

The story dates back to 1942, when a ruler from Gujarat opened his doors to Polish children displaced by war.

An Indian king, 650 Polish children fleeing the horrors of World War II, and an act of kindness that has endured for nearly eight decades. The story of the “Good Maharaja” continues to hold a special place in Poland’s national memory, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk recalling the Indian ruler’s legacy on Thursday.

The story dates back to 1942, when a ruler from Gujarat opened his doors to Polish children displaced by the war. At a time when the conflict had torn families apart and left thousands of children without a safe place to go, he offered them shelter far from their homeland.

The man remembered as the “Good Maharaja” was Shri Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, a princely state in present-day Gujarat, commonly known as Jamnagar.

During World War II, thousands of Poles were sent to the Caucasus as refugees after being released from Soviet gulags. They travelled overland to Iran’s Tehran, but conditions there proved inadequate. India was among the few countries that responded to an appeal for assistance from the Polish government-in-exile.

The Jam Saheb, who was then chairman of the Chamber of Princes, agreed to provide refuge to Polish children.

In April 1942, 650 children were transported overland to Balachadi, on the outskirts of Jamnagar. The ruler hosted them at a special camp near his Summer Palace, now part of the Sainik School, and provided shelter until 1946.

The Maharaja’s promise

The Jam Saheb’s welcome to the children became one of the most enduring parts of the story.

“I am your bapu (father), just like I am father to all Nawanagaris. Therefore, you are no longer orphans today,” he told them. The words are now famously inscribed at his memorial in Poland.

Over the next four years, the Balachadi camp became home to around 1,000 Polish children. They received care, education and the opportunity to practise their Catholic faith.

Several people helped run the camp. Father Pluta provided spiritual guidance, while Colonel Jeffrey Clark managed its administration. Dr Amrutlal Ashani, pharmacist Anant Joshi and chief nurse Cathy helped look after the children’s health. Seven Goan cooks prepared their meals, with expenses covered from the Jam Saheb’s personal funds.

His generosity earned him the Polish title Dobry Maharaja, meaning the Good Maharaja.

Balachadi camp diaries

For the children who lived at Balachadi, the camp became much more than a place of refuge. Many retained fond memories of their time in India, with some describing it as their “best childhood memories”.

The children played sports with local youngsters. While the locals proved better at hockey, the Polish children excelled at volleyball and were evenly matched in football. Some locals even called the camp Roopnagari, referring to its cherubic inhabitants.

The story also inspired Polish filmmaker Tomasz Stankiewicz, who spent two years at Balachadi and later produced the acclaimed documentary The Brave Bunch in India.

Warsaw’s tribute to Jam Saheb

Poland’s gratitude to the Jam Saheb has endured long after the children returned home or settled elsewhere around the world.

In 2011, he was posthumously awarded the Commanders’ Cross of the Order of Merit of Poland. A commemorative monument was erected in 2014 at Good Maharaja Square in Warsaw’s Ochota district.

In 2016, Poland’s lower house of parliament unanimously passed a resolution honouring him on the 50th anniversary of his death. Eight prestigious schools in Poland were also named after him following a popular vote among students, parents and faculty members.

The children who survived the war and found refuge in India are represented by The Association of Poles in India: 1942-1948.

How the ‘Good Maharaja’ connects India and Poland today

The story received renewed attention during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Poland in 2024, the first by an Indian prime minister since 1979. Modi paid homage at the memorial to the Good Maharaja.

The connection also continues through educational exchanges. The Rajkumar College in Rajkot, the Jam Saheb’s alma mater, has an active exchange programme with the Maharaja Independent High School, Bednarska, in Warsaw.

In 2024, 12 students and a teacher from Rajkumar College spent two weeks in Warsaw as part of a family homestay programme. Polish students are expected to make a return visit in November and travel to the historic Balachadi campsite for a wreath-laying ceremony.

Nearly eight decades after the Polish children found refuge in Gujarat, the Jam Saheb’s legacy continues to connect the two countries.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headlines edited)

HAL has handed over the first three indigenous HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft to the IAF, but full-fledged rookie pilot training may take up to two years.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has handed over the first three HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF), but full-fledged training operations may take up to two years to begin as the service builds up its pool of trained instructors and receives more aircraft, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday.

The delivery of the first HTT-40 basic trainer in Bengaluru on September 18 marked a milestone in the indigenous programme, but the IAF will deploy them for training rookie pilots at the Air Force Academy near Hyderabad only after building a fleet of 25-30 aircraft and training enough flying instructors for the role, the officials said, requesting anonymity.

“The HTT-40 trainers will initially be stationed at the Flying Instructors’ School in Tambaram near Chennai to train instructors who will eventually teach rookie pilots how to fly the aircraft,” said one of the officials cited above. The basic trainer will serve as a stepping stone for pilots to develop critical flying skills.

The flying instructors will frame the HTT-40’s standard operating procedures, prepare the training syllabus and set proficiency standards for the trainee pilots, said a second official.

The air force ordered 70 basic trainer aircraft for ₹6,838 crore three years ago to train pilots and meet its growing training requirements. The HTT-40s are powered by US firm Honeywell’s TPE331-12B turboprop engines whose deliveries were delayed because of supply chain bottlenecks, which are now expected to ease. Under a $100-million contract signed four years ago for 88 TPE331-12B engines and kits, Honeywell will supply 16 engines directly and HAL will manufacture the remaining units under a technology transfer agreement.

If engine supplies stabilise fully, HAL can produce a total of 20 HTT-40s a year at its factories in Bengaluru and Nashik. The tandem-seat HTT-40 has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot refuelling capability (refuelling with the engine running on the ground), and zero-zero ejection seats (for safe ejection at low speeds and low heights). It currently has 56% local content, which will progressively increase to over 60% through further indigenisation of major components and sub-systems.

Ab initio (Stage-I) flying training for all rookie pilots is currently carried out on Swiss-origin Pilatus PC-7 MkII basic trainers. Stage-I training is common for all pilots after which trifurcation into fighter, transport and helicopter streams takes place. Those selected for the fighter stream proceed to Stage-II training on PC-7 MkII and Kiran Mk-1A jet trainers and then Stage-III on the British-origin Hawk advanced jet trainers before they can fly supersonic fighter planes including Rafales, Sukhoi-30s and Mirage 2000s. Pilots from the other two streams carry out their Stage II and III training on different types of transport aircraft and helicopters.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

Bharti Enterprises founder Sunil Bharti Mittal receives the Légion d’Honneur from French President Emmanuel Macron, in recognition of his role in deepening India-France economic ties.

Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has been conferred the highest civilian award in France, Chevalier de l’Ordre national de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour), by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Légion d’Honneur is the highest civilian award bestowed by the French Republic.

Mr. Mittal has been conferred the distinction in recognition of his longstanding commitment to deepening economic ties between India and France and his outstanding achievements in telecommunications and digital infrastructure, a company statement said.

Ambassador of France to India Thierry Mathou said Sunil Bharti Mittal has been a friend of France for more than thirty years, since the early days of Airtel in 1992.

“He has unflaggingly nurtured these ties over the decades and shown what French and Indian business endeavours can achieve together. Today he advances these relations as Vice-Chairman of Eutelsat, at a time when our two countries are moving forward jointly in space and digital technology.

“In awarding him the Légion d’Honneur, the President of the Republic recognises an outstanding business leader who has contributed to making France a lasting partner in India,” he said.

The insignia will be conferred at a ceremony to be held on October 28, 2026, at the Ambassade de France (Embassy of France in India), New Delhi.

On the recognition, Mr. Mittal expressed gratitude towards the Republic of France.

“My association with France began at Airtel’s inception in 1992, when Compagnie Générale des Eaux joined hands with Bharti to introduce mobile telephony in India.

“It continues today through my role as Co-Chairman of Eutelsat, the European satellite champion. I accept this honour with gratitude to the President of the French Republic, His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Macron, and with a renewed commitment to further deepen the economic ties between India and France,” Mr. Mittal said.

In 2007, Mr. Mittal was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours.

In 2024, he became the first Indian citizen to be honoured as a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) by King Charles III.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Incumbent mayors were defeated as the polls were held for 161 municipalities and 27 regional districts on Saturday.

An Indo-Canadian was elected mayor of Fernie while another person of Indian origin was re-elected as Williams Lake’s top city official as municipal election results were declared in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia. A third Indo-Canadian was elected the Mission city’s youngest mayor without a contest a month earlier.

Incumbent mayors were defeated as the elections were held for 161 municipalities and 27 regional districts on Saturday across British Columbia, where South Asians account for 9.6% of the population, according to the 2021 census.

Harshan Ramadass, better known as Harsh, the Fernie mayor-elect, has an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Bangalore University’s Visvesvaraya College of Engineering and an MBA from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. He arrived in Fernie in 2011 to work with a resource company, and his daughter was born there.

“I am deeply honoured to be your next mayor, and I look forward to working with our new council and the entire community to turn that vision into action,” MyEastKootenayNow quoted Ramadass as saying.

Ramadass, who served on the city council for four years before entering the mayoral fray, said that, having grown up with limited means in India, he knows what it means to stretch every dollar and plan for the long term. “That mindset never leaves you — and it’s exactly the discipline I bring to how I think about public money,” Ramadass, who has worked in mining, automotive, and manufacturing sectors in the US, India, and Canada since 2003, said on his campaign website.

Surinderpal Rathor, re-elected as the Williams Lake mayor, was first elected to the city council in 1993. He served seven consecutive terms totalling 21 years, before becoming the mayor in 2022. Rathor arrived in Williams Lake in 1974 after immigrating from India at the age of 21.

Jag Gill, another Indo-Canadian, became the youngest Mission mayor a month earlier by acclamation and without a contest on September 18. He was first elected to the city council in 2018, the youngest to do so. After two terms on the council, he sought the mayor’s office.

Gill did not expect to win the election without a contest. “I wanted an election. I wanted to keep knocking on doors, put my eight-year record and my vision in front of this community, answer the hard questions, and ask people for their vote,” he said in a letter to the community.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

Chandigarh, City-based advocate Ajay Jagga on Sunday urged the Centre and the Chandigarh Administration to intervene urgently to prevent the proposed auction of nine heritage furniture articles associated with Chandigarh and designed by Swiss-French architect Pierre Jeanneret in France on October 25.

In a representation to the Ministries of External Affairs and Culture and the Chandigarh Administration, Jagga sought immediate verification of the provenance and ownership of the articles and requested that the auction be put on hold pending the inquiry.

The auction is scheduled to be held by Paris Oise Encheres in Chantilly, France.

According to the details provided in the representation, several articles are described in the auction catalogue as originating from administrative buildings in Chandigarh.

The items include a set of two Senate Committee chairs, a pair of Avocat armchairs, an Avocat sofa, a bookcase, office cane chairs, a demountable administrative office and a filing cabinet described as being in the style of Jeanneret.

The representation also lists two Easy Cane chairs whose provenance is not specified in the supplied catalogue details. Another item, a teak table, is described as having been specially commissioned for the dependencies of the Palace of the Maharaja of Patiala.

Jagga said the catalogue descriptions warranted immediate verification by the competent authorities, including examination of government inventories, disposal records, transfer documents and permissions relating to the removal of the furniture.

He urged the Ministry of External Affairs to use diplomatic channels to approach the concerned foreign authorities and auction house to seek a hold on the sale until the ownership and provenance of the articles were established.

He also sought appropriate police action wherever evidence of unauthorised removal, misappropriation, theft or illegal disposal was found.

In his representation, Jagga referred to an earlier communication dated September 25 regarding Chandigarh-linked heritage furniture and said an auction had nevertheless proceeded on October 10.

He called for a coordinated mechanism to identify, trace and recover Chandigarh’s heritage furniture that may have been removed from the country and offered for sale abroad.

The furniture designed by Jeanneret forms part of Chandigarh’s architectural and cultural history, and articles associated with the city’s administrative buildings require careful examination before their ownership and movement can be established, the representation said.

The proposed auction includes estimates ranging from 6,000 euros to 45,000 euros for individual lots, according to the supplied list, he said.

The total estimated value requires reconciliation with the overall figures mentioned in the representation.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

With over 75 % of its components sourced domestically, the vessel can tow ships in distress, provide medical aid and support disaster relief missions.

India’s push to expand private-sector participation in warship construction received a boost on Friday as the Indian Navy commissioned Samarthak, the country’s first multi-purpose vessel built by a private shipyard, at its Karwar base in Karnataka. Built by Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the vessel has more than 75 per cent indigenous content.

Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan attended the commissioning ceremony, where Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan highlighted the vessel’s role in strengthening India’s defence manufacturing capabilities. Karnataka labour minister Santosh Lad was also present.

Samarthak is the first of four multi-purpose vessels being inducted into the Navy. Constructed at L&T’s Kattupalli shipyard in Tamil Nadu, the vessel was designed and engineered in-house at the company’s Warship Design Centre.

Swaminathan described the commissioning as a significant step towards Aatmanirbharata, or self-reliance, and underlined the importance of greater domestic participation in building the Navy’s fleet.

“This is the first major or big warship contracted to and constructed by a private shipyard to be commissioned into the Indian Navy,” he said.

Designed for a range of operational and support duties, Samarthak will help the Navy test indigenous weapons and sensors, operate unmanned autonomous systems, and conduct maritime surveillance and patrols.

The vessel is equipped with a dynamic positioning system that enables it to maintain its position at sea. It can also launch and recover targets used during naval exercises, making it a platform for testing weapons and sensors under development.

Swaminathan said such capabilities would help shorten the time required to move new technologies from the prototype stage to production, an important consideration as naval warfare evolves rapidly.

Beyond testing and evaluation, Samarthak is designed to support other ships at sea and sustain naval operations across widely dispersed areas of interest for extended periods.

Its heavy-towing facilities, medical infrastructure and firefighting equipment will enable it to assist vessels in distress and respond to emergencies at sea. The ship can also undertake humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, besides supporting the evacuation of non-combatants from crisis-hit areas.

Swaminathan said the vessel would strengthen the Navy’s operational readiness and help turn emerging technologies into deployable capabilities. It would also support India’s ambition to act as a first responder and a preferred security partner in the region, in keeping with the national vision of Mahasagar.

The Navy chief congratulated L&T’s leadership and workforce, along with the Navy’s warship production teams, micro, small and medium enterprises, equipment manufacturers and other industry partners involved in the project.

He also called for lessons from Samarthak’s construction to be applied to future projects, with particular emphasis on improving build quality and reducing the time required to build ships.

India’s push to expand private-sector participation in warship construction received a boost on Friday as the Indian Navy commissioned Samarthak, the country’s first multi-purpose vessel built by a private shipyard, at its Karwar base in Karnataka. Built by Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the vessel has more than 75 per cent indigenous content.

Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan attended the commissioning ceremony, where Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan highlighted the vessel’s role in strengthening India’s defence manufacturing capabilities. Karnataka labour minister Santosh Lad was also present.

Samarthak is the first of four multi-purpose vessels being inducted into the Navy. Constructed at L&T’s Kattupalli shipyard in Tamil Nadu, the vessel was designed and engineered in-house at the company’s Warship Design Centre.

Swaminathan described the commissioning as a significant step towards Aatmanirbharata, or self-reliance, and underlined the importance of greater domestic participation in building the Navy’s fleet.

“This is the first major or big warship contracted to and constructed by a private shipyard to be commissioned into the Indian Navy,” he said.

Designed for a range of operational and support duties, Samarthak will help the Navy test indigenous weapons and sensors, operate unmanned autonomous systems, and conduct maritime surveillance and patrols.

The vessel is equipped with a dynamic positioning system that enables it to maintain its position at sea. It can also launch and recover targets used during naval exercises, making it a platform for testing weapons and sensors under development.

Swaminathan said such capabilities would help shorten the time required to move new technologies from the prototype stage to production, an important consideration as naval warfare evolves rapidly.

Beyond testing and evaluation, Samarthak is designed to support other ships at sea and sustain naval operations across widely dispersed areas of interest for extended periods.

Its heavy-towing facilities, medical infrastructure and firefighting equipment will enable it to assist vessels in distress and respond to emergencies at sea. The ship can also undertake humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, besides supporting the evacuation of non-combatants from crisis-hit areas.

Swaminathan said the vessel would strengthen the Navy’s operational readiness and help turn emerging technologies into deployable capabilities. It would also support India’s ambition to act as a first responder and a preferred security partner in the region, in keeping with the national vision of Mahasagar.

The Navy chief congratulated L&T’s leadership and workforce, along with the Navy’s warship production teams, micro, small and medium enterprises, equipment manufacturers and other industry partners involved in the project.

He also called for lessons from Samarthak’s construction to be applied to future projects, with particular emphasis on improving build quality and reducing the time required to build ships.

“Even a very successful maiden achievement can give us useful pointers to strengthen our efforts in the long term,” he said.

Addressing the vessel’s crew, Swaminathan said they had a responsibility to establish high operational standards and give the ship its purpose.

The commissioning marks a further step in the Navy’s collaboration with domestic shipyards and industry to develop indigenous technologies and strengthen India’s maritime manufacturing base.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

Cabinet clears the sale of the Centre’s 30.48 % holding and LIC’s 30.24 % stake, with regulatory approvals still pending.

IDBI Bank shares dropped more than 7 per cent on Thursday, reversing part of the previous session’s rally, as investors reacted to the proposed acquisition of a 60.72 per cent stake in the lender by Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings for about Rs 53,000 crore ($5.5 billion).

The stock fell 7.54 per cent to Rs 83.62 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), it declined 7.48 per cent to Rs 83.62.

IDBI Bank shares had surged 9 per cent before the announcement on Wednesday, adding Rs 8,086 crore to the bank’s market valuation.

Fairfax Financial Holdings will acquire a 60.72 per cent stake in IDBI Bank for about Rs 53,000 crore ($5.5 billion), in what would be the largest foreign investment in an Indian bank and a major milestone in the country’s long-delayed banking privatisation drive.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Fairfax subsidiary M/s 10955230 Canada Inc. as the strategic buyer for the government’s 30.48 per cent stake, valued at about Rs 26,620 crore, and the 30.24 per cent stake held by state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), valued at about Rs 26,440 crore.

Fairfax, led by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, will pay Rs 81 per share, higher than the benchmark fair value of Rs 75.99 determined by two independent valuation agencies, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The deal marks a major milestone in the long-delayed effort to privatise IDBI Bank and reduce state ownership of commercial enterprises.

The sale process began in 2022 and faced a setback earlier this year when initial bids fell below the government’s reserve price.

The transaction still requires approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which will conduct a “fit and proper” assessment, as well as the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other statutory authorities.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

Highlighting the operational rationale behind the move, Logitech stated that establishing assembly capabilities in India is rooted in a market-driven strategy designed to enhance operational agility and supply chain resilience.

In a significant expansion of its global footprint, Swiss technology major Logitech has officially commenced manufacturing operations in India. Partnering with a local electronics manufacturing services provider, the company has set up assembly operations at a facility in Manesar, Haryana. The move marks a major milestone in Logitech’s 45-year history as it seeks to deepen its engagement with the rapidly growing Indian market.

In an exclusive interaction with The Hindu, Delphine Donné, Vice President and General Manager of Personal Work Solutions at Logitech, alongside Sree Chenincherry, Chief Supply Chain Operations Officer, detailed the strategic vision behind their India manufacturing foray, the role of artificial intelligence in personal workspace hardware, and plans to integrate local production with their global supply chain network.

Highlighting the operational rationale behind the move, Chenincherry stated that establishing assembly capabilities in India is rooted in a market-driven strategy designed to enhance operational agility and supply chain resilience.

“For us, it is a market story of how we get closer to the consumer to build our operational agility and resilience,” Chenincherry explained. “India is an important market for us with immense potential. We have a mandate to get closer to customers here and serve them better.”

The Manesar plant has initially begun production with Logitech’s personal workspace solutions, starting with webcams, before expanding into pointing devices such as mice and keyboards. Rather than viewing the partnership as a standalone agreement, Logitech views it as the foundation of a broader ecosystem engagement.

“We wanted to work with multiple ecosystem partners because we have a diverse portfolio of products,” Chenincherry added. “Our approach isn’t simply asking a partner to build and deliver a product. It’s about helping them elevate their process, quality testing, and manufacturing standards to meet our global benchmarks.”

While the immediate focus of the Manesar facility remains catering to domestic Indian demand, Logitech acknowledged that utilising India as an export hub could present a viable long-term opportunity once local capabilities mature.

The commencement of local assembly complements Logitech’s existing commercial and research and development (R&D) presence in the country. The company operates a major R&D hub in Chennai, which serves both global product development and localized enterprise requirements.

Donné emphasised the structural advantage of combining local production with R&D and commercial operations, “Ideally, as an operations person, you want to be close to R&D and close to the market. This gives us the best of both worlds. When we started in Chennai, it was very much focused on quality control and software. Today, it has evolved to hardware engineering and built-in AI optimisation for our global product line.”

The Chennai center also enables Logitech to customise firmware, authorisation protocols, and hardware configurations for Indian enterprise clients, particularly across Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and large corporate deployments.

The push into local manufacturing comes at a pivotal juncture as artificial intelligence transforms human-computer interaction. Donné noted that the explosion of generative AI and remote working models has elevated personal workspace peripherals from simple input devices to crucial interfaces connecting users with digital AI agents.

“In the age of AI, hardware solutions have never been as relevant,” Donné said. “We are the main point of connection between users and digital systems. Our hardware acts as the extension of a user’s hands, eyes, ears, and voice to provide commands to AI tools, while simultaneously serving as the eyes and ears of AI agents.”

Logitech currently holds a dominant position in the Indian market, commanding over 40% market share in the mid-to-high-end computer peripheral segment and 75% market share in webcams. Donné revealed that Logitech is experiencing strong growth across both its consumer and enterprise (B2B) verticals in India, propelled in part by the rise of quick-commerce delivery platforms and expanding enterprise IT investments.

Sustainability also remains central to Logitech’s operational roadmap in India, they said. More than 80% of Logitech’s Personal Workspace Solutions portfolio is manufactured using post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, alongside low-carbon aluminum and 100% recyclable cardboard packaging. The company is actively pursuing a target to halve its global carbon emissions by FY30.

“Elevating the capabilities of our ecosystem partners is crucial here,” Donné remarked. “Molding standard plastic is straightforward, but doing so using 80% PCR plastic while maintaining identical quality, texture, and structural integrity requires advanced technical standards. That is the differentiation we bring to our local manufacturing partners.”

When asked about addressing counterfeit products in local electronics hubs, Donné acknowledged the industry-wide challenge, noting that Logitech relies on continuous market monitoring alongside strong brand storytelling and product tracking technologies to preserve market integrity.

Looking ahead, both executives expressed optimism regarding Logitech’s expanding footprint in India. “We have never been as excited about the potential of Logitech in India,” Donné concluded. “Between manufacturing, AI transformation, B2B opportunities, and new product innovations, this is really a new beginning for us.”

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

The Nagastra-1R batch comes a little over a year after Rs 158-crore emergency order placed post-Op Sindoor, as forces rush to plug drone gaps.

The Army has inducted 450 indigenous Nagastra-1R loitering munitions, its largest single batch of such ‘kamikaze’ drones till now, as it scrambles to build a bigger precision-strike arsenal after Operation Sindoor.

Loitering munitions hover over a target area before diving into it with their warheads. The Nagastra family has already been battle-tested. Defence minister Rajnath Singh said earlier this year that Nagastra drones had hit terrorist targets with precision during Operation Sindoor.

The drones are made by Nagpur-based Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd (SDAL), earlier known as Economic Explosives Ltd. The Rs 158-crore order was placed in June last year under the emergency procurement (EP) powers given to the armed forces after the hostilities with Pakistan last year.

SDAL in a statement on Tuesday said that it was the only one of four firms in the trials to meet all operational parameters. The contract required it to be delivered within a year. It took a little over a year.

The order is a follow-on to an earlier EP contract for 480 Nagastra-1 drones, inducted in 2024. The first 120 were delivered to the Pulgaon ammunition depot in June that year and the full lot came in by December.

The Nagastra-1 carries a 1-kg warhead, can strike targets up to 30 km away and stays airborne for an hour. If it fails to find a target or the mission is aborted, it can be recalled and recovered by parachute for reuse.

The IR variant has a 360-degree gimbal camera, an optional thermal camera for night operations, encrypted video and telemetry links, and a reusable launcher. The company claims a strike accuracy of 2 metres and over 80% indigenous content.

The induction comes as the armed forces race to plug critical capability gaps. A defence ministry document has itself acknowledged that domestic industry could not supply niche drones, counter-drone systems and loitering munitions during Op Sindoor.

The armed forces have since inked EP contracts worth around Rs 30,000 crore, largely for drones, counter-drone systems, radars and electronic warfare equipment.

SDAL, meanwhile, is developing the Nagastra-2 and Nagastra-3, with heavier warheads.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)