“This momentous repatriation has been made possible through an exemplary public-private partnership between the government of India and the Godrej Industries Group,” the Ministry of Culture said.

A portion of the sacred Buddhist relics excavated in the northern parts of the country in 1898, which was earlier set to go under the hammer at an international auction house in Hong Kong in May, was returned to India on Wednesday (July 30, 2025.)

“This momentous repatriation has been made possible through an exemplary public-private partnership between the government of India and the Godrej Industries Group,” the Ministry of Culture said.

“The sacred Piprahwa relics, carried in a box, were received by Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at a technical area of the Delhi airport,” a senior official said.

“This successful repatriation sets a benchmark in cultural diplomacy and collaboration, showcasing how strategic partnerships between public institutions and private enterprise can protect and preserve global heritage,” the Ministry said.

“The sacred Piprahwa relics will be formally unveiled during a special ceremony and placed on public display, allowing citizens and visitors to pay homage and witness these rare artefacts,” it said in a statement.

The Piprahwa relics, discovered in 1898 by British civil engineer William Claxton Peppé in Piprahwa (in today’s Uttar Pradesh), are believed to be associated with the mortal remains of Lord Buddha. Enshrined by his followers around the third century BC, these relics have long held immense spiritual value for the global Buddhist community and represent one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Indian history.

“Originally slated for auction in Hong Kong on May 7, the sacred artefacts were “successfully secured” by the Ministry of Culture through “decisive intervention”, reflecting the government’s unwavering commitment to preserving India’s cultural and spiritual heritage,” the statement further said.

“The return of the Piprahwa gems is a matter of great pride for every Indian. This is one of the most significant instances of repatriation of our lost heritage and would not have been possible without the vision and initiative of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Mr. Shekhawat was quoted as saying in the statement.

On May 5, the Ministry had said that it had issued a “legal notice to Sotheby’s Hong Kong”, seeking “immediate cessation of the auction” of a portion of the sacred Piprahwa Buddhist relics and demanded their repatriation.

On May 7, it said, “The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has successfully secured the postponement of the auction of the sacred Piprahwa Buddhist relics by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, which was scheduled for May 7, 2025.”

The Ministry of Culture on Wednesday said, the “Government of India, proudly announces the historic return of the sacred Piprahwa relics of Lord Buddha to their rightful home in India.” Pirojsha Godrej, Executive vice-chairperson of Godrej Industries Group, said, “We are deeply honoured to contribute to this historic moment. The Piprahwa gems are not just artefacts — they are timeless symbols of peace, compassion, and the shared heritage of humanity.” “Our partnership with the government of India reflects our deep commitment to preserving cultural legacies for future generations,” he added.

“This initiative aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s broader mission to reclaim and celebrate India’s ancient cultural and spiritual heritage from across the world,” the Ministry said.

“The return of the Piprahwa gems further reinforces India’s standing as a global guardian of peace, compassion, and the timeless values of the Buddha,” it added.

“The Piprahwa Relics, which include bone fragments, soapstone and crystal caskets, a sandstone coffer and offerings, such as gold ornaments and gemstones, were excavated by Peppe in 1898,” the Ministry had said in a statement on May 7.

“An inscription in the Brahmi script on one of the caskets confirms these as relics of the Buddha deposited by the Sakya clan,” it had said.

“The majority of these relics were transferred to the Indian Museum in Kolkata in 1899 and classified as “AA” antiquities under the Indian law, prohibiting their removal or sale,” it had added.

“While a portion of the bone relics was gifted to the King of Siam, a selection retained by Peppe’s descendants has now been listed for auction,” the statement had said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Equipped for air, surface and underwater combat, the vessel adds muscle to India’s maritime force.

Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd on Thursday delivered ‘Himgiri’, an advanced guided-missile frigate, to the Indian Navy, marking a major milestone in India’s indigenous warship building programme.

The 149-metre-long, 6,670-tonne vessel is the first of three frigates being constructed by GRSE under the Navy’s Project 17A. The warship was formally accepted by Rear Admiral Ravnish Seth, Chief Staff Officer (Technical), Eastern Naval Command.

Equipped with BrahMos cruise missiles for land and ship targets, and Barak 8 anti-aircraft missiles, Himgiri represents a significant leap in the Navy’s strike and defence capabilities.

The frigate also features advanced AESA radar, modern combat systems, and is powered by a mix of diesel engines and gas turbines, enabling operations across anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine domains.

The three ships being built under this project by GRSE are worth over ₹21,833 crore, and have significantly contributed to employment and the domestic supply chain, in line with the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Launched in December 2020, Himgiri is the 112th warship—and the 801st vessel overall—delivered by the Kolkata-headquartered GRSE, which is currently constructing 15 more warships across four different classes.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

Trump cites India’s purchases of Russian oil, weapons, high tariffs, and “obnoxious” trade barriers; Centre studying implications, will take all steps needed to secure national interest, says Commerce Ministry.

Putting an end to months of speculation, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (July 30, 2025) announced that imports from India will attract 25% tariffs from August 1, “plus a penalty”, citing India’s purchases of energy and military equipment from Russia, its high tariffs, and its “strenuous and obnoxious” non-monetary barriers to trade.

Hours later, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the government was “studying the implications” of Mr. Trump’s announcement and will “take all steps necessary to secure our national interest”.

India and the U.S. have been negotiating a potential Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) since February, when a joint statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Trump stated that such a deal would be concluded by fall 2025.

No mini-deal

Apart from that comprehensive deal, negotiators from the two countries have also been trying to work out a “mini-deal” that would walk back the retaliatory tariffs that Mr. Trump announced for India and a number of other countries.

This mini-deal, however, has not yet been finalised. Statements by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Monday (July 28, 2025) also indicated that negotiations with India may extend beyond the August 1 deadline set by Mr. Trump. The U.S. President’s statement on Wednesday (July 30, 2025), however, seems to confirm that such a mini-deal will not materialise.

‘Strenuous and obnoxious’

“Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country,” Mr. Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.

“Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST [sic],” he added.

This tariff rate is marginally lower than the earlier 26% tariff that Mr. Trump had threatened to levy on imports from India. The additional “penalty” is now the unknown factor, however, as Mr. Trump did not specify what form it will take.

‘Studying implications’

In its statement, the Commerce Ministry said that the government has taken note of Mr. Trump’s statement on bilateral trade. “The Government is studying its implications. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective. The Government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs,” it said.

“The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK,” it added.

Retaliatory tariffs

In early April, the U.S. President had imposed retaliatory ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs on imports from most countries in the world, arguing that these countries imposed much higher tariffs on U.S. goods than the U.S. did on imports from them. Thereafter, he announced a 90-day pause, so as to work out bilateral trade deals with several of these countries.

At the end of the 90-day pause in July, Mr. Trump further extended this window to August 1. During this period, he issued letters to at least 14 countries stating the tariffs that would be imposed on imports from them.

Making deals with Trump

Over the last month, he has also concluded deals with the United Kingdom (U.K.), Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, and the European Union. The deal with the U.K. will see British car exports to the U.S. attract a 10% tariff, down from the earlier 27.5% and a removal of tariffs on aerospace exports to the U.S.

Indonesia’s exports to the U.S. will now attract a 19% tariff under its deal with the U.S., the same as will be charged on U.S. imports from the Philippines. Japan negotiated lower tariffs of 15% for its exports to the U.S., the same as the European Union.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

19-year-old girl from Nagpur gives India its 88th Grandmaster.

Divya Deshmukh came to the star-studded Fide Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Gerogia, as a rank outsider, hoping to at least win one grandmaster norm in her journey to becoming a GM in the future.

The 19-year-old from Nagpur did something which even a few days back looked improbable. She beat some of the best and biggest names in the sport to achieve three major milestones within a span of around three weeks — secure a spot in the Candidates tournament next year, win the prestigious title and in the process, automatically become a grandmaster.

On Monday, Divya became the youngest to win the Women’s World Cup, outwitting compatriot Koneru Humpy in the tie-breaker of an all-Indian final.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Humpy, now 38, was the one who was breaking all barriers. She was challenging the men’s bastion, beating them consistently. Humpy is India’s first woman to become a grandmaster in 2002. Except for the World Cup and the Women’s World Championship, Humpy has won everything under the sun. On Monday though, she bowed to the exceptionally talented Divya, whose lightning moves made things difficult for her.

Becoming a GM is one of the toughest things in chess. A player needs to earn three norms in Fide-approved tournaments and cross the 2500 Elo rating. Divya, however, decided that she would not go through that grind.

Fide has a rule that winners of certain elite competitions can avoid the usual norm-and-rating route and become GMs directly. The Women’s World Cup is one of those events where the winner straightaway becomes a GM, if not already.

“I need time to process it (victory). I think it was fate that helped me get the grandmaster title this way because I didn’t even have one norm (coming into the event)… All I was thinking of was ‘Oh, when can I get my norm’, and now I’m a Grandmaster so…,” she said after the final.

The youngster had her mother, a doctor, by her side in her moment of glory.

She got emotional soon after beating the two-time world rapid champion and embraced her mother in a hug, sobbing all along.

“It’s hard for me to speak right now. It definitely means a lot, but of course there’s a lot more to achieve,” Divya said, her voice choking with emotion. “I’m hoping this is just the start.”

The victory came after the two classical games, played on Saturday and Sunday, ended in draws.

After the drawn games, it was the first set of tie-breakers that proved decisive as Humpy lost the battle of nerves. As fate would have it, the World Cup title eluded her again.

Divya showed steely resolve on Monday. She kept piling pressure on Humpy in the opening tie-breaker, tiring out her opponent and then going for the kill in the return tie-breaker. A quick decision maker, Divya put Humpy under time pressure, and that forced the latter to make an inexplicable error.

Divya’s biggest credit is that she did not evolve from any national-level talent hunt tournament — as did the likes of Surya Sekhar Ganguly, Sandipan Chanda or Parmimarjan Negi. And that’s what makes her ascent all the more unique. She came on her own and took everyone by surprise.

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand hailed the teenager’s win and called it a “great celebration of Indian chess”.

“Congratulations to @Divyadeshmukh05 on winning the World Cup. Becoming GM and a spot in the candidates… @humpy_koneru played a very good event and showed a commendable fighting spirit. The great champion she is! It was a great celebration of Indian chess, particularly Women’s chess,” Anand wrote on X.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge hailed Divya’s triumph.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

The paper by researchers from IISER, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram, Netherlands’ Wageningen University, and UK-based John Innes Centre was published in the journal Current Biology on July 25.

Gardeners are often seen pruning shrubs or tree branches to maintain plant health and promote fresh growth. Soon, however, the pruned branches regrow with stunning resemblance to their original form. An international group of scientists, led by biologists at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER), has now zeroed in on the key mechanisms in plants that help restore damaged parts to their original shape.

Unlike animal cells, plant cells are far more rigid and depend more on growth rates and anisotropy (how a material’s physical characteristics change depending on its direction) during cell regeneration. Roots are important facilitators that support nutrient intake. Their naturally tapered shape and conical tip aid better soil penetration. When they get damaged due to natural or external causes, it is observed that the lost cell types and layers get restored and the root regrows to the original tapered shape.

In the latest paper published on July 25 in the journal Current Biology, mathematicians and physicists from IISER, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram, Netherlands’ Wageningen University, and UK-based John Innes Centre, have attempted to track the mechanisms that may be responsible for restoring the root’s tapered shape.

In the study, the researchers describe a distinct geometric pattern as per which plant roots regrow after being damaged. This understanding, they said, could help establish fundamental cellular processes, like cell shape and cell regeneration in plants and, in particular, plants vital for food cultivation and securing food security.

Instinctive responses of injured roots

The group studied the regeneration of the Arabidopsis thaliana root after it was surgically chipped off. They observed notable behaviour in the root regrowth from the 12th hour since being chipped.

Instinctively, the injured root’s first response was to generate new cells at the wound site. And their goal was to remain oriented in the right direction and help restore the shape and function of the root and maintain its original function.

“The usual cuboidal root cells got morphed into rhomboid shapes. These altered cells then divided diagonally, producing triangular prism-like cells. The diagonal divisions redirected the growth of neighbouring cells along a slanted path — collectively recreating the lost tapered tip,” Kalika Prasad, biologist at IISER-Pune and co-author of the paper, told The Indian Express.

After about 18-19 hours post-cutting, the previously flat root end had grown and bulged. By 24 hours, it had become more prominent, indicating the onset of some trigger mechanisms.

Corresponding to about 12 hours post the injury, the researchers said, a mechanical tension was noted developing during the growth stage of the injured root. And this tension, they said, guided and controlled the new cells to align and develop in a certain geometric manner.

The root tip has multiple cell layers. While cells in the outermost layer grow slower, the cells present in the innermost layer grow rapidly. “This differential growth then leads to build up in mechanical tension within the cells and, as a response, their shape or geometry starts aligning. In the end, we found the regrown root to have restored perfectly with respect to cell types and the shape. It functioned optimally like an uninjured root,” Prasad said.

Similar post-injury cell regeneration behaviour was demonstrated by a mustard plant called Brassica, which the team tested.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

The three-tonne machine has been a decade in the making and costs more than $1.5 billion, making it one of the most expensive earth-observing satellites to date.

The story so far: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch the NISAR satellite from Sriharikota on July 30 onboard a GSLV Mk-II rocket. ‘NISAR’ stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar and is a joint mission of the two space agencies. It is a sophisticated earth-observation satellite designed to study changes on the earth’s surface in fine detail, covering earthquakes, volcanoes, ecosystems, ice sheets, farmland, floods, and landslides.

What’s the need for NISAR?

NISAR is the first major earth-observing mission with a dual-band radar, which will allow it to observe changes more precisely than any other satellite. It will be able to see through clouds, smoke, and even thick vegetation, both at day and night, in all weather conditions. The three-tonne machine has been a decade in the making and costs more than $1.5 billion, also making it one of the most expensive earth-observing satellites to date.

The earth’s surface is constantly changing. Natural disasters, human-driven changes, and climate shifts all affect environments and human societies. Satellites provide critical information by taking snapshots of these changes from space, helping scientists, governments, and relief agencies prepare for, respond to or study them. To this end, NASA and ISRO have created a powerful global mission that also allows ISRO guaranteed access to a stream of high‑resolution data tailored to India’s needs.

NISAR’s science and application goals span six areas: solid earth processes, ecosystems, ice dynamics, coastal and ocean processes, disaster response, and additional applications (including tracking groundwater, oil reservoirs, and infrastructure like levees, dams, and roads for subsidence or deformation and supporting food security research).

The planned mission lifetime is three years although its design lifetime is at least five years. Notably, the mission’s data policy entails that the data NISAR produces will be freely available to all users (typically) within a few hours.

How does NISAR work?

Once it is launched, NISAR will enter into a sun-synchronous polar orbit at 747 km altitude and an inclination of 98.4º. From here, instead of snapping pictures, NISAR’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR) will bounce radar waves off the planet’s surface and measure how long the signal takes to come back and how its phase changes.

The ability of a radar antenna to resolve smaller details increases with its length, called its aperture. In orbit, deploying an antenna hundreds of metres long is impractical. SAR gets around this by mimicking a giant antenna. As the spacecraft moves forward, it transmits a train of radar pulses and records the echoes. Later, a computer coherently combines all those echoes as if they had been captured simultaneously by one very long antenna, hence the “synthetic aperture”.

NISAR will combine an L-band SAR (1.257 GHz), which uses longer-wavelength radiowaves to track changes under thick forests and soil and deformations on the ground, and an S-band SAR (3.2 GHz), which uses shorter-wavelength radiowaves to capture surface details, such as crops and water surfaces.

Although NISAR will operate globally at L‑band, ISRO has reserved routine, planned acquisitions with the S‑band SAR over India. The latter acquisitions have extended sensitivity to biomass, better soil‑moisture retrieval, and mitigate ionospheric noise — all capabilities tuned to India’s needs in agriculture, forestry, and disaster management.

Because the L‑band radar is the principal tool for NASA’s mission goals, the instrument is expected to operate in up to 70% of every orbit. This said, operating both radars together is an official implementation goal so that mode conflicts over the Indian subcontinent are minimised.

Polarisation is the direction in which the electric field of some electromagnetic radiation, like radiowaves, oscillates. SAR can transmit and receive radar signals with horizontal or vertical polarisation. Using different combinations will allow the instruments to identify the structure and types of different surface materials, like soil, snow, crop or wood.

The swath width, i.e. the breadth of the bands on the ground the SARs will scan, is an ultra-wide 240 km. The radars’ SweepSAR design will transmit this beam and, upon its return, digitally steer multiple small sub‑apertures in sequence, synthesising beams that sweep across the ground track. This scan‑on‑receive method allows the 240‑km swath without compromising resolution.

The resulting scans will have a spatial resolution of 3-10 m and centrimetre-scale vertical mapping — enough to spot impending land subsidence in cities, for example — depending on the mode. Each spot on the ground will be scanned once every 12 days.The satellite also features a large 12-m-wide mesh antenna.

NISAR will produce annual maps of aboveground woody biomass of 1 ha resolution and quarterly maps of active and inactive cropland. High-resolution maps of flooded versus dry areas will be available as well. During a disaster, NISAR can also be directed to collect data for ‘damage proxy maps’ to be delivered in under five hours.

This said, for certain acquisition modes, NISAR won’t be able to achieve full global coverage at the highest resolution. Above roughly 60º latitude, every alternative observation will be skipped due to converging ground tracks. Similarly, some 10% of the surface may not be mapped from either direction (of the satellite’s passage over the ground) in any given 12-day cycle.

How was NISAR built?

At the time the two space organisations agreed to build NISAR, NASA and ISRO decided each body would contribute equivalent‑scale hardware, expertise, and funding. ISRO’s contributions in particular are mission‑critical.

The organisation supplied the I‑3K spacecraft bus, the platform that houses the controls to handle command and data, propulsion, and attitude, plus 4 kW of solar power. The same package also included the entire S‑band radar electronics, a high‑rate Ka‑band telecom subsystem, and a gimballed high‑gain antenna. The S‑band electronics were designed and built at the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad.

NASA’s biggest contribution was the complete L‑band SAR system. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory supplied all radio‑frequency electronics, the 12‑m antenna, a 9-m carbon-composite boom, and the instrument structure that carries both radars. The agency also fabricated the L‑band feed aperture and provided the supporting avionics, including a high‑capacity solid‑state recorder, a GPS receiver, an autonomous payload data system, and a Ka‑band payload communications subsystem.

The spacecraft was to be integrated at the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bengaluru after the two radars were mated at JPL. The final observatory‑level tests will therefore have taken place on Indian soil. After that the mission will lift off from Sriharikota onboard a GSLV Mk-II launch vehicle, with ISRO providing end‑to‑end launch services and documentation.

While themission operations are to be centred at the JPL Mission Operations Center, day‑to‑day flight operations will be led from the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bengaluru. Once NISAR is in orbit, most of its data will be sent through NASA’s Near Earth Network facilities in Alaska, Svalbard (Norway), and Punta Arenas (Chile), which can together receive around 3 TB of radar data per day. They will be complemented by ISRO’s ground stations in Shadnagar and Antarctica.

After the raw data arrive, India’s National Remote Sensing Centre will process and distribute all products required for Indian users, mirroring NASA’s pipeline.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed by Mr. Goyal and his counterpart Jonathan Reynolds in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Terming the India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) a ‘game changer’, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Indian government had ensured the protection of all sensitive sectors of the Indian economy, while benefiting every section including farmers and the MSME sector.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Mr. Goyal, freshly returned after the signing of the FTA in the presence of Indian and British Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Keir Starmer, also said that trade talks with the U.S. and Oman were continuing apace.

“With this [India-U.K. FTA], India would be able to ship 99% of its exports to U.K. duty-free,” he said.

Mr. Goyal attributed India’s success in signing the FTA to Prime Minister Modi’s leadership stating that “it will bring immense opportunities to the farmers of India, Indian industry, the MSME sector, the workers, youth and fishermen.”

He asserted that the agreement was signed with the U.K. “confidently” on India’s terms while protecting “sensitive items” like agriculture and ethanol.

In an apparent dig at the Congress, he claimed that in several instances during the UPA rule, they opened the Indian markets in such a manner that they harmed the country.

“I believe that this FTA carries a very big message for the future economy of India. We will all see the benefits that India will get under it in the coming years,” he said.

The Minister said that the FTA will come into effect as soon as it gets UK Parliament’s approval. He appealed to the Indian industry to study the agreement and start looking for markets in various sectors including footwear, leather, toys, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, food processing and services.

“We have protected all the sensitive sectors of India…we have not opened for UK (those areas). Zero compromise and extensive benefits makes it a phenomenal free trade agreement (FTA),” he said.

The agreement was signed on July 24 in London. Mr. Goyal added that the agreement will open doors for India to the developed world.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)