Titan said the acquisition is strategically significant for its jewellery business as it will facilitate expansion across the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Titan has entered into an agreement to acquire a 67% stake in Dubai-based jewellery firm Damas from Qatar-based Mannai Corporation. The consideration for the proposed transaction is based on an enterprise value of AED 1,038 million ($ 282 million).

The Tata Group company, which runs Tanishq jewellery stores in India abroad, would also have the option to acquire the balance 33% stake from Mannai after 31st December 2029.

Titan said the acquisition is strategically significant for its jewellery business as it will facilitate expansion across the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. The current Graff Monobrand Franchisee business of Damas LLC will be discontinued before completion of the proposed transaction (on or before 31st January 2026).

C.K. Venkataraman, Managing Director of Titan, said that after successfully establishing Tanishq in the GCC countries and the USA, their ambition for a global jewellery play is moving to the next stage.

“With the Damas acquisition, Titan Company is stepping out from its diaspora focus into other nationalities and ethnicities…The acquisition not only creates a significant new global opportunity for Titan, but also enhances Titan’s overall position in the jewellery market in the GCC countries and brings in multiple synergy benefits in talent, retail networks and supply chain,” added Venkataraman.

Founded in 1907, Damas has 146 stores across the six GCC nations and retails in-house and international labels. Damas LLC reported revenue of AED 1,461 million in 2024.

Alekh Grewal, Group Chief Executive Officer of Mannai Corporation, said that Mannai will continue to own a minority stake in Damas for the next four years as the growth plans for Damas are taken forward. “It is intended that the proceeds of the sale transaction will be deployed by Mannai to strengthen its resources in support of further expansion of its core trade and IT services businesses in addition to reducing the Group Debt,” added Grewal.

Besides Titan, Indian jewellery brands such as Malabar Gold & Diamonds and Kalyan Jewellers have a significant presence in the Gulf region.

“The region is exhibiting robust economic growth creating a demand for differentiated, high-quality offerings rooted in Arabian aesthetic and appealing to sophisticated clientele seeking unique, culturally resonant designs,” Titan said in a statement.

Mannai Corporation is a publicly listed company headquartered in Qatar. Their activities are mainly focused in the Business to Business segment based on trade and IT services. Damas, headquartered in Dubai, became a subsidiary of Mannai in 2012.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

Industrial plants release dyes such as Congo Red and Methylene Blue into rivers and groundwater, from where they can cause stomach, skin, and breathing illnesses.

Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) in Mohali, IIT-Dharwad, and IIT-Kharagpur have designed a cheap, reusable water filter.

Industrial plants release dyes such as Congo Red and Methylene Blue into rivers and groundwater, from where they can cause stomach, skin, and breathing illnesses. Ozone, Fenton chemistry and other methods work to clean the water, but they burn through chemicals and electricity, expanding cost and the carbon footprint.

The new filter has been designed to sidestep these and other problems. Its development was reported in a paper in the July edition of Nano Energy.

The researchers first 3D printed thin, sponge-like sheets of polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic often used in compostable cups. PLA is naturally water-repelling, so the team soaked each sheet in a mild sodium-hydroxide solution to make it water-loving.

Next, they made nanoparticles of bismuth ferrite (BFO) and dipped the prepared PLA sheets into a BFO ink. Treated sheets stayed strong through five reuse cycles, losing only about 3% of their cleaning power.

Under visible light, the BFO acted like a solar-powered catalyst that split water molecules and created highly reactive radicals that shred organic dye molecules. And when shaken by ultrasound, BFO’s piezoelectric nature generated an internal electric field that drove the same radical-making reactions even in the dark. Combining both light and vibration yielded piezo-photocatalysis, a process that worked day or night.

During tests, when light and vibration were used together, the filter removed about 99% of Congo Red and 74% of Methylene Blue in 90 minutes. It also partially cleaned real wastewater collected from a textile plant.

To understand its performance, the authors turned to machine-learning regression models. They fed the computer thousands of experimental data points, including dye concentration, catalyst amount, light intensity, and ultrasound frequency.

Modern algorithms such as random forests, XGBoost, and an artificial neural network learned how these factors interacted. The best models closely matched the experimental results, which they hadn’t seen, well enough to prove artificial intelligence could accurately forecast how fast the dyes vanished in different conditions.

“We are thinking of scaling up production and using the filter near treatment plants, where water bodies are regularly polluted,” Aviru Basu, INST scientist and corresponding author of the paper, said, adding that the team looks forward to its use in Jal Nigam and Namami Gange projects as well.

“Dr. Adreeja Basu, a plant biotechnologist and professor at Chandigarh University, is also helping us a lot in our efforts to make this product more sustainable using plant-derived products,” Dr. Aviru Basu added.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Not just a tech asset, but an operational enabler: Navy chief

The first indigenously designed and constructed diving support vessel INS Nistar was commissioned into the Navy Friday for undertaking complex deep-sea saturation diving and submarine rescue operations — a niche capability possessed by select navies globally.

INS Nistar is the first of the two diving support vessels being built by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd.

At the commissioning ceremony in Visakhapatnam, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi said INS Nistar is not just a technological asset, but a crucial operational enabler. “Nistar will provide critical submarine rescue support to the Indian Navy as well as our regional partners,” he said, adding that this will enable India to emerge as a Preferred Submarine Rescue Partner in the region.

“The commissioning of Nistar is testimony to the growing capability and maturity of our maritime industrial base, and another shining example of Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.

MoS for Defence Sanjay Seth said the commissioning of the 118-m INS Nistar firmly reinforces the role of the Indian Navy as the ‘first responder’ and ‘preferred security partner’ in the region.

“The indigenous shipbuilding Industry has been one of the pillars of the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign,” he said, adding that INS Nistar’s induction is a technological leap and a milestone in the Indian shipbuilding chapter towards building a future-ready force.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on X: “This induction of the DSV, installed with state-of-the-art Equipment to undertake Saturation Diving and Salvage Operations, as well as serve as the ‘Mother Ship’ for Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV), for rescue and evacuation of personnel from a Submarine in distress, is another milestone in India’s journey towards ensuring Maritime Security and Safety in the Indian Ocean Region through Aatmanirbharta.”

Currently, all 57 new warships in the pipeline are being constructed domestically.

As per the Navy, INS Nistar is installed with state-of-the-art Diving Equipment such as remotely operated vehicles, self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboat, diving compression chambers.

It can undertake diving and salvage operations up to a depth of 300 m. It would also serve as the ‘Mother Ship’ for deep submergence rescue vessels to rescue and evacuate personnel from a dived submarine in distress well below the surface.

“With participation of 120 MSMEs and incorporating over 80% indigenous content, INS Nistar is a statement to India’s ability to build complex ships at par with international standards,” it said.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

Chennai, Two hospitals in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore collaborated to perform the country’s first ever inter-hospital swap liver transplantation, giving a new lease of life to two patients suffering from end-stage liver disease, the hospitals said on Friday.

The complex procedure was simultaneously performed through joint efforts of the GEM hospital and Sri Ramakrishna hospital, Coimbatore, on both the patients at the respective hospitals on July 3.

“Unlike the conventional living donor liver transplant where a relative donates directly to the patient, a swap transplant enables patients who do not have a compatible donor within their own family to exchange donors with another family in similar situation,” a release here said.

This approach expanded the donor pool and offered a new hope to patients with end-stage liver disease who would otherwise remain on long waiting lists or have no viable curative treatment option, the release said and described it as “a historic medical feat.”

The procedure was performed on a 59-year-old man from Salem in GEM hospital and a 53-year-old man from Tiruppur admitted to the Sri Ramakrishna hospital. Though their respective wives were willing to donate, their blood group was found incompatible and hence direct donation was ruled out.

As luck would have it, doctors identified that a swap transplant where the donor of each patient gives to the other was the only viable solution.

“This required navigating a host of legal, ethical, and logistical challenges…we had to obtain special clearance from the Tamil Nadu State Transplant Authority to transport the organ from one hospital to the other,” founder-chairman of GEM hospitals, Dr C Palanivelu, said.

Also, the hospitals had to ensure synchronised surgeries and establish a real-time communication protocol between both the hospitals, he said.

According to the managing trustee of Sri Ramakrishna hospital R Sundar the milestone stood as a true testament to Tamil Nadu’s medical excellence. “The highly skilled medical teams from GEM hospital and Sri Ramakrishna hospital undertook this complex procedure with great precision and dedication,” he said and added that both the patients were recovering well.

Director of GEM hospital Dr P Praveen Raj said swap transplants were already regulated under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 2014 but inter-hospital coordination added new layers of security.

Liver transplant surgeon of GEM hospital Dr N Anand Vijay said both the hospitals performed the surgeries simultaneously in the hospitals located five km apart.

Liver transplant surgeon of Sri Ramakrishna hospital Dr R Jayapal said the approach helped to avoid the need for costly ABO-incompatible liver transplantation, which would have been the only alternative option in this scenario.

By a compatible swap, the teams successfully reduced the financial burden on the patients thus underscoring the commitment of both the hospitals in delivering the highest quality outcomes while preventing unnecessary expenses, he said.

“This milestone opens a new economic avenue in liver transplantation, proving that cost-effectiveness and clinical excellence can go hand in hand,” he added.

GEM hospital’s transplant surgeon Dr Magnus Jayaraj said both the surgeries were performed under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.

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

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

The SpaceX Dragon splashed down into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego 22.5 hours after leaving the International Space Station; during 20-day mission, astronauts orbited Earth 320 times.

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and his fellow crew members on the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) returned to Earth on Tuesday afternoon (July 15), as their SpaceX Dragon splashed down at 3:02 p.m. IST.

They returned from an 18-day sojourn on the International Space Station that was a first step for India’s own ambitions for indigenous human spaceflight, with Mr. Shukla — a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force — selected as one of the Indian astronauts on the Gaganyaan Mission.

The Dragon’s splashdown occurred off the coast of San Diego in the United States, 22-and-a-half hours after it departed from the ISS on July 14. Fifty minutes later, the astronauts made their way out of the Dragon, helped by the medical crew aboard the Space X recovery vessel, the Shannon.

Rehab programme

The first to come out of the Dragon was Ax-4 mission Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, followed by Group Captain Shukla, who was the pilot for the mission, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

Smiling and waving at the cameras, the astronauts were assisted by the team aboard the rescue ship as they went for routine medical checks after spending almost 20 days in microgravity conditions. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation, Group Captain Shukla will undergo a rehabilitation programme for about a week under the supervision of flight surgeons to help him adapt back to Earth’s gravity.

320 orbits of Earth

The four astronauts flew to the space station on the Dragon after it was launched by the Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25. During the 20-day mission, the crew completed 320 orbits around the Earth, covering 8.4 million miles of spaceflight, Axiom Space said. They also completed over 60 research activities and 23 outreach events. The Ax-4 crew members departed from the orbiting laboratory on July 14.

Early on Tuesday, SpaceX announced that the Dragon was on track to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and splash down off the coast of San Diego as per schedule. At around 2:09 p.m., the deorbit burn phase of the splashdown commenced, lasting for about 18 minutes.

Following the completion of the deorbit burn, the truck was jettisoned, and the Dragon’s nose cone was closed and secured for entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. A few minutes later, the Dragon’s two drogue parachutes deployed above the Pacific Ocean, followed by deployment of the four main parachutes, and the Dragon had a textbook splashdown into the ocean.

Safe splashdown

“Thanks for the great ride and safe trip and happy to be back,” Ms. Whitson said in her first message post splashdown.

Soon, a couple of fast boats with recovery personnel approached the Dragon to ensure that the spacecraft was safe.

The recovery personnel then completed sniff checks to ensure there were no hazardous chemicals around the vehicle and after they picked up the main parachutes, the main recovery vessel Shannon approached the Dragon.

The Dragon was then lifted to the recovery vessel and placed on the recovery nest before being moved to the hangar aboard the ship for the opening of the spacecraft hatch. After the hatch was opened, the astronauts exited the Dragon one by one, completing their mission.

Axiom Space said that they will undergo their first medical checks onboard the recovery vessel, before flying on a helicopter back to land. From there, the crew will be flown to Houston where they will be reunited with their respective teams.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

For India, Hungary and Poland, this mission has realised the return to human spaceflight, with astronauts from these countries travelling to space for the first time in more than 40 years.

Shubhanshu Shukla returned to Earth on Tuesday after an 18-day stay on the International Space Station, a feat that holds the promise to herald India’s own human spaceflight ambitions.

The Lucknow-born Shukla and three other astronauts of the private Axiom-4 mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the San Diego coast in California at 2:31 am Pacific Time (3:01 pm IST).

Shukla, a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force, became the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 sojourn as part of a Soviet Russian mission.

He also scripted history by becoming the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station with the longest stint — 20 days — in orbit around the Earth.

The Dragon Grace spacecraft lifted off from Florida on June 25 and docked at the International Space Station on June 26 after a 28-hour journey.

The Axiom-4 mission crew comprising Shukla, commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary spent the next 18 days conducting 60 experiments and 20 outreach sessions.

Travelling at a speed of over 28,000 km per hour, the Dragon spacecraft, carrying the Axiom-4 crew members, executed a series of manoeuvres to gradually slow down and enter the Earth’s atmosphere, braving intense heat before a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Minutes later, the Dragon spacecraft was hauled up over SpaceX’s recovery ship ‘Shannon’, where Shukla and the other astronauts emerged from the spacecraft.

The astronauts were helped by the ground staff to get on their feet as they adapted to gravity on Earth after experiencing weightless conditions during their 20-day trip.

The astronaut’s parents, who watched the splashdown in Lucknow, heaved a sigh of relief as their son returned to Earth.

While Shukla’s father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, and mother Asha Devi wiped their tears, his sister, Suchi Misra, welcomed her brother’s landing with moist eyes and folded hands.

“He has been to space and back, and we are all over the moon because this mission has its own importance for the country’s Gaganyaan programme,” Shambhu Dayal Shukla said.

“It is a matter of great fortune for us that his mission complete… We never thought that our son would reach such heights…. This is a matter of pride for our country and the people of the country. I thank everyone who prayed for our son…” Shukla’s father added.

Asha Shukla, his mother, said. “It feels good; we are all very happy. We prayed that they will come back safely. We are very excited to meet our son after 18 to 20 days…. We are very proud of our son,” she said.

Shukla’s sister Suchi Mishra said, “Today again we are feeling the same emotions that we had on the day he went for the mission. We will celebrate a lot when he comes back.”

“Every day we prayed and thanked God. When we talked, to him he seemed very happy… Being a pilot and now an astronaut, he might have seen the different beauty of our nation, and there is no doubt that ‘Saare Jahan se acha Hindustan humara,” she added.

ISRO had invested Rs 550 crore for the spaceflight, and the learnings from the mission are expected to help India fulfil its own human spaceflight ambitions – the Gaganyaan project, which is eyeing a 2027 lift-off.

The prime minister said that as India’s first astronaut to have visited the International Space Station, Shukla has inspired a billion dreams through his dedication, courage and pioneering spirit.

“It marks another milestone towards our own Human Space Flight Mission – Gaganyaan,” Modi said in a post on X.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath led the tributes, describing Shukla’s feat as “a glorious symbol of courage, dedication and commitment to science.”

“Welcome back to Earth! Heartfelt congratulations to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his team on the successful completion of the historic #AxiomMission4,” Adityanath wrote on X.

“Every Indian, especially the people of Uttar Pradesh, is proud today. India awaits your return with great excitement,” he added.

“Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s successful return from the historic Axiom-4 mission is a proud moment for every Indian. He has not just touched space, he has lifted India’s aspirations to new heights. His journey to the International Space Station and back is not just a personal milestone; it is a proud stride for India’s growing space ambitions. Wishing him great success in his future endeavours,” defence minister Rajnath Singh posted on X.

The IAF also posted a congratulatory message on X, welcoming Shukla.

“Welcome back to Earth, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. All Air Warriors of the Indian Air Force extend heartfelt congratulations on the successful completion of the Axiom-4 mission,” it posted.

The IAF also shared a digital poster carrying a profile photo of the Indian astronaut and a caption — ‘An odyssey of courage, strength and inspiration’. The slogan ‘Sare Jehan Se Acha Hindustan Hamara’ was also written on it in a tri-colour theme.

“Welcome home, Shubhanshu Shukla! We are really happy to see that you are back. It is a matter of pride for us to see what you have done. Congratulations to you and your team members, and best wishes to your family,” Bengal chief minister Banerjee posted on X.

The Axiom-4 crew underwent a series of medical checks on board the ship before boarding a helicopter for a ride back to the shore.

The four astronauts are expected to spend seven days in rehabilitation as they adjust back to life on Earth under the influence of gravity, unlike the weightlessness experienced in orbit.

ISRO said Shukla has successfully completed all seven microgravity experiments and other planned activities, achieving a significant milestone in the Axiom-4 mission.

It said that experiments on the Indian strain of Tardigrades, Myogenesis, sprouting of methi and moong seeds, cyanobacteria, microalgae, crop seeds and Voyager Display have been completed as planned. 

Shukla conducted seven microgravity experiments assigned by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), ranging from muscle regeneration and radiation effects to studies on algae, crop resilience and human physiology, all considered vital research for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)