Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a seven-point ‘Saptadhara’ reform framework aimed at accelerating India's journey towards Viksit Bharat@2047. The roadmap focuses on sweeping reforms across manufacturing, agriculture, technology, infrastructure, defence, the green and blue economy, and India's growing global influence.


Independence Day 2026: India sets eyes on Visit Bharat by 2047 

Independence Day 2026: PM Modi calls for self-reliance, backs Make in India 

PM Modi: India's journey from 'fragile five' to fastest-growing economy 

As Independence Day sales sweep across India, retailers are locked in an intense discount war. From fashion and electronics to home appliances, brands are offering deep price cuts to attract shoppers. But there’s a catch: a 20% discount often requires around 50% more sales just to maintain profits. So why are companies still betting big on discounts? The answer lies in clearing inventory, boosting cash flow and winning market share in an increasingly competitive retail landscape.


Independence Day discount war: Are brands sacrificing profits for sales? 

Independence Day 2026: PM Modi outlines Viksit Bharat @2047 vision

And now, it's time for some news in numbers. As India completes 79 years of Independence, one asset has been a constant in the country's financial journey, gold. So, what would have happened if you had invested just Rs 1,000 in gold back in 1947? The answer may surprise you. Here's a look at gold's extraordinary journey over nearly eight decades.

 India at 80: gold’s 79-year journey

Independence Day 2026: from fragile five to fastest growing economy: PM Modi 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a seven-point ‘Saptadhara’ reform framework aimed at accelerating India's journey towards Viksit Bharat@2047. The roadmap focuses on sweeping reforms across manufacturing, agriculture, technology, infrastructure, defence, the green and blue economy, and India's growing global influence.

Independence Day 2026: Our 7th 'Dhara' is India's soft power: PM

On India's 80th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to outline India's roadmap towards Viksit Bharat@2047, with a focus on the country's development, growth and long-term vision as India approaches the centenary of independence. PM Modi called for a collective effort to build a Viksit Bharat by India’s 100th Independence Day. He highlighted the vision of a stronger, developed and self-reliant India, urging citizens to contribute to the nation’s progress and help shape its future.


Independence Day 2026: First-time rendition of 'Vande Mataram' at Red Fort

Independence Day 2026: PM Modi says we must build a Viksit Bharat by the 100th Independence Day

Independence Day 2026: PM Modi says India has been growing at a faster pace over the last 12 years 

Once the undisputed kings of hockey, India’s glorious Olympic legacy contrasts with their long World Cup drought, with their only title coming in 1975. As the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup kicks off, the focus is on a new generation hoping to revive India’s hockey dominance and end decades of waiting for World Cup glory.


Can India end five-decade World Cup medal drought?

In New Delhi, women segregate plastic packaging with iPhones strapped to their foreheads, angled to capture every motion of their hands. The footage is not for supervision. It is training data, and what it is training is a machine to do their job.&nbsp;What The Investigation Found&nbsp;A Bloomberg investigation published this week documented thousands of workers across India being paid to film their own labour from a first-person perspective for robotics companies.&nbsp;The work is precisely what it sounds like. Workers wear cameras — often ordinary iPhones strapped to the head — angled downward to catch the exact movements of their hands: flicking a blade to strip labels from plastic bags, stacking sacks for reprocessing, stitching shoes, welding steel. Robotics firms are competing to collect this footage.&nbsp;The rate of pay is around $2.62 an hour.&nbsp;Why This Data Is Valuable&nbsp;The technical term is egocentric data — video captured from the perspective of the person performing a task rather than from an observing camera.&nbsp;It matters because the hardest problem in robotics is not building a machine that can move. It is teaching that machine what a task actually involves: how much pressure to apply, at what angle, in what sequence, and how to adjust when the material behaves unexpectedly. That knowledge lives in the hands of people who do the work, and it is largely tacit — the workers themselves could not fully write it down.&nbsp;First-person video captures it anyway. Feed enough of it into a model and the machine can begin to copy the motion. Which is why robotics companies are willing to pay for footage of tasks that, from the outside, look unremarkable.&nbsp;The Consent Question&nbsp;This is where the story turns from an economic observation into an ethical one.&nbsp;According to the reporting, many workers were not clearly informed that the footage would be used to train automation systems targeting their own job categories. India's IT Ministry has reportedly raised questions about whether consent obtained in these arrangements is adequate.&nbsp;The distinction matters. Data labelling — the established Indian outsourcing business of tagging images and text for AI training — involves workers processing someone else's data. This is different in kind. Here the workers are the data. Their movements, their bodies and their working environments are the raw material, and the specific purpose of collecting it is to reproduce their labour without them.&nbsp;The Wider Context&nbsp;India's position in the global AI economy has been built substantially on supplying labour to it — the data annotation, content moderation and IT services work that the technology requires.&nbsp;That position is already under strain. The combined market capitalisation of TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra has fallen more than 46 per cent since August 2024, as generative AI automates the coding and support work the industry was built to supply. Nearly 50,000 job cuts announced globally in 2026 have been explicitly attributed to AI.&nbsp;What the Bloomberg reporting documents is the same dynamic arriving in physical labour, and arriving through a mechanism in which the workers themselves are the mechanism. The camera on the forehead is the transfer.&nbsp;None of this makes the robotics work illegitimate — training data has to come from somewhere, and paid work is paid work. But at $2.62 an hour, with the purpose reportedly undisclosed, the terms of that exchange are worth stating plainly. Someone is being paid a few dollars an hour to hand over the one thing that made their labour valuable.

A Bloomberg investigation found thousands of Indian workers filming their own labour with head-mounted iPhones at around $2.62 an hour, generating training data for robotics firms. Many were not told the footage automates their own job categories.

In New Delhi, women segregate plastic packaging with iPhones strapped to their foreheads, angled to capture every motion of their hands. The footage is not for supervision. It is training data, and what it is training is a machine to do their job. What The Investigation Found A Bloomberg investigation published this week documented thousands of workers across India being paid to film their own labour from a first-person perspective for robotics companies. The work is precisely what it sounds like. Workers wear cameras — often ordinary iPhones strapped to the head — angled downward to catch the exact movements of their hands: flicking a blade to strip labels from plastic bags, stacking sacks for reprocessing, stitching shoes, welding steel. Robotics firms are competing to collect this footage. The rate of pay is around $2.62 an hour. Why This Data Is Valuable The technical term is egocentric data — video captured from the perspective of the person performing a task rather than from an observing camera. It matters because the hardest problem in robotics is not building a machine that can move. It is teaching that machine what a task actually involves: how much pressure to apply, at what angle, in what sequence, and how to adjust when the material behaves unexpectedly. That knowledge lives in the hands of people who do the work, and it is largely tacit — the workers themselves could not fully write it down. First-person video captures it anyway. Feed enough of it into a model and the machine can begin to copy the motion. Which is why robotics companies are willing to pay for footage of tasks that, from the outside, look unremarkable. The Consent Question This is where the story turns from an economic observation into an ethical one. According to the reporting, many workers were not clearly informed that the footage would be used to train automation systems targeting their own job categories. India's IT Ministry has reportedly raised questions about whether consent obtained in these arrangements is adequate. The distinction matters. Data labelling — the established Indian outsourcing business of tagging images and text for AI training — involves workers processing someone else's data. This is different in kind. Here the workers are the data. Their movements, their bodies and their working environments are the raw material, and the specific purpose of collecting it is to reproduce their labour without them. The Wider Context India's position in the global AI economy has been built substantially on supplying labour to it — the data annotation, content moderation and IT services work that the technology requires. That position is already under strain. The combined market capitalisation of TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra has fallen more than 46 per cent since August 2024, as generative AI automates the coding and support work the industry was built to supply. Nearly 50,000 job cuts announced globally in 2026 have been explicitly attributed to AI. What the Bloomberg reporting documents is the same dynamic arriving in physical labour, and arriving through a mechanism in which the workers themselves are the mechanism. The camera on the forehead is the transfer. None of this makes the robotics work illegitimate — training data has to come from somewhere, and paid work is paid work. But at $2.62 an hour, with the purpose reportedly undisclosed, the terms of that exchange are worth stating plainly. Someone is being paid a few dollars an hour to hand over the one thing that made their labour valuable.

A Bloomberg investigation has documented thousands of Indian workers filming their own labour with head-mounted iPhones, generating training data for robotics companies teaching machines to replicate the work. The pay is around $2.62 an hour. Many were not told the footage is being used to automate their specific job categories, and India's IT Ministry has reportedly raised questions about consent.

Indian workers are filming their own jobs at $2.62 an hour to train the robots that will replace them

NSA Ajit Doval has spoken for the first time about Operation Sindoor, delivering a strong message to the world: India's generosity and tolerance should never be mistaken for weakness.


NSA Ajit Doval on Operation Sindoor: 'India can hit hard, irrespective of consequences'

A Class 11 student in Uttar Pradesh's Sant Kabir Nagar allegedly staged his own kidnapping in a bid to extort ₹1 lakh from his father, after racking up gaming debts online. To make it convincing, he sent his father an AI-generated photo showing what looked like a serious eye injury, reportedly with help from a friend. Police tracked him down using surveillance footage and a public Wi-Fi trail, finding him hiding at a friend's house. He later admitted the entire plan was staged to settle his debts. Here's how the hoax unraveled.


India: Student 'stages' his own kidnapping to settle gaming debts

The Partition of India in 1947 remains one of the most painful chapters in South Asian history. As British India was divided into India and Pakistan, millions were forced to leave their homes amid communal violence and upheaval. Families were separated, communities uprooted and countless lives were lost. Decades later, the memories of Partition continue to shape the region.


1947 partition of India: When millions were killed & displaced

A new Pew Research survey highlights the deep mistrust that continues to define India-Pakistan relations. The study found that many Indians view Russia as their country’s greatest ally, while Pakistan is seen as the biggest threat. 


Pew Research: Indians see russia as greatest ally, Pakistan as biggest threat

From how global forces move your fixed deposit to what it took to build Blinkit — ten books on Indian entrepreneurship, leadership, finance and innovation that belong on every professional's shelf.

India's business ecosystem is producing a new wave of writing — on entrepreneurship, leadership, personal finance and innovation. From how global economic forces reach into your fixed deposit, to what it actually took to build Blinkit, these ten books combine practical insight with hard-won experience. A reading list for entrepreneurs, professionals and anyone trying to understand how Indian business really works.

10 books that take you inside the ideas and people shaping Indian business

A parliamentary panel has raised serious concerns over India’s school dropout rates, flagging an alarming 73% figure among students in certain categories. The findings have renewed questions about access to education, affordability, learning gaps and why so many children struggle to stay in school. The numbers are prompting calls for stronger action to ensure students do not fall through the cracks.


73% students drop out before higher secondary: Parliament panel flags crisis 

Delhi is gearing up for India’s 80th Independence Day celebrations as a full dress rehearsal takes place at the Red Fort. Security has been tightened and traffic arrangements put in place as preparations intensify ahead of the national celebration. With the iconic venue being readied for the big day, the capital is already taking on a festive yet closely guarded atmosphere.


Delhi gears up for 80th Independence day with Red Fort rehearsal

The Centre has directed ride-hailing platforms, including Uber, Ola and Rapido to remove pre-ride tipping prompts from their apps. The move targets advance tipping options that appear before passengers begin their journey. The decision could change how riders interact with tipping features and comes amid growing scrutiny of practices on app-based transport platforms.


centre cracks down on ride apps over pre-ride tipping prompts 

India’s school dropout crisis: 73% rate sparks parliament alarm

In a historic expansion of international space cooperation, NASA has formally invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to collaborate on the development of a sustained human presence on the Moon. Building on the momentum of the Artemis Accords and India's successful lunar missions, the proposed partnership aims to pool expertise in lunar infrastructure, life-support systems, and deep-space communication.


NASA invites ISRO to help build a base on moon

India's retail inflation ticked higher in July as food prices surged across categories.


India's retail inflation ticks higher

For investors looking across Asia, the choice is increasingly between high-growth exposure to the AI and semiconductor boom and the relative stability of a more diversified market like India.


The AI trade has a volatility problem

The Jammu and Kashmir Police's State Investigation Agency (SIA) has launched a massive crackdown, conducting coordinated raids across multiple locations in connection with the tragic 1990 double murder of prominent Kashmiri Pandit writer Sarwanand Koul Premi and his son, Virender Koul. 

The father-son duo were abducted from their home in Kokernag, Anantnag, during the peak of early militancy in the Valley.

J&K police probe into killing of Kashmiri Pandit father-son duo

The race to the Moon is entering a new phase as India and the US deepen cooperation on future lunar exploration. The US National Space Advisor has invited ISRO to contribute to plans for building a base on the Moon, opening the door to closer collaboration in space technology, science and exploration.


India and US team up for a lunar base 

India’s Parliament remains locked in a major political standoff, with repeated disruptions overshadowing proceedings and raising concerns over taxpayers’ money being wasted. As Opposition parties continue their protests, Home Minister Amit Shah says he is ready to answer all questions. With the session nearing its end, the showdown between the government and Opposition is intensifying.


India's parliament remains in logjam, taxpayer money wasted

H1N1 influenza cases are rising sharply in Delhi, with more than 1,300 cases reportedly recorded in the national capital, nearly six times the number reported during the same period last year.

Doctors say most H1N1 infections are generally mild, with fever often subsiding within three to five days. However, elderly people, children and those with conditions such as diabetes and heart disease may face a higher risk of complications.

Common symptoms include sore throat, nasal discharge, dry cough, headache and fever. Health authorities have advised affected individuals to isolate at home, wear masks and follow basic hygiene precautions.

H1N1 cases spike nearly six-fold in Delhi

The controversy surrounding the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) Amendment Bill 2026 has intensified, with the government offering to send the legislation to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further scrutiny.

The bill has faced resistance from opposition parties, civil society groups and Christian organisations, who have raised concerns over provisions that could increase government control over organisations receiving foreign contributions.

The proposed amendments seek to change how foreign-funded assets are managed when an organisation's FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered or not renewed. The bill also proposes a minimum utilisation threshold for organisations seeking renewal of their FCRA registration.

Opposition parties have questioned the proposed government-appointed authority and warned that the provisions could centralise greater control over NGOs, charitable institutions, educational bodies, medical organisations and religious groups.

FCRA amendment bill referred to JPC amid parliament disruptions; opposition seeks withdrawal

Singer Rahul Sipligunj, best known for the Oscar-winning "Naatu Naatu" from RRR and his Bigg Boss Telugu 3 win, finds himself in serious legal trouble. An FIR has been filed in Visakhapatnam naming him after a woman alleged she was deceived under the pretext of marriage, later threatened, and blackmailed with personal photos and videos.


'Naatu Naatu' singer Rahul Sipligunj faces serious allegations

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