17, Jul 2026
Assam Expands Sports Infrastructure and Athlete Support to Build Global Sporting Talent
Guwahati, July 17: The Assam government is strengthening its sports ecosystem through expanded infrastructure development, improved training facilities and enhanced support programmes aimed at nurturing athletes with the potential to compete on global platforms.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state is focused on creating a strong foundation for sporting excellence by investing in modern facilities, professional coaching and athlete development initiatives. The efforts are designed to encourage young talent and provide aspiring sportspersons with better opportunities to achieve success at national and international levels.
The government’s sports development strategy focuses on upgrading infrastructure, promoting grassroots participation and building a supportive environment for athletes across disciplines. These initiatives are expected to help identify emerging talent and provide them with the resources needed to progress in their sporting careers.
Assam’s continued investment in sports reflects the state’s commitment to youth empowerment, healthy lifestyles and the creation of a sustainable pathway for athletes to represent the state and the country at major competitions.
With a focus on long-term development, Assam aims to establish itself as a centre for sporting excellence and contribute to India’s growing presence in international sports.
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- By Neel Achary
17, Jul 2026
Government Introduces Export Handbook to Support MSMEs in Expanding Global Markets
New Delhi, July 17: The Government of India has introduced a new export handbook to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) strengthen their export readiness and expand into international markets.
The handbook offers practical guidance on export procedures, documentation, regulatory compliance, logistics, financing options and government support schemes. It is intended to simplify the export process and equip MSMEs with the knowledge needed to access global opportunities more effectively.
The initiative supports the government’s efforts to enhance the global competitiveness of Indian MSMEs, promote export-led growth and encourage greater participation by small businesses in international trade.
17, Jul 2026
Indian Rupee Opens Higher as Softer US Dollar Supports Market Sentiment
Mumbai, July 17: The Indian rupee opened 4 paise stronger against the US dollar on Friday, supported by weakness in the greenback and improved sentiment in the domestic foreign exchange market.
The local currency gained in early trade as the US dollar softened against major global currencies, providing support to emerging market currencies, including the rupee. Market participants also monitored foreign fund flows, crude oil prices and broader global economic developments for additional direction.
Currency analysts noted that a weaker dollar helped strengthen the rupee at the opening, although volatility may persist throughout the trading session amid changing global market conditions and investor positioning.
The performance of the rupee will continue to be influenced by movements in the US dollar index, international crude oil prices, foreign institutional investor activity and upcoming domestic and global economic data releases.
The stronger opening reflects cautious optimism in the currency market as investors assess global macroeconomic trends and their potential impact on India’s external sector and financial markets.
17, Jul 2026
India Advances Green Rail Mobility with Hydrogen-Powered Train Initiative
New Delhi, July 17: India is taking a significant step toward sustainable transportation with the development of its hydrogen-powered train initiative, reinforcing the country’s commitment to cleaner mobility and low-carbon infrastructure. The project is aligned with the government’s broader vision of accelerating green energy adoption and modernizing the national rail network.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the hydrogen-powered train reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for green mobility, emphasizing that the initiative demonstrates India’s focus on innovation-driven and environmentally sustainable transport solutions.
The hydrogen-powered train is expected to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency and provide a cleaner alternative for rail operations, particularly on non-electrified routes. The initiative supports India’s long-term objectives of achieving sustainable economic growth, enhancing energy security and promoting the use of clean technologies across critical infrastructure.
The project forms part of the government’s ongoing efforts to transform Indian Railways through advanced technologies, improved operational efficiency and environmentally responsible practices. As investments in green transportation continue, hydrogen-powered rail systems are expected to play an important role in shaping the future of sustainable mobility in India.
The initiative highlights India’s commitment to building a modern, resilient and environmentally conscious transportation ecosystem while contributing to global climate goals and the country’s transition to a greener economy.
17, Jul 2026
Karcher Showcased Advanced Industrial Cleaning Technologies at INDUS-TECH Machine Tools & Automation Expo 2026
New Delhi, July 17: Kärcher India participated in the INDUS-TECH Machine Tools & Automation Expo 2026, held from 8–10 July at the ARK Hotel & Convention Center, Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. The exhibition brought together manufacturers, OEMs, MSMEs, and industry professionals to showcase the latest developments in machine tools, industrial automation, and smart manufacturing technologies.
During the exhibition, Kärcher India showcased a range of professional cleaning solutions designed for manufacturing plants, production facilities, warehouses, and industrial workshops. The display highlighted cleaning solutions that support efficient equipment maintenance, workplace cleanliness, and smooth day-to-day operations across industrial environments.
The showcased portfolio included:
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Ride-on Scrubber Dryer – B 90 R – Designed for efficient cleaning of large industrial floors, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities.
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Battery-operated Walk-behind Sweeper – KM 85/50 W Bp – Suitable for dust-free sweeping of production areas, factory premises, and outdoor industrial spaces.
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High-pressure Cleaner – HD 10/25 – Designed for heavy-duty cleaning of industrial machinery, equipment, production lines, and plant infrastructure.
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Industrial Vacuum Cleaner – IVR 100/22 – Engineered for continuous collection of heavy industrial dust, metal shavings, and production waste.
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Steam Cleaner – SG 6/5 – Used for chemical-free deep cleaning and sanitisation of machinery, equipment, and industrial surfaces.
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Walk-behind Scrubber Dryer – BD 50/50 – Designed for efficient cleaning and maintenance of factory floors, workshops, warehouses, and commercial facilities.
Live demonstrations enabled visitors to experience Kärcher’s professional cleaning solutions in action and understand their applications across manufacturing units, engineering workshops, fabrication facilities, and industrial production environments.
17, Jul 2026
Indian Equity Markets Open Higher as IT and Auto Stocks Drive Early Gains
Mumbai, July 17: Indian equity markets opened on a positive note on Friday, with benchmark indices advancing in early trade, led by strong buying interest in information technology (IT) and automobile stocks. The upbeat market sentiment reflected investor confidence amid ongoing corporate earnings announcements and expectations of stable domestic economic growth.
The benchmark BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty traded higher during the opening session as gains in leading IT companies and automobile manufacturers lifted the broader market. Technology stocks attracted investor attention on optimism surrounding quarterly earnings and improving global demand trends, while auto shares benefited from continued expectations of healthy domestic sales and improving consumer sentiment.
Market participants remained focused on the ongoing earnings season, with upcoming financial results from major listed companies expected to provide further direction to equity markets. Investors also continued to monitor global economic developments, crude oil prices and foreign institutional investor activity for additional cues.
Analysts noted that the resilience of India’s macroeconomic fundamentals, coupled with sustained domestic investor participation, continues to support market sentiment despite global uncertainties. Selective buying in large-cap stocks helped benchmark indices maintain positive momentum during early trading.
Looking ahead, market experts expect stock-specific movements to dominate trading in the near term as investors assess corporate earnings, economic data and global market trends. The performance of the IT and automobile sectors is likely to remain a key driver of market sentiment in the sessions ahead.
17, Jul 2026
The Next Evolution of AI Is Future-Ready Intelligence
Swagat Sarangi, Co–founder, Smytten & PulseAI Research
“AI is not replacing human judgment; it is fundamentally changing how that judgment is formed. For decades, businesses have relied on historical data to predict what consumers might do next. The next frontier is future-ready intelligence: AI that continuously learns from real consumer behaviour, validates signals and helps businesses move from hindsight to foresight.
Consumers are already using AI to learn, explore and make more informed decisions. This gives brands an opportunity to move beyond assumptions and build on real behavioural intelligence. At PulseAI Research, we are transforming billions of consumer signals into validated, decision-ready intelligence, helping businesses identify emerging trends, anticipate changing preferences and act with greater speed and confidence.
The companies that win will not simply have more data, but better intelligence. The future of AI will be defined not by how much information we collect, but by how responsibly we use it to create better products, experiences and outcomes.”
17, Jul 2026
Petals Preschool & Daycare’s Six-Year Association with AWWA Little Angels Supporting Army Families
New Delhi, July 17: Petals Preschool & Daycare, one of India’s trusted early childhood education providers, has been running three early childhood education and daycare centres inside Delhi Cantonment in association with AWWA Little Angels, an initiative under the Army Welfare ecosystem, since 2020, offering over 500 children of serving officers, defence personnel, and Army widows something their families rarely get: consistency, structure, and a place that stays the same even when everything else changes.
The three centres, located across Arjan Vihar, Kabul Lines, and Shankar Vihar within Delhi Cantonment, were established to address a gap that is specific to Army life. Postings shift, locations change, and the search for reliable, safe childcare starts over every time. Petals was selected through a formal evaluation process, assessed on child safety protocols, quality of teaching staff, hygiene standards, and its ability to communicate with parents in real time. Each centre runs on the EYFS curriculum framework, with CCTV monitoring, trained educators, nutritionally managed meals, a structured daycare programme and the SED Connect platform that keeps parents informed and involved regardless of where duty takes them. Child counselling and developmental support are woven into the programme as well, because the need extended beyond the classroom from the very beginning.
At the Kabul Lines centre, Petals has also been providing subsidised access to early education as part of its CSR commitment, making sure that families with fewer resources receive the same quality of care as everyone else.
“This association was never planned on a whiteboard. It grew because the need was in front of us and we had the means to address it. Army families are not looking for sympathy or special programmes. They are looking for the same quality and reliability that any parent would want for their child. That is what we have tried to show up with, every single day, for six years,” says Preeti Kwatra, Co-Founder & CEO, Petals Preschool & Daycare.
With additional centres in the pipeline, the initiative is set to extend its reach to more Army families across cantonments. For Petals, the next phase is a continuation of what has already been built, not a new beginning.
17, Jul 2026
Blackstraw Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Recognized for Data Foundation Excellence at ET Edge AI Summit and Awards 2026
Blackstraw has built its business around perfecting the groundwork since its inception in 2018. Even before generative and agentic AI reached enterprise floors, the company was cleaning and connecting data, setting up governance, and making sure its AI systems held up in production. Over the years, it has delivered more than 200 successful AI implementations for 60+ global customers, with work spanning data engineering, enterprise AI platforms, genAI and agentic AI solutions, computer vision, and legacy modernization. The recognition from Economic Times validates an approach the company has stood by from the start, and it reflects the results that approach has delivered consistently for clients.
“The focus is shifting from experimentation to execution, and the success of any AI initiative depends on the quality of the data foundation beneath it,” said Atul Bansal, Head of AI at Blackstraw. “Generative and agentic AI keep expanding what is possible, but sustainable outcomes require infrastructure and processes that can support AI at enterprise scale.”
Commenting on the broader enterprise AI landscape, Hemendhira Muralidharan, VP Marketing at Blackstraw, said, “The enterprise AI conversation has evolved significantly over the past 12-18 months. Organizations are increasingly moving beyond pilot programs and proofs of concept to focus on measurable business outcomes. We are also seeing enterprises test and validate AI capabilities within their own operations before deploying them more broadly across customer facing and business critical functions. In that environment, strong data foundations, governance frameworks, and operational readiness become strategic priorities. This recognition reflects the growing industry understanding that long term AI success is built on these core, non-comprising fundamentals.”
17, Jul 2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the quality of packaged goods in real time
With its new quality and inspection millimeter wave scanner, Rohde & Schwarz will simplify the industrial inspection of packaged products. The system sees through common packaging materials at production speed without using X-rays, protecting both products and operators. The high-contrast 3D images are used as digital twins and can be automatically integrated into AI-powered fault detection systems.
The R&S IMAGER allows the inspection of common packaging materials using millimeter waves.
With the new R&S IMAGER, Rohde & Schwarz is expanding its real-time millimeter wave inspection portfolio. The R&S IMAGER uses innovative imaging technology to penetrate materials with invisible millimeter waves, analyze the return signals using a sensor array and convert them into razor-sharp images that reveal any hidden structures or material defects.
Use in the pharmaceutical industry
The non-ionizing radiation of the R&S IMAGER does not affect the efficacy of pharmaceutical substances in any way. Thus, the new system fills a long-standing gap in the camera-based or weight-based inspection of pharmaceutical packaging. Multi-layer secondary packaging, cardboard boxes and laminated seals are transparent to millimeter waves, allowing the sensor to detect syringes, needles and autoinjectors inside. The system generates a three-dimensional representation of each package at production speed, which ensures all components and their correct assembly can be fully inspected. By using artificial intelligence to evaluate the volumetric images, production lines can automatically detect missing or misaligned parts without affecting throughput. The applied millimeter waves eliminate any risk of radiation-related damage to sterile products, help ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and reduce costly recalls.
Logistics applications
The penetration capabilities of the R&S IMAGER also offer logistics advantages. Weight scales and conventional surface inspections cannot confirm that the correct, high-quality product is inside sealed packaging, and X-ray methods raise both safety and regulatory concerns. The R&S IMAGER projects millimeter waves through plastics, cardboard and composite materials, producing an internal view that reveals missing parts, misplaced objects or damage. When integrated into a conveyor belt system, the R&S IMAGER provides a continuous stream of images that are analyzed by AI algorithms to inspect the contents and detect anomalies in real time. This reduces the need for manual checks, improves inventory accuracy and ensures complete documentation of the entire supply chain for each shipment. The technology also promotes the use of more environmentally friendly packaging – even when manufacturers use more sustainable, but potentially opaque, materials, contents can still be monitored reliably.
Support for the food and beverage sector
The unit provides a non-invasive method for inspecting sealed cartons, multipacks and glass containers in the food and beverage sector. Millimeter waves easily penetrate standard packaging to reveal missing items, damaged products or sealing defects that would otherwise remain hidden. This makes it possible to detect even the smallest deviations, such as a loss of vacuum in glass bottles. Operators can implement strict safety and quality standards even with production lines running at full speed. Since the non-ionizing radiation affects neither food quality nor employee health, the solution complies with all safety regulations. By detecting defects early on, manufacturers reduce waste, extend shelf life and improve their brand image.
Summary
In all three application areas, the R&S IMAGER stands out for its technical strengths. The system’s architecture also means the scanner can be integrated into existing production control software, allowing engineers to expand inspection capabilities with no need for fundamental redesign of the manufacturing environment. The transition from surface-based inspection to volumetric millimeter wave imaging marks a quantum leap in quality assurance. Given increasingly complex supply chains and stricter regulatory requirements, the ability to quickly inspect each individual unit is becoming a decisive competitive advantage.
