Week 3 (Oct 15 – Oct 21) (2026/10/15 to 2026/10/21)
Indian wrestler Aman Sehrawat completed a major career ascent by winning gold at the 2026 Asian Games, adding the continent’s top prize to the bronze he had previously secured in Hangzhou. The 23-year-old delivered a composed, tactically disciplined performance to neutralise a dangerous Han and finish on top of the podium.
Traditional kolu dolls, long central to Navratri displays in South Indian homes, are increasingly being viewed as collectible cultural assets rather than seasonal decorations. In Chennai and other heritage-minded households, families and private collectors are preserving antique figurines, with rare Mysore Gowri bommai and finely crafted religious sets drawing rising interest and higher prices each year.
The Karnataka government has transferred Vikas Marmat, the Project Director of the Karnataka Adivasi Development Agency, in a move that comes days after Bengaluru police booked the senior IAS officer and three others in connection with the alleged assault of a police inspector. The transfer is likely to intensify scrutiny over administrative accountability and the handling of a case that has already drawn attention within the state bureaucracy.
India’s balance of payments recorded a sharp surplus of $45.4 billion in August, reversing a $5.6 billion deficit a year earlier even as the current account remained in deficit. The improvement was driven by stronger net transfers, including remittances, and a surge in capital-account inflows, aided by central bank measures that encouraged foreign-exchange deposits.
A new exhibition in Thiruvananthapuram is tracing the emergence of modernism in Keralam and wider south India through more than 140 works by 30 artists. Curated by Tensing Joseph, Southern Latitudes: Scenes from Madras & Trivandrum brings together pivotal paintings and sculptures by figures including KCS Paniker, CL Porinchukutty and Kanayi Kunhiraman, offering a focused account of how the region’s visual language changed across generations.
Police have arrested four people, including three juveniles, in connection with the killing of a BCom student during a violent clash that investigators say began over a dispute involving a female student. The prime accused remains absconding, and officers are continuing efforts to trace him while examining the sequence of events that escalated the confrontation into a fatal attack.
Mysuru Dasara’s cultural calendar drew large crowds on Tuesday night as music and dance programmes blended devotion, spectacle and popular appeal across the city’s festival venues. The performances underscored how the state-backed celebration continues to function not only as a religious and civic ritual, but also as a major platform for cultural diplomacy, tourism and public participation.
India’s AI startup market is entering a more mature phase, with founders increasingly focused on workflow automation, enterprise deployment, and measurable business outcomes rather than model-building alone. Five startups that stood out in October reflect a broader shift in the country’s venture landscape: investors are backing applied AI companies that can solve specific problems at scale.
B2B ecommerce unicorn Udaan reported a 12.6% rise in operating revenue to ₹5,134 crore for the financial year ended March 2026, underscoring continued scale gains in India’s wholesale digital commerce market. The company also reduced its loss to ₹852 crore, signalling improving operating discipline even as the sector remains under pressure to balance growth with profitability.
India’s merchandise exports rose 23% in September from a year earlier, while the trade deficit narrowed to $30.21 billion, reflecting a stronger export performance even as import costs remained elevated. Higher crude oil prices linked to the West Asia crisis improved realisations for petroleum product exports, helping offset some pressure from the import bill.
As the Jodhpur RIFF marks its 20th edition at Mehrangarh Fort, the festival’s original mission remains intact: to place folk musicians at the centre of India’s cultural conversation. What began as a niche celebration of traditional sounds has evolved into a globally watched platform that has helped reframe folk music as living, contemporary art rather than heritage on the margins.
Apple Pay has officially launched in India, enabling Axis Bank credit card holders to make contactless payments using Visa and Mastercard cards on Apple devices. The rollout adds a secure, private payment option that does not require PINs or OTPs for each transaction, marking a notable expansion in India’s digital payments landscape.
At TechSparks 2026, Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala argued that India has the technical depth to build virtually any technology, but must pair that capability with a stronger culture of entrepreneurship, risk-taking and problem-solving. He called for education reforms, greater emphasis on edge computing and closer consortia linking scientists with startups to address local challenges at scale.
The Archery Premier League is preparing for its second season, marking another step in the effort to package archery as a spectator-friendly, commercially viable competition in India. The league’s return underscores growing confidence that the sport can move beyond isolated tournament success and build a more durable domestic profile. With India’s sporting calendar increasingly crowded, the league’s challenge is not only competitive quality but also audience retention, athlete visibility and long-term marketability. Its second season will be closely watched as a test of whether archery can sustain momentum in a franchise-style format.
Chennai’s Bengali community is preparing to turn the city into a vibrant outpost of Durga Puja 2026, blending ritual worship, cultural programming and Kolkata-style food into a festival that now reaches well beyond its traditional base. From themed pandals to community feasts and performances, the celebration reflects both cultural continuity and Chennai’s growing appetite for plural, citywide festivities.
Indian equities were volatile in late trade on Thursday as benchmark indices struggled for direction amid a mixed showing from index heavyweights. Asian Paints, SBI, Tata Motors, HUL and Maruti Suzuki led gainers in the Sensex pack, while ONGC, Axis Bank, M&M, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp came under pressure.
DBS Bank CEO Tan Su Shan said strong demand for FCNR(B) deposits reflects enduring confidence among global investors and non-resident Indians in India’s financial stability, even as concerns persist about capital outflows. She argued that India needs more foreign direct investment and stronger exports to support the rupee, while also highlighting the country’s opportunity to lead in artificial intelligence if it pairs software strength with better hardware capabilities.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has stepped in to prevent Arunachal Pradesh from suffering additional forfeitures, signalling a direct intervention in a dispute that has exposed administrative strain in the state’s cricket structure. The move is aimed at protecting competitive integrity and ensuring that the team is not further penalised while the broader governance issues are addressed.
Former Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac has warned that dismantling the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board, or KIIFB, would push the state’s development trajectory back by as much as 30 years. He argued that projects now being executed through the agency would otherwise take decades to complete if they depended only on routine budgetary allocations.
Citigroup now expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in December after September inflation came in hotter than anticipated, reinforcing the view that policymakers will keep policy restrictive for longer. The brokerage said it now sees no further changes after that move, with rate cuts unlikely before June 2027.
HyFarm Paathshala has honoured farmers who have adopted improved cultivation methods and helped spread sustainable practices in processing-potato farming. The recognition underscores a broader shift toward productivity, resource efficiency, and farmer-led knowledge sharing in India’s potato value chain.
India’s proposed support for honey exports may help steady shipments and protect market access, but it does not automatically translate into better incomes for beekeepers. The real test will be whether policymakers track procurement prices, producer margins, processing and compliance costs, inventory build-up and the share of export value that actually reaches the farm gate.
Government sources have clarified that the proposed 0.4% merchant fee on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 will not be charged to consumers, easing concern over a possible cost increase in India’s most widely used digital payments system. The National Payments Corporation of India said only a small portion of UPI transactions may be affected, while the Indian Banks’ Association is expected to address market misunderstandings soon.
The Karnataka Cabinet has rejected the mercy petitions of Shubha and Arun in the long-running Ring Road murder case, closing a major administrative avenue in one of the state’s most closely watched criminal matters. The case dates to 2003 and centres on the killing of 27-year-old software engineer B.V. Girish, in a conspiracy allegedly hatched by Shubha, to whom he was engaged to be married.
The 57th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council has been postponed by one day and will now convene on October 8 at 11 am at the Summit Room, Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi. An official memorandum cited unavoidable circumstances for the change, while members were informed and apologised to for the inconvenience.
US Ambassador Sergio Gor said he remains confident that India and the United States will eventually conclude a trade deal, while acknowledging that two large and complex economies cannot reconcile every issue overnight. His remarks come as Washington weighs fresh Russia sanctions measures, with President Donald Trump expected to decide on the next steps within 10 days.
Venture capital investors focused on deeptech say India is beginning to generate a distinct class of founders capable of building self-reliant technologies in areas such as advanced engineering, industrial systems and frontier software. They argue that the country’s talent base, cost advantages and growing technical ambition are converging to create a more durable startup pipeline than the consumer internet wave of the past decade.
Erode-based Milky Mist has launched a high-protein milk product as it deepens its push into value-added dairy, targeting consumers seeking nutrition-forward staples. The move comes amid rising demand for paneer, Greek yoghurt and Skyr, categories that are reshaping India’s premium dairy market.
Kazi Nazrul Islam’s Agomoni songs remain among the most resonant yet under-credited cultural expressions of Durga Puja, blending devotion, social critique and Bengal’s syncretic imagination. As autumn rituals gather pace, his work stands as a reminder that the festival’s emotional power has long extended beyond worship into literature, music and public life.
India’s sports ministry has undertaken a wide-ranging review of the country’s Asian Games performance, with the discussion extending beyond immediate results to the deeper question of whether the system is preparing athletes for sustained success. The review also addressed the sensitive issue of injured athletes travelling to Aichi-Nagoya, a concern raised by Indian Olympic Association president P.T. Usha, while examining readiness for the 2028 Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and the 2030 Asian Games.
Ganesh Mani Ratnam said his first Asian Games appearance was defined less by medals than by learning how to manage elite competition, preparation and pressure. Speaking after winning gold and bronze, he described the event as a formative experience that gave him a clearer sense of what is required at the continental level.
Tom Cruise visited Studio MAPPA’s 15th-anniversary exhibition in Tokyo with filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, drawing attention to the growing cultural reach of Japanese animation among global film figures. The visit, which included displays from major MAPPA titles such as 'Attack on Titan,' underscores how anime has become a shared reference point across international entertainment industries.
RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka has sparked a fresh debate over the scale of Tata Sons’ capital base and its potential social impact, saying a hypothetical sale of the company’s listed equity portfolio and reinvestment into 6%–7% safe-yield instruments could generate as much as Rs 82,000 crore a year for philanthropy. His remarks, posted on X, came as he contrasted that figure with Tata Sons’ reported annual dividend of Rs 4,475 crore.
The internal conflict at the Boxing Federation of India has escalated sharply, with federation president Ajay Singh suspending secretary general Pramod Kumar after Kumar moved a no-confidence motion against him. The move signals a widening institutional rift at the top of Indian boxing, raising fresh questions about governance, authority, and stability within the sport's national body.
India’s farm policy has long treated crop support prices as a core stabiliser, but livestock producers remain exposed to sharp price swings with little formal protection. A growing policy argument now calls for a CACP-style framework for animal products, alongside targeted deficiency payments in milk markets facing gluts, to address a major blind spot in agricultural economics.
Karnataka-based action director Chethan D'Souza has spoken about the experience of designing fight sequences for the highly anticipated 'Jailer 2', placing the spotlight on the craft behind one of Tamil cinema's most closely watched sequels. His remarks underline both the scale of the production and the precision required when working with Rajinikanth, whose screen presence continues to shape expectations across Indian cinema.
Akash and Isha Ambani appeared at a Jio press conference in a closely watched moment for India’s largest digital and telecom platform, sharpening market attention on the company’s capital-markets trajectory. The event comes as investors continue to assess whether Jio Platforms is moving toward a long-anticipated initial public offering and what that could mean for Reliance Industries, the telecom sector, and India’s broader equity market.
New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner said bowlers are increasingly being forced to adapt as batters dictate the tempo in modern cricket, underscoring the tactical challenge facing attacks in India. His remarks come as teams continue to search for ways to regain control on surfaces that reward timing, power and relentless scoring pressure.
The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks to identify the systemic, process and operational failures that keep generating repeat customer complaints, and to carry out root-cause analysis to curb recurrence. The regulator also wants stronger grievance-handling capacity as complaint volumes remain elevated, with more than 1.33 million complaints received under the ombudsman scheme in FY25.
Aegis Logistics has announced plans to acquire an 89.8% stake in Dubai-based Tristar for about ₹7,700 crore, marking one of its most significant overseas expansion moves to date. The transaction will be executed through Aegis Logistics International Pte Ltd, the company’s wholly owned step-down subsidiary, underscoring a structured push into international energy logistics.
Google’s latest Pixel and Assistant-driven AI ambitions are being welcomed for convenience but scrutinised for their privacy cost. As the company embeds more predictive features into everyday devices, the central question for users and regulators is whether smarter assistance is coming at the expense of tighter data control.
At just 11, Aaradhya Jain has turned a modest budget into a globally visible assistive-tech prototype: STAMBHA, an AI-enabled smart cane designed for elderly and blind users. Built for roughly ₹10,000 and presented at the United Nations in Bangkok, the project underscores how low-cost innovation is widening access to practical mobility tools.
An unbeaten, resolute 95 from Sarwate anchored Kerala’s resistance as they batted long enough to deny Jharkhand an outright victory in their Ranji Trophy 2026-27 clash. After conceding a substantial first-innings lead, Kerala’s second innings closed at 62 for two when the match ended in a draw.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin held discussions with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on strengthening economic ties, investment flows and industrial cooperation, as the state seeks to deepen its international business links. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the unveiling of CapitaLand Data Centre Chennai 01 at the SIDCO Industrial Estate in Ambattur, underscoring Tamil Nadu’s push to position itself as a preferred destination for digital infrastructure and global capital.
Indian banks have asked the Reserve Bank of India for clearer guidance on how to implement its new currency-support measures, including the calculation of foreign exchange risk reserves and their effect on liquidity ratios. Lenders are also seeking direction on cost pass-through to customers, exposure-limit assessment, and whether certain cash reserves can be treated as high-quality liquid assets.
Tech Mahindra reported a 33% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,586 crore for the September quarter, underscoring a stronger operating performance despite a still-cautious global technology spending environment. The company’s board also approved an interim dividend of Rs 15 per share and a 1:1 bonus issue, signalling confidence in cash generation and shareholder returns.
Left-arm spinner Kukna said precision, discipline and a clear bowling plan were the foundations of his success in the Ranji Trophy, underscoring how control can still outvalue raw speed in red-ball cricket. His remarks come as domestic cricket continues to reward bowlers who can sustain pressure, exploit conditions and force errors over long spells.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has urged the Union government to intervene urgently for the release of 25 fishermen from Thoothukudi who were detained by the Maldives Coast Guard along with three mechanised boats on October 13. The appeal underscores the recurring vulnerability of Indian coastal communities operating in disputed or sensitive waters and the diplomatic burden such arrests place on New Delhi.
Borosil Glass Works has emerged as one of the market’s standout wealth creators, with its shares rising more than threefold over the past year. The rally has been underpinned by a sharp improvement in revenue and EBITDA across recent quarters, prompting investors to re-rate the company’s growth prospects in a still-selective market.
Peak XV is increasingly willing to back Indian startups that are pursuing larger, riskier ideas, according to Managing Director Mohit Bhatnagar. Speaking at TechSparks 2026, he said artificial intelligence is expanding the scope for founders in India to build globally relevant companies rather than only domestic businesses.