PM-AASHA boosts procurement, digital reforms to raise farmer incomes

IANS | August 21, 2026 12:20 PM

New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) emerged as a structured mechanism assuring agricultural procurement, price stabilisation and market interventions to ensure better price realisation for farmers, reduce distress sales, and promote a stable and resilient agricultural economy in the country, an official factsheet said on Friday.

India's private sector output growth rises to 54.6 in Aug: PMI data

IANS | August 21, 2026 11:54 AM

New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) India's private sector activity expanded at a slightly faster pace in August, supported by a rebound in services growth while manufacturing activity continued to expand, according to the HSBC Flash India PMI data released on Friday.

Piyush Goyal, Check Point Software CEO discuss cybersecurity, AI-driven security for India's digital infrastructure

IANS | August 21, 2026 11:15 AM

New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting with Check Point Software Technologies CEO Nadav Zafrir to discuss the company's growing engagement in India, including expansion of its research and development activities and the use of artificial intelligence-driven security to protect India's digital public infrastructure, Israeli envoy Reuven Azar said on Friday.

China's Baidu revenue falls for fifth straight quarter in Q2

IANS | August 20, 2026 5:04 PM

New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) Chinese technology company Baidu reported a fifth consecutive quarterly decline in revenue as weakness in its online marketing business continued to weigh on performance despite strong growth in artificial intelligence-related operations, according to a report.

Don't cross upper limit of 9 SIMs per customer, govt tells telcos

IANS | August 20, 2026 4:27 PM

New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has directed the telecom companies to strictly enforce the rule of not issuing a new mobile phone connection to any subscriber already having nine SIMs, an official statement said on Thursday.