Archaeologists from the Trichy Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have identified the probable remains of an ancient water-management structure in the Kollidam River, near Lalgudi, Tamil Nadu. Kollidam River, historically known as Coleroon, is the northern and major distributary of the Cauvery River in Tamil Nadu. It branches from the Cauvery near Srirangam and flows for about 150 km before entering the Bay of Bengal. The river acts as an important flood-control channel, carrying surplus monsoon and floodwater away from the Cauvery delta.

The Ministry of Textiles organised ‘Srijan: Voices from the Loom’ in New Delhi. The programme celebrates women handloom weavers and their contribution to preserving India’s weaving heritage. More than 100 women weavers from six handloom clusters will participate. The event highlights their resilience, creativity and role in sustaining traditional weaving traditions.

The bilateral air exercise ‘Udara Shakti 2026′ was conducted at Subang Air Base in Selangor, Malaysia, from August 10 to 14, 2026. This exercise involved intense air combat manoeuvres and tactical sharing between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). It serves to enhance strategic ties, mutual trust, and operational interoperability between the two nations’ air forces. Subang Air Base hosts the RMAF Air Warfare Centre, which acted as the primary venue for the five-day drills involving 83 personnel.

BhashaDaan is the dedicated crowdsourcing initiative launched under the National Language Technology Mission (BHASHINI). It aims to collect diverse voice, text, and translation inputs from citizens across various Indian languages to build open-source datasets. These datasets are used to train artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models. Managed under the Digital India BHASHINI Division, the platform encourages public participation to enrich regional language resources, thereby enabling developers and startups to create voice-first, localized digital solutions for public governance and private enterprise.

NITI Aayog released the report “Key Sectors to Position India as a Global Manufacturing Hub” on August 13, 2026. The report identifies four high-potential manufacturing sectors: chemicals, textiles, telecom & networking equipment and solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing. It assesses sectors based on market potential, competitiveness, infrastructure, technology readiness, employment potential and value-chain position. The report aims to strengthen domestic value addition, exports, competitiveness and India’s manufacturing ecosystem.