Archives April 2026

New Delhi, Apr 9 (BNP): The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) intensified its monitoring efforts in 2025-26, conducting nearly 3.97 lakh inspections across food businesses nationwide.

 Pic Credit: Pexel

In partnership with state authorities, the agency tested 1,65,747 food samples up to the third quarter, finding 17.16% of them non-compliant with safety standards. These violations triggered swift regulatory and legal action to protect consumers.

State governments are actively supporting the enforcement drive, stepping up inspections, awareness campaigns, and guidance for food producers and retailers. Officials said the combined efforts aim to ensure safer food practices, improve compliance, and build public trust in food quality.

FSSAI’s strengthened approach highlights the government’s commitment to public health, encouraging businesses to prioritize hygiene and quality while maintaining accountability across the food supply chain.

Tickets
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Dates: 22nd – 23rd May, 2026

Uganda joins as second focus country as ARMC 2026 draws delegations from the UK, US, Germany, Sweden and Australia ahead of its Johannesburg return this May

Africa Rising Music Conference (ARMC) returns to Johannesburg on 22nd & 23rd May 2026 for its sixth edition, now backed by the PRS Foundation for the third time and welcoming Australia and Uganda as official focus countries for the first time. Bringing together artists, executives and cultural leaders from across Africa, Europe, the Americas and beyond, ARMC has established itself as the continent’s leading platform for cross-continental music industry dialogue.

A major focus for 2026 is the introduction of Australia and Uganda as official focus countries and bringing curated delegations of artists, executives and cultural leaders into the programme. The Ugandan delegation, led by Amplify Ugandan Music Expo (AUMEX), builds on connections formed at previous editions, while Australia’s inclusion signals ARMC’s growing ties beyond the African continent. Additional delegates from the UK are supported by the PRS Foundation while more from Germany, the United States and Sweden further strengthen the conference’s global reach.

With a growing network of international partners, delegates and speakers, ARMC 2026 is a key platform for cross-continental collaboration that spotlights emerging scenes while connecting them to established global markets. This year sees new strategic partnerships including with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) alongside expanded international participation.

The speaker programme reflects this international outlook, with newly announced headline names including Grammy‑Recording Academy‑inducted producer and award‑winning artist TRESOR, alongside Janesh, Hitboss SA and Brenda Mtambo. Together, they represent a cross-section of artists and industry leaders shaping contemporary African music while engaging with global audiences through songwriting, production and cultural exchange.

Alongside its core programme, ARMC has introduced a Community Access Pledge in partnership with Bridges for Music, shesaid.so South Africa, The Cradle Crew and BTCH$ LUV – enabling brands and organisations to donate tickets distributed to aspiring artists and entrepreneurs who would otherwise be unable to attend.

As African music continues to gain global prominence, ARMC positions itself at the centre of that momentum by bridging scenes, industries and cultures through dialogue, collaboration and live experience. Further speaker and programme announcements are expected in the coming weeks. Phase 2 tickets are on sale now via Quicket.

Apr 9: The government is planning relief measures to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) facing financial stress due to the West Asia conflict.

Authorities may ask the Reserve Bank of India to extend timelines for classifying loans as Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and Special Mention Accounts (SMAs). This would give businesses more time before their loans are marked as stressed or bad.

 Pic Credit: Pexel

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a similar step was taken, extending the NPA period from 90 days to 180 days. The government is considering doing something similar now to support MSMEs.

MSMEs are an important part of India’s economy, contributing about 30% to the GDP, 35% of manufacturing output, and nearly 45% of merchandise exports. Many MSME borrowers have approached banks seeking relief, and officials say timely action is needed to prevent short-term problems from becoming long-term challenges.

The plan is part of a larger ₹2.5 trillion relief package, including credit guarantees, to help MSMEs stay strong during global uncertainties.

Apr 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for increased women’s representation in legislative bodies, describing it as a key step to strengthen constitutional values and empower India’s Nari Shakti.

Let us move forward together and strengthen Constitutional values and empower our Nari Shakti for national progress. pic.twitter.com/pagvYa3Zad

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) April 9, 2026

In a recent op-ed, he emphasized that reserving seats for women is not just a legislative formality but a reflection of the aspirations of women across the country. The Prime Minister highlighted that inclusive governance, with active participation from women, is essential for fostering equitable development and driving national progress.

PM Modi noted that political empowerment of women creates a ripple effect, benefiting social welfare, education, and economic growth. He urged citizens, policymakers, and institutions to work together to ensure women have greater opportunities to shape decision-making and governance in India.

The article comes amid ongoing discussions in Parliament about implementing measures for women’s reservation in legislative bodies, underlining the government’s commitment to gender equality and inclusive leadership.

By advocating for women’s representation, the Prime Minister reinforced the vision of a future where India’s growth is powered by the full potential of its women leaders.

In a preclinical study published today inCancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center identified one waylung cancerbecomes resistant toradiation therapyand then developed a strategy to overcome this challenge.

Led by Boyi Gan, Ph.D., professor of Experimental Radiation Oncology, researchers discovered that the mitochondrial enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) can protect cancer cells from ferroptosis – an iron-dependent form of cell death triggered by radiation – thereby contributing to radiation therapy resistance in lung cancer. In preclinical models, the researchers were able to overcome this resistance by inhibiting DHODH with leflunomide, an arthritis medication already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

“This is an important finding because of the immediate translational opportunity,” Gan said. “By understanding how DHODH is preventing cell death in radioresistant cancer cells, we were able to develop a strategy to overcome radiation therapy resistance in tumor models.”

Why is the discovery of how DHODH helps tumors evade radiation significant?

Radiation therapy is one of the standard treatments for lung cancer, but patients often develop resistance to it. How exactly that resistance forms is not completely understood.

Radiation therapy eliminates cancer cells in multiple ways. It can damage the DNA inside the cell so severely that the cell can no longer repair itself, triggering apoptosis – a programmed form of cell death that allows the body to safely eliminate damaged cells. Radiation also can injure cell membranes, leading to another type of cell death known as ferroptosis.

In this study, the researchers found one way that lung cancer cells fight back against ferroptosis is by increasing production of DHODH, an enzyme important for creating the building blocks of RNA and DNA. Increasing DHODH levels not only helped the cells assemble more of the building blocks needed to repair DNA, but it also produced a molecule known as ubiquinol that blocked the ferroptosis process.

This finding is significant because it led to the hypothesis that inhibiting DHODH could help overcome this resistance, and there is already an approved DHODH inhibitor available.

How does leflunomide help overcome radiation resistance?

In this study, the researchers developed a triple combination therapy.

Radiation is delivered, followed by immunotherapy (anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade). This combination alone failed to stop tumor growth in the preclinical models. However, immunotherapy led to an upregulation of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), which also helps promote ferroptosis. When the DHODH inhibitor leflunomide was added to the combination, the cells were no longer able to resist ferroptosis, and the tumors once again responded to radiotherapy.

“DHODH inhibition alone had some effect on sensitization to radiation therapy, but it was really this triple combination that had a marked effect on the lung cancer models,” Gan said. “These findings provide a good rationale for testing this combination in clinical studies.”

April 09: India has 18 percent of the world’s population but only about 4 per cent of global freshwater resources, and nearly 600 million Indians already live in areas of high to extreme water stress. Almost half of the country’s farmland depends directly on rainfall rather than irrigation, making crops highly vulnerable when monsoon rains fail or heatwaves persist. In this context, a new scientific cooperation between NASA and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) aims to improve the global soil-moisture satellite data quality that can underpin drought monitoring, crop-yield forecasts and climate-risk models in countries such as India

 The collaboration focuses on validating satellite-based soil-moisture measurements, a key parameter of climate and hydrological models. “In India, as in Central Europe, what happens in the top ten centimetres of soil can decide whether a heatwave lingers uncomfortably over the area or turns into a serious crop-loss and water-security problem,” says Dr Zsófia Kugler, associate professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics and head of the Department. for Photogrammetry and Geoinformation, “Our role is to make sure the satellite data that feeds these models is as reliable as possible.”

Under the cooperation, BME provides NASA with detailed soil-moisture time series from Hungarian in-field sites, along with technical expertise in interpreting L-band microwave signals over different soil types and vegetation covers. These datasets are compared with satellite products from missions such as SMAP and NISAR, helping scientists understand where and why satellite estimates may differ from reality. Because satellites scan India every few days, improvements in their algorithms also benefit Indian applications, from monsoon-season drought monitoring to irrigation planning for rain-fed crops in states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal

Accurate soil-moisture data from satellites can therefore support several applications relevant to India, including seasonal crop-yield assessments and food-security planning, irrigation scheduling and regional water-allocation decisions, early warnings of prolonged dry spells and heatwaves, as well as improved inputs for climate and monsoon prediction models

By helping to validate and enhance global soil-moisture products, the NASA–BME cooperation contributes to more reliable data streams for Indian agencies, researchers and companies that use satellite information in agriculture, water management and climate-risk analysis

BME’s English-language master programmes in civil engineering, along with specialisations in remote sensing, geoinformation, hydrology and water management, draw on this expertise, offering future engineers a combination of strong theoretical foundations and hands-on project experience with satellite data and numerical models. For Indian students interested in climate resilience, water security and space technology, our programmes provide skills directly relevant to the challenges their home country faces

At BME, the research topics range from drought monitoring to flood-risk management, and these issues closely reflect the challenges that Indian engineers face in monsoon-affected, water-stressed regions. By training students and continuously refining the data they work with, the cooperation aims to make a small but fundamental contribution to building more resilient societies both in Central Europe and in India.

New Delhi, Apr 9 (BNP): The government has announced that the 2026 edition of Poshan Pakhwada will focus on enhancing brain development in children during the crucial first six years of life.

This initiative aims to raise awareness about nutrition, cognitive stimulation, and overall early childhood development, recognizing that the initial years are critical for lifelong learning, health, and productivity. By emphasizing proper nutrition, responsive caregiving, and early learning, the program seeks to ensure that children reach their full developmental potential.

Officials highlighted that Poshan Pakhwada will involve community outreach, awareness campaigns, and collaboration with health workers, schools, and local organizations to educate parents and caregivers on practices that promote brain growth. Special attention will be given to preventing malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and other factors that can hinder cognitive development.

Experts note that investing in the first six years of life not only strengthens individual outcomes but also contributes to broader societal benefits, including improved education, health, and economic productivity. The initiative is part of India’s ongoing efforts to create a healthier, smarter, and more resilient generation.

New Delhi, Apr 9 (BNP): India has secured its position as the world’s third-largest country in renewable energy capacity, marking a major milestone in its journey toward sustainable power, said R.K. Singh.

The government has set an ambitious target of achieving 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030, driven by solar, wind, and emerging green technologies. This move reflects India’s commitment to cleaner energy, reducing carbon emissions, and meeting the country’s growing electricity demand sustainably.

 Minister R.K. Singh emphasized that renewable energy is not only an environmental necessity but also a key catalyst for economic growth and employment. The expansion of clean energy infrastructure is creating opportunities for local communities, fostering innovation, and strengthening India’s energy security.

India’s rapid progress in renewables is supported by strong policies, investment incentives, and public-private partnerships. Large-scale solar parks, wind farms, and hybrid energy projects are already under development, helping the country move steadily toward its 2030 goal.

Achieving 500 GW by 2030 would cement India’s leadership in the global green energy transition, providing both environmental benefits and sustainable economic growth for millions of citizens across the nation.

New Delhi, Apr 9 (BNP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the government’s commitment to strengthening India’s clean energy ecosystem while accelerating development in the Northeast India.

Addressing recent initiatives, he highlighted efforts to expand renewable energy infrastructure, promote green technologies, and create sustainable jobs. These measures aim not only to reduce India’s carbon footprint but also to harness the economic potential of the northeastern states.

PM Modi noted that clean energy projects, including solar, wind, and hydroelectric ventures, are being integrated with regional development plans to ensure equitable growth. Improved infrastructure, better connectivity, and investment incentives are helping the Northeast emerge as a hub for green innovation and industrial progress.

He underscored that these steps are part of a broader vision to balance environmental sustainability with economic growth, creating opportunities for local communities while contributing to India’s energy transition.

The government’s approach seeks to make the Northeast a model for inclusive, clean-energy-driven development, combining ecological responsibility with long-term prosperity.

New Delhi, Apr 9 (BNP): The government has announced an increase in the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to industrial units operating in critical sectors, aiming to support production and maintain smooth operations.

This move is expected to benefit industries such as chemicals, ceramics, and manufacturing, where LPG serves as a primary fuel for heating, processing, and other industrial applications. By ensuring a steady supply, authorities aim to prevent disruptions that could affect output and supply chains.

Officials highlighted that the decision comes in response to growing demand from industrial consumers and is part of broader efforts to strengthen energy security. The measure is also intended to support businesses in managing costs and sustaining growth during periods of heightened energy requirements.

Industry representatives have welcomed the announcement, noting that consistent LPG availability will help maintain production schedules, reduce operational bottlenecks, and support overall economic activity in these sectors.

This step underscores the government’s commitment to balancing energy supply with industrial needs, ensuring that key sectors continue to operate efficiently while meeting domestic and export demand.