The nation on Thursday extended birthday wishes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he turned 76, highlighting his 25 years in public life and his focus on public service, governance, development and nation-building.

Amid the nationwide celebrations, a chef from Tamil Nadu found a unique way to greet the Prime Minister. Selvakumar, a noted chef from Tirunelveli, prepared 76 varieties of food to mark PM Modi’s 76th birthday.

The chef also showcased his artistic skills by carving lifelike portraits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother, Heeraben Modi, on watermelons.

Tamil Nadu Chef Prepares 76 Varieties of Food

Selvakumar, the head chef at a popular restaurant in Tirunelveli, prepared the dishes around the theme of “no-cook cuisine” and healthy natural food.

His special birthday spread features 76 varieties of salads made from fresh vegetables, fruits, sprouts, roots and tubers.

The chef prepared:

• 24 varieties of salads using different vegetables and fruits
• 26 varieties of salads using sprouted pulses
• 14 varieties of salads using underground root vegetables and tubers

Together, these preparations make up 76 varieties of healthy food for PM Modi’s 76th birthday.

Selvakumar said the dishes use natural ingredients and aim to promote the benefits of healthy eating.

Chef Carves PM Modi and Heeraben Modi on Watermelons

Along with the food preparations, Selvakumar used watermelons as a canvas to showcase his carving skills.

He created lifelike portraits of PM Modi, depicting his appearance during his younger years as well as his present-day look. He also carved an image of the Prime Minister’s late mother, Heeraben Modi, on a watermelon.

The chef said the portraits and food preparations represent his fondness for the Prime Minister and his wishes for PM Modi’s good health and continued public service.

Healthy Food Takes Centre Stage in Birthday Tribute

Selvakumar said he chose natural ingredients for the 76 food preparations to demonstrate how people can maintain a healthy lifestyle through nutritious food.

The chef’s tribute combines culinary creativity with watermelon carving to mark PM Modi’s 76th birthday.

The unusual birthday greeting has attracted attention, with people appreciating the chef’s elaborate display of food and artistic carvings.

PM Modi’s 76th Birthday Celebrations Across India

PM Modi’s 76th birthday on September 17 has also prompted a series of events across the country.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers are organising a month-long ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyaan’ to mark the Prime Minister’s years of public service.

BJP leaders, workers and volunteers are also lighting ‘Aashirvaad ka Diya’ at their homes as a gesture of gratitude and solidarity with the Prime Minister.

The celebrations, along with Selvakumar’s 76-dish tribute, have brought different forms of public participation into the spotlight as PM Modi marks his 76th birthday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday that India must carefully examine the implications of taxing the digital economy for the country, other jurisdictions and future investments.

Speaking at an event organised by the International Tax Research and Analysis Foundation (ITRAF), Sitharaman said cloud services, digital products and digital services raise complex questions about where authorities should impose taxes and who should pay them.

“The complexity has to be coolly studied, the implications for India and implications for outside, and above all, the implication that it can have in terms of further investments coming into India, must be coolly studied as well,” she said.

Sitharaman also highlighted India’s experience in the global two-pillar tax negotiations. She said India withdrew two taxes on digital companies during the negotiations, partly to build confidence in the emerging global agreement.

However, she cautioned against reducing the debate to whether India was losing tax revenue. She said digital-business taxation forms part of a broader global negotiation.

Looking ahead, Sitharaman said tax policymakers would increasingly need to address significant economic presence, virtual permanent establishments, artificial intelligence and robotics taxation, the gig economy, global mobility, virtual digital assets, global capability centres, and the treatment of goods and services in digital transactions.

She also said the government would consider an institutional mechanism to clarify whether digital transactions qualify as goods or services under GST and income tax laws. She invited industry stakeholders to submit proposals and suggestions on the issue.

Sitharaman said the distinction between goods and services in digital transactions has become increasingly complex as businesses expand their cross-border operations.

The Finance Minister also urged tax professionals, industry bodies and researchers to look beyond demands for lower tax rates, exemptions and concessions. She called on them to contribute more actively to evidence-based tax policy and identify provisions that may no longer serve the tax system.

She said industry bodies should also identify provisions that need removal, even when those organisations currently benefit from them.

“Consultation must mean more than giving everyone an opportunity to place a representation on record. It should be a genuine exercise of evidence, experience, and ideas,” Sitharaman said.

Sitharaman also said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council would discuss GST 2.0 process reforms, including e-invoicing, at its next meeting on October 7.

She said the previous GST Council meeting focused on rate rationalisation and deferred process reforms to the upcoming meeting.

Sitharaman also invited industry representatives to submit specific representations on any anomalies in the GST framework that the government may not have addressed.

The Finance Minister further said the government has progressively increased foreign direct investment (FDI) limits since 2014. She noted that most investments now enter India through the automatic route, except in sectors involving security considerations.

Sitharaman said global investors were looking to diversify their supply chains under the “China plus one” strategy. She added that India’s macroeconomic fundamentals continued to attract investors.

She also highlighted GIFT City’s role in bringing offshore capital into India. She cited sectors such as maintenance, repair and overhaul, shipbuilding, ship repair and fintech as areas that could benefit from the financial hub.

The flash flood that tore through the Lhende Khola, Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers on August 26 damaged hydropower plants across Nepal. The damage forced the Himalayan country, once an electricity exporter, to depend on India as it faced an acute power crisis, according to a new report.

India’s Ministry of Power has approved exports of up to 654 megawatts to the Nepal Electricity Authority from September 13 through December 31. India will supply the power for 18 hours a day, from midnight to 6 pm. The supply will help Nepal keep hospitals, cold stores and water pumps running and meet evening peak demand, preventing the power crisis from worsening, according to an article in India Narrative.

Several damaged or isolated power plants prompted Nepal to seek help from India. India approved the request earlier than the usual October window for winter imports because Nepal needed immediate operational support.

India approved the power flow even as its own September demand reached unusually high levels, with peak load nearing 269 GW and non-solar hours still facing shortages. El Nino conditions and a patchy monsoon also reduced India’s hydro and wind power output, the article states.

The government’s rapid assessment estimated physical damage to Nepal’s energy sector from the flash floods at Rs 134.69 billion (Nepalese rupee). It expects the cost of restoring power generation and the grid to rise much higher.

Hundreds of hydropower workers remain missing. The rivers that once supported Nepal’s electricity exports instead unleashed a destructive wall of ice, rock and water on the morning of the disaster, the article says.

Devighat and the original Trishuli station hold particular significance in Nepal’s hydropower history. India provided grant assistance to build both plants. Nepal developed Trishuli under the 1958 agreement and commissioned it in the late 1960s.

It added Devighat as a cascade in the mid-1980s, along with smaller projects such as Phewa and the Kataiya house on the Koshi canal.

Nepal first entered the Indian Energy Exchange as a seller in November 2021. At the time, India approved the export of the first 39 MW from those same two stations. Electricity that India once supplied as aid eventually became a traded commodity.

This month, however, electricity is flowing in the opposite direction along the same network of transmission lines because the rivers that powered those plants have severely damaged them.

The response after August 26 involved more than electricity supplies. An Indian Air Force flight left Hindon on the same evening the flood struck, following a call between the two prime ministers.

The aircraft carried about 10 tonnes of shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, lamps and medicines. India followed up with additional sorties and consignments, sending tens of tonnes of relief material.

India also sent tunnel-rescue specialists to work with the Nepali Army on blocked hydropower sites, forensic teams to help identify victims, and equipment for modular and Bailey bridges after the floods destroyed sections of roads, the article states.

“Other countries sent help too; gratitude is not a scarce resource and should not be monopolised. But the first response is a habit, and habits show.

In April 2015, after the Gorkha earthquake, that habit had a name — Operation Maitri — and it arrived within hours: NDRF teams, aircraft, field hospitals, and later a reconstruction pledge that included houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot, schools and heritage sites.

After Jajarkot in 2023 and the September 2024 rains, the pattern was smaller but the same: material on the ground before the condolence statements had cooled. None of these erases the harder chapters of the relationship. It does describe what happens when the ground moves,” the article further states.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Tuesday announced a revised Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for select UPI transactions. The framework will introduce charges for certain merchant payments above Rs 2,000, while small merchants and low-value transactions will continue to enjoy zero MDR.

The revised framework will take effect from October 15, 2026. Consumers will continue to use UPI without paying transaction charges. More than 95 per cent of low-value UPI Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions involving payments of up to Rs 2,000 will remain outside the MDR framework.

Under the new framework, merchants will pay an MDR of 0.4 per cent on specified P2M UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. NPCI will cap the MDR at Rs 300 per transaction. Selected merchant categories, including railways, telecom services, insurance and fuel, will pay a flat MDR of Rs 5 per transaction for UPI payments above Rs 2,000.

Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions will continue to carry no charges, while P2M transactions of up to Rs 2,000 will also remain outside the MDR framework. Consumers will therefore continue to use UPI without paying transaction charges.

Small merchants operating under the Person-to-Person Merchant (P2PM) framework will continue to enjoy zero MDR. The category covers small vendors who receive up to Rs 1 lakh per month through UPI QR payments directly into their bank accounts. The framework supports wider digital payment acceptance across the unorganised retail sector.

The revised framework also proposes a dedicated fund to expand UPI acceptance among small merchants, particularly across existing merchant networks and Tier-3 and smaller markets. The initiative aims to strengthen digital payment infrastructure and encourage more small businesses to adopt UPI.

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday rejected claims that foreign influence prompted the MDR change in the UPI ecosystem. The ministry stressed that India makes its digital payments decisions independently.

Since its launch in 2016, UPI has grown into the world’s largest real-time interoperable payment system, entirely on India’s own terms, the ministry said in a post on X.

The ministry called such claims “false” and said India makes UPI policy decisions independently with the goal of building a self-sustaining, inclusive and affordable digital payments ecosystem.

UPI processed 24.5 billion transactions in August 2026 alone. The government said a small fee on high-value merchant transactions will help keep the system self-sustainable, secure and innovative. The fee will support better infrastructure and cybersecurity, small merchants in Tier III–VI towns and rural areas, and awareness campaigns and incentives that encourage wider UPI adoption.

“The new framework ensures resources from higher-value merchant transactions are reinvested to support small businesses and strengthen digital payments across the country,” the Finance Ministry said.

UPI will continue to remain free for customers. Consumers can send money to friends, pay at shops and scan QR codes without paying transaction charges.

“Person-to-Person transfers are always free, regardless of amount. Vendors earning up to Rs 1 lakh per month via UPI QR codes continue to enjoy zero charges. Over 95 per cent of merchant payments are below Rs 2,000 — these remain free,” the ministry said.

Only larger merchant transactions above Rs 2,000 will attract the 0.4 per cent MDR, which merchants will pay. The rate remains lower than charges associated with credit cards and other payment networks, according to the government.

Railways, fuel, telecom, bill payments and insurance will attract a flat fee of Rs 5 per transaction above Rs 2,000. Mutual fund and securities payments will attract an MDR of 0.02 per cent, capped at Rs 300.

“Merchants cannot pass MDR costs to customers. UPI apps cannot levy platform charges,” the ministry said.

“No, there are no fees for customers on UPI at all. Customers have never been charged for using UPI, nor will they be charged in the future,” PhonePe CEO, Sameer Nigam said.

“UPI has already transformed the Indian economy, but the ecosystem also needs a sustainable economic model to support its next phase of growth,” MobiKwik Co-founder, Executive Director and CFO, Upasana Taku said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the fifth edition of SEMICON India 2026 on September 17 at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi. The event will bring together global semiconductor companies, policymakers, investors, researchers, start-ups and academia to showcase India’s growing capabilities across the semiconductor and electronics value chain.

The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and SEMI, the global industry association representing the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing ecosystem, will jointly organise the three-day event from September 17 to 19.

SEMICON India 2026 will focus on the theme “Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem.” The event comes at a crucial stage in India’s semiconductor journey, as policy support, stronger industry execution and rising global demand for diversified and resilient supply chains create new opportunities for the country.

More than 600 exhibitors, including around 300 international companies, will showcase their products and technologies across 15,000 square metres of exhibition space. More than 150 speakers will participate in discussions covering key developments and challenges across the semiconductor and electronics ecosystem.

The exhibition will feature six country pavilions and 12 state government pavilions, along with dedicated platforms for start-ups, innovation, students, workforce development and women in the semiconductor industry. Around 40 start-ups will showcase their work at the Startup Pavilion, while the Workforce Development Pavilion will highlight talent, skills and career opportunities in microelectronics.

The new ‘Sand to Silicon to Systems’ Value Chain Experience will serve as a key attraction at the exhibition. It will give visitors an integrated view of the semiconductor ecosystem, covering materials and manufacturing, advanced packaging, chip design, electronics and systems.

The event will also host a startup pitch competition, student hackathon and innovation showcase. These platforms will allow emerging companies, researchers and students to present their ideas and technologies.

The conference programme will feature keynotes, panel discussions and strategic sessions on semiconductor manufacturing and technology, artificial intelligence, supply-chain resilience, advanced packaging, materials and equipment, chip design, research and development, start-ups, innovation and talent development.

Organisers will also host six international country roundtables, along with sessions on women’s empowerment and leadership, workforce development and collaboration among industry associations. These discussions will support the growth of India’s electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) sector.

The government announced on Monday that banks cannot charge customers for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions of up to Rs 2,000.

The government also barred banks from imposing charges on payments of up to Rs 2,000 made through RuPay-powered debit cards, according to a gazette notification.

The Finance Ministry issued the notification under Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. It specified RuPay-powered debit cards and UPI transactions of up to Rs 2,000 as electronic modes of payment and prohibited banks and system providers from imposing any direct or indirect charges on people making or receiving payments through these modes.

The notification aims to clarify the rules governing charges on UPI transactions. It specifically categorised RuPay-powered debit cards and UPI transactions of up to Rs 2,000 as “electronic modes of payment.”

Last month, the government clarified that consumers would not have to pay charges for making payments through UPI. It also said any future merchant discount rate (MDR) would apply only to select merchant transactions above a specified threshold.

The Finance Ministry said all person-to-person (P2P) UPI transactions would remain free and that the government would not impose a blanket MDR on merchants.

The ministry added that, if introduced, MDR charges would apply only to a limited set of merchant transactions above a certain threshold and at a nominal rate.

The government also said such charges would remain significantly lower than the MDR applicable to debit and credit card transactions.

The clarification follows a debate over a recent amendment to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, with concerns about the possibility of charges being imposed on UPI users.

India recorded year-on-year increases in both the overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in August 2026, indicating an improvement in employment levels, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Tuesday.

The overall LFPR rose by 0.6 percentage points to 55.6 per cent in August 2026 from 55 per cent in August 2025.

The overall LFPR also increased from 55.4 per cent in July 2026 to 55.6 per cent in August. Rural areas followed the same trend, with the LFPR for people aged 15 years and above rising to 58.2 per cent in August from 58.0 per cent in July.

In urban areas, the LFPR remained unchanged at 50.4 per cent during the month.

Rural LFPR stood at 58.2 per cent in August, up 1.2 percentage points from August 2025. Overall female LFPR rose to 34.8 per cent during the month, 1.1 percentage points higher than the level recorded in August last year.

The overall WPR for people aged 15 years and above climbed to 52.8 per cent in August, marking its highest level since March 2026. Rural WPR increased by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year to 55.8 per cent during the month.

Gender-wise data showed a moderate rise in overall female LFPR from 34.4 per cent in July 2026 to 34.8 per cent in August. Rural female LFPR mainly drove the increase, rising to 39.4 per cent from 38.8 per cent during the same period.

Meanwhile, female LFPR in urban areas remained broadly stable at 25.4 per cent in August, compared with 25.3 per cent in July 2026.

The overall unemployment rate (UR) for people aged 15 years and above remained unchanged at 5.0 per cent in August. Rural UR declined to 4.1 per cent during the month, marking its lowest level since January 2026.

The NSO conducts the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the primary source of data on labour force participation, employment and unemployment conditions in India.

From January 2026, the NSO modified the PLFS methodology to provide monthly and quarterly estimates of key labour force indicators for the country.

Actor Nani, who plays the lead in director Srikanth Odela’s much-awaited Telugu action entertainer The Paradise, has described the film as the most tiring project of his career.

Speaking to the media ahead of the film’s release on September 24, Nani said, “The Paradise is the most tiring film of my career, both physically and mentally. If there has been a film for which I have worked very hard in these 18 years of my film career, it is ‘The Paradise’.”

Nani also clarified reports claiming that the film features underwater sequences.

“There are various news reports about the movie on social media. There is no underwater sequence in it. There is also no fight with 1,000 people, as is being claimed. This is a genuine story and there are a lot of action blocks. There are scenes that will give audiences a good high. The audience will feel the emotion in the violence,” he said.

Producer Sudhakar Cherukuri also confirmed that the film will hit screens on September 24.

“There are all kinds of rumours doing the rounds about The Paradise. The movie is arriving on September 24. We are very happy with the way things have shaped up,” he said confidently.

Director Srikanth Odela also addressed questions about the film and its delayed release.

“The Paradise may have been delayed a little, but every update from the film has created a blast. The glimpse, teaser and songs have all received a superb response. There is a lot of excitement and curiosity among audiences about what The Paradise is all about.

“This is a revolutionary, emotional film. It is a story about a mother and son, and also about a marginalized community. Kaloji has a line that goes, ‘We own our birth, we own our death, but our entire life belongs to the nation.’

“This is a story of a people who fought for their country. However, when these people realise they have no place in their own country, they fight back without knowing what else to do. That is the story of ‘The Paradise’.”

Actor Nani reveals that The Paradise has been the most physically and mentally tiring film of his career, sharing his experience of making the movie.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) welcomed Ghebreyesus and posted on X: “The visit underscores the importance of global cooperation in health-related matters for shared progress and prosperity.”

Belarus Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov also arrived in the national capital to participate in the BRICS Summit.

Welcoming Ryzhenkov, the MEA said: “India and Belarus share warm and friendly relations, marked by growing cooperation across a broad range of areas, in bilateral and multilateral spheres.”

India will host the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday, September 12-13. The summit will bring together leaders from BRICS member and partner countries, along with outreach invitees.

India has chosen “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” as the theme for its BRICS Chairship. According to the MEA, the theme reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of “Humanity First.”

On Friday, Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. arrived in New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS Summit as the current chair of ASEAN. Union Minister of State (MoS) Anupriya Patel received him at the airport.

The MEA said India and ASEAN maintain a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which serves as an important pillar of India’s ‘Act East’ policy. The partnership focuses on trade, maritime security and regional connectivity across the Indo-Pacific.

Several other world leaders, including World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, also arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the summit.

Welcoming Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the MEA said, “Her participation in the Summit will advance the dialogue on inclusive trade and development, and on ensuring that the global trading system delivers for all.”

Following the Cuban Foreign Minister’s arrival, the MEA posted on X: “Warm welcome to Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla of Cuba on his arrival in New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit. India and Cuba share warm and friendly ties. As partners in the Global South, we are working together to advance shared priorities.”

During India’s BRICS Chairship this year, the country has hosted more than 350 meetings and high-level engagements across more than 25 cities. These engagements aim to strengthen the BRICS strategic partnership across three key pillars: political and security cooperation, economic and financial cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Through these meetings, along with business-to-business and people-to-people initiatives, India has sought to advance BRICS cooperation through practical and development-oriented outcomes.

India will host the high-profile 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday. Ahead of the summit, the Delhi Traffic Police has announced traffic restrictions, diversions and regulated movement on key routes to facilitate the movement of foreign dignitaries and world leaders.

The Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory on X on Friday night, announcing traffic diversions and regulated movement across key routes in Delhi from 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday.

“In view of the BRICS Summit on September 12, 2026, traffic diversions and regulated movement will be implemented on key routes across Delhi from 09:30 hrs to 21:00 hrs,” the police said in its post on X.

The traffic police also urged commuters to plan their journeys in advance and allow extra travel time. It advised people to use public transport, particularly the Delhi Metro, wherever feasible, and follow designated diversion routes and instructions from traffic personnel. Emergency and essential-service vehicles will receive priority passage during the regulated movement.

Several major roads and corridors will experience traffic restrictions or diversions as part of the summit arrangements. These include Sardar Patel Marg, Mother Teresa Crescent, Teen Murti Marg, Akbar Road, Tees January Marg, Rajesh Pilot Marg, Mathura Road, Moti Lal Nehru Marg, Dr. Zakir Hussain Marg, Brig. Hoshiary Singh Marg, Africa Avenue Road, Satya Marg and Shanti Path.

The traffic arrangements will also cover Janpath, Ashoka Road, Barakhamba Road, Tolstoy Marg, Ranjeet Singh Flyover, Niti Marg, Panchsheel Marg, Kemal Ataturk Marg, APJ Abdul Kalam Road, Press Enclave Road, Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, Josef Broz Tito Marg and Lala Lajpat Rai Marg.

The Delhi Traffic Police has introduced these arrangements as the national capital prepares for the arrival and movement of several foreign dignitaries attending the two-day BRICS Summit.

Authorities have clarified that the measures will not bring traffic across the city to a complete halt. Instead, police personnel may temporarily regulate movement on specific routes depending on the movement of dignitaries and prevailing traffic conditions.