Virat Kohli smashed an unbeaten 139 and captain Shubman Gill struck 110 as India crushed the West Indies by eight wickets in the first ODI at the Greenfield International Stadium on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

After the West Indies posted 295/7, Kuldeep Yadav led India’s bowling attack with a four-wicket haul and controlled the scoring during the middle overs.

Rohit Sharma and Gill then gave India a flying start with a 74-run opening stand before Gill and Kohli took control with a 151-run partnership. Gill left the field to a standing ovation after scoring 110 off 108 balls, his 10th ODI century, which included 13 fours and a six.

Kohli, who became only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to reach 15,000 ODI runs during the innings, smashed an unbeaten 139 off 88 balls, hitting 10 fours and nine sixes. He hit more sixes in the innings than ever before in his ODI career. The knock marked his 55th ODI century and 10th against the West Indies, as India chased down the target with 50 balls to spare.

Rohit set the tone for the chase by driving the first ball from Jayden Seales through the boundary for four. Gill survived a chance at 11 when the West Indies dropped him at cover-point, while the visitors also wasted a review on an lbw appeal against Rohit. The Indian opener responded by slashing the next delivery over sweeper cover for six.

Gill hammered Alzarri Joseph for three fours in the eighth over before lifting Gudakesh Motie over cover for six. Rohit then pulled Motie for his third six as India reached 70/0 at the end of the powerplay.

Joseph finally broke the opening partnership in the 12th over after moving the deep-square-leg fielder slightly straighter. Rohit miscued a whip straight to the fielder and departed for 32. Joseph dismissed Rohit for the fourth time in ODIs.

Kohli opened his account with a top-edged pull over the wicketkeeper for six. Gill brought up his half-century from 49 balls as dew began to settle. With Justin Greaves off the field because of a shin problem, West Indies captain Shai Hope had only five frontline bowlers available.

Kohli reached his fifty from 40 balls before smashing Joseph for three consecutive fours in the 29th over. The second boundary took Kohli past 15,000 ODI runs and made him the fastest men’s batter to reach the landmark, surpassing Tendulkar’s record. Gill completed his century with a drive off Seales at the start of the 31st over.

Kohli’s pulled six off Roston Chase in the 34th over brought up the 150-run partnership, but Gill fell three balls later while attempting a slog-sweep to deep midwicket. With Ruturaj Gaikwad unbeaten on 13, Kohli danced down the pitch and lofted Motie over long-on for six to complete his century from 74 balls. The knock became his third-fastest ODI hundred and his 60th century in List A cricket.

Keemo Paul dropped Kohli on 125, and the Indian star made the West Indies pay. He whipped Keacy Carty over deep backward square leg for six before sealing the victory with another six over fine leg.

Earlier, Justin Greaves struck a fluent 101 off 108 balls, while John Campbell and Amir Jangoo contributed half-centuries for the West Indies.

After India put them in to bat in stifling heat and humidity, the West Indies raced to 85/0 during the powerplay. India’s seamers struggled to maintain control, and Greaves attacked them aggressively, scoring 56 off 55 balls against the pacers, including 10 fours. India’s spinners restricted him to 44 runs from 53 balls.

Nitish Kumar Reddy conceded 18 runs in his first over as Greaves smashed four boundaries, including one off a no-ball and another from the resulting free hit. Gurnoor Brar nearly dismissed Greaves in the fourth over, but Rohit Sharma could only get his fingertips to the edge at wide slip.

Campbell immediately attacked Ravindra Jadeja when India introduced spin, hitting two sixes over long-on. Greaves then cut debutant Naman Dhir for four in the 14th over to reach his fifty and help West Indies record their first century opening partnership against India since 2019.

Kuldeep ended the 135-run opening stand in the 20th over when Campbell top-edged a sweep to short fine leg. Keacy Carty struggled for runs before Prasidh Krishna induced him into a lofted shot that landed with the mid-on fielder in the 31st over. Kuldeep then dismissed captain Shai Hope, who edged a delivery to backward point.

Greaves completed his maiden ODI century with a single through point but soon lost his wicket while attempting a sweep against Kuldeep’s googly. India’s review confirmed that the ball would have hit off stump.

Kuldeep struck again with the very next delivery when Jewel Andrew pressed forward against another googly and edged the ball to Rohit at slip for a golden duck.

Roston Chase and Amir Jangoo steadied the innings with a 50-run partnership before Prasidh bowled Chase for 24 in the 45th over. Jangoo, who had smashed three fours off Prasidh in the 43rd over, then hit Gurnoor for two consecutive fours and a six to complete his second ODI fifty from just 38 balls.

Nitish dismissed Matthew Forde in the final over, while Jangoo finished unbeaten on 58 off 43 balls. However, the West Indies fell five runs short of 300, leaving India with a manageable target that Gill and Kohli chased down comfortably.

Kohli also reached another major milestone during the innings, becoming only the second men’s batter after Tendulkar to score 15,000 ODI runs.

Kohli became the fastest batter to reach 10,000 ODI runs in 2018, achieving the milestone in 205 innings. He needed only 11 innings to progress from 9,000 to 10,000 runs. He also holds the record for reaching 8,000, 9,000, 11,000, 12,000, 13,000 and 14,000 ODI runs in the fewest innings.

Kohli had already surpassed one of Tendulkar’s most celebrated records when he scored his 50th ODI century during the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. He has now added another landmark to his career with his latest century.

Brief Scores:
West Indies 295/7 in 50 overs (Justin Greaves 101, John Campbell 62; Kuldeep Yadav 4-40, Prasidh Krishna 2-60)
India 300/2 in 41.4 overs (Virat Kohli 139 not out, Shubman Gill 110; Roston Chase 1-64, Alzarri Joseph 1-81)

India has taken a significant step toward strengthening its quantum technology capabilities, with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) signing its first high-value deep-tech project agreement under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme with Zero mK India Private Limited, an Alwar-based startup in Rajasthan.

The Director of TDF and representatives of Zero mK India signed the agreement in New Delhi to jointly develop an indigenous 20 millikelvin (mK)-class dilution refrigerator for quantum technology applications.

The project represents the first high-value agreement under the Rs 500-crore corpus approved by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to accelerate the development of deep-tech and other cutting-edge technologies in India.

Through the initiative, DRDO aims to strengthen India’s capabilities in strategic and emerging technologies by expanding collaboration between the defence sector and private industry.

Dilution refrigerators are specialised cryogenic systems that create ultra-low temperatures in the millikelvin range. Quantum computing platforms and several other advanced quantum technologies require these extremely cold environments for operation, testing and development.

The indigenous development of a 20 mK dilution refrigerator supports the objectives of the National Quantum Mission and could strengthen India’s expertise in quantum computing, advanced cryogenics and other strategic research fields.

The project also aims to reduce India’s dependence on imported cryogenic infrastructure. Developing the technology domestically could help build a stronger and more self-reliant quantum technology ecosystem while supporting applications across scientific research and advanced defence technologies.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, the industry partner and other stakeholders involved in the project. He said the collaboration could provide a model for future partnerships between DRDO and private industry in emerging technology areas.

Defence Secretary, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and DRDO Chairman Rajesh Kumar Singh also congratulated the teams and wished them success in achieving the project’s objectives.

Senior officials, including the Director General of Micro Electronic Devices & Computational Systems and Cyber Security (DG MCC), Director General of Technology Management (DG TM), Director of the Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL) and other stakeholders, attended the signing ceremony in New Delhi.

Elon Musk-backed SpaceX is set to launch its Starship rocket on its 14th test flight as early as Monday, with the mission marking the spacecraft’s first attempt at an orbital flight.

SpaceX said on X that the 75-minute launch window would open at 7:15 a.m., subject to regulatory approval. The company plans to livestream the launch on its official website, with coverage expected to begin about 30 minutes before liftoff.

The mission aims to take Starship to an altitude of around 275 km, complete roughly six orbits and remain in flight for nearly 10 hours before making a targeted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile.

After stage separation, Starship’s upper stage is expected to deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX says the satellites could add around 26 terabits per second of capacity to its satellite constellation, roughly 10 times the capacity delivered by a standard Falcon 9 launch.

Once it deploys the satellites, Starship will perform an in-space deorbit burn using a single Raptor engine before attempting a controlled re-entry and splashdown.

The mission will also test several critical phases of the Super Heavy booster, including liftoff, stage separation and the final landing burn ahead of a planned offshore splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

SpaceX has introduced hardware and software upgrades for the flight after ice-related engine failures cut short the boostback maneuver during Flight 13.

The company has also modified Starship’s heat shield, introducing sturdier tile mountings, curved tile designs and improved plasma shielding, according to reports.

Ship 41 will carry two recycled heat-shield tiles from Ship 40, giving SpaceX an early opportunity to test the reusability of Starship’s thermal protection system.

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Sunday deferred its planned three-day nationwide strike after holding an eleventh-hour meeting with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).

The UFBU said in a statement that representatives of the two sides met on Sunday and agreed to defer the proposed strike following discussions on several pending issues.

As part of the agreement, the IBA and UFBU will immediately form a joint committee to examine the demand to declare all Saturdays bank holidays. The committee will evaluate various options, consult stakeholders and work towards a solution that addresses the interests of all parties, including customers.

The two sides will also begin discussions on changes to the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Scale IV and above officers. The talks will aim to address the concerns of senior bank officers and take up the matter with the government.

The IBA and UFBU will further discuss other pending matters mentioned in the minutes of their March 8, 2024 meeting, with the aim of resolving them at the earliest.

Following these developments, the UFBU said it would withdraw its planned protests and strike action for the time being.

Earlier, State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda (BoB), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and several other public sector banks opened their branches on Sunday to give customers an additional opportunity to complete essential banking transactions ahead of the proposed three-day strike from September 28 to September 30.

The special Sunday opening covered public sector banks (PSBs) and regional rural banks (RRBs), following a directive aimed at maintaining regular banking services before the proposed strike. Customers requiring branch-based banking services could therefore use the additional working day, subject to individual branches’ operational arrangements and staffing.

Authorities decided to open PSB and RRB branches on Sunday following a September 21 meeting involving officials from the Finance Ministry, public sector banks, regional rural banks, the IBA and NABARD.

The makers of director Balaji Tharaneetharan’s eagerly awaited Tamil film Baththa, starring Vijay Sethupathi and Lijomol Jose in the lead roles, have released the film’s trailer, delighting fans and film buffs.

Vijay Sethupathi shared the trailer link on his X timeline and wrote, “#Baththa ulagirkku ungalai varuga varuga ena varaverkirom, #BaththaTrailer out now. Written & Directed by #BalajiTharaneetharan. A @SaiAbhyankkar musical. #BaththaFromOct1.”

The trailer opens with the larger-than-life image people have created around Baththa, played by Vijay Sethupathi. Children eagerly exchange outrageous stories about his courage. One child claims that Baththa once broke the ribs of a man who challenged him and walked away carrying him under his arm. Another recalls how Baththa broke open prison gates to escape. A third even claims that Baththa keeps a lion as a pet.

The trailer establishes Baththa as a man nobody dares to challenge. However, his wife, played by Lijomol Jose, and his daughter see a completely different side of him. They know him as a soft, gentle and caring husband and father. The film also brings plenty of humour to this contrast.

In one amusing scene, Baththa stylishly sings a song before telling his wife on their wedding night not to fear him. The terrified wife responds, “I will not be scared if you don’t sing.”

A few days ago, the makers also released a glimpse video from the film. The video shows Baththa’s family and friends eagerly waiting for his return and makes it clear that the story takes place in the 1980s. Baththa’s daughter says she feels scared and wants her father to return, while his brother confidently expects him to come back.

A young boy also describes Baththa’s fearless nature, saying, “Everybody is scared of him but he isn’t scared of anything.” The glimpse further hints at a major crime as people expect something serious to happen, while the police question them about anyone they suspect.

Vijay Sethupathi and Lijomol Jose headline Baththa, which Balaji Tharaneetharan has written and directed. The filmmaker previously delivered the superhit film Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom. Well-known director Atlee presents the film.

Sai Abhyankkar has composed the music, while Selvakumar S.K. handles the cinematography. R. Kalaivanan oversees the editing, and T Muthuraj serves as the production designer.

Baththa will arrive in theatres worldwide on October 1, 2026.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Indian shooters Suruchi Inder Singh and Kamaljeet after they won the gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Suruchi and Kamaljeet produced a composed and record-breaking performance in the final, combining for 484.6 points. Their score secured India the gold medal and set a new Asian record in the event.

“An excellent performance with a new Asian Record! Congratulations to Kamaljeet and Suruchi Inder Singh on winning Gold in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event at the Asian Games. Their determination has brought immense pride to the nation. Best wishes for the journey ahead,” PM Modi wrote on X.

The Indian pair maintained their composure during a tense final and consistently delivered accurate shots as the competition intensified. Their consistency proved crucial in the mixed-team format, where both shooters must perform under pressure to secure a strong overall score.

Suruchi and Kamaljeet topped the standings with 484.6 points, finishing ahead of the Republic of Korea’s Choo Gaeun and Hong Suhyeon. The Korean pair secured the silver medal with 478.0 points.

Iran’s Rostamyan Haniyeh and Golkhandan Vahid claimed the bronze medal after scoring 415.8 points. Indonesia’s Darmoyo A. and Prabowo M. finished fourth with 349.4 points.

The victory added another major medal to India’s shooting campaign at the continental event and highlighted the country’s growing presence in precision shooting. The gold medal carried added significance as the Indian duo also set a new Asian record.

Suruchi and Kamaljeet built their winning performance on accuracy, discipline and composure under pressure. When the final scores appeared on the electronic scoreboard, their 484.6 points confirmed both India’s victory and their record-breaking achievement.

Artificial intelligence could increase aggregate labour productivity by as much as 3.8 per cent over the long term, according to a new International Monetary Fund working paper that analysed patent and employment data across developed economies.

The study found that the rapid growth of AI-related innovation has already generated measurable productivity gains. Researchers estimated that AI patent activity between 2000 and 2017 increased output per worker by between 0.8 per cent and 1.2 per cent.

The findings appeared on Friday in an IMF working paper titled “Artificial Intelligence and Aggregate Labor Productivity: Evidence from Patent Data.”

Researchers examined the broader impact of AI technology on labour productivity using patent data from countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The study covered the period from 2000 to 2017. During this period, AI-related patent issuance accelerated significantly and more than tripled by 2017.

OECD countries accounted for about 89 per cent of all AI-related patents issued worldwide during the period, according to the paper.

Using a production-function approach, the researchers assessed whether the growing number of AI patent applications translated into higher output per worker.

Their estimates indicate that AI innovation could generate considerably larger productivity gains in the future as technological development accelerates and businesses adopt AI across more industries.

However, the potential increase of up to 3.8 per cent represents a long-term estimate. The researchers noted that achieving these gains would depend on continued technological development and broader adoption of AI across different sectors.

AI is also unlikely to generate the same productivity gains across all countries and employment categories.

The study found that countries with a larger share of workers in professional and managerial roles recorded greater productivity gains from AI technology.

This finding indicates that AI may generate stronger economic returns when it complements skilled workers rather than simply replacing existing tasks.

However, businesses and workers may need time to realise these benefits. Employees must learn to use new AI systems and integrate them effectively into their daily responsibilities, the paper noted.

The speed at which workers and businesses adapt to AI could therefore determine how quickly the technology translates into higher output.

Labour-market flexibility could also affect the scale of productivity gains. Greater worker mobility could help employees move into occupations and industries where businesses can use AI more effectively.

The researchers said their conclusions remained robust even after accounting for technological spillovers between countries. Such spillovers occur when businesses or economies adopt and adapt AI advances developed elsewhere.

The findings highlight the link between technological innovation, workforce composition and economic policy. Creating more AI patents alone may not deliver the largest economic gains unless countries also develop a workforce capable of using the technology and maintain labour markets that support occupational mobility.

For India, these issues could become increasingly important as businesses expand their use of AI. The country has placed growing policy emphasis on artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure and technology-led economic growth.

Its large information technology sector and skilled workforce could make employee training, productivity and workforce mobility key considerations in the wider adoption of AI.

The global discussion around AI has also expanded beyond technological capabilities to its potential effects on jobs, wages and economic growth. Governments and businesses are examining how investments in skills, research and digital infrastructure can help economies capture productivity gains while managing potential disruption across the workforce.

As bank staff prepare for a proposed three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30, the State Bank of India (SBI) announced on Friday that it will waive ATM transaction charges during the strike period.

SBI said it took the step to ensure customer convenience and prevent disruptions to banking transactions during the strike.

In a post on X, SBI said its services would remain available to customers for their banking needs throughout the proposed strike.

The bank said it will waive ATM charges from September 28 to 30, 2026, allowing customers to make transactions at any bank’s ATM without incurring charges.

SBI also announced that all its branches will remain open on Sunday to support customers during the strike period. In addition, digital payment services such as UPI, IMPS, RTGS, and NEFT will continue to operate as usual.

To minimise disruptions to essential banking services, the government has directed public sector banks to remain open on Sunday.

The Reserve Bank of India has also approved the continued operation of all bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches, and currency chests on Sunday, September 27.

The Finance Ministry said all public sector banks and Regional Rural Banks will operate normally on Sunday.

The ministry said the government had taken proactive measures to protect customers’ banking needs ahead of the proposed three-day nationwide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) from September 28 to 30. The strike follows the bank holidays on September 26 and 27.

The timing of the strike could have extended the disruption in banking services to five consecutive days because of the preceding weekend holidays. The government’s measures aim to reduce the impact on economic activity and ensure access to essential banking services.

The Finance Ministry said the government considers the welfare and convenience of bank customers a top priority. The government and bank managements have urged unions to defer the proposed strike and have taken steps to keep essential banking services running without interruption.

The rupee has cumulatively depreciated 13.1 per cent on a point-to-point basis between March 31, 2025, and September 16, 2026. However, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said the Indian currency has a fair chance of stabilising and even appreciating from current levels.

“If anything, there seems to be a fair case for the rupee to not just stabilise but perhaps even appreciate from the current levels, as was being anticipated by the market analysts when the capital flow measures were first announced,” she said.

Gupta expects India’s current account deficit (CAD) to narrow further in the coming years as traditional strengths continue to support the economy and new strengths emerge, particularly the growing success in merchandise exports.

“With the RBI remaining committed to ensuring orderly conditions in the foreign exchange market and having the wherewithal to meet decades worth of CAD, or the net balance of payment (BOP) deficit, the current market dynamics do not appear especially well-founded,” Gupta said at the SBI conclave in Mumbai.

India has traditionally recorded a small current account deficit and a larger capital account surplus, which has helped the country maintain a net positive balance of payments.

The country’s CAD-to-GDP ratio has also declined over time, strengthening the resilience of its balance of payments.

“Furthermore, the CAD levels have remained far below the levels generally considered to be prudent for emerging market economies. Net services exports and remittances remain its great structural strengths. Together, they are large and resilient enough to absorb the merchandise trade deficit and keep the CAD contained at below 1 percent of GDP,” Gupta said.

Recent shocks to oil and gold prices have temporarily increased the CAD. At the same time, India’s capital account surplus has fallen short of the CAD over the past two years. This gap resulted in a negative BOP of about $5.0 billion in 2024-25 and $23.6 billion in 2025-26.

Gupta also said India will reduce its dependence on imported oil by developing alternative energy sources and pursuing domestic oil exploration. She expects both developments to reinforce the long-term decline in oil demand as a share of GDP.

“This would be in addition to oil prices themselves stabilising as soon as the conflict resolves. Meanwhile, the rest of the trade basket is responding well to the new trade opportunities that are being leveraged, a strength that will continue with the positive impact of recent FTAs materialising, and a conducive exchange rate,” she said.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has initiated penal action against major e-commerce platforms, including Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Amazon, Flipkart India and Zepto, over various regulatory violations.

The food regulator said the violations include misleading claims, misbranding and the sale or display of prohibited food products.

In a social media post on Instagram, FSSAI described the action as a “major crackdown” on e-commerce platforms over regulatory non-compliances. The regulator said it has intensified enforcement measures against food business operators (FBOs) and e-commerce companies this year.

Meanwhile, FSSAI has proposed a single-phase rollout of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FoPL), which would introduce prominent warning labels on packaged foods that contain high levels of salt, sugar or fat.

The food regulator submitted the proposal through an affidavit before the Supreme Court after the court sought a clear timeline from FSSAI and the government for introducing front-of-pack warning labels.

Under the proposed framework, packaged food products that exceed prescribed thresholds for nutrients of concern would have to carry a red hexagon on a white square background on the front of the pack.

The warning label aims to give consumers clear and easily identifiable nutritional information while they shop, helping them make informed food choices.

FSSAI plans to introduce FoPL through a single-phase implementation rather than a phased rollout. The regulator said the proposed warning format draws similarities with the model adopted in Canada and aims to highlight nutrients that may pose health risks when consumers consume them in excess.