The Times of India

India is changing the economics of modern air defence. A drone costing only a few thousand dollars can force an army to fire a missile worth hundreds of thousands or even millions. Now, Indias Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is preparing a revolutionary answer: instead of launching an expensive interceptor, it wants to burn drones out of the sky with a high-energy beam of light.#DRDO #India #LaserWeapon #DroneKiller #AirDefence #CounterDrone #DefenceTechnology #DroneWarfare

India is developing a new way to counter the growing threat from drones: high-energy lasers.DRDOs 30-kilowatt Mk-II(A) Laser-Directed Energy Weapon is designed to engage fixed-wing UAVs, drone swarms and hostile surveillance systems at ranges of up to five kilometres. Mounted on a mobile truck, the system combines detection, tracking and laser engagement into a deployable counter-drone platform.The weapon has completed trials, including engagements against a fixed-wing drone, multiple-drone atta

The INDIA bloc has announced a nationwide protest campaign against the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said district-level Save Democracy marches and demonstrations outside district magistrate offices will be held from October 2 to 8. Opposition MPs will march to the Election Commission on October 6, while INDIA bloc leaders plan to seek an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu in the second week of Octobe

The INDIA bloc meeting focused on alleged electoral irregularities and the oppositions protest plan, but a warm exchange between Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee drew attention.

ndia moved up to eighth place in the Asian Games medal standings after reaching the 10-gold mark on Wednesday, with a golden sweep by the compound archers and another gold in shooting powering a big jump in the table. India now have 60 medals - 10 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze.

Sushant Sareen argues that superpowers want client states, not equal partnerships.His remarks come as S. Jaishankar says the pretence in India-US ties has now dropped.So does India want to be played by America - or hold its own? Watch the full conversation on Faultline with Ananya Dasgupta.

India had its best day of the Asian Games so far as compound archers won all three team gold medals, while shooters Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai also finished on top in the mixed trap event. Three bronze medals in boxing and wrestling took Indias overall tally to 60 medals - 10 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze. India also moved up to eighth place from 10th on Tuesday.

India-US ties are facing their biggest test in years, and Sushant Sareen says the relationship is broken for the foreseeable future. On Faultline, he asks whether India has become too beholden to America - waiting for Washingtons attention instead of building its own power.Why is the US engaging Pakistan again, and what does Chinas growing leverage mean for India?And should India continue playing the supplicant waiting for the master, or start building its own muscle? Is this simply a Trump prob

US President Donald Trump called Sundar Pichai a monster - and he meant it as praise for the Google CEOs extraordinary tech talent. But that compliment opens up a much bigger question for India. What happens when the country builds world-class technology talent, but America gets the monster? As AI reshapes jobs, education and the global technology race, can India create enough opportunity to keep its next generation of Sundar Pichais at home? Or will the worlds biggest tech companies continue to

An incident occurred on flydubai Flight FZ1073 during its journey from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The co-pilot reportedly tried to take control of the aircraft, leading to a physical altercation with the captain. Passengers heard screaming and observed blood inside the cockpit as the plane descended rapidly. Israeli authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and the pilots identities.

Welcome to TimesofIndia.com's interview series looking back at India's medal-winning campaigns at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. And who better to kick things off than Srinath Narayanan, the silver-winning captain of Team India in the Open section? Here, the 32-year-old opens up about Gukesh's move to Board 4, India's silver, the campaign's key challenges, team unity, the upcoming Gukesh-Sindarov world championship match, and much more.

The win assured India of at least a silver medal, but they will now aim for gold when they face defending champions China in the final on October 2.

India is exploring an alternative air route through Chinas Xinjiang as the continued closure of Pakistani airspace forces Indian airlines to take longer routes to Europe and North America. The proposed Hotan route could offer a shorter alternative, with flights from Delhi and Mumbai potentially heading towards Leh, entering Chinese airspace near Hotan, and then connecting through Kyrgyzstan to existing routes towards the West. But the plan faces several challenges, including high-altitude terrai

The Indian Coast Guard, Gujarat ATS and central intelligence agencies have seized around 526 kg of narcotics from an Iranian dhow in the Arabian Sea. The drugs, comprising methamphetamine and heroin, are valued at more than Rs 3,000 crore in the international market. Five Pakistani nationals operating the vessel were also detained during the September 25 operation. The dhow was tracked through coordinated sea-and-air surveillance before the agencies launched a hot pursuit and intercepted the ves

Russia's new Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones complicate Ukraine's air defense systems due to their high speed and altitude. Ukraine has started utilizing F-16 fighters and new interceptors to counter these advanced threats. Meanwhile, India's Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed a turbojet engine for future military applications. The Agniveg loitering munitions demonstrate India's capabilities to strike high-value targets efficiently.

Boeing has been selected by the US Navy to design the F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter jet. India is engaging with both the Global Combat Air Programme and the Future Combat Air System initiatives. This engagement aims to ensure India's position in the evolving aerial combat landscape. The FCAS, now led by France, is expected to see its first flight around 2028-29.

The net collections under small savings schemes are expected to surpass the budgeted Rs 3.59 lakh crore target for financial year 2026-27 by a comfortable margin, with inflows during the first four months of the fiscal already 56% higher than in the corresponding period last year. Officials expect FY27 collections to come in significantly above the original target, particularly because a substantial share of small savings typically comes in during the March quarter.

India's Kaveri dry engine has achieved a peak dry thrust of 48.5 kilonewtons during recent trials in Russia. The engine, built by Defence Research and Development Organisation, is designed for the Ghatak unmanned combat aerial vehicle. Flight tests were conducted using a modified Ilyushin Il-76, evaluating the engine in various conditions. This accomplishment demonstrates the progress made in India's indigenous engine development program over the years.

EAM flags lack of empathy on terror concerns

Russia wants India to reconsider the Su-57, offering its fifth-generation fighter alongside technology cooperation and the possibility of local production. But Delhi continues to stay away.India exited the joint FGFA programme in 2018 amid concerns over stealth, engines and costs. Since then, questions have persisted over Su-57 production numbers, deliveries and its combat record. Moscow presents the aircraft as a potential bridge until Indias indigenous AMCA arrives, but India appears committed

India has been overtaken by Ukraine as the worlds largest arms importer, according to SIPRI data for 2021 to 2025. India accounted for 8.2 percent of global imports, even though its imports fell four percent from the previous five-year period. At the same time, Indian defence exports reached a record 38,424 crore in FY202526. That is the paradox. India is exporting more, but still buying fighters, engines, missiles and air-defence systems needed immediately. Russia remains Indias largest supplie

Irans Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has escalated his rhetoric against the United States, claiming Iran has emerged from months of war as a major power capable of forcing US and allied forces out of the region. In remarks reported by Iranian state-linked media, Khamenei claimed some now consider Iran the worlds fourth superpower and said Western forces no longer dare operate freely near the Strait of Hormuz following Iranian attacks. He then extended the warning beyond the Gulf, saying: The ti

Russian strikes have again hit Ukraine, with a nine-storey apartment building in Kharkivs Saltivskyi district struck early Monday and 25 people injured, including nine children aged between three and 15, according to Ukrainian authorities. The attack came amid a wider exchange of long-range strikes between Russia and Ukraine as fighting along much of the front line remains largely stalled. Russia has increasingly relied on missiles, glide bombs and drones, while Ukraine has expanded its own long

A political showdown has erupted in Delhi after PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh was caught on camera slapping a man during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has demanded Vermas arrest and announced a visit to inspect the road, which AAP leaders allege was poorly constructed. Kejriwal also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the incident and invoked Gen Z. Verma hit back, accusing Kejriwal of drama and claiming the man was an AAP goon who had previously faced a c

Madonna and Taylor Swifts candid MTV VMAs moment has become one of the nights most talked-about celebrity exchanges. According to lip-reading expert Nicola Hickerling, Madonna appeared to ask Taylor a five-word question after greeting her and touching her stomach. The interaction quickly caught fans attention, with social media users reacting to their affectionate exchange, the apparent belly touch and the possibility of a future collaboration. Madonna and Taylor were also among the ceremonys bi

Shaili Singh finished fourth with a best jump of 6.42m on Sunday. India's Ancy Sojan won silver with 6.53m, while China's Huang Yingying took gold with 6.55m on her final attempt. The controversy centres on Shaili's fourth attempt, which was officially measured at 6.41m.

US Vice President JD Vance has warned American companies against laying off local workers and replacing them with cheaper foreign employees, signalling fresh curbs on H-1B visas. The warning follows a September 18 presidential order directing agencies to weigh layoffs of similar American workers when reviewing H-1B petitions, alongside a Labor Department review of Labor Condition Application data. The $100,000 fee has been extended through September 2027, though a federal court found it unlawful