India news Highlights, 8 September 2026: Karnataka mulls Supreme Court move against Cauvery water release order

Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy said the state government would discuss the matter with Chief Minister D K Shivakumar before deciding on its legal course

The CWRC had recommended the release of 6,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, a direction subsequently upheld by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).The CWRC had recommended the release of 6,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, a direction subsequently upheld by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA). (File Photo/Enhanced using AI)

The Karnataka government is seriously considering approaching the Supreme Court against the order directing it to ensure the release of 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy said on Tuesday. Calling the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) direction “absurd”, Chaluvarayaswamy said Karnataka was facing a difficult situation as inflows into the Cauvery basin had declined significantly over the past week. The CWRC had recommended the release of 6,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, a direction subsequently upheld by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA). Chaluvarayaswamy said Tamil Nadu had sought 17,000 cusecs, but Karnataka’s officials had argued that even releasing 6,000 cusecs would be difficult given the current ground situation.

Students were detained during a protest in Hyderabad against the state government, demanding tuition fee reimbursement and the release of pending funds.

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Sep 8, 2026 07:31 PM IST
Karnataka mulls Supreme Court move against Cauvery water release order

The Karnataka government is seriously considering approaching the Supreme Court against the order directing it to ensure the release of 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy said on Tuesday.

Calling the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee's (CWRC) direction “absurd”, Chaluvarayaswamy said Karnataka was facing a difficult situation as inflows into the Cauvery basin had declined significantly over the past week.

The CWRC had recommended the release of 6,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, a direction subsequently upheld by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).

Chaluvarayaswamy said Tamil Nadu had sought 17,000 cusecs, but Karnataka's officials had argued that even releasing 6,000 cusecs would be difficult given the current ground situation.

The minister criticised authorities taking decisions in Delhi, alleging that they did not understand the ground realities in the Cauvery basin.

He said the state government would discuss the matter with Chief Minister D K Shivakumar before deciding on its legal course and was seriously considering filing a petition in the Supreme Court as early as Wednesday.

On reservoir levels, Chaluvarayaswamy said around 50 per cent of available water was being reserved exclusively for drinking purposes. He added that water was being supplied to crops where required and reservoirs were being managed in a controlled manner to maintain supplies for people and livestock.

- With PTI Inputs

Sep 8, 2026 07:24 PM IST
‘UPI remittances can save transaction costs and time’: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said remittances through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) could help reduce transaction costs and save time.

Addressing the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, Modi highlighted the potential of UPI-enabled remittances in making cross-border money transfers faster and more cost-effective.

- PTI

Sep 8, 2026 06:37 PM IST
India’s future unicorn pool doubles to 110 in five years: Hurun report

India’s pool of potential unicorns has more than doubled in five years to 110 startups, with artificial intelligence, electric mobility, cleantech and aerospace firms increasingly joining fintech and SaaS companies in the high-growth cohort, according to the 2026 ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Cheetah Index.

The index defines a “Cheetah” as an unlisted startup founded in 2000 or later, valued between USD 200 million and USD 500 million, and considered likely to attain unicorn status within five years.

The 110 startups in the 2026 cohort have a combined valuation of more than Rs 3 lakh crore, with an average valuation of around Rs 2,820 crore, and employ over 1.10 lakh people.

The number of Cheetahs has risen from 54 in 2021 to 110 in 2026, a 104 per cent increase over five years. As many as 43 startups entered the list this year, accounting for more than a third of the cohort.

New entrants include companies in clean mobility such as Blue Energy Motors, MATTER, PMI Electro Mobility and River Mobility; aerospace and defence firms including Sagar Defence Engineering, Dhruva Space and Digantara; and AI startups such as Simplismart, Rocket, QpiAI, Flam and Freehand.

The aerospace and defence segment expanded from one Cheetah in 2023 to five in 2026, while electric vehicle startups increased from four to eight and cleantech firms from three to five.

During the year, 10 Cheetahs graduated to Gazelle status, three became unicorns and six listed on public markets, the report said.

Fintech remained the largest sector with 17 Cheetahs, followed by SaaS with 16 and e-commerce with 12. Electric vehicles, HealthTech and AI were joint fourth with eight startups each.

Geographically, Bengaluru led with 36 Cheetahs, followed by the National Capital Region with 25 and Mumbai with 16.

Accel and Peak XV Partners backed the highest number of Cheetahs, with 18 each, followed by Blume Ventures with 10 and Elevation Capital with nine.

Three startups — Skyroot Aerospace, Square Yards and Astrotalk — moved directly from the Cheetah cohort to unicorn status. Six others — Aye Finance, Wakefit, SEDEMAC, Kissht, Capillary Technologies and Purple Style Labs — entered the public markets in 2026.

Hurun India founder and chief researcher Anas Rahman Junaid said the latest cohort showed that Indian founders were increasingly building companies in areas such as space technology, energy transition and artificial intelligence, beyond traditional consumer internet businesses.

- With PTI Inputs

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A bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta also directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to submit status reports detailing the steps taken to vaccinate and sterilise stray dogs.

The bench granted the Delhi government four weeks to respond to the action plan prepared by the amicus curiae, who has proposed measures for eliminating dog-mediated rabies in India by 2030.

The court was informed that the MCD had conducted four camps in Anand Vihar ward in August and September, during which 43 dogs were caught, sterilised and vaccinated before being released back into their respective areas. The civic body said the camps received cooperation from stakeholders and faced no resistance from the public or organisations.

The NDMC informed the court that it had also conducted camps, during which 28 dogs were caught and 615 vaccinated, besides organising awareness programmes in schools.

The court directed both civic bodies to specify in their status reports the number of dogs caught and asked them to ensure that at least one ward in their respective areas is made rabies-free.

The authorities said they would continue conducting vaccination and sterilisation camps and endeavour to declare at least one ward rabies-free.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 5.

The High Court had initiated the suo motu proceedings following directions issued by the Supreme Court on the stray dog menace. The apex court had earlier directed states and Union territories to strengthen infrastructure for dealing with stray dogs and other animals and ordered measures to address the rise in dog-bite incidents, particularly in institutional areas such as educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations.

- With PTI Inputs

Sep 8, 2026 05:50 PM IST
Kerala announces cash rewards for Asian Games medal winners

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Athletes winning gold medals will receive Rs 50 lakh, while silver and bronze medallists will be awarded Rs 30 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, respectively.

Janeesh, speaking at an event in Thiruvananthapuram, also announced that every athlete from Kerala participating in the Games would receive Rs 1 lakh in advance.

Coaches of medal-winning athletes will also receive cash incentives of Rs 5 lakh for gold, Rs 3 lakh for silver and Rs 2 lakh for bronze.

The minister said cash rewards for winners of major sporting competitions in Kerala had often been announced with delays in the past. He said the incentives were being declared in advance this time to support and motivate the athletes.

The 20th Asian Games 2026 will take place in the Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4, 2026.

- With PTI Inputs

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Sep 8, 2026 03:42 PM IST
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The 40,000-square-foot facility will offer end-to-end post-silicon engineering services, including electrical validation, chip qualification, automated testing and failure analysis. A 25,000-square-foot area has been designated for specialised cleanrooms for semiconductor testing and related processes.

The facility will support research and development, pre-production and production qualification, allowing HCLTech to conduct multiple stages of semiconductor testing and analysis on a single platform. The company said it would serve both domestic and international markets and help reduce the time required to test and qualify chips before commercial production.

The cleanroom is equipped with automated test equipment, probes, qualification chambers and failure-analysis tools, including optical and electron microscopy and focused ion beam systems.

HCLTech said it plans to seek global certifications including ISO 17025 and ISO 9001, as well as certifications applicable to the aerospace and medical sectors.

“The inauguration of our Advanced Semiconductor Lab in Bengaluru is a proud milestone for HCLTech and reinforces India’s growing leadership in semiconductor innovation,” Hari Sadarahalli, Corporate Vice President and Global Head, Engineering and R&D Services at HCLTech, said.

The company said it has around two decades of experience in the semiconductor sector and has invested more than USD 70 million across over 10 semiconductor laboratories globally.

HCLTech is also part of the HCL Group-Foxconn joint venture, India Chip, which is setting up a Rs 3,706-crore display-driver semiconductor assembly and testing facility in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh.

The company employs more than 223,000 people across 60 countries. Its consolidated revenue for the 12 months ended June 2026 stood at USD 14.8 billion.

- With Inputs from PTI

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Sep 8, 2026 12:42 PM IST
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