Business
Cabinet gives go-ahead for Rs 11,440 crore plan to achieve self-reliance in pulses

New Delhi, Oct 1: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses with a financial outlay of Rs 11,440 crore.
The landmark initiative aimed at boosting domestic production and achieving self-sufficiency in pulses will be implemented over a six-year period from 2025-26 to 2030-31.
The Pulses Mission is expected to benefit around 2 crore farmers with the supply of better seeds, post-harvest infrastructure and 100 per cent assured procurement of tur, urad, and masoor pulses from growers at the Minimum Support Price during the next 4 years, according to an official statement.
Pulses hold special importance in India’s cropping systems and diets. India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses. With rising incomes and standard of living, pulses’ consumption has increased. However, domestic production has not kept pace with demand, leading to a 15–20 per cent increase in pulses imports.
To make improved varieties widely available, 126 lakh quintals of certified seeds will be distributed to pulse-growing farmers, covering 370 lakh hectares by 2030-31.
The Mission also seeks to expand the area under pulses by an additional 35 lakh hectares by targeting rice fallow areas and other diversifiable lands, supported by promoting intercropping and crop diversification. For this, 88 lakh seed kits will be distributed free of cost to the farmers.
To reduce this import dependency, meet rising demand, maximise production, and enhance farmers’ income, a 6-year “Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses” was announced in the FY 2025-26 Budget. The Mission will adopt a comprehensive strategy covering research, seed systems, area expansion, procurement, and price stability.
The emphasis will be placed on developing and disseminating the latest varieties of pulses which are high in productivity, pest-resistant and climate-resilient. Multi-location trials will be carried out in major pulse-growing states to ensure regional suitability.
By 2030-31, the Mission is expected to expand the area under pulses to 310 lakh hectares, increase production to 350 lakh tonnes, and raise yield to 1130 kg/ha. Alongside productivity gains, the Mission will generate significant employment.
In addition, to ensure availability for premium quality seeds, states will prepare five-year rolling seed production plans. The breeder seed production will be supervised by the ICAR Foundation, and certified seed production will be done by state and central level agencies, and closely tracked through the Seed Authentication, Traceability & Holistic Inventory (SATHI) portal.
This will be complemented by convergence with the soil health programme, Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation, balanced fertiliser use, plant protection, and extensive demonstrations by ICAR, KVKs, and state Agriculture Departments to promote best practices.
Capacity building of farmers and seed growers will be taken up through structured training programmes to promote sustainable techniques and modern technologies.
To strengthen markets and value chains, the Mission will help develop post-harvest infrastructure, including 1,000 processing units, thereby reducing crop losses, improving value addition, and increasing farmer incomes. A maximum subsidy of Rs 25 lakh will be available for setting up processing and packaging units.
The Mission will adopt a cluster-based approach, tailoring interventions to the specific needs of each cluster. This will enable more effective allocation of resources, enhance productivity, and promote geographic diversification of pulse production.
A major feature of the Mission will be to ensure maximum procurement of tur, urad, and masoor under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) of PM-AASHA. NAFED and NCCF will undertake 100 per cent procurement in participating states for the next four years from farmers who register with these agencies and enter into agreements.
Additionally, to safeguard farmer confidence, the Mission will establish a mechanism for monitoring global pulse prices.
The mission seeks to achieve the goal of Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in pulses, reduce import dependency and conserve valuable foreign exchange while boosting farmers’ incomes. This mission will also accrue significant environmental benefits in the form of climate resilient practices, improved soil health and making productive use of crop fallow areas.
Business
Air India’s US-bound flight returns to Mumbai due to technical snag

Mumbai, Oct 22: An Air India flight scheduled from Mumbai to Newark in the United States had to return after take-off, as the crew identified a suspected technical snag, according to a statement issued by the airline on Wednesday.
“The crew of flight AI191 operating from Mumbai to Newark on 22 October, made a precautionary air-return to Mumbai due to a suspected technical issue. The flight landed safely back in Mumbai, and the aircraft is undergoing necessary inspections,” according to an Air India statement.
The total number of passengers on board, along with the time at which the airline departed and returned, was not available in the preliminary statement. As per the usual schedule, the AI1191 flight departs at 01:10 hours (IST) from Mumbai and reaches Newark at 07:55 hours (EDT).
Due to the flight’s cancellation, the return flight from Newark to Mumbai — numbered AI144 — was also cancelled.
The incident comes close on the heels of Delhi-bound Air India plane running into a technical snag at the Milan airport last Friday, stranding over 250 passengers at the foreign airport just ahead of Diwali.
The airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANN) had encountered a technical issue upon landing in Milan, preventing the aircraft from operating the return journey to Delhi.
Air India then scheduled an additional flight from Milan to Delhi on Oct 19 to bring back home 256 passengers who were stranded in Milan since, October 17.
The airline claimed it had extended all immediate assistance to affected passengers, including hotel accommodation and meals. Full refunds or complimentary rescheduling were also offered as per passenger preference.
A similar incident occurred on August 16 this year, when an Air India flight on the same route was cancelled due to a technical issue that was notices during pushback.
According to Air India, a maintenance task was identified just as the aircraft was preparing for departure. The subsequent delay caused the operating crew to exceed mandatory flight duty time limitation norms, making it unsafe and impermissible for them to continue.
Business
Gold likely to open weak after steep global fall; prices may drop to Rs 1.22–Rs 1.23 lakh per 10 gm

Mumbai, Oct 22: The rush for gold may slow down after Diwali, as the yellow metal is expected to open on a weak note in the domestic market on Wednesday.
This comes after international gold prices fell sharply by 5.5 per cent — the steepest decline since August 2020.
Analysts expect Indian gold prices to correct to around Rs 1.22–Rs 1.23 lakh per 10 grams when markets open on Wednesday.
The fall in global prices has triggered profit-booking among investors who had benefited from gold’s recent rally.
Silver too lost over 2 per cent, trading near $47.6 per ounce after tumbling 7.1 per cent in the previous session.
Gold and silver both extended their slide from record highs, while Asian stock markets showed mixed trends following a muted session on Wall Street.
Experts said the sharp drop in precious metals reflects a wave of profit-taking after their rapid rise this year.
“Many investors have grown cautious, believing that gold’s rally may have entered a bubble zone,” analysts noted.
This year’s rally had been driven by worries about the fiscal health of major economies, especially the US, and expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates further by the end of the year.
Gold prices had surged nearly 60 per cent this year, fuelled by central banks diversifying away from the dollar and retail investors buying into exchange-traded funds.
Market sentiment also turned cautious after signs of possible progress in trade talks between the US and China.
US President Donald Trump said he expects a “good deal” in his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, though he admitted the talks might still face hurdles.
Analysts believe that while gold remains a preferred safe-haven asset in the long term, short-term volatility is likely to continue as investors balance profit-taking with global economic signals.
Business
Samsung Electronics to use its own Exynos chip in upcoming Galaxy S26 smartphones

Seoul, Oct 21: Samsung Electronics Co. plans to use its in-house Exynos mobile processor in upcoming Galaxy S26 smartphone models, industry sources has said.
The company’s System Large Scale Integration (LSI) division, a fabless unit that focuses on designing and developing advanced system-on-chip (SoC) products, has completed development of the latest Exynos 2600 chip and will supply it for parts of the Galaxy S26 series starting in November, according to the sources, reports Yonhap news agency.
Exynos chipsets are designed and produced by Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business.
According to the sources, the company’s in-house tests show strong performance from the Exynos 2600 compared with competitors, and the company believes the chip compares favorably with Apple Inc.’s A19 Pro used in the iPhone 17 Pro models.
The Exynos 2600 is expected to appear in at least one Galaxy S26 model, anticipated to be unveiled early next year.
If the top-tier Galaxy S26 Ultra uses an Exynos chip, it would be the first Ultra model to include an in-house processor since the Galaxy S22 series in 2022.
Previously, Samsung Electronics used Qualcomm Inc.’s Snapdragon chipsets across all Galaxy S23 models, while Exynos appeared only in some S24 variants.
The Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra, launched earlier this year, all use Qualcomm Snapdragon chips.
Meanwhile, launch of the new generation Galaxy S26 series models in India is expected next year in January or March.
According to multiple reports and industry watchers, the model is slated to compete with with several flagships in the market, including the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
If reports can be believed, the price of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 5G mobile price in India is expected to be around Rs 1,59,999 for the base model.
There is also buzz doing rounds that it may offer 12GB of RAM with 3 storage options of 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
However, industry watchers expect that the official pricing will be based on the storage variants.
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