The 80th Independence Day.

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre. The chores and hoisted the tricolour at our balcony on the dot, at 8 AM. It always gives me a great sense of satisfaction and pride while hoisting the national flag!

The Independence day function at New Delhi was being played at the background. 

Walked within the house as it was raining outside, recited my prayers, carried out my exercise regimen and had breakfast before bath.

Sporting a red turban with a yellow, green and white Bandhani pattern, PM Narendra Modi outlined the 'saptadhara' vision to achieve holistic national development and self-reliance viz. :-

    * Manufacturing excellence (cost, quality and scale)

    * Farming/food processing

    * Technological innovation

    * Gati Shakti connectivity

    * Self reliance in defence

    * Push toward green and blue economies and

    * Global soft power (yoga, healthcare, tourism and creative arts).

He said youth will play a crucial part in these reforms. Moreover, he exuded confidence that India will have achieved the target of being a 'Vikasit Bharat' when the nation celebrates Independence Day in 1947. 

My take

While for the first time, the national song "Vande Mataram" was played at the Red Fort. Keralam became the only Congress-ruled state to avoid singing of the national song! At the Congress party headquarters at New Delhi, the group sang the entire national song with Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi desperately trying to stop the rendition of the national song but to no effect! Made a spectacle of themselves in the bargain!! Sad.

  

Women hold very few top management roles.

Latest data submitted in Parliament shows that women held only 17.2% of senior management positions in corporate India in 2025-'26.

9 Women CEOs in India's 500 listed firms

Of the 2,52,103 senior management roles recorded that financial year, women held 43,331 positions (17.2%), while men accounted for the remaining 2,08,772, government data presented in Parliament showed. There were only nine women chief executive officers (CEOs) leading the country's top 500 listed firms, as per the Ministry of Corporate Affairs data.

Women hold only 29% of Director posts

* On company boards, the disparity was similarly stark. Women held 10, 36, 694 director posts against 

   25, 09, 619 director positions held by men, which is about 29% of the total as of 30 Jun 2026.

* However, women in senior management rose from 34, 879 in 2022-'23 to 43,331 in 2025-'26, a jump of

   24%, outpacing the 12% rise in men.

Last 3 financial years were taken into account to compile the data.

 

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill.

Much against many agencies and the opposition parties, the FCRA Bill, 2026, has been referred to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament. The opposition came up with its standard argument that the bill is against minorities and NGOs.

The committee has been asked to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session of Parliament in 2026.

My take

A few important bills that should have been legislated in Parliament have to now wait till the Winter Session 2026 of Parliament.  

NASA invites India to be part of its Moon Base Mission.

The ambitious Moon base mission is a program to build humanity's first lunar outpost near the Moon's South Pole.

Invite follows US-India Space Group Meet

According to the US space agency, the project aims to unlock scientific discoveries and prepare for future deep space exploration. India and US explored expanding space co-operation at a meeting of their Civil Space Joint Working Group held in Bangalore last week. The two sides agreed to advance discussions for co-operation on open scientific data sharing.

Step-by-step approach to build base

* The Moon base will be built in phases, says NASA. It will begin with robotic missions to test new

   technology, then build systems and infrastructure needed to establish humanity's first long-term

   presence on the Moon.

* The first phase will focus on gaining reliable access to lunar surface and building a deeper under-

   standing of the environment.

This is the 9th meet of the India-US Space Joint Working Group held last week.    

Muziris project set for a global push.

Revived water-taxi services by Onam

* To feature in upcoming Travel Mart.

   The plan is to revive and relaunch the Muziris project by featuring it as a major global attraction

   in the upcoming edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM). Around 1,200 tour operators are exp-

   ected to participate in KTM, providing a platform to promote Muziris as a heritage tourism dest-

   ination.

* Earlier, the project had a total of 11 vessels, including five water taxis and six open-top boats.

   Three outdated boats had been scrapped, while the remaining boats have been taken up for

   repair and maintenance.

* Plans on

   * Tourism department expects the repaired vessels to resume services during the Onam holiday

      season.

   * Water tourism circuits connecting various heritage locations are also being planned as part of

      the revival. 

Kerala's fishermen rescue system.

The key concerns 

1. Rescue infra exists but operational readiness a concern.

    Rescue vessels face issues due to lack of maintenance. They become ineffective if they can't be

    deployed immediately during emergencies.

2. Lack of trained personnel to operate rescue boats.

    Proposals to appoint dedicated trained personnel for operating rescue boats remain unimplemented.

3. Delayed emergency response during critical hours.

    Rescue mechanism needs to become operational within the golden hour after an accident, as survival

    chances reduce rapidly when fishermen go missing at sea.

4. Fragmented rescue system with multiple agencies.

    Coastal police, Marine enforcement, Coast Guard, Navy and other agencies share responsibilities.

    However, absence of a single, co-ordinated command mechanism often leads to delays in decision-

    making and mobilisation.

5. Delayed access to aircraft and advanced rescue assets.

    Requests for aircraft support through the Joint Operations Centre at Kochi Naval Base reportedly

    pass through multiple administrative levels. Delays in approvals can hamper aerial and search

    operations during crucial initial hours.

6. Fishermen's rescue capacity remains under utilised.

    Fishing communities have repeatedly played a key role in rescue missions, including deploying

    dozens of boats during major operations. However, their roles have not been formally integrated

    into the state's disaster response framework through training, equipment and recognition.

7. Livelihood pressures weaken compliance with warnings.

    Fishermen often venture into the sea despite warnings because staying ashore directly affects

    their daily income. Safety advisories need to be linked with timely livelihood compensation.

8. Inadequate preparedness for extreme weather events.

    Despite lessons repeated extreme weather events, fishermen argue that Kerala's marine disaster

    preparedness remains inadequate for increasingly unpredictable sea conditions.

9. Warning systems not sufficiently localised.

    Broad coastal warnings may not reflect variations in sea conditions between different districts

    and fishing zones. Fishermen demand zonal or panchayat-level weather advisories for more

    accurate decision making.

Courtesy. TNIE 10 Aug

My take.

Along with what have been cited above come the personal egos and intense departmental rivalry

that have this typical Indian problem of looking at the other side as being 'not up to the mark!' A

sure recipe for disaster!

Bringing "Green Boots" home!

India plans high-risk mission to bring "green Boots" home

India is seeking a specialist recovery team to retrieve the remains of Dorjee Morup, a 48-year-old lance naik of ITBP, from Mt Everest's summit.

Part of historic Everest expedition

For nearly 30 years, a body known as "Green Boots" has been frozen under a rock near Mount Everest's summit, Morup was part of a historic 1996 ITBP expedition aiming to become the first Indian team to summit Everest from the Chinese side. Three climbers reached the top; but a blizzard claimed all three. Two bodies remain missing. The third was Morup's.

Tricky recovery has September deadline

* Authorities hope to return Morup's remains to his family in Ladakh for DNA confirmation and final

   closure.

* Recovery from the death zone at 8,500 metres is hazardous. Temperatures can fall to -40 degrees                 Celsius and the Chinese side lacks helicopter evacuation. ITBP aims to complete the operation by               September.

300

At least 300 people have died in the region since records began.