Author: xorance@gmail.com

It is not a giant balloon. It is not an airplane. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto It is not a giant balloon. It is not an airplane. Well, it is in spirit, both. A blimp is a type of airship. Airships are, simply said, lighter-than-air pressure ships. Technically, it is a powered (like how we say ‘engine-powered’ for example) and steerable lighter-than-air aircraft. Hence, it is ‘self-propelled’. Lighter-than-air (LTA) here means that the aircraft uses lifting gas that is less dense than the air around. A blimp floats with the help of buoyant force.Airships are of three types, namely, non-rigid,…

 Basavaraj Bommai. Representational Image. File | Photo Credit: PTI Former Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai has urged the Congress government in Karnataka to take immediate measures to provide internal reservation to Scheduled Caste communities in the wake of the Supreme Court upholding such internal quota for them. Mr. Bommai, whose government had recommended such internal reservation to SC communities in March 2023, made such a demand while being felicitated by SC community leaders in Bengaluru on August 4, for such a measure taken by the erstwhile government led by him. Also Read: Karnataka to ask Centre to amend Constitution to…

India’s oil imports will be guided by “national interests”, said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday (February 9, 2026), but did not refute U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that India has committed to stop buying Russian oil. Mr. Misri’s statement came even as the government prepared to brief parliamentarians about the trade deals finalised with the European Union and the U.S., as well as on trade ties with Bangladesh.A notice sent out on Monday (February 9, 2026) said that the External Affairs Ministry will brief the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, on…

Smriti and Shafali have to fire at the top if India harbours hopes of beating Australia. Photo: X/bcciwomen India will need its batting big guns to fire collectively against an experienced Australian bowling group in the third and final women’s T20 International to seal a historic maiden series triumph Down Under, in Adelaide on Saturday (February 21, 2026).Despite registering a few victories in the past, the Indian women are yet to score a bilateral series win in Australia across all three formats.To change that script, India needs a better batting effort here and it starts from openers Smriti Mandhana and…

View of Darjeeling from Ghoom with Heritage Toy Train | Photo Credit: Getty Images There’s something magical about watching a toy train climb the mountains, snaking through green valleys and misty ridges. These toy trains, as they came to be called, are not just a traveller’s delight but also a slice of history. Born in the 19th Century under British rule, they remain living testaments to both engineering marvels and timeless charm.Beginning of the journey The story of India’s toy trains begins with the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, which first opened in 1881. At the time, Darjeeling was a prized hill station…

The morning of Budget Day in 2026 will look deceptively ordinary. Markets will open, chai stalls will fill, and television studios will rehearse their familiar graphics. Yet beneath the ritual lies an unusual weight of expectation. India is no longer asking its Union Budget to merely balance books or announce schemes. It is asking for a roadmap that can reconcile ambition with anxiety, growth with resilience, and fiscal discipline with social credibility in a world that has become structurally uncertain.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADThe past few years have tested the Indian economy in ways that traditional budgeting never had to…

A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’. @bertyashleyQuiz | Easy like Sunday morning: All you need to know about GalileoWhat are the Galilean moons, the first objects discovered in the Solar System using a telescope?START THE QUIZ 1 / 10 | February 15, 1564 is the birthdate of Galileo Galilei, the Italian polymath. He was responsible for advancing astronomy, physics, and mathematics in his lifetime. Despite this, he spent the last nine years of his life under house arrest by…

Toys procured for the children of Wayanad who were orphaned by the recent landslide. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Compassionate parents hoping to adopt orphans of Wayanad landslide may not have their wish granted. After registering themselves with the government agencies handling the adoption, they will have to wait in the queue. Even then, they cannot exercise the option of selecting the children from Wayanad and have to pick a baby who comes up for adoption when their turn arrives.Currently, there are 1,904 registered parents and 116 babies, who are Legally Free for Adoption in the list maintained by the…

A file image of the National Stock Exchange building at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: File photo: Special Arrangement TheUnion Budget 2026-27 extended limits on Non-Resident Indian (NRI) shareholding in Indian companies, even as NRIs held less than 1% of shares in all the companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the past three fiscal years.As of the third quarter of fiscal 2025-26, NRIs owned just 0.62% of the shares of NSE-listed companies, according to data from Prime Database. The largest share the cohort held in the over 2600 companies in the largest index in…

India’s Axar Patel plays a shot during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 cricket match between India and Pakistan, at R. Premadasa Stadium, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI All-rounder Axar Patel conceded that there is an extra layer of pressure around a cricket match between India and arch-foes Pakistan, but said the players try to remain steady-minded by staying away from outside talks about the intensity of the age-old rivalry. In the latest episode of the showdown between the two teams, India trounced Pakistan by 61 runs at the Premadasa Stadium here…