1.India business activity fastest in at least two decades, price rises sharp, PMI shows: Reuters

India private sector activity expanded at the fastest pace on record in August, fuelled by a robust surge in demand led by the dominant services sector, which allowed firms to hike prices at the fastest clip in over 12 years, a survey showed on Thursday.

The latest results stand in contrast to expectations for a slowdown in economic growth in Asia's third-largest economy to average 6.4% this fiscal year after an unexpectedly strong 7.4% expansion during the first three months of 2025.

HSBC's flash India Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, rose to 65.2 in August from 61.1, confounding expectations in a Reuters poll for a decline to 60.5.

It was the highest reading since the survey began in December 2005 and remained above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction for the 49th month.

2.Parle continues to be India's top FMCG brand at home, 13th time in a row: Economic Times

Parle retained its top spot as India’s most chosen FMCG brand for the 13th year, with 8.6 billion Consumer Reach Points (CRPs), up 8% according Brand Footprint. Britannia, Amul, and Haldiram’s followed, while Indian brands dominated the top 10. Growth was driven by rural expansion and value-focused offerings, even as food and beverage growth slowed.

Britannia followed at 8.2 billion CRPs, while dairy and snack brands like Amul and Haldiram’s continued to dominate the top 10. In fact, seven of the top ten brands were Indian. Hindustan Unilever owned Surf Excel entered the top five for the first time, as in-home CRP growth was largely led by value-driven brands and expanding rural outreach.

3.Wipro to acquire Harman's digital arm for $375 mn in AI services push: Business Standard

Wipro on Thursday announced that it will acquire the digital transformation solutions (DTS) division of US-based Harman for $375 million, aiming to strengthen its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven engineering services portfolio.

Under the deal, more than 5,600 employees from the DTS unit across the Americas, Europe and Asia will move to Wipro once the transaction is completed by year-end, pending regulatory clearances.

Harman is widely recognised for audio brands such as JBL, Harman Kardon and Infinity.

4.India overtakes China in smartphone exports to US; shipments rise to 44% in April-June quarter: Mint'

India has overtaken China in the smartphone exports race to send its products to the United States. The share of smartphones manufactured in India in US imports climbed to 44% during April-June 2025, a sharp rise from 13% in the same quarter of 2024. At the same time, China’s share dropped from 61% to 25% in the same period.

5.Google doubles down on ‘AI phones’ with its Pixel 10 series: TechCrunch and others

With the launch of the new Pixel 10 series, Google is rushing ahead of Apple to deliver AI-powered smartphones to consumers. The devices, announced during Wednesday’s Made by Google event, come just weeks ahead of Apple’s expected iPhone 17 reveal, which promises to be more of the same — better cameras, possibly thinner devices, and new colors to choose from.

Google, meanwhile, has been rapidly integrating its AI platform into its devices.

Last year, its Pixel 9 series added a number of AI features, like Gemini Live (Gemini’s voice mode), image-generation tools, call notes, searchable screenshots, and more. Since then, Google says that Gemini Live conversations have proven to be 5x longer than text-based conversations.

This year, the tech giant is rolling out even more AI-powered upgrades with the launch of its Pixel 10, including a Visual Overlays feature for the camera, a proactive “Magic Cue” feature, Camera Coach, Voice Translate for calls, an assistant-like “Take a Message” feature, Pixel Journal, and more.

Excerpts from an WSJ article by Nicole Nyguyen on same topic:

“For iPhone users including me, the most jealousy-inducing feature is Magic Cue. It rifles through your inbox, calendar and texts, then surfaces information when it thinks you need it.

Magic Cue rifles through your inbox, texts and more and surfaces information when it thinks it’s relevant. One example: flight-reservation details when you call the airline.

When you call a restaurant, the phone app can pull up reservation details from your email. When you open Google Maps just before the reservation, navigating to the restaurant takes only a quick tap.

Voice Translate also ups the wow. This live language translator (with real-time voice clone) is similar to the Meet function I tested earlier this year. On the Pixel, it works right in the phone app, translating English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Russian, Hindi and Indonesian.”

6.The Psychedelic Revolution Is Coming. Psychiatry May Never Be the Same: New York Times

Psychedelic drugs have won over some surprising converts. Scientists say they can treat a range of psychological ailments. Tech titans swear by them. Hollywood stars praise microdosing. Rick Perry — a onetime Texas governor and Trump official — is now an unlikely champion.

Many mind-altering drugs have shown promise for conditions like depression, anorexia and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some, like the anesthetic ketamine, are not considered classic psychedelics but are often lumped together with other drugs that shape perceptions of reality. Here’s a quick primer:

• Psilocybin, LSD and ayahuasca are classic psychedelics, or serotonergic hallucinogens, because they act via serotonin receptors to produce vivid perceptual changes and mystical-type experiences.

• MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy or Molly, is an empathogen — a drug that fosters feelings of empathy, openness and connection to others. It increases the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.

• Ibogaine, which induces a dreamlike state, is harder to classify and is best used under strict supervision. It has been associated with fatal heart arrhythmias.

The research is in its infancy. Investigators are especially interested in the drugs’ effects on neuroplasticity, mood and neuroinflammation — a key driver of Alzheimer’s disease. One study is looking at whether psilocybin can reduce depression and improve the quality of life for people with early-stage Alzheimer’s.

7.India and Russia Seek to Increase Trade to $100 Billion as US Ties Fray: Bloomberg

India and Russia are looking to increase their annual trade by about 50% over the next five years to reach $100 billion, according to a top envoy.

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the two countries must remove trade bottlenecks and reduce non-tariff barriers to reach the goal.

Jaishankar said rising global uncertainty puts the emphasis back on “dependable and steady partners,” without directly mentioning the US and its trade policies.

Jaishankar’s visit is the latest in a series of diplomatic efforts to fellow founding members of the BRICS group of developing countries, which have all faced prohibitive tariffs and trade threats from US President Donald Trump.

8.Americans spend less time reading for fun and more time on screens: ABC News

Fewer Americans are opening a book for fun each day, with reading for pleasure in the United States down 40% over the past 20 years, a new study finds.

Researchers from University College London and the University of Florida analyzed surveys from more than 230,000 Americans aged 15 and older between 2003 and 2023, tracking their daily reading habits.

Results, published in the journal iScience on Wednesday, showed the share of people who picked up a book, magazine or e-reader every day dropped about 3% per year. Reading with children was also rare, the study found, with only 2% of adults reporting doing so on average every day.

9.ADHD drugs reduce risk of criminal behaviour, drug abuse and accidents: New Scientist

Treating people for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder reduces criminality, drug abuse, suicide, and traffic accidents, research suggested. 

Trials of ADHD drugs have shown that they reduce symptoms and improve school and work performance, but there has been little research into their impacts on wider behavior.

People with the condition are more likely to end up in trouble with the police or make other impulsive decisions that cause them problems. A study of 150,000 Swedish people with ADHD compared those treated straight away with those for whom treatment was delayed.

It found those given the drugs were 25% less likely to gain criminal convictions and 15% less likely to attempt suicide.

10.Why AI gets stuck in infinite loops — but conscious minds don’t: Big Think

Computation exists outside of time. A microsecond, a million years — it makes no difference to an AI. But living, conscious creatures must deal with time and entropy. “Unlike computers,” Anil Seth, a noted neurologist writes, “we are beings in time — embodied, embedded, and entimed in our worlds.” Without this deep grounding, AI may never become conscious or develop the intelligence needed to break free from the “infinite loops” that trap machine minds.AI can get stuck in endless loops — situations where a program repeats the same steps forever without reaching an end.