The Meteorological Department on Tuesday forecast moderate to heavy rain over Kolkata and south Bengal districts till the weekend due to a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal.

According to the weather office, the low-pressure system formed in the sea has turned into a deep depression. It entered the land near Gopalpur in Odisha on Tuesday morning.

Although the system will not have a special impact on West Bengal, there is a possibility of thunderstorms accompanied by moderate to heavy rain in most districts of South Bengal this week.

An official at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata's Alipore said that the monsoon axis is currently extending over the deep depression of Odisha along Nalia, Bhopal, Betul and Raipur to the east-central Bay of Bengal.

India is expected to clock 6.7 per cent growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal (FY26), outpacing the RBI Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC's) recent forecast of 6.5 per cent, credit rating agency ICRA said on Tuesday.

The rating agency report projects the growth in the gross value added (GVA) to stand at 6.4 per cent in Q1 FY2026.

Improved transmission of monetary easing and the recent announcement of forthcoming GST rationalisation may help to shore up urban consumption sentiments ahead of the festive season, the report said.

"ICRA estimates a double-digit growth in net indirect taxes (in nominal terms), aided by the sharp uptick in the government of India's indirect taxes (+11.3 per cent in Q1 FY26 from -3.1 per cent in Q4 FY2025), despite the narrower contraction in its subsidy outgo," said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, Head-Research and Outreach, ICRA.

Three persons were electrocuted to death in two separate incidents while carrying Ganesh idols in Hyderabad, said officials on Tuesday.

The incidents happened late on Monday night. In the first incident at Bandlaguda, two persons reportedly died and another was injured after an electric shock while bringing a huge Ganesh idol for installation.

The incident occurred when the victims came in contact with an overhead electric wire while clearing the way for the 23-ft idol. The injured person was admitted to a hospital. Police shifted the bodies to the government-run Osmania Hospital for autopsy.

Officials of the electricity department, however, denied deaths due to electrocution. They said the youth died after falling from the vehicle carrying the idol.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has sold over 5 lakh FASTag-based annual toll permits in just four days, collecting Rs 150 crore in revenue.

Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of purchases of annual passes in four days, followed by Karnataka and Haryana. Further, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest number of transactions through FASTag annual passes at toll plazas, a statement by NHAI said.

Private vehicles can now use an annual toll pass for free passage through toll plazas on national highways and expressways with each pass priced at Rs 3,000.

Cars, jeeps, and vans can use this facility at toll plazas run by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The e-commerce and technology startup sector is driving fresher hiring in India with an impressive 88 per cent intent for the July-December period, according to a report on Tuesday.

The Career Outlook report (HY2 2025) by TeamLease EdTech highlights robust opportunities for first-time job seekers in key industries, with retail (87 per cent) and manufacturing (82 per cent) also showing strong hiring intent for freshers.

Among cities, Bangalore leads with 81 per cent intent, followed by Mumbai (67 per cent) and Chennai (59 per cent).

While overall fresher hiring intent has slightly softened to 70 per cent for July-December 2025, a 4 per cent dip from January-June 2025, opportunities remain robust in high-growth sectors.

Rising Yamuna water levels have flooded Delhi's Yamuna Bazar and surrounding areas, forcing residents to abandon their homes and take shelter in temporary tents or on rooftops.

At 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the Yamuna River at Delhi's Old Railway Bridge recorded a water level of 205.85 metres -- just short of the 206-metre evacuation mark.

On Monday afternoon, the river had already crossed the danger level of 205.33 metres, touching 205.55 metres, and has been steadily rising since then.

With floodwaters entering homes, families were forced to evacuate hurriedly.

"Yesterday, at around 7.00 p.m., water started coming into our homes. We had to run away, taking only important things. We are very troubled," Vivek, a local, told.

Relentless rainfall paralyzes life in Mumbai, as the city grapples with waterlogging, traffic disruptions, and flooded homes. One of the worst-hit areas is the Milind Vikas Samiti Society in Hanuman Nagar, Kandivali, where residents are trapped indoors since early Tuesday morning due to flooding.

Water entered several ground-floor homes around 4 a.m. and remained stagnant for over five hours. With rain showing no signs of slowing down, the situation has turned dire for many families. Daily life has come to a standstill as residents struggle for basic necessities like food, drinking water, and electricity.

Residents of Kandivali talked about the difficulties they are facing with heavy rainfall.

Apple saw its iPhone exports from India rise almost 63 per cent to $7.5 billion in the April-July period this year, from $4.6 billion in the same period last fiscal (FY25), according to latest industry data.

Overall smartphone exports also surged to a new high of $10 billion in the first four month this fiscal, up 52 per cent from $6.4 billion in the same period in FY25.

When it comes to Q1 FY26, India’s smartphone export momentum hit a record high in the April–June period, with shipments reaching $7.72 billion, up 58 per cent from $4.9 billion in the same period last year. During the quarter, Apple exported $6 billion worth of iPhones through its contract manufacturers, representing an 82 per cent increase from the previous year, as per industry estimates.

According to a study, just one hour of scrolling social media reels on smartphones can cause eye fatigue.

The study published in the Journal of Eye Movement Research found that it is not just the time spent on digital devices but also the type of content being used that can cause the condition.

“Social media content causes greater pupil fluctuations than reading or watching a video,” said the researchers from SRM Institute of Science and Technology.

The team stated that “prolonged smartphone use, exceeding 20 minutes at a time, can lead to physical and mental health issues, including psychophysiological disorders”.

As the intensity of rain increased, all government and semi-government offices in Mumbai were closed on Tuesday. Private offices and establishments have been asked to instruct their employees to work from home.

“The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation area today, Tuesday, August 19, 2025. Similarly, Mumbai is receiving continuous rainfall. Against this backdrop, except for essential services in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation area, all other government, semi-government offices as well as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) offices are being declared a holiday today by the Municipal Corporation, acting as the District Disaster Management Authority,” said BMC in a release.

“Also, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is appealing to all private offices and establishments in Mumbai Metropolitan Region to immediately instruct their employees to work from home and avoid unnecessary travel, depending on the nature of their work,” said the BMC in a release.