🍛 Your kitchen might get a pipeline soon

Good morning.

Now, the rest of your Thursday. A woman who walked 570 villages, a 2,300-year-old stupa, and a cooking gas update that could change your kitchen. Shall we? 

In the mid-1980s, when conflict pushed welfare organisations out of Bastar, a 15-year-old girl walked in. For the next 40 years, Dr Budhri Tati went village to village across Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, convincing families to send their daughters to school.

She walked 570 villages. On foot, on her own. The communities she served call her Badi Didi.

In 2026, India gave her a Padma Shri. She said the award belongs to the tribal communities of Bastar, not to her.

The government has approved an incentive scheme to expand domestic piped natural gas (PNG) connections, starting September 1. City gas distribution companies will receive cheaper APM gas for every new household they connect. Read More →

Why now?
The US-Iran conflict disrupted LPG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and drove up import costs. India imports about 60% of its LPG, spending nearly $12 billion a year. PNG, supplied through underground pipelines from domestic sources, reduces that dependency.

What's in it for you?
No cylinders to book, store, or replace. Metered billing like electricity. Lower pressure, safer delivery. India currently has 1.74 crore PNG connections against 33 crore active LPG customers. The gap is massive, and this scheme is designed to close it faster.

Why it matters:
The payback period for gas companies on new PNG connections drops from about 10 years to 3 years under this scheme. That is the incentive that gets pipelines laid. 

If it works, the LPG cylinder could eventually become what the landline phone already is - something your parents remember.

Bigger Than Sanchi. Buried for 2,300 Years. Ujjain Is Finally Digging.

Near Ujjain, a mound called Vaishya Tekri sits on what archaeologists believe is an Ashoka-era Buddhist stupa, roughly 100 feet high with a 350-foot base diameter. 

For comparison, the Sanchi Stupa is 54 feet high and 120 feet across. If confirmed, this would be one of the largest ancient stupas ever found in India.

The ASI is now planning a full excavation and aims to develop the site as a Buddhist heritage destination alongside Sanchi. Bricks from the site point to both pre-Mauryan and Mauryan periods. 

Buddhist texts trace the site to Ashoka's time as governor of Ujjain, before he became emperor. For 2,300 years, it sat in plain sight. Madhya Pradesh is finally going in.

🌾 Agriculture: Monsoon crop sowing has recovered after July rains, with kharif acreage catching up across states. Some relief after a tense start to the season.

🚗 Gujarat: Gujarat's new green mobility policy targets EVs, ethanol, and hydrogen vehicles, with incentives for manufacturers and buyers across all three.

🚂 Infrastructure: The Cabinet has approved four railway projects worth ₹9,500 crore and a Bihar highway project worth ₹3,591 crore.

⛽ Northeast: Nagaland has received its first natural gas supply through the national gas grid. A small state, quietly getting connected.