Lava has launched the Virat V1 Pro 5G in India today, with the phone going on sale exclusively through Flipkart.

The device carries an expected retail price of around Rs 14,999, though Lava had not formally confirmed the price at the time of launch.

The Virat V1 Pro 5G features a 6.75-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate and is powered by a Unisoc T8200 processor.

The phone is offered with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, expandable further via a microSD card.

On the camera front, it carries a 50-megapixel main rear sensor paired with an auxiliary AI lens for the dual-camera setup.

The phone runs a near-stock version of Android 16 out of the box, with Lava saying it has kept pre-installed third-party apps to a minimum.

Lava has positioned the Virat V1 Pro 5G as a budget-segment offering, competing primarily on camera specifications and display refresh rate against other sub-Rs 15,000 5G phones launched this year.

The Unisoc T8200 processor powering the device is an octa-core chipset commonly used in budget and mid-range 5G smartphones sold in the Indian market.

Lava is one of the few Indian-origin smartphone brands still manufacturing devices domestically, competing in a market largely dominated by Chinese and South Korean manufacturers.

The phone runs a near-stock version of Android 16 out of the box, with Lava saying it has kept pre-installed third-party apps to a minimum.

Connectivity options include dual SIM 5G support, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for unlocking, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, a feature increasingly rare on phones in this price segment.

The 5,000mAh battery supports 18W wired charging over USB Type-C, and the device also carries basic splash protection against accidental water exposure.

August has been a packed month for smartphone launches in India, with the Google Pixel 11 series and Redmi Note 17 series both carrying confirmed dates alongside new arrivals from Vivo, Samsung, Poco and Infinix.

Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

iQOO has launched its Z11 smartphone in India, with prices starting at Rs 34,999 for the base 6GB+128GB variant.

The phone features a 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 2000-nit peak brightness, and a curved 3D design.

It is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 7500 Turbo chipset, which iQOO says is debuting in India with this device, paired with a 7,050mAh battery and 44W fast charging.

The Z11 comes with IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance, and is available in Celestial Blue and Aurora Green colour options.

On the camera front, the phone gets a 50MP Sony IMX882 main sensor with optical image stabilisation, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 32MP front-facing camera.

Sales begin on August 25 at 12 PM IST through Amazon.in, iQOO’s website, and select retail partners, with top-end variants priced up to Rs 49,999.

The device carries both IP68 and IP69 ratings, giving it protection against dust, immersion in water, and high-pressure water jets.

Sales begin on August 25 at 12 PM IST through Amazon.in, iQOO’s own website, and select offline retail partners including Reliance Digital.

The Z11 arrives in a crowded month for smartphone launches in India, with rivals including the Redmi Note 17 series, Vivo S2 and Google’s Pixel 11 lineup also debuting in August.

iQOO has positioned the Z11 as a mid-range device aimed at buyers who want flagship-adjacent features such as a high-refresh curved display and strong dust and water resistance without paying flagship prices.

The base 6GB+128GB variant at Rs 34,999 sits alongside 8GB+128GB, 8GB+256GB and 12GB+256GB options priced at Rs 39,999, Rs 44,999 and Rs 49,999 respectively.

The phone is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 7500 Turbo chipset, marking the first time this processor has appeared in a smartphone in India.

Storage and memory options range from 6GB+128GB up to 12GB+256GB, with the top variant priced at Rs 49,999.

Photo by Android Open Source Project (Peng Chia-Chieh), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5

ISRO will eventually stop manufacturing launch vehicles altogether, with the work shifting to private industry, IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka has said.

“Eventually, ISRO will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles,” Goenka said, outlining a structural shift already under way in India’s space sector.

Under the new approach, ISRO will concentrate on advanced technologies, scientific missions and research, along with developing specialised satellites for particular orbits and scientific purposes.

Manufacturing of launch vehicles, satellites and other routine production work will transfer to private companies, continuing a shift that has already seen the SSLV programme move to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The announcement comes as India observes National Space Day today, marking the anniversary of Chandrayaan-3’s historic soft landing on the Moon’s south pole in 2023.

This year’s National Space Day theme is ‘Towards Viksit Bharat — Innovating, Collaborating and Aspiring to Global Space Leadership,’ reflecting the sector’s push toward greater private participation.

The restructuring is aimed at expanding India’s space economy from around $8 billion currently to a targeted $44 billion by 2033.

National Space Day, observed every August 23, commemorates the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s south pole in 2023, a feat that made India only the fourth country to achieve a soft lunar landing.

The announcement was made by IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka at Business Today’s India @ 100 Economy Summit on August 21.

The SSLV, ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, has already been transitioned to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, with HAL’s first SSLV launch expected in September 2027 from a new independent space launch centre.

Future transfers to the private sector will include the PSLV and LVM3 rockets, with upcoming bids for that manufacturing work set to exclude public sector companies.

ISRO has already transferred more than 120 technologies to private industry as part of this broader restructuring of India’s space sector.

Photo by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0