The Consumer Affairs Ministry is developing machine-readable SMART standards using AI to reduce industry compliance burden. This initiative aims to modernise India's standards ecosystem, with the Bureau of Indian Standards transitioning from a regulator to a facilitator, promoting private sector testing and faster processes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet secretaries of key Union ministries and departments to review their performance, focusing on ease of living, ease of doing business, and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives, amidst strong speculation of an impending Cabinet reshuffle.
Duvvuri Subbarao on Monday joined as secretary, department of economic affairs, Ministry of Finance. He belongs to the 1972 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (Andhra Pradesh cadre).
HDFC Bank's shares experienced a dip on Wednesday after a newspaper report alleged that the bank made illegal payments to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to secure large deposits, raising concerns about corporate governance.
Tarun Bajaj, an old hand at the finance ministry, on Friday assumed charge as the economic affairs secretary. He comes back to North Block at a time when the economy is facing headwinds due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
The Indian government has issued an updated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for processing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) applications, aiming to clear all proposals within 12 weeks, a two-week extension from the previous 10-week target, to ensure a fully paperless and transparent process.
The United States and Iran are scheduled to hold their initial round of talks in Switzerland on Friday, following a ceasefire agreement virtually signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The United States and Iran have reached an agreement in principle to immediately and permanently halt all military operations, lift sanctions, and work towards a comprehensive final agreement within 60 days, including a significant reconstruction package for Iran.
HDFC Bank reports a 12% credit growth for the March quarter, alongside the unexpected resignation of its chairman, Atanu Chakraborty, due to ethical concerns.
'Actual implementation of the 14-point agreement is proving hard to achieve let alone striking and sustaining a long-term treaty or deal.'
'Why not aspire for 8 or 9 or even 10 per cent?'
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar amid American demand that countries mediating the peace talks with Iran join the Abraham Accords and establish diplomatic and economic ties with Israel.
Through his commitment to democratic norms, debate, dissent and constitutionalism, Jawaharlal Nehru helped ensure that parliamentary democracy took deep root in independent India. Utkarsh Mishra evaluates Nehru's 17 years as India's first prime minister, examining his role in nation-building, democratic institution-building, economic planning, scientific advancement and foreign policy.
HDFC Bank has launched an independent review by external law firms following the abrupt resignation of Chairman Atanu Chakraborty, who cited 'ethical concerns and practices within the bank' as the reason for his departure.
The boundary mess between India and Nepal needs a solution in a manner as mentioned by Nepal's Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal: 'On evidence not emotions', counsels Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung (retd).
'It will take a long time to recover from the impact of this war.'
India's newly formed Artificial Intelligence Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG) is set to advocate for a unified legal framework for AI companies, including developers of large language models and chatbot systems, alongside broader operational rules.
India has established a high-level inter-ministerial body, the AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), to steer the country's national AI governance strategy. The AIGEG will coordinate policy across ministries and oversee cross-sectoral governance issues, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee (TPEC).
'We thought everything will be back to normal within one month. Now it's four months and still a final solution is miles away.'
The United Nations has revised downward India's economic growth forecast for 2026 to 6.4 per cent from an earlier 6.6 per cent, attributing the change to global uncertainties and economic shocks stemming from the ongoing West Asia crisis.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a statement assuring the public of HDFC Bank's stability and sound financial position following the resignation of its chairman, Atanu Chakraborty, citing ethical concerns.
Haryana's Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini reviewed the progress of the Haryana AI Development Programme (HAIDP), a Rs 474-crore initiative developed with the World Bank, focusing on AI skilling, startup incubation, and ethical AI governance.
Atanu Chakraborty has resigned as chairman of HDFC Bank, citing ethical concerns, marking an unusual departure and prompting the appointment of an interim chairman.
The NDA government has gradually nuanced its position on the issue of demographic challenge.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Pyongyang for his first official visit in seven years, meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to reaffirm their long-standing friendship and pledge further development of bilateral relations amidst Pyongyang's deepening military ties with Moscow and China's assertions against Japan's 'new militarism'.
UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from the Cabinet, citing a loss of confidence in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership, potentially triggering a Labour leadership contest.
Sarthak Sidhant, a 17-year-old student from Jharkhand affected by CBSE's online marking system, made a presentation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Tuesday on alleged irregularities in the tendering process for the selection of vendors for online marking of Class 12 answer scripts.
The West Bengal cabinet has decided to discontinue assistance-oriented schemes based on religious categorisation for Imams, muezzins and purohits from June. The cabinet also approved the 'Annapurna' scheme of Rs 3,000 monthly support to women from June 1, and granted in-principle consent for their free travel in state-run buses.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed various aspects of India-US bilateral ties, focusing on defence, trade, energy, and technology. Rubio extended an invitation from President Donald Trump for PM Modi to visit the US.
Through policy interventions, Indian cities need to be reimagined as a network of inter-connected assets and services which serve to strengthen the social contract between citizens and their cities by improving their quality of life, the Economic Survey has flagged.
The Punjab Cabinet has approved a series of measures aimed at enhancing public safety through forensic science upgrades and boosting rural incomes with a new farm stay policy.
Pakistan's skewed foreign reserves got a major boost after Saudi Arabia pledged an additional $3 billion in deposits while extending its existing $5 billion facility for a further three years.
Four Census officials were assaulted in Odisha's Dhenkanal district, prompting the state government to formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) to safeguard census officials from physical harm and heat-related risks.
The Indian government has extended the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) mandate to maintain retail inflation at 4 per cent, with a tolerance band of 2 per cent on either side, for another five years until March 2031.
The Indian government has launched the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) with a total outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore, aiming to leverage private and market finance for urban infrastructure projects by providing state support in capacity building and credit guarantees.
Border trade between India and China through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district is set to resume this year after a six-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BJP-led government in Bihar secured a vote of confidence in the state assembly, with Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary pledging economic development and significant investments. The motion was passed amidst heated debates and accusations between the ruling NDA and the opposition, highlighting political tensions and differing views on issues like women's reservation.
Chief negotiators from India and the US are set to begin three-day talks in Washington to recalibrate the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) framework, following significant changes in the US tariff landscape, including a new 10 per cent tariff imposed on all countries.
The government on Friday received financial bids for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) said in an official statement on X.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien has challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claims about India's progress, citing poverty statistics and West Bengal's economic growth.
