Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged PSBs to become 'cool' and shed their 'government bank' image to attract young customers.
In addition to caste details, the Census will, for the first time, collect personal information such as the total number of bank accounts held by individuals, along with their mobile number, Aadhaar number, voter ID number, passport number and driving licence status, according to the 40 questions notified by the Registrar General of India on Friday.
The Ministry of Education has dismissed concerns about On-Screen Marking (OSM) affecting students' scores in CBSE class 12 exams and announced a reduction in revaluation and answer sheet verification charges to ease student anxiety.
Haryana is revamping its 2015 Sports Policy to focus on long-term talent development for future Olympians, moving beyond just prize money and jobs. Key initiatives include 'Mission Olympics-2036 Vijayee Bhavah' for young athletes and the 'Khelo Haryana App' for integrated athlete services. The state aims to strengthen athlete welfare, infrastructure, and institutional support.
The Karnataka government has introduced a draft policy to address the growing concerns surrounding excessive and unsafe digital technology use among students, focusing on mental health, cyber safety, and responsible digital behaviour.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that all high schools in India will have broadband internet connection within the next 2-3 years, with a focus on integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education.
Delhi University's Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce hosted an international conference focusing on the transformative role of AI in management, featuring discussions on ethical considerations, customised education, and cross-domain relevance.
The fee cuts come amid an outcry over CBSE's first full-scale rollout of the Online Scoring Mechanism for Class 12 examinations, with students, parents, and some teachers alleging unusually low marks, unchecked answers, and discrepancies between expected and awarded scores.
The story of Bihar's educational reform is a lesson for all reforms done halfway.
A pro-Kannada organisation protested against the Governor of Karnataka over a letter asking the state government to reconsider its decision to replace the marks system with a grading system for the third language in the SSLC exam.
India has launched its first integrated phygital service centre in Umri village, Madhya Pradesh, aiming to provide online services and boost rural development through digital connectivity and various essential services.
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
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.
Kerala's voters are sophisticated, educated, and unforgiving. They have once again made it clear that no government is entitled to remain in power. The Congress would do well to remember this, points out Ramesh Menon.
Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) has published the 'Cyber Safety Protocol 2026' to ensure a secure digital learning environment and robust cyber defences for students in Kerala's public school system.
The Indian Navy has been recognized as the best marching contingent among the armed forces at the Republic Day Parade. Maharashtra won for states/UTs, and the Culture Ministry for ministries/departments.
The Centre has directed the NCERT to review all textbooks after the Supreme Court raised concerns about 'offending' content on corruption in the judiciary in a Class 8 social science book.
Investors and startup executives are calling for extending the period for an entity to be recognised as a startup from 10 to 15 years for deep-tech companies.
Efforts are underway to integrate AI education into all degree programmes -- including BA, BCom, BSc, and specialised courses.
'Archaeological sites like Keeladi, having remained buried for 2,500 years, have come out and speak now.'
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has distributed portfolios among the new ministers, keeping key departments such as Home, Personnel, and several others to himself. The Congress' Radhakrishna Kishore was given Finance, Commercial Tax, Planning and Development Department, and Parliamentary Affairs departments. JMM's Deepak Biruwa was allotted the departments of Revenue, Registration and Land Reforms (non-registration), and Transport. Chamra Linda, another JMM leader, was allotted the departments of Schedule Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes (except Minority Welfare). RJD's Sanjay Prasad Yadav was given the departments of Industries, and Labour, Planning, Training and Skill Development. The Congress' Irfan Ansari got Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, besides Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, and Disaster Management departments. The chief minister also kept to himself the departments of Cabinet Secretariat, Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language, Road Construction, Building Construction, and those departments yet to be distributed to anyone. Among the other ministers, JMM's Ramdas Soren was given the School Education and Literacy, and Registration departments. Party colleague Hafizul Hasan was allotted the departments of Water Resources, and Minority Welfare Department. Panchayati Raj, Rural Works, and Rural Development departments were given to Congress MLA Deepika Pandey Singh. The CM gave Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Excise and Prohibition departments to JMM's Yogendra Prasad. JMM legislator Sudhivya Kumar became the minister for Urban Development and Housing, Higher and Technical Education, and Tourism, Art Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs departments. Shilpi Neha Tirkey of the Congress was allotted Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department. A total of 11 MLAs took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Thursday.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday declared the southern state as India's first fully e-governed state where an entire range of government services have been digitised so that they can be provided to the citizens promptly and transparently.
'What I hope to do is provide a vehicle for that scale and growth in literacy and English as a second language here.'
A boy's alleged remark that the Education Minister 'doesn't know Kannada', irked Madhu Bangarappa, who holds the portfolio, as he directed officials to take action against the student.
The Indian government has scrapped the 'no-detention policy' for classes 5 and 8 in schools it governs. This means that students in these classes who do not pass the year-end exams will be allowed to fail. The decision comes after the amendment to the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2019, which has already led to 18 states and union territories doing away with the 'no-detention policy' for the two classes. The new policy will be implemented in over 3,000 schools run by the central government, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navaodyala Vidyalayas, and Sainik Schools.
Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the basis of the information provided by them in their online application, the statement said.
Entrepreneurship, education and training will be provided in 2,200 colleges, 300 schools, 500 government ITIs and 50 vocational training centres through massive open online courses.
'During a match, there is a lot of noise from the stadium -- cheers for sixes and fours -- but the batter focuses on the ball, not the pressure.' 'If you don't take pressure and focus on your duty, you can overcome stress easily.'
The department of personnel and training has asked the Union Public Service Commission to recruit such specialists through "lateral entry" mode in 12 government departments/ministries, he said.
The report highlights that India's population in 2036 is expected to be more feminine compared to the 2011 population, as reflected in the sex ratio which is projected to increase from 943 in 2011 to 952 by 2036, highlighting a positive trend in gender equality.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a three-month extension in Sudan's service, beyond the date of her superannuation, i.e. April 30, a personnel ministry order said. She will continue to function as the secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare during the period, it said.
'It was Maulana Azad's foresight which created the IITs, UGC, science academies across the country.'
Indian billionaires saw their combined fortunes more than double during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their count shot up by 39 per cent to 142, while the wealth of the ten richest is enough to fund school and higher education of children in the country for 25 years, a new study showed on Monday. In its annual inequality survey released on the first day of the World Economic Forum's online Davos Agenda summit, Oxfam India further said that an additional one per cent tax on the richest 10 per cent can provide the country with nearly 17.7 lakh extra oxygen cylinders, while a similar wealth tax on the 98 richest billionaire families would finance Ayushman Bharat, the world's largest health insurance scheme, for more than seven years. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a huge rush for oxygen cylinders and insurance claims during the second wave last year.
State and UT governments have been given the flexibility to take a decision on re-opening of schools and coaching institutions after October 15 in a graded manner.
The winners for the year 2019 are from fields as diverse as agriculture, sports, handicrafts, afforestation and wildlife conservation, armed forces and education.
'Why is the government asking parents to be careful rather than coming up with strict rules and regulations for the companies?'
Coal Secretary Anil Swarup has been appointed as school education secretary.
Although the Disaster Management Act for Covid containment measures, considered a hindrance in conducting the census, was withdrawn in March this year the Centre has not taken any further action on conducting the much-delayed population enumeration.
Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com travels to Pullampara to discover how it became India's first digital literate village.
