Navi Mumbai airport opening honoured Param Vir Chakra recipients, centring military service and gratitude in the inauguration.
The inauguration of Navi Mumbai International Airport publicly honoured Param Vir Chakra recipients Honorary Captain Bana Singh and Major Sanjay Kumar, incorporating their welcome, tour, and acknowledgement into the opening protocol to emphasize recognition of military service. Organizers framed the event around service and gratitude, adopting a people focused ceremonial posture rather than spectacle for the corporate led infrastructure launch.

Georgian railway modernization project is operational, boosting east-west transit efficiency and doubling annual freight capacity.
Georgian Railway Modernization Project commissioned a 43.911 kilometre east-west rail upgrade between Zestaponi and Khashuri, combining renovation and new construction across track, civil works, power, communications and stations; the builder used lean management and technical innovation to meet complex geological challenges while adhering to safety standards.

Asian markets and precious metals: gold and silver hit record highs as investors seek safe havens.
Gold and silver reached record prices as investors and central banks bought safe havens amid uncertainty and expectations of US interest-rate cuts, with gold about $4,538.80 per troy ounce and silver about $74.90 per ounce; regional equities were mixed, led by gains in Tokyo on defense spending, while oil and bitcoin recorded modest increases.

ASBL Family Day 2025 announces NCD plans, IPO intent, design studio and community founders club for homeowners.
ASBL shifted developer-customer relations toward ongoing community engagement and announced four initiatives: AAED Design Studio for human-centred design; plans to issue Non-Convertible Debentures as part of its capital structure; a long-term public listing intention; and an ASBL Founders Club integrated with the ASBL Homes App, each carrying corporate finance, regulatory disclosure, and community-development implications.

Zota Health Care raises Rs 350 crore via QIP to fund nationwide expansion of generic pharmacy stores.
Zota Health Care raised Rs 350 crore via a Qualified Institutional Placement, allotting 22,80,130 shares to eligible institutional buyers at Rs 1,535 per share. Named institutional investors participated. Proceeds are earmarked primarily to expand the generic pharmacy network to over 5,000 stores by March 2029, supported by the company's current 1,373 COCO stores, 880 FOFO stores, and about 400 COCO stores in development.

Digital trade finance: industry and regulator urge tech led platforms to scale financing and improve MSME access to receivables funding.
India's trade finance market is under penetrated and requires technology led, low risk platforms to scale lender participation and improve MSME access. TReDS has expanded domestic receivables discounting, but integrated digital ecosystems-featuring deep ERP integration, automation, multi party access, and standardized verification-are needed to enable largely touchless transactions, predictable risk transfer to financiers, faster settlement, and broadened participation across banks, NBFCs, factors, and cross border channels.

ASBL's expansion in Hyderabad foregrounds land ownership reforms, effective FSI use, rental housing and NRI investment engagement.
ASBL's 2025 expansion combines high-value project launches, record sales and NRI investor outreach with advocacy for land ownership reforms, effective use of FSI, rental housing and market-driven solutions to align private development with inclusive housing goals, while using technology and transparent milestone reporting to accelerate delivery and investor confidence.

GHR TRIVANA villa community is RERA-registered and targeting IGBC Gold pre-certification, offering low-density, amenity-rich living.
GHR TRIVANA is a 52-villa gated community on 5.61 acres that is registered with the state real estate regulator and is targeting IGBC Gold pre-certification. The development emphasizes low-density design, cross-ventilated four- and five-bedroom floorplates, a 15,000+ sq. ft. clubhouse, outdoor sports and neighbourhood parks, and on-site convenience retail. The announcement links regulatory registration and the pursuit of green certification to the project's market positioning in a transit rich growth node of South Hyderabad.

Air purifiers: PIL seeks classification as medical devices and GST cut to 5%, hearing listed amid worsening air.
A public interest litigation requests that the Centre reclassify air purifiers as medical devices and reduce the goods and services tax from 18 percent to 5 percent, seeking administrative reclassification and tariff relief in light of deteriorating air quality; the matter is listed for hearing in the High Court.

Andhra govt issues NOC to Vedanta for drilling 20 wells; NOC temporary, irrigation only and bans drawing surface water.
A conditional No Objection Certificate was issued to Vedanta Limited for drilling 20 onshore wells in Krishna district under the Discovered Small Field Policy, 2018, delegating implementation to irrigation and district engineering authorities. The NOC is temporary and limited to irrigation considerations; Vedanta must obtain all other departmental permissions prior to operations. The order explicitly prohibits drawing water from irrigation canals and other surface water sources, including the Bandar Canal, KDS canal network, drainage network, ponds, and reservoirs.

Stock markets trade lower amid foreign fund outflows and low holiday volumes, pushing Sensex and Nifty down early.
Equity indices opened lower as FIIs sold Rs 1,721.26 crore while DIIs bought Rs 2,381.34 crore; the Sensex declined 183.42 points to 85,225.28 and the Nifty fell 46.45 points to 26,095.65. Weakness was linked to fragile sentiment, low holiday trading volumes and absence of strong domestic triggers, with Brent crude near USD 62.31 per barrel. Key laggards included Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, Eternal, Tata Steel, TCS and Bharti Airtel; gainers included Bharat Electronics, Titan, Infosys and UltraTech Cement.

Air purifiers sought to be classed as medical devices to reduce GST from 18% to 5%.
A public interest litigation asks the Centre to classify air purifiers as medical devices and lower the goods and services tax from 18 percent to five percent, raising regulatory classification and tax-rate adjustment issues; additionally, the Chief Justice is set to attend a mediation conference and inaugurate a drug-abuse seminar, reflecting judicial engagement in dispute-resolution advocacy and legal education.

Rupee falls to 89.94 per dollar as foreign fund outflows, importer dollar demand, and rising oil lift pressure on the currency.
The Indian rupee weakened by 23 paise to 89.94 per US dollar in early trade, driven by foreign portfolio investor selling, increased importer dollar demand, and a rise in Brent crude futures; concurrent equity declines and trade-deal uncertainty further dampened investor sentiment and amplified exchange-rate volatility.

Agriculture expo highlights modern tech, value addition, market access and welfare distribution including crop insurance and credit.
A two day agriculture exposition will showcase modern technologies, machinery, new and traditional high yield crop varieties, post harvest management, value addition, electronic technologies, organic farming, food processing, livestock and fishery practices, and marketing techniques while several departments display schemes and services including crop credit, crop insurance and export awareness; the inauguration will include distribution of welfare benefits worth Rs 669 crores to 80,571 farmers.

Japan defence budget boosts missiles, unmanned systems, joint weapons development and defence industry support.
The Cabinet approved a record defence budget for fiscal 2026 to accelerate a five year programme toward 2% of GDP, funding expanded standoff missile capability, expedited deployment of Type 12 missiles, and large investments in unmanned air, surface and underwater systems under the "SHIELD" coastal defence plan, while supporting joint weapons development, defence industry expansion and financing measures that require parliamentary approval.

Odisha SOG training centre unveiled; new risk allowances for anti Naxal personnel and force expansion plan revealed.
Odisha commissioned a new SOG training and counter terrorism complex to train up to 400 personnel and inaugurated multiple police facilities, while instituting a structured risk allowance scheme for anti Naxal personnel with specified monthly maxima by rank and role and announcing expansion of battalions, units, cyber and economic offences stations and 15,326 new police posts.

IGMC doctor terminated after inquiry finding misconduct; doctors demand reinstatement and threaten strike, seeking impartial probe.
A senior resident doctor at Indira Gandhi Medical College was administratively terminated after an inquiry found misconduct and acts unbecoming following a physical altercation with a patient; resident associations demanded reinstatement, alleged mob intimidation and property damage, threatened mass casual leave and strike unless the order was revoked and perpetrators were prosecuted, while a national federation sought a transparent, time bound, impartial inquiry protecting the rights of both patient and doctor.

Bajrang Dal protest over alleged objectionable portrayal at Christmas event, demanding impartial probe and action.
Bajrang Dal alleged that a Cantonment Board Christmas festival included videos and programmes portraying Hindu temples and customs in an objectionable way, depicting religious conversion and linking serious crimes to the Hindu community. Leaders submitted a memorandum demanding an impartial probe and strict action; police assured an investigation and that appropriate action would be taken against those found guilty, after which protesters dispersed.

Illegal loan recovery: Two moneylenders arrested for extortion, alleged exorbitant interest and threats, and SUV seized
Two moneylenders were arrested following a complaint alleging extortion and unlawful loan recovery after demanding Rs 18 lakh as interest on a Rs 10 lakh loan; the complainant reported threats, assault, and property damage. An FIR was filed, an SUV was recovered from the accused, who stated they had been lending at interest since 2023-24, and they are being interrogated as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into illegal lending and coercive recovery tactics.

Gujarat unveils renewable and green hydrogen policies to boost BESS deployment, capacity targets, single window approvals, and capital subsidies.
Gujarat's Integrated Renewable Energy Policy 2025 promotes BESS deployment, grid stability, rationalised evacuation timelines by voltage level, commissioning extensions, wind repowering without mandatory dismantling, on demand connectivity via the Akshay Urja Setu portal, and support for emerging renewable technologies and private sector participation. The Gujarat Green Hydrogen Policy 2025 (ten year framework) targets up to 3 MMTPA green hydrogen by 2035, 75 GW renewable capacity and 30 GW electrolyser capacity, and provides a single window facilitation mechanism, priority industrial estate allocation, infrastructure support, and targeted capital and usage subsidies.