BMC polls: nominations closed, producing multi cornered contests and overlapping party slates ahead of withdrawals.
Nominations for the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation closed before the January 2 withdrawal deadline, producing a multi-cornered contest with shifting alliances and overlapping slates: one coalition partner is contesting 137 seats, another 90, a former ally independently 94, the principal opposition 143 and its new ally 42, plus several smaller parties. These allocations create potential intra-coalition contests in many wards, affecting control of the municipal body with a budget over Rs 74,000 crore unless nominations are withdrawn.

Mumbai airport opened a new parallel taxiway to boost departure capacity, airside flexibility, and reduce emissions.
Mumbai International Airport commissioned parallel Taxiway M to increase departure throughput and provide alternate routing during maintenance or disruptions. The taxiway allows aircraft to queue while awaiting take-off clearance, improving departure sequencing and giving air traffic controllers greater flexibility. The project responds to sustained high traffic and limited maintenance windows at a busy single-runway airport to reduce dependency on a single taxi track and enhance operational resilience, while reducing taxi distances and ground holding times to lower fuel use and carbon emissions.

Resettlement of displaced persons underway under a Rs 573 crore package with phased returns tied to security and support services.
The state is implementing a phased resettlement under a Rs 573 crore Resettlement and Rehabilitation Package, reporting about 10,000 IDPs from 2,200 households resettled and 4,000 houses under construction, overseen by a State Level Committee chaired by the chief secretary to coordinate rehabilitation, while coupling housing reconstruction with relief support, healthcare, education, livelihood initiatives and security posts established by police and central forces as prerequisites for safe return.

Russian reservists recalled to protect critical infrastructure, assigned local training while retaining their civilian jobs.
Decree directs recall of persons in the mobilisation reserve to protect critical facilities and vital infrastructure; government to list protected facilities and Ministry of Defence to designate military units for special training and deployment. Reservists will serve in their home regions, retain civilian jobs, and the initiative is stated not to be a new general mobilisation.

Rajasthan vehicle scrapping policy offers up to 50% motor tax exemption for owners replacing polluting vehicles.
The Rajasthan Cabinet approved the Vehicle Scrapping Policy-2025 to phase out polluting vehicles via Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities integrated with the Vahan portal; eligible vehicles include those over fifteen years old, unfit or unregistered, accident-damaged, auctioned scrap or voluntarily surrendered. Owners receive digitally uploaded Certificates of Deposit and Vehicle Scrapping and may claim up to a fifty percent motor vehicle tax exemption (maximum Rs 1 lakh) on purchase of a new vehicle.

Proposed tighter wholesale drug licensing: geo-tagging, storage verification and real-time monitoring to stop codeine diversion.
The regulator proposes tightening wholesale drug licensing via geo-tagging of establishments, verification of licensed storage capacity, photographic documentation of premises and stocks, real-time monitoring, and authentication of technical personnel experience certificates, alongside requests for central notifications and uniform guidelines governing manufacture, bulk supply, distribution and monitoring of codeine-based cough syrup to prevent diversion revealed by inspections.

President to confer AI certificates and launch a national AI skilling campaign to boost youth participation in future-ready programs.
President will preside over a SOAR programme under the Skill India Mission to confer AI certificates, launch the #SkillTheNation Challenge to boost youth participation in AI skilling, host an "AI for Beginners" session in collaboration with Google, and virtually inaugurate an IGNOU Regional Centre at Rairangpur as a regional hub for skill-oriented programmes and employability support.

MGNREGA restoration demanded after replacement by VB G RAM G, citing loss of livelihoods for Dalit and poor families.
The Punjab Assembly condemned replacement of MGNREGA by VB G RAM G as dismantling a right based rural employment guarantee that deprives below poverty line families and Dalit labourers of livelihood, and recommended that the state demand immediate withdrawal of the decision, full restoration of MGNREGA to its original right based form, and guaranteed work and wages for marginalised rural workers.

Kerala finances face alleged central cuts and delayed transfers, prompting statewide protests to demand restoration of funds and borrowing limits.
The LDF alleges that Union fiscal decisions have cut Rs 9,267.6 crore and left Rs 6,947.36 crore in arrears, affecting incentives and scheme shares (paddy procurement, Samagra Shiksha, social security pensions, Jal Jeevan Mission) and adding Rs 3,544 crore from employment guarantee changes; it links these measures to reduced borrowing limits and delayed transfers that constrain Kerala's budget and programme delivery.

Silver hits record Rs 2.41 lakh/kg as industrial demand and supply constraints push prices amid tighter margins.
Silver in Delhi hit a record Rs 2.41 lakh/kg, supported by strong international spot gains, industrial demand from solar, electronics and data center infrastructure, and structural supply constraints; margin rule tightening and near-term volatility may moderate immediate price rises while MCX March futures show a bullish undertone with elevated turnover and notable intraday gains.

Crypto platform fraud allegedly routed investor funds through Binance wallets and bank account layering, prompting seizures and account freezes.
The agency alleges operators of an online platform collected investor funds through crypto wallets on Binance and personal bank accounts, layered those funds via accounts of family members and associates, and used proceeds to buy immovable property in relatives' names; investigators conducted searches and seized cash, digital devices and documents and froze bank accounts under anti money laundering provisions.

MGNREGA's demand-driven, rights-based design must be preserved; fixes, not repeal, to address leakages and funding risks.
Signatories argue that MGNREGA's rights-based employment guarantee mandate and open-ended demand-driven design enable local democratic participation and social accountability, and that replacing it with a normative design would shift the burden of proof onto the poor and erode those spaces. They flag operational issues-misappropriation, expenditure-physical progress gaps, machinery use, attendance bypasses-and caution that digital and biometric monitoring alone will not address root causes. They also warn that shifting funding burdens to states risks suppressing demand and that the new Act's 125-days promise is inconsistent with current average days under existing funding.

Cyber fraud arrests for amassing over Rs 85 lakh through fake numbers, malicious APKs and identity misuse.
Arrest of three individuals for cyber fraud and accumulation of illicit assets exceeding Rs 85 lakh; suspects allegedly impersonated customer care staff, posted fake numbers, distributed malicious APK links to drain bank wallets, and used other deception methods. One suspect had prior cases and a prior sentence. Police recovered multiple mobile phones, SIM cards, ATM and identity documents, and vehicles, gathering digital and physical evidence for financial tracing and asset identification.

PM calls for mission-mode reforms anchoring policy and budgeting to a 2047 vision for capability building and global integration.
The document urges adoption of mission-mode reforms to sustain long-term growth by building world-class capabilities and promoting global integration, and directs that policy and budgeting be anchored to the vision for 2047, integrating self-reliance and competitiveness into the Union Budget preparatory agenda.

Wahatu travel platform offers predictable pricing, low driver commissions, integrated bookings and privacy-first technology for India.
Wahatu is a unified travel platform launched in 2025 that prioritises predictable, transparent pricing and a low-commission model to support driver sustainability, alongside streamlined booking, privacy-first technology, real-time safety features, and measured expansion to align customer affordability with stable platform economics.

India becomes world's fourth-largest economy, outpacing Japan, with strong GDP growth and projections to reach third by 2030.
India has surpassed Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy at USD 4.18 trillion and is projected to overtake Germany by 2030; real GDP rose 8.2% in Q2 2025-26 with robust private consumption driving expansion. Multilateral agencies raise growth forecasts in the mid-6 to low-7 percent range, while inflation remains low, unemployment is declining, export performance is improving, and financial conditions are benign, supporting the government's goal of high middle-income status by 2047.

Indian Oil completes record advance winter stocking of over 100,000 kilolitres to secure fuel supplies in Ladakh under extreme conditions.
Indian Oil completed an unprecedented advance winter stocking of over one lakh kilolitres to Ladakh to ensure continuous civilian and strategic fuel availability, conducting long-haul tanker runs into high-altitude terrain under extreme climatic and operational conditions and managing route disruptions from weather events, seasonal congestion, and security constraints through targeted logistical planning and emergency-response measures.

India's reform agenda modernises tax, labour, maritime, FDI and rural employment frameworks to simplify compliance and expand coverage.
The document summarises a cross-sectoral reform agenda including GST slab restructuring, replacement of the Obsolete Income-tax Act with the Income Tax Act, 2025 to reduce disputes and enable technology-driven tax administration, expansion of small company thresholds to Rs 100 crore to lower compliance costs, 100% FDI in insurance to boost penetration, consolidation of labour laws into four codes with expanded ESIC and EPFO coverage, five maritime statutes modernising shipping law, the SHANTI Act for nuclear energy reform, and extension of rural employment guarantee to 125 days under the Viksit Bharat-G RAM G Act, 2025.

Godrej's 'Jingle Bells Unwrapped' reimagines Christmas for urban India and positions protein-rich snacking as festive comfort.
Godrej Vikhroli Cucina launched 'Jingle Bells Unwrapped', a branded musical campaign promoting Godrej Yummiez by reframing Christmas as intimate, urban celebrations. The campaign uses an insight from the brand's STTEM 2.0 report-67% snack by mood, 72% snack more when happy-to position protein-rich, convenient snacking as integral to modern festive behaviour, combining vocal ensemble collaboration, celebrity endorsements and owned media distribution to normalise non-traditional depictions of the holiday.

Mrs Rajni Kapoor's 75th birthday featured devotional Rasmay Sankirtan by Nikunj Kamra Ji and Arushi Gambhir.
The 75th birthday celebration of Mrs. Rajni Kapoor on 28 December 2025 at Modern Apartments, Rohini, featured a devotional Rasmay Sankirtan by Nikunj Kamra Ji and Arushi Gambhir Ji, organised as "Ek Shyam Maa Ke Naam," and included poetic anchoring by Kavi Rajesh Chetan, attire by Santushti by Vineet, and notable food offerings from Chaina Ram Sweets.