Stock markets rebound as Larsen & Toubro rally coincides with Economic Survey projecting 6.8-7.2% GDP growth.
Ongoing negotiations for a trade agreement with the United States are expected to conclude this year, reducing external uncertainty, while the Economic Survey projects GDP growth of 6.8-7.2% for the next fiscal year due to reforms. Equity indices recovered from early losses, led by a rally in a large engineering firm following stronger quarterly revenues, with reported net buying by foreign and domestic institutional investors and supportive global market and oil price movements.

Grojet Express invites Udupi and Manipal merchants to register for same day instant hyperlocal deliveries and onboarding.
Grojet opened merchant registrations in Udupi and Manipal for Grojet Express, enabling neighborhood retailers, pharmacies, grocery stores, and service providers to offer same day, on demand deliveries within an 8-10 km radius without maintaining their own delivery staff, supported by exclusive onboarding and premium listing benefits during launch.

Rupee valuation lags India's economic fundamentals, causing investor caution despite favourable growth and contained inflation.
The rupee's decline to the 92-per-dollar level understates India's strong fundamentals and has prompted investor reluctance; reliance on foreign capital to support the balance of payments, a goods trade deficit partly offset by services and remittances, and global trade uncertainties make currency stability vulnerable despite low external liabilities, healthy banks, comfortable liquidity, contained inflation, and favourable growth prospects.

Chalo Pattaya VIP International Membership offers long term club access, travel benefits, and a member referral reward.
Country Club launched the Chalo Pattaya VIP International Membership Card at Rs. 2,25,000, offering 30+ years membership, a 6 night/7 day complimentary stay across destinations, one year "7 Across" Gold Membership, return flights for two, and a 2 night/3 day Pattaya stay; benefits require 30 day advance reservations, are subject to room availability and direct flight airport/airline limitations, and the Member Get Member scheme grants existing members the same complimentary Pattaya stay for successful referrals.

AAFT launches undergraduate animation and game design programs to train digital artists for India's booming animation and gaming industry.
AAFT launched three undergraduate programmes-B.Sc. in Animation, B.Des. in Animation, and B.Sc. in Game Design-designed to address a shortage of skilled digital artists by combining practical training in animation, VFX, modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering, rigging, game mechanics, UI/UX and VR/AR with industry mentorship, project-based learning, alumni networking, and placement assistance to prepare graduates for roles across films, streaming platforms, gaming, advertising and related creative sectors.

Digital addiction is undermining education, work and mental health and requires standardised data-driven interventions.
Digital addiction is a growing public health concern harming academic performance, workplace productivity, and mental health, requiring a shift from access-focused policy to behavioural-health interventions. The document identifies a critical lack of comprehensive national data and urges use of the upcoming national mental health survey to inform a standardised, multi-dimensional indicator set-covering recreational screen time, sleep quality, anxiety and stress, attendance and task completion, and safety concerns like cyberbullying and real-money gaming-to evaluate interventions and integrate digital wellbeing into mental health strategy.

Urea price hike and per-acre cash transfers to farmers proposed to encourage balanced fertilisation and soil-friendly practices.
Replace part of the urea subsidy with a modest retail price increase coupled with per-acre direct cash transfers to maintain purchasing power while making nitrogen prices reflect agronomic scarcity; use zone- and crop-specific benchmarks to reward efficient nitrogen use, incentivise balanced fertilisation and soil-restorative practices, operationalise via Aadhaar-linked sales and integrated tracking, pilot across agro-climatic systems, and address tenancy allocation concerns.

Central fiscal consolidation targets 4.4% GDP deficit in FY26 while preserving higher public capital spending and leveraging improved market financing.
The Union government is on track to meet a 4.4 percent of GDP fiscal deficit target in FY26 by combining fiscal consolidation with sustained public investment: central capex share rose from ~12.5% to 22.6% (FY20-FY25) and effective capex to ~4% of GDP, revenue deficit narrowed to its lowest since FY09, and central incentives (SASCI) helped states maintain capex near 2.4% of GDP while sovereign rating actions reflected fiscal credibility.

Crop diversification funded by procurement savings to incentivise pulses, oilseeds and maize while protecting food security.
The Economic Survey proposes voluntary crop diversification funded by savings from improved stock management and reduced procurement costs, offering per acre or per quintal incentives, price deficiency payments and assured offtake to encourage shifts from rice and wheat to pulses, oilseeds and maize in agro ecologically suitable regions. Implementation is through a Centre State partnership with conditional transitional financing and reinvestment of fiscal savings into post harvest infrastructure, while maintaining food security via adjustable procurement volumes and structuring support as area based, decoupled payments for WTO compatibility.

India's AI strategy should pursue resource efficient, inclusive development while sequencing regulation alongside deployment to avoid energy intensive lock ins.
India should leverage late entry to pursue a resource efficient, inclusive AI pathway aligned with public objectives, prioritising application led innovation, domestic data use, human capital and shared infrastructure rather than frontier scale model race. Regulation, data governance and safety must be sequenced alongside deployment: policy must decide what to build domestically, what to source, what to regulate early, and what to allow to evolve, so as to avoid passive consumption and prevent path dependence that could deepen structural divides.

Marijuana seizure at IGI Airport after profiling and X ray screening; passenger arrested and contraband seized under NDPS Act.
Customs officers intercepted an arriving passenger after spot profiling, diverted him to the green channel for X ray screening and a detailed baggage search, recovering multiple vacuum sealed packets concealed in polybags. Diagnostic testing indicated the substance was prima facie ganja/marijuana; the narcotic material and concealing articles were seized and the passenger was arrested under the NDPS Act.

Labour Codes aim to expand formal jobs and strengthen social security for women and gig workers through portability and recognition.
Effective implementation of the Labour Codes is central to expanding formal employment and improving security for women and gig/platform workers by consolidating laws, formally recognising gig workers, extending social security and benefit portability, enabling remote work for women post-maternity benefit, and leveraging a national unorganised-worker database linked to universal account identifiers to integrate welfare, skilling, and portability across platforms.

Agriculture sector needs urgent reform across fertilisers, irrigation, and market links to boost resilience and incomes.
The survey identifies climate risks, water scarcity, small landholdings and productivity gaps as key constraints and calls for a reform agenda focused on overhauling fertiliser policy, strengthening irrigation, promoting crop diversification and climate resilient technologies, empowering farmer producer organisations, improving market integration and logistics, enhancing risk management, and boosting private investment in food processing and cold chains to raise resilience and farm incomes.

Economic Survey 2025-26 tabled in Rajya Sabha by Finance Minister; House adjourned after presentation.
The Finance Minister tabled the Economic Survey 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha, providing English and Hindi copies and a statistical appendix, and the House was adjourned for the day following the submission.

India gold demand fell 11% in 2025 amid record prices; value rose 30% as investment demand strengthened.
India's gold demand fell 11% to 710.9 tonnes in 2025 as record-high prices and shifting consumer behaviour reduced volumes-notably jewellery down 24% and recycling down 27%-while value rose about 30% to Rs 7,51,490 crore. Investment demand grew, with Q4 investment volumes up 26% and value up 108%, and gold imports declined 17% to 663.7 tonnes. The WGC expects 2026 demand around 600-700 tonnes, supported by global uncertainty and continued interest in ETFs and digital gold.

India aviation fleet to triple to 2,250 by 2035, driven by strong domestic demand and international route expansion.
Airbus projects India's commercial fleet will reach about 2,250 aircraft by 2035, becoming the third-largest civil aviation market, driven by strong domestic demand, airlines' international route expansion, and passenger traffic growth at roughly 8.9% per annum through 2035.

India's economy projected to grow 6.8-7.2% in FY27, reflecting policy reforms and anchored macroeconomic stability.
The Economic Survey projects GDP growth of 6.8-7.2% for FY27, attributing the outlook to domestic demand, cumulative policy reforms that have raised medium-term growth potential near 7%, and anchored macroeconomic stability while describing the balance of risks as broadly even amid global uncertainty.

Medaram Jatara: Coca Cola India supplied hydration, retailer support, and recycled plastic public amenities for pilgrims.
Coca Cola India and its bottling partner provided hydration access, cooling infrastructure, mobile carts, stalls, and retailer assistance at Medaram Jatara through the Locally Yours initiative to support local livelihoods and efficient beverage availability. Coordinated with local authorities, the effort aimed to mobilise the retail ecosystem and create employment. Anandana, the company foundation, ran #MaidaanSaaf to integrate waste collection, sanitation worker support, and recycled plastic public utilities such as changing rooms and benches.

Hexaware appoints Amit Vij as Chief Private Markets Officer to lead private markets strategy and AI-driven value creation.
Hexaware appointed a Chief Private Markets Officer to lead engagement across the private markets ecosystem-private equity, infrastructure, private debt, real estate, sovereign wealth and distressed debt funds-and to drive strategy, business growth and portfolio value creation through technology- and AI-driven interventions, board- and C-suite-level advisory, and operational execution support for portfolio companies.

Protean eGov launches Future Force AI to embed AI across roles and upgrade governance for scalable, responsible adoption.
Protean eGov's Future Force AI embeds AI as a core organizational capability through a company-wide Experiential AI Learning Lab and applied Capstone Projects that integrate AI into routine tasks; the initiative couples workforce reskilling with requirements for policy modernization, secure technology platforms, real-time oversight, and governance measures to enable responsible, scalable AI deployment.