Soybean and snow pea varieties promoted to improve nutrition and farmer incomes through seed distribution and value added processing.
ICAR Ranchi developed soybean 'Swarna Vasundhara' and snow pea 'Swarna Tripti', evaluated for nutrient content and promoted to address nutritional deficiencies and support farmer livelihoods. Following a recommendation by the Central Sub Committee on Crop Standards, the soybean variety's seed has been supplied to farmers across 14 states and regional centres; germplasm from an international centre was improved in Ranchi. Processing units produce value added soy products, farmers report higher yields and profits, and the soybean can be preserved frozen at -20 C for up to a year.

Pan masala cess introduced with state revenue sharing; aviation regulator launches inquiry; interim protection sought from arrest.
The enactment of a Health and National Security Cess on pan masala manufacturing establishes a dedicated production level levy with state revenue sharing for health expenditure. Separately, the aviation regulator has formed a four member committee to comprehensively review major carrier disruptions and report within a fixed period, and an individual under criminal allegations has petitioned the high court for interim protection from arrest, invoking pre arrest judicial relief.

Pan masala manufacturing units will face a cess on machine production capacity to fund health and national security.
A statutory Health and National Security Cess will be levied on the production capacity of machines and processes used to manufacture pan masala and similar goods to finance public health and national security; proceeds will be shared with states and charged over and above existing indirect taxes without impacting GST revenues.

Fake firms and invoices used to evade Rs 10 crore in taxes resulted in arrests and charges under tax laws.
The SIT alleges an organised scheme to evade about Rs 10 crore in commercial taxes by creating fake firms using collected identity documents, registering them with the commercial tax department, and issuing/uploading bogus invoices on the government portal to facilitate fraudulent tax credits and earn commissions; three suspects have been arrested and charged under penal provisions and Section 132 of the Commercial Tax Act, with investigations ongoing.

Foreign assets compliance: CBDT issues SMS/email nudges urging taxpayers to review and revise ITRs to report foreign assets.
The tax authority is issuing automated SMS and email notices to taxpayers identified via international information exchanges as holding foreign financial assets not reported in their ITRs, advising them to review and revise returns to ensure accurate reporting in Schedule FA and Schedule FSI by a specified deadline to avoid penal consequences; the campaign uses advanced data analytics to target high risk cases and promote voluntary, non intrusive compliance.

Income tax time series shows direct tax collections, state-wise break-up, GDP ratio and taxpayer statistics.
Time-series tables for FY2000-01 to FY2024-25 report annual direct tax collections by Corporate, Non Corporate and other direct taxes with state/UT-wise break-up, CTDS and foreign attributions, contribution to total tax revenue, Direct-Tax-to-GDP ratios (with growth and buoyancy metrics), pre- and post-assessment receipts (TDS, advance, self assessment, regular assessment, other receipts), cost of collection, and compliance counts for returns filed, return filers and taxpayers; sources and provisional status are noted.

Health and National Security Cess on pan masala production; proceeds shared with states, not levied on essentials.
The bill proposes a Health and National Security Cess on the production capacity of pan masala manufacturers, imposed in addition to the existing 40% Goods and Services Tax on consumption. The cess excludes essential commodities, is intended as a deterrent to pan masala consumption because excise cannot be applied, and will generate a dedicated resource stream whose proceeds are shared with states for specified health awareness and health-related schemes and to support national security objectives.

Maharashtra trust investigated for alleged money laundering, visa-overstay facilitation and fraudulent procurement of identity documents.
A Maharashtra-based charitable trust is under federal investigation for alleged money laundering arising from receipt and diversion of substantial foreign donations, and for regulatory non-compliance that led to cancellation of its registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Authorities allege the trust facilitated visa overstay and procurement of fraudulent identity documents for two Yemeni nationals, misrepresented foreign staffing to donors, and used donation funds for unapproved purposes; searches seized cash and digital devices and form the basis of the money laundering probe.

Pan masala packs must display Retail Sale Price and required declarations on all pack sizes from Feb 1, 2026.
Pan masala packages must display the Retail Sale Price and all mandatory declarations under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, pursuant to GSR 881(E) effective February 1, 2026. The amendment removes the prior small pack exemption and replaces the previous proviso under Rule 26(a) with a pan masala specific proviso, extending RSP and declaration obligations to all pack sizes and facilitating RSP based GST levy enforcement.

Delhi twin-tower project at ITO gets Income Tax department consent to share 4.5-acre land for development.
Delhi's twin-tower plan at ITO advances after the Income Tax department agreed to share 4.5 acres of Ayakar Bhawan land in return for 10 lakh square feet of built-up area, enabling construction of two towers-linked by a skywalk-with an estimated 30 lakh square feet of total space; PWD intends to appoint a transaction adviser and coordinate interdepartmentally to finalise land availability and project estimates.

FDI policy continuously liberalised to permit higher automatic route investment, raise sectoral caps, and ease tax/GST compliance.
India's FDI policy adopts a negative list approach allowing up to 100% foreign investment via the Automatic Route subject to laws and security conditions, with recent liberalisation raising sectoral caps (defence, insurance, telecom) and expanding automatic route access; these measures are supported by regulatory simplification, tax and GST reforms, investment facilitation through Invest India, and targeted incentives (SEZs, STPIs, Fund of Funds, PLI schemes) to attract investment in software, services and manufacturing.

Private company closures: 2,04,268 ceased via amalgamation, dissolution or strike-off under Companies Act; monitoring and tax reform noted.
2,04,268 private companies ceased operations over five years by amalgamation, conversion, dissolution, or being struck off under the Companies Act, 2013, with strike-offs reflecting inactivity or voluntary removal after regulatory compliance; inter-agency information-sharing is used to monitor suspected misuse and the government favours phasing out selective tax exemptions while rationalising corporate tax rates.

Clear Secured Services Limited IPO opens Dec 1 to raise up to Rs. 85.60 crore with defined allocations and use of proceeds.
Clear Secured Services Limited is launching an Initial Public Offering of up to 64,85,000 equity shares at a price band of Rs. 125-Rs. 132 per share to raise up to Rs. 85.60 crore; the public issue opens December 1, 2025 and closes December 3, 2025 with allocations for anchor investors, QIBs, NIIs, retail investors and a market maker. Net proceeds will fund investment in a wholly owned subsidiary for equipment, repay/prepay borrowings, support working capital and general corporate purposes. The Book Running Lead Manager and Registrar are appointed.

Tobacco and pan masala taxation revised; ED issues FEMA show cause notice in Masala Bond matter.
Legislation was introduced to impose excise duty on tobacco and tobacco products and to establish a new cess on pan masala replacing the GST compensation cess on those goods. The Enforcement Directorate issued a Rs 467 crore FEMA contravention show cause notice in the KIIFB Masala Bond matter to state officials, commencing statutory response and penalty procedures under foreign exchange law.

Tobacco and pan masala to face central excise and a new health security cess replacing the GST compensation cess.
The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, proposes reinstating central excise duty on tobacco and related products at specified ad valorem and specific rates so that sales will attract 40% GST plus excise after the compensation cess ends. The Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025, proposes a new cess on manufacture of specified goods such as pan masala, with notification power for additional goods, to enable targeted funding for public health and national security and to preserve overall tax incidence following cessation of the GST compensation cess.

Tobacco and pan masala to face new excise duty and a health security national security cess replacing the GST compensation cess.
Two bills will replace the GST compensation cess: the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025 enables levy and adjustment of excise duty on tobacco products to protect tax incidence; the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 creates a manufacturing cess on specified goods including pan masala, payable in addition to other taxes, calculated in the aggregate by premise and requiring self declarations of machines and processes.

Insurance FDI raised to 100% and excise/cess reforms target tobacco and pan masala to fund health and security.
The government proposes key economic legislation including The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025 to raise the insurance sector FDI limit to 100%, and excise/cess reforms via The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and The Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 to replace the GST compensation cess on tobacco and pan masala and to levy excise and a targeted cess to fund national security and public health.

Tobacco and pan masala will face new excise and cess measures to preserve current tax incidence after GST compensation cess ends.
The Central Excise Amendment Bill, 2025, would levy excise duty on tobacco products to replace the GST compensation cess on tobacco, while the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025, would replace the compensation cess on pan masala by imposing a targeted cess on manufacturing processes or machines to augment resources for national security and public health, thereby preserving the existing tax incidence once the compensation cess ends.

Deepti's mother alleges prolonged domestic cruelty and abuse; FIR registered against husband and mother in law recently.
An FIR was registered after the deceased's mother alleged a sustained pattern of physical and mental cruelty, social defamation, and exclusion by the husband and mother in law; she requested a comprehensive probe including by a central agency. The complaint links recent marital disputes and morning telephone exchanges to the event in which the woman was later found hanging and taken to hospital where she was declared dead, triggering a criminal investigation into alleged domestic cruelty.

Income tax refund scams use phishing links to steal bank and card details; verify refunds only via the official portal.
A cyber-fraud advisory warns that scammers impersonate income tax officials to solicit bank and card details via SMS, email and phishing links, and emphasizes that the Income Tax Department does not request OTPs, CVVs or passwords by message; recipients should avoid unfamiliar links and verify refund communications only through the official income tax portal.