Haryana to establish Smart Agriculture and Smart Industrial Zones and expand worker housing, infrastructure, and incubation centres.
Haryana will create one Smart Agriculture Zone and one Smart Industrial Zone with specialised facilities, develop 10 new Industrial Model Townships, strengthen civic infrastructure in older industrial areas, and prepare comprehensive worker housing plans. A portal to regularise unauthorised factory colonies is enabling registration and scheme access. Control of industrial plots has been transferred to the state industrial development corporation to streamline approvals, and land for ESIC hospitals/dispensaries will be allotted at 75% concessional rates. Incubation centres for AI, Quantum Computing, and EV/Automotive sectors are being established.

Bank employees strike on Jan 27 to press for a five-day work week, risking multi-day public sector disruption.
UFBU-served conciliation with the Chief Labour Commissioner, IBA, banks and DFS failed to resolve UFBU's demand for a five-day work week; UFBU has therefore notified a nationwide strike on January 27, which combined with adjacent holidays may disrupt public sector banking services, while UFBU proposes compensating by adding 40 minutes of work Monday-Friday.

Tizu-Zungki river declared National Waterway-101 to boost inland transport, India-Myanmar connectivity and regional trade integration.
The central government declared the Tizu-Zungki river as National Waterway-101 to expand inland water transport and regional connectivity, noting its strategic proximity to the India-Myanmar border and potential to boost trade and exports. Nagaland officials requested comprehensive development of state waterbodies and urged the Inland Waterways Authority of India to implement the project, and proposed extending inland waterways from Lakhimpur (Assam) to Nagaland via the Barak river to integrate the state into the national waterways network.

Pre-budget consultations for Jammu and Kashmir Budget 2026-27 gather stakeholder input to shape a people-friendly budget.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired pre-Budget consultations for the Jammu and Kashmir Budget 2026-27 with ministers, officials and sectoral stakeholders to gather suggestions intended to inform policy choices and resource allocation. The process, described as an annual mechanism to address economic challenges and foster inclusive growth, will see participants' inputs examined and, where feasible, incorporated into the Budget 2026-27 to produce a people-friendly and pragmatic budget framework.

Trump's Davos actions mixed unilateral tariffs, a proposed Board of Peace, and AI export and trade policy tensions.
Targeted tariff plans tied to Greenland underscored unilateral trade policy as a diplomatic lever and prompted a rapid reversal invoking an Arctic security framework. The proposed Board of Peace to manage ceasefire and reconstruction in Gaza raised legitimacy concerns about creating parallel institutions to the United Nations, given scarce operational detail and centralized leadership. AI and technology discussions exposed regulatory flashpoints-tariffs on solar panels and export approvals for advanced chips-illustrating how trade policy, export controls, and national-security considerations converge amid geopolitical divisions.

Jana Nayagan certification: CBFC's appeal challenges a single-judge order directing immediate issuance of a censor certificate.
Appellate review concerns the CBFC's appeal against a single-judge direction to grant a censor certificate forthwith to the film "Jana Nayagan," with the appellate bench having stayed the single-judge order and reserving judgment for a later pronouncement.

Inland waterways drive India's logistics shift, expanding cargo, passenger services and major infrastructure investments across regions.
Inland waterways are positioned as a strategic pillar integrated into India's multimodal logistics framework to reduce congestion and costs, promote cargo, passenger and cruise services, and drive sustainable mobility through clean-energy vessels and smart navigation. Key operational measures include replicating the Kochi Water Metro model, developing 85 jetties in the Northeast with over Rs 500 crore investment, feasibility studies for urban water transport in 18 cities, and announced projects and asset procurements exceeding Rs 900 crore and Rs 465 crore to improve navigability, safety and year round operations.

FDI inflows to India surged 73% to USD 47 billion led by services, manufacturing and data centre greenfield investment.
FDI inflows to India rose 73% to USD 47 billion in 2025, led by large greenfield investments in services (finance, IT, R&D) and manufacturing tied to policies promoting integration into global supply chains, with data centres a major component of the growth.

Plot to frame a man via planted beef consignments unravels; three police suspended amid probe into conspiracy.
A criminal conspiracy is alleged in which a businessman was framed through deliberately arranged consignments of suspected beef linked to a matrimonial dispute; investigators have arrested an associate while the primary accused remains at large. A complaint about police attempting to detain the woman inside High Court premises led to an FIR invoking criminal trespass, criminal intimidation, and provocation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; three police personnel have been suspended pending investigation.

Multi-crore corporate insolvency fraud probe sought; petition asks for CBI, SFIO and ED investigations and NCLAT recording release.
Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre, Telangana, CBI, ED and SFIO on a petition alleging that suspended management of KLSR Infratech siphoned about Rs 148.87 crore, manipulated MCA records to evade CIRP status, obtained fresh loans and government tenders without IRP authorisation, and used state authority collusion and alleged judicial influence to stall insolvency proceedings. The petition requests CBI and SFIO probes into collusion, an ED money laundering investigation, release of NCLAT recordings, and correction of the company's MCA status to "under CIRP."

Alleged banking and corporate fraud involving Anil Ambani and ADAG: Supreme Court seeks sealed status reports.
The Supreme Court ordered the CBI and ED to file sealed status reports within ten days on probes into alleged large-scale fraud by ADAG and issued fresh notices to Anil Ambani and ADAG, directing service and compliance reporting. The petitioner alleges diversion of funds, debt write-offs, use of shell companies and institutional complicity, and seeks a writ of mandamus, a court monitored investigation, and constitution of a Special Investigation Team to ensure a comprehensive, impartial and time bound probe including bank officials and auditors.

Global energy markets remain stable through diversified sourcing and cooperative producer-consumer engagement to avoid price shocks.
Global energy market stability is achievable through diversified sourcing and cooperative engagement between producers and consumers. Despite geopolitical upheavals and sanctions affecting some suppliers, global supplies remain sufficient and no imminent shortage is anticipated. India expanded crude imports to 41 countries, including new western-hemisphere producers, enhancing supply resilience and allowing market dynamics to guide procurement. Extreme price volatility harms demand and investment, so predictable pricing and constructive negotiation are necessary to secure viable supply arrangements.

DLF launching senior living housing project in Gurugram with about Rs 2,000 crore sales potential this quarter.
DLF Ltd will enter the senior living housing segment with a Gurugram project this quarter estimated to have about Rs 2,000 crore in sales potential. Management resumed sales in 'The Dahlias' with price increases and significant pre sales while reaffirming confidence in meeting fiscal pre sales guidance of Rs 20,000-22,000 crore despite weak third quarter bookings; the company framed the new launch within its broader development and annuity portfolio metrics.

Arunachal startup ecosystem: state doubles APIIP seed funding and converts APIIP into a nonprofit company.
The state will double APIIP seed funding and cohort intake, identify a larger site, create a Director (Investment) post, and convert APIIP into a nonprofit company to access venture capital, CSR funds, angel investment and national and international financiers.

Maharashtra investment claims and MoU figures challenged; demand clarity on conversion, jobs and land allocations.
Congress challenged Maharashtra's claim of MoUs worth Rs 30 lakh crore at Davos, seeking verification of investment figures, specification of how many MoUs are firm versus preliminary, the proportion of direct foreign investment and technical partnerships, and timelines for materialisation. It demanded data on conversion of MoUs into production, actual job creation, land allotments by state agencies, and the corporate status of signatory companies to assess the real economic impact and accountability for past investment claims.

Global trade faces legal risks from unilateral tariff threats; preserving WTO rules and addressing debt and inequality is essential.
Senior policymakers cautioned that unilateral tariff threats and trade tensions pose legal and regulatory risks to predictable cross-border commerce, underscoring the importance of preserving WTO rules and the most-favoured-nation tariff framework. They recommended complementary fiscal and regulatory measures-debt reduction, inequality mitigation, investment-climate reforms and planning for technology-driven labour impacts-to protect economic stability and the legal predictability needed for sustained international trade and investment.

Global markets mixed as Bank of Japan holds rate, yields steady and commodities inch higher.
Bank of Japan held its policy rate at 0.75 percent and slightly raised inflation and growth estimates, reinforcing expectations of resumed tightening; this supported a stronger yen and coincided with a retreat in long-term Japanese government bond yields. Global markets were mixed: Asian equities mostly rose, European benchmarks were varied, and US futures weakened amid US macro data that kept Treasury yields steady. Commodity prices and safe-haven assets saw modest gains as political and policy developments produced episodic market volatility.

NATO commitment questioned as US president suggests allies stayed off frontlines and might not respond under mutual defence.
Statements questioning whether allies would respond if asked challenge the credibility of NATO's mutual defence framework, noting that Article 5 has been invoked only once (post 2001). The remarks, coupled with threats of economic measures tied to territorial ambitions, are presented as undermining alliance cohesion, burden sharing norms, and the predictability of collective security commitments.

RSP-based valuation of notified tobacco goods: report net sale value as taxable value and tax per RSP formula.
For notified tobacco goods, tax liability must be determined from the RSP using Tax Amount = (RSP x GST rate) / (100 + GST rate) and Deemed Taxable Value = RSP - Tax Amount. Due to transaction-value system validations, taxpayers should report the Net Sale Value (actual commercial consideration) in the taxable value field, report the tax amount computed strictly under the RSP formula, and report Total Invoice Value as Net Sale Value plus the RSP-derived tax amount; these fields are self-assessed and limited to the specified HSNs.

Alt Credit platform offers individual investors access to regulated institutional-quality real estate and corporate private credit.
Alt launched Alt Credit, a SEBI-registered stock broker and Online Bond Platform Provider (OBPP) on NSE, to offer institutional-quality, high-yield asset-backed real estate credit and private corporate bonds to individual investors. The platform lists secured real estate debt (reported yields 14-18%) and private corporate bonds (reported yields 10-14%) with investments from Rs. 25 lakh, and represents transactions executed under a regulated OBPP licence with escrow, trustee oversight, vetted documentation and institutional-grade underwriting.