Gold and silver hit record highs amid weak rupee, geopolitical tensions and renewed trade uncertainty, boosting safe-haven demand.
Gold and silver reached record local and international price levels driven by a weak rupee, escalating geopolitical tensions and renewed trade concerns after fresh tariff announcements; gold traded at Rs 1,53,200 per 10 grams and spot gold breached about USD 4,750 per ounce, while silver hit Rs 3,23,000 per kilogram and near USD 95.88 per ounce amid intensified safe-haven buying.

Uttar Pradesh and AM Green Group sign MOU to build a 1 GW green data centre in Greater Noida.
The Uttar Pradesh government executed a Memorandum of Understanding with AM Green Group for a 1 gigawatt data centre in Greater Noida, with AM Green committing USD 25 billion in phased investment, targeting first-phase commencement by 2028 and full capacity by 2030, installing 500,000 chipsets, operating on carbon-free energy, and providing chipset access to domestic developers while supporting hyperscalers and enterprises.

Fintech park on Yamuna Expressway to host banking, payments, blockchain and attract national and international investment.
A 250 acre Fintech Park in Sector 11 of the Yamuna Expressway area will create an integrated financial technology ecosystem for banking, digital payments, insurtech, investtech, Fintech SaaS, blockchain and international money transfer, leveraging proximity to the Yamuna Expressway and Noida International Airport to attract national and international investment; a Detailed Project Report is being prepared by an international consultancy and the project is expected to generate substantial employment in fintech related sectors.

India-Russia trade surged to record levels while settlements shift to national currencies and energy flows redirect to friendly states.
India became a principal Russian trade partner as bilateral trade hit about USD 68.7 billion in FY 2024-25 with a joint USD 100 billion target by 2030; Russia redirected energy to friendly countries amid sanctions and reported the share of such countries and of energy "backbone" partners rising substantially. Russia also shifted to national currency settlements, reaching 85 percent of trade turnover in national currencies and over half of transactions in roubles, surpassing prior targets.

Sabarimala gold loss case: ED raids sites, seizes documents and freezes assets under anti-money laundering provisions.
The Enforcement Directorate, invoking the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, searched 21 locations, recovered documents and Mahazars, and froze plots linked to the prime accused under section 17(1A) to preserve alleged proceeds of crime. The probe targets alleged misrepresentation of gold clad sacred artefacts as copper, unlawful removal and chemical extraction of gold at private facilities, and subsequent retention, transfer and concealment of illicit funds while seeking beneficiaries and digital and documentary evidence.

Punjab government approves Rs 68.50/qtl sugarcane subsidy and multiple urban, health, and development measures including hospital transfers.
Punjab Cabinet approved a Rs 68.50 per quintal subsidy for sugarcane growers for 2025 26 payable from the fixed SAP of Rs 416 per quintal on behalf of private sugar mills. It authorised transfers of specified civil hospitals to a university, directives under Section 4 to transfer municipal properties for public purposes with district-level allotment recommendations, a policy to transfer khals within licensed projects by sale or exchange, extension of PAPRA licensed projects at Rs 25,000 per acre per year (up to three years), amendments to E-Auction provisions and additional FAR charge formula, and insertion of Rule 6A making application last date the eligibility cut-off.

LPG cylinder explosion injures five; authorities urge regular gas-connection checks and proper ventilation.
An LPG cylinder leak at a Dombivli residence led to accumulated cooking gas igniting when a resident switched on a light, causing an explosion that injured five people, damaged flats and caused one occupant to suffer severe burns requiring hospital transfer; authorities emphasize regular gas-connection checks and proper ventilation to prevent similar incidents.

Recyclekaro plans to invest Rs 500 crore by 2030 to scale rare earths recovery and strengthen mineral security through research and hiring.
Recyclekaro will invest about Rs 500 crore by 2030 to build research infrastructure and a structured talent programme at its Rare Earths and Advanced Materials Research Centre, supporting scale up of rare earths processing to 20,000 MT and leveraging existing e waste and lithium ion battery processing capacities to strengthen resource recovery and mineral security through R&D led process optimisation.

State actions against Maoists labeled state terrorism for bypassing constitutional safeguards and alleged fake encounters.
Allegations that Central and state governments are committing state terrorism by attempting to "annihilate" CPI (Maoists) without observing constitutional safeguards and the rule of law, with many killings described as staged "fake encounters." The article also contends that the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls operates to remove inconvenient social sections from voters' lists and warns that the MGNREGA, established through Left pressure, is now being undermined.

ZF Group launches electric park brake production line in Tamil Nadu, scaling EPB manufacturing and local supplier integration.
ZF Group inaugurated an 800,000 unit EPB production line at Oragadam, Tamil Nadu, to scale manufacture of electronically controlled parking brakes, strengthen India's role in ZF's global braking footprint, and leverage a growing Indian supplier ecosystem for precision mechanical and electronic components.

Electoral rolls SIR treated as legislative with prescribed principles; court rebukes criticism as contempt of judicial orders.
The Election Commission told the Supreme Court that the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is legislative in character, laying down guiding principles and prescribing required documentary evidence for revision and enrolment. The Supreme Court also found public criticism of its stray-dog orders by a former minister to amount to contempt, signalling constraints on public commentary that undermines judicial authority. Parliamentary procedural reforms and disputes over gubernatorial addresses were noted as governance-related developments.

Fresh Bus partners with Exponent Energy to roll out 250 sleeper e-buses with 1.5 MW rapid charging for long-range routes.
Fresh Bus will deploy up to 250 all-sleeper electric intercity buses supported by Exponent Energy's 1.5 MW rapid-charging infrastructure, using a 15-minute quick charge every ~300 km to enable diesel-like long-distance operations and as the first phase toward a pan-India expansion and a target fleet scale.

Karnataka's Beyond Bengaluru campaign offers sustainability incentives and infrastructure to shift investment and industry beyond Bengaluru.
Karnataka's 'Beyond Bengaluru' initiative decentralises investment by offering sustainability linked incentives, infrastructure upgrades and investor facilitation to realise substantive projects rather than paper MoUs. The policy reports Rs 10.27 lakh crore in signed deals-with more than half realised and nearly 70% linked to the campaign-and targets cities including Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Kalburgi and peri Bengaluru areas through airports, rail, industrial parks and developer incentives to attract manufacturing, Fortune level companies and data centres.

Haryana-Tanzania agricultural cooperation promotes trade, machinery exports, crop selection, and government-led surveys with departmental responsibilities.
Haryana launched a structured programme to strengthen trade and agricultural cooperation with Tanzania by assessing demand for agricultural machinery, advising region-appropriate crop selection, exploring horticulture and pulse opportunities, and addressing irrigation and power needs; departments were assigned to conduct surveys and field studies and the government committed coordinated support and timely information to traders and farmers.

Coal India receives five-year mineral concession licence for Kawalapur rare earth block with 27.95 million tonnes resource.
A five-year mineral concession licence authorises Coal India Ltd to explore and develop the Kawalapur REE block in Nagpur district, Maharashtra, covering about 398.23 hectares with geological resources estimated at 27.95 million tonnes; the grant is part of Coal India's strategic diversification into critical minerals and aligns with national aims to secure domestic sources and reduce import dependence.

EU-India trade deal on cusp of historic free trade agreement boosting markets and defence cooperation.
Negotiations are nearing conclusion on a comprehensive free trade agreement between the European Union and India to expand market access and deepen bilateral economic ties, alongside steps to formalise a Security and Defence Partnership to promote interoperability and industrial defence cooperation, and to launch talks on a Security of Information Agreement supporting defence-related technical and industrial collaboration.

DERC extends Business Plan Regulations, delaying a new tariff order and setting distribution loss and RPO targets.
The DERC has extended the DERC (Business Plan) Regulations, 2023 through FY 2026-27, retaining FY 2025-26 parameters except for updated distribution loss and RPO targets. Power utilities will be required to submit tariff petitions only after the extended regulations are finalised; provisions of the DERC RPO and REC Framework Regulations, 2025 will apply in 2026-27. Specified distribution loss targets for each discom are set for FY 2026-27, and the commission, currently without a chairman, indicates a new tariff order is unlikely during FY 2025-26.

Trump claims credit for an India-Pakistan ceasefire, asserts Nobel oversight by Norway, and launches a Board of Peace.
The President claimed credit for securing a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and ending multiple wars, asserted Norway controls the Nobel Peace Prize and that he merits it, and announced a Board of Peace positioned as a rival to the United Nations for Gaza redevelopment, inviting various national leaders while India denied third party intervention.

JSW Energy signs PPA to supply 1,600 MW from Salboni thermal project using domestic linkage coal within six years.
JSW Thermal Energy Two Ltd has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd for a greenfield 1,600 MW (2x800 MW) super/ultra super critical thermal plant at Salboni, to be commissioned within six years following a competitive bidding process, using domestic linkage coal and increasing contracted capacity at the site to 3,200 MW.

BJP reported nearly Rs 10,000 crore cash deposits and doubled election spending to Rs 3,335 crore in 2024-25.
Annual audit report filed with the Election Commission shows a party general fund closing balance of Rs 12,164 crore, including nearly Rs 10,000 crore in cash and bank deposits, a net increase in cash and deposits of Rs 2,882.32 crore, and fixed deposits of Rs 9,390 crore. The report also records voluntary contributions of Rs 6,125 crore and election-related expenditure of Rs 3,335.36 crore (88.36% of total expenditure), with detailed line-item spending on candidate assistance, travel, media advertising, outdoor publicity, printed material, rallies, and meetings.