Maruti Suzuki approves Rs 4,960 crore land acquisition to add up to 1 million units capacity in Gujarat.
The board approved Rs 4,960 crore for acquisition and development of land at Khoraj Industrial Estate from the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation to enable a capacity addition of up to 1 million units; total project investment and installation phasing will be finalised by the board, and financing will combine internal accruals and external borrowings while existing capacity is fully utilised.

Union Budget urged to tackle sluggish private investment, falling household savings and deepening inequality through fiscal measures.
The party calls on the Union Budget to adopt fiscal measures tackling three core problems: sluggish private corporate investment, declining household savings that limit investment capacity, and deepening wealth, income and consumption inequalities. It stresses that sustainable GDP growth and job creation require addressing these structural constraints, and notes the Budget will reflect the 16th Finance Commission's recommendations on intergovernmental tax sharing while raising state concerns about a 60:40 cost sharing formula affecting a rural employment scheme.

Smuggled SUV sale prompts cheating probe of Delhi car dealer; investigation seeks agency assistance over illegal import practices.
Police registered an FIR for cheating after a buyer alleged a Delhi dealer sold a Toyota Land Cruiser smuggled from Bhutan and illegally re registered; Customs had seized the vehicle in a prior operation and returned it to the buyer, and police will seek Customs' assistance to investigate the importation, re registration, and sale network.

Venezuelan oil access: Trump inclined to exclude Exxon after CEO calls country uninvestable, pending legal reforms.
President Trump said he was inclined to keep a major oil company out of Venezuelan oil development after its CEO called the country "uninvestable." Company testimony identified legal and commercial barriers, urged durable investment protections, changes to hydrocarbon laws, and required security and financial guarantees, government invitations, and technical asset assessments before re-engagement.

GST fraud involving Rs 53.28 crore in fake invoices and fraudulent input tax credit resulted in an arrest.
Allegations concern a scheme to obtain fraudulent input tax credit by issuing and receiving fake invoices without actual supply of goods; investigators found absent e-way bills, transport records and bank statements, and physical verification showed firms non-existent or non-operational. Enforcement action by the Anti-Evasion Unit resulted in the arrest of a company director under statutory provisions addressing issuance of invoices without supply and fraudulent availment of input tax credit, with offences treated as cognisable and non-bailable and further investigations continuing to identify other involved entities and persons.

Sensex falls as foreign fund outflows and trade-related concerns weigh on markets amid geopolitical tensions.
Benchmark equity indices opened lower as sustained foreign institutional selling and trade-policy uncertainty, together with geopolitical tensions, depressed investor sentiment; domestic institutional purchases provided partial offset but external net selling drove early Sensex and Nifty declines, with noted net flow figures and short-term index percentage losses.

Rupee depreciation tied to rising crude prices and foreign portfolio outflows, with RBI reserves showing weekly decline.
The report attributes the rupee's early trade depreciation to rising crude prices and sustained foreign portfolio outflows, linking those flows to risk-off sentiment and equity sell-offs. It highlights the operational relevance of RBI weekly foreign exchange reserves data-specifically a notable weekly decline-as an indicator of external-sector pressure, and frames these developments within the monitoring and regulatory context of FEMA.

Mizoram assembly Budget Session begins Feb 17; BAC to fix when the 2026-27 Budget is tabled and session length.
The Budget Session of the Mizoram Legislative Assembly will begin on February 17; the Business Advisory Committee, chaired by the Speaker, will determine the date for tabling the 2026-27 Budget and set the session's duration based on official business. This is the sixth session of the ninth assembly since the current government assumed office.

Federal Reserve subpoenaed by DOJ over Powell's renovation testimony; threat of criminal charges raises independence concerns.
The DOJ subpoenaed the Federal Reserve regarding Chair Powell's Senate testimony about a $2.5 billion building renovation and has threatened criminal charges; Powell characterizes the action as a pretext to undermine the Fed's independence and to apply political pressure to monetary policy, while DOJ says it prioritizes investigating alleged misuse of taxpayer funds and a senator has raised objections pending resolution.

Gemini AI chatbot now supports in-chat shopping with instant checkout, account linking, and expanded payment integration.
Google and retailers have enabled in-chat shopping in the Gemini AI chatbot: participating merchants provide inventory and recommendations, linked retailer accounts allow personalized suggestions and purchases made via an instant checkout can be merged with existing retailer carts. Initial payments use cards linked to Google accounts with additional payment providers to be added, and the rollout is initially limited to US users with planned international expansion.

Ashwini Vaishnaw attends a Washington meeting on critical minerals to strengthen supply-chain resilience and national economic security.
Ashwini Vaishnaw travelled to Washington to attend a ministerial meeting focused on critical mineral supply chains, with G7 participants and invited partners discussing resilience to market concentration in refining and processing. The meeting highlighted the link between resource policy and national economic security and sought coordinated measures to reduce reliance on single-country chokepoints for copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements.

Kerala remittance-based economy needs broader inclusive development to create domestic opportunities across tourism, IT, and manufacturing.
Remittances should not be the sole pillar of Kerala's economy; an inclusive development model must create in state opportunities for all citizens. Priority areas for expansion include tourism, education, maritime trade, Ayurveda and medicinal products, spices, data storage, IT, and semiconductors-sectors that leverage intellectual capability rather than large land. Diversifying toward these sectors while retaining remittance inflows is presented as necessary to extend development beyond households dependent on foreign-earned income.

Show cause notices issued to 6,871 personnel for absenteeism from Mumbai election duties; police and disciplinary action to follow.
Show cause notices were issued to 6,871 officers and employees for failing to attend mandatory training or report for election duties for the January 15 Mumbai civic polls; 2,350 rejoined while 4,521 remain absent. Directed by the BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner, the administration will commence police action and departmental disciplinary proceedings under election laws against continuing absentees, including registration of offences and imposition of penalties.

Samyukt Kisan Morcha opposes a US Free Trade Agreement, demands release of Sonam Wangchuk and repeal of UAPA.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha adopted a resolution opposing a Free Trade Agreement with the US that would open agriculture and dairy, demanded immediate release of Sonam Wangchuk and repeal of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and called for sustained pan India militant mobilisation. It resolved organised protests including an All India Resistance Day, a Republic Day People's March, a general strike opposing the Electricity and Seeds Bills and repeal of four labour codes, and advanced long term demands for statutory MSP at C2+50% with guaranteed procurement and restoration of greater state taxation shares.

Postal training centre in Shivpuri funded with Rs 111 crore; new Speed Post 24 and Speed Post 48 delivery guarantees announced.
The government will establish a National Postal Training Centre in Shivpuri with a Rs 111 crore public investment to expand postal workforce training; officials are directed to complete the project within 8-12 months with the foundation stone to be laid on a subsequent visit. Two new India Post services, Speed Post 24 and Speed Post 48, were announced to provide guaranteed delivery within 24 and 48 hours respectively, setting new time-bound delivery benchmarks across the postal network.

Joint NCP manifesto promises daily tap water and free metro and bus rides for key groups in Pimpri Chinchwad.
The joint manifesto pledges universal daily tap water and fare free metro and PMPML bus services for workers, students, women and senior citizens, asserting elected civic representatives may allocate budget for such services. It prioritises accelerated civic infrastructure (drainage, roads), smart traffic management, CCTV surveillance, expanded e governance, waste management, pollution control, green spaces, secure housing and slum rehabilitation, and targeted senior citizen programmes, presenting these as people centric and implementation focused municipal commitments.

Punjab launches mining-site auctions with price-based bidding, upfront payments, bidder-led environmental clearances, and dead rent rules.
Punjab replaced volume-based selection with competitive price bidding for mining site allocation, imposed upfront payments and advance royalty collection, shifted environmental-clearance responsibility to bidders, introduced dead rent to curb speculative bids, and extended lease tenures from three to five years; Phase 1 auctioned 29 sites yielding 16 successful bids and Rs 11.61 crore, with about 100 more sites slated for staged auctions.

Anti-money laundering enforcement expands to asset attachment, ED raids, and stricter crypto KYC including liveness and geo-tagging.
Anti-money laundering enforcement emphasizes securing suspected proceeds and preserving assets, including potential campus attachment under AML law, and challenges to alleged interference in investigative raids. Concurrently, regulators mandate enhanced KYC for crypto exchanges-liveness detection and geo-verification-expanding compliance obligations for virtual-asset providers. Preventive-detention doctrine is clarified to require concrete public-order grounds beyond speculative reoffending fears.

NHAI sets four Guinness World Records for continuous paving on Bengaluru-Kadapa-Vijayawada corridor, achieving record lane-km and tonnage.
NHAI reported four Guinness World records for continuous laying and paving of bituminous concrete on the Bengaluru Kadapa Vijayawada Economic Corridor: 28.89 lane km (3 lane, 9.63 km) in 24 hours; 10,655 metric tonnes in 24 hours; 57,500 metric tonnes continuous laying; and continuous paving of 156 lane km (3 lane, 52 km), achieved across Package 2 and Package 3 of the 343 km, access controlled six lane corridor.

Kerala protest over alleged Centre economic blockade amid disputed funding figures and withheld borrowings and loans.
The dispute alleges that the Centre curtailed Kerala's fiscal autonomy by cutting loan permissions, reducing permissible borrowings citing off budget liabilities, withholding Rs 965 crore via IGST recovery and denying loans for land acquisition, measures the state calls an "economic blockade" obstructing development. The Centre rebuts the allegation with aggregate transfer and programme funding figures for infrastructure and urban schemes, framing the issue as a disagreement over financing flows, accounting adjustments and the administrative treatment of borrowings and recoveries.