Goa budget assurances: 99% initiated; 77% slated for implementation this financial year; departments told to fast-track.
99.3% of budget assurances have been initiated and 77% are expected to be fully implemented within the current financial year, with remaining assurances-largely civil infrastructure-scheduled for the next fiscal year. The chief minister ordered departments to fast-track delivery and strengthen inter-departmental coordination, including on waste management and mobilising Central assistance. Fiscal indicators noted 57% budget utilisation by November 2025 (projected 95% by year-end) and market borrowings of Rs 1,300 crore within a Rs 3,200 crore limit.

Greenfield port and shipbuilding cluster approved; 2,000 acres and 50:50 SPV planned to build 0.5M GT shipyard.
Permission is granted to the maritime board to establish a Greenfield Port and National Mega Shipbuilding Cluster at Dugarajapatnam, including acquisition and transfer of 2,000 acres into a 50:50 SPV formed with a port trust as the state's equity contribution. The project requires construction of an anchor shipyard of 0.5 million gross tonnage per annum to be achieved within ten years of commissioning, and the maritime board is authorised to select a development partner, with central entities providing support to the SPV.

Himachal land partition cases set for thrice-weekly hearings with mandatory weekly reviews and March 31 deadline.
The government directs Tehsildars and Naib Tehsildars to hold land partition hearings three days weekly to ensure time-bound disposal, with Deputy Commissioners reviewing progress weekly and reporting to the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue), the Revenue Secretary providing weekly reports to the Revenue Minister, and a mandated deadline to resolve pending revenue correction cases by March 31, 2026.

MSME exports: interest subvention on export credit and collateral guarantees to expand affordable trade finance for exporters.
Two interventions under NIRYAT PROTSAHAN strengthen MSME exports: an interest subvention on pre- and post-shipment rupee export credit (base 2.75%, exporter cap Rs.50 lakh per IEC, limited to a notified HS six-digit positive list) and a collateral guarantee for export credit via CGTMSE (up to 85% for micro/small, 65% for medium exporters, maximum guaranteed exposure Rs.10 crore per exporter per year), both to be piloted with detailed operational guidelines and periodic reviews.

Free cashless health scheme provides up to Rs10 lakh per family with Aadhaar and voter card eligibility.
A universal cashless health scheme provides up to Rs 10 lakh per family with eligibility by Aadhaar and voter card, enrolment via Common Service Centres and issuance of scheme health cards. The package covers hospitalisation, surgeries, ICU care, diagnostics, medicines and pre and post hospitalisation treatment across an empanelled network of 824 hospitals and about 2,200 procedures. United India Insurance will cover Rs 1,00,000 per family while the State Health Agency will underwrite costs between Rs 1,00,000 and Rs 10,00,000 under a formal agreement to enable cashless, paperless implementation.

Social media firms should be held responsible for published content and face legal consequences for non-compliance.
Social media firms should be held responsible for content they publish; a parliamentary committee recommended statutory accountability measures including algorithmic transparency, stricter fines, an independent regulator, and use of AI tools. The communications ministry advisory requires intermediaries to review compliance with due diligence under the IT Rules, 2021 and warns that failure to act on obscene and unlawful content may lead to prosecution and loss of safe harbour protection, exposing platforms and users to direct criminal liability.

India's forex reserves rose by USD 3.293 billion to USD 696.61 billion, driven by gains in gold and foreign currency assets.
India's foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 3.293 billion to USD 696.61 billion for the week to December 26, driven by a USD 184 million increase in foreign currency assets to USD 559.612 billion and a USD 2.956 billion rise in gold reserves to USD 113.32 billion; SDRs and the IMF reserve position also increased to USD 18.803 billion and USD 4.875 billion respectively.

Gold prices rose sharply in Delhi amid global gains, Fed rate-cut hopes and heightened geopolitical safe-haven demand.
Gold in Delhi rose Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,39,440 per 10 grams and silver gained Rs 4,000 to Rs 2,41,400 per kilogram, reflecting international spot gains. Commentators linked the rise to US rate-cut expectations, geopolitical uncertainty (including Venezuela oil restrictions and Russia-Ukraine hostilities), a firm dollar, and upcoming US economic data influencing near-term trading ranges.

Electronics components manufacturing scheme approves 22 projects to boost domestic production, investment, jobs and exports.
The government approved 22 projects under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme with planned investments of Rs 41,863 crore, projected production of Rs 2,58,152 crore and anticipated creation of 33,791 jobs to expand domestic manufacture of 11 target component segments, reduce import dependence, and build high value electronics supply chain capacity across eight states.

Affle appoints Sameer Sondhi to lead North America growth and strategic investments, leveraging AI-driven advertising platforms.
Affle appointed Sameer Sondhi as CEO, North America and Chief Strategic Investments Officer to lead North American expansion and targeted strategic investments supporting Affle's 3i growth vision, reinforce organic revenue momentum in developed markets, scale operations, and leverage AI-driven consumer intelligence and advertising platforms to drive measurable performance and long-term value.

Namotsav at Sanskardham showcases the Prime Minister's journey and highlights Sanskardham's education and technology initiatives.
Namotsav at Sanskardham staged a multimedia celebration of the Prime Minister's journey attended by senior political leaders, officials and cultural figures. Sanskardham promotes value-based education guided by the National Education Policy and operates multiple institutions-schools, Anant National University, a drone academy, a sports foundation and NAMTECH (a Manufacturing Engineering and Technology school)-each described as contributing to skill development, holistic education and national development through ethical, service-oriented programmes and technology transformation.

Palghar district launches skilling programme prioritising tribal youth for port-related vocational training and licences, and job pathways.
District administration launched a specialised skilling initiative under the Vadhavan Port Skilling programme to prioritise tribal youth with practical automotive maintenance training; successful participants will receive Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) and Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) licences, and later phases will add specialised training for industrial and port crane operations to align workforce skills with the port's operational needs.

Liquor scam: son of former CM faces money laundering and corruption charges over alleged Rs 1,000-3,500 crore proceeds.
Investigations address alleged syndicate-driven misconduct in the liquor sector from 2019-2022, with parallel money laundering and anti-corruption probes alleging that an individual handled nearly Rs 1,000 crore, received about Rs 200-250 crore, and that proceeds could exceed Rs 3,500 crore; matters involve proceeds-of-crime tracing, economic offence procedures, and detention and pre-trial custody issues.

Enforcement action targets bribery-linked money laundering involving an IAS officer; election body probes unopposed polls for undue influence.
An administrative officer was arrested in a bribery-linked money laundering probe, reflecting enforcement action against alleged proceeds-of-crime; separately, electoral authorities are examining allegations of nomination interference, CCTV tampering, and whether pressure or allurement produced unopposed elections, invoking scrutiny of the model code of conduct and electoral integrity.

Corruption probe: officers arrested over Rs.70 lakh bribe amid GST evasion investigation and large cash recoveries reported.
Allegations of a demand of undue advantage of Rs. 1.5 crore in GST evasion matters led to a trap in which two Superintendents were caught accepting Rs. 70 lakh; arrests include a Deputy Commissioner, the two Superintendents, an advocate and a company owner. Searches recovered approx. Rs. 90 lakh in cash, property documents, jewellery and bullion, with total cash seized so far about Rs. 1.60 crore and the investigation ongoing.

Powergrid awarded 150MW/300MW battery storage project under BOO with VGF support to bolster grid stability.
Powergrid was awarded a 150 MW/300 MW battery energy storage project at a 400/220 kV Kalikiri substation under the Build-Own-Operate model with Viability Gap Funding through the Power System Development Fund; the facility provides 150 MW of dispatchable capacity for two hours (300 MWh) and contributes to Andhra Pradesh's 1,000 MW/2,000 MWh BESS deployment to enhance grid stability and on-demand usage.

Export support package offers interest subvention and collateral guarantees to improve exporters' access to credit.
The government announced a Rs 7,295-crore export support package over 2025-31 comprising a Rs 5,181-crore interest subvention scheme subsidising pre- and post-shipment rupee export credit for eligible exporters (about 2.75% subsidy, capped at Rs 50 lakh per MSME annually) and a Rs 2,114-crore collateral support providing credit guarantees for export-linked working capital loans (up to Rs 10 crore per firm); RBI and DGFT will issue implementing guidelines and support applies to a selected positive product list while excluding restricted items, waste and scrap, and PLI-covered items.

Limestone export data denial upheld under commercial confidence exemption; no overriding public interest to justify disclosure.
Exporter-specific names, addresses and trade volumes of limestone shipments were held to be business-sensitive commercial information entitled to confidentiality; disclosure could harm competitors and undermine the fiduciary confidentiality of regulatory interactions, and no overriding public interest was shown to outweigh the RTI exemption.

Foreign banks opening branches in India: IDC chaired by DFS reviewed proposals and recommended approval.
The Inter-Departmental Committee, chaired by the Department of Financial Services, evaluated proposals from foreign banks to open branches, representative offices, or subsidiaries and, after consulting member ministries on security, political and economic considerations, issued recommendations; the IDC functions as the nodal consultative body in the regulatory review of foreign bank entry.

Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises guide explains methodology, quality assurance, confidentiality, and respondent guidance for data users.
The NSO's user guide for the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises explains ASUSE conceptual coverage, sampling and estimation, data collection, processing, validation, and the quality assurance framework, and includes confidentiality safeguards and respondent guidance to improve data reliability and informed use by policymakers, researchers, stakeholders, and the public.