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.

Kauvery Hospital launches Institute of Digestive Sciences to provide multidisciplinary care and preventive programs for gastrointestinal and liver health.
Kauvery Hospital, Vadapalani, has established the Kauvery Institute of Digestive Sciences as a multidisciplinary centre integrating medical gastroenterology, advanced endoscopy, surgical gastroenterology and hepatology, with an operational focus on early diagnosis, evidence based interventions, long term disease management and preventive, lifestyle oriented programs including nutritional guidance and patient education.

VeCura ReSculpt launches a Chennai clinic offering science-led, personalised non-surgical body sculpting with diagnostic-first care.
VeCura ReSculpt is a medically led non-surgical body sculpting clinic in Chennai that requires comprehensive consultations, assessments, and suitability checks before deploying selectively chosen, clinically validated technologies guided by precise 3D body diagnostics to deliver personalised, evidence-based, and safety-focused aesthetic interventions.

Investment fraud: alleged scheme collected over Rs 120 crore, with >Rs 40 crore outstanding; EOW arrested the prime accused.
The Economic Offences Wing arrested the prime accused in an alleged trading investment fraud where the accused and associates purportedly induced about 600 investors to deposit funds between 2020 and 2024 by promising 3.5-7% monthly returns, collected over Rs 120 crore with more than Rs 40 crore outstanding, paid early returns before ceasing payments in 2023, and used personal bank accounts for collections-one account showing Rs 122 crore in transactions-while investigations and verification of other accounts continue.

Anaam Tiwary promoted as India's top Google Ads expert offering certified, performance-driven paid advertising services and measurable ROI.
The press release promotes Anaam Tiwary as India's leading Google Ads expert in 2026, describing a performance-driven service offering across Search, Display, YouTube, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns, intent-based keyword targeting, data-backed optimization, conversion tracking, advanced bidding and audience segmentation, certified expertise, client-reported improvements in return on ad spend and cost per acquisition, transparent reporting, consultative services, and a disclaimer that the distributing agency disclaims editorial responsibility.

Mumbai student Romeer Rao secures USC admission for dual Economics and Mathematics after published research and community initiatives.
Mumbai student Romeer Rao gained admission to the University of Southern California for a dual Economics and Mathematics degree based on rigorous IB preparation, two published research articles on market anomalies and FDI-inequality, extensive community projects including Project Ekta and orphanage tutoring, and strategic external guidance including intensive SAT preparation resulting in a 1540 score.

Spocto X-Finagle partnership delivers AI-driven collections platform improving borrower engagement and operational efficiency with rapid 20-day integration and advanced CRM.
Spocto X and Finagle have partnered to deploy an integrated digital collections ecosystem combining Agentic AI-driven engagement, cloud calling, predictive dialers, real-time task automation, automated settlement workflows and an advanced CRM delivering a 360-degree borrower view and AI-led prioritization; the parties completed full integration and go-live within a 20-day deployment period to streamline collections operations and measure portfolio impact.

Nifty hits intra day record as domestic institutional buying and Asian momentum lift equity benchmarks.
Equity benchmarks rose with the Nifty hitting an intra day record and the Sensex up about 573 points, driven by domestic institutional buying and positive Asian momentum despite foreign institutional net selling; sector winners included power, banking and metals while select large caps lagged.

Private equity investments in Indian real estate rose 59% to $6.7bn in 2025; foreign capital drove most inflows.
Private equity investment in Indian real estate rose 59% to USD 6.7 billion in 2025, driven mainly by foreign institutional capital (76% of inflows). The mix included equity, AIF-structured debt and NCDs; offices, data centres, residential and land were the main asset recipients. Improved regulatory transparency under RERA, balance-sheet consolidation and asset-level focus strengthened investor confidence and support projected steady flows of USD 6.5-7.5 billion in 2026 with increased roles for Private Equity and REITs.

Undersea telecom cable damage prompts arrests and investigation into aggravated criminal damage and possible EU sanctions.
Authorities arrested two people and imposed travel bans on two others after damage to a Finnish telecommunications undersea cable prompted an investigation into aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with telecommunications. The ship Fitburg was detained; Finnish Customs found structural steel of Russian origin in its cargo and is investigating potential applicability of EU sanctions.

Indian rupee slips past 90 to 90.20 as RBI intervention reportedly supports the currency amid outflows and weak data
The rupee fell past 90 to settle at 90.20, pressured by weak macroeconomic data, FII outflows and importers' dollar demand; lower crude and strong equities cushioned losses, and market reports indicated RBI intervention through dollar sales via state-owned banks which helped limit the decline.

Global markets rose on AI demand hopes, corporate spin offs pending regulatory approval, and steady monetary and trade signals.
Global equity gains at the start of 2026 were driven by AI related demand expectations and sector concentration in tech and precious metals miners; corporate actions such as a proposed AI chip unit spin off depend on regulatory approvals, while trade policy pauses and prior interest rate cuts, alongside strong corporate profits, underpinned investor sentiment and influenced regional export oriented manufacturing.

Delhi airport cancellations highlight mandatory fog-window rules requiring trained pilots and CAT-IIIB-equipped aircraft for low visibility.
The regulator declared December 10 to February 10 as the official fog window, obliging airlines to roster pilots trained for low-visibility operations and to deploy aircraft meeting CAT IIIB capability; Category III minima are summarized as CAT III A (RVR 200 metres) and CAT III B (RVR under 50 metres).

Gujarat IAS officer arrested in bribery linked money laundering probe involving expedited land use approvals.
A money laundering inquiry, initiated by an Enforcement Case Information Report under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, led to the arrest of a senior administrative officer after investigation of a deputy revenue officer accused of soliciting bribes calculated by area for expedited change of land use approvals; a state anti corruption agency filed a related First Information Report based on the federal complaint.

Budget utilisation oversight directive to fix officer accountability, accelerate spending and ensure timely fund release.
Departments must assign a specific officer at every level to ensure timely budget utilisation, accelerate spending where progress is slow, hold monthly review meetings to remove bottlenecks, and improve coordination among ministers and senior officers. The finance department is to immediately release pending sanctioned allocations delayed for procedural reasons, while departments must actively pursue timely receipt of central assistance. Early preparation of the next financial year's budget is required, including five-year expenditure reviews and an action plan aligning allocations with implementation capacity.

Ladakh LG regains power to approve projects up to Rs 100 crore under DFPRs, subject to consultation and budgetary conditions.
Delegation to the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh permits appraisal and approval of projects up to Rs 100 crore under the DFPRs, 2024, subject to consultation with the secretary (Finance)/Financial Advisor, availability of adequate budgetary provisions, prohibition on further re-delegation, and quarterly submission of approved proposal details to the Department of Expenditure through the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Electricity tariffs in Jammu and Kashmir: no general increase for 2025-26; Time of Day surcharge remains unchanged.
No general increase in electricity tariffs will apply in Jammu and Kashmir for 2025-26 and the Time of Day (ToD) tariff remains unchanged; the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited has petitioned the regional regulator to increase the existing 20 per cent surcharge on consumption during morning and evening peak hours.

Natural gas prices fall after tariff reform, prompting CNG and household gas price cuts nationwide.
PNGRB's tariff reform collapses three distance based transportation zones into two and applies a uniform Zone 1 tariff of about Rs 54 per million British thermal unit for CNG and domestic PNG nationwide, effective January 1, 2026, leading city gas distributors to cut retail CNG and piped gas prices by varying regional amounts.