Stock markets rebound as domestic institutional buying offsets foreign net selling, lifting benchmark indices in early trade.
Equity indices rebounded in early trade-Sensex up 254.38 points to 84,929.46 and Nifty up 89.15 points to 26,028-driven by sustained domestic institutional buying (DIIs net purchases Rs 6,159.81 crore) amid FII net selling (Rs 3,844.02 crore). Market breadth was mixed with specific large-cap gainers and laggards noted; Brent crude slipped to USD 61.27 and regional markets were generally weaker.

Rupee weakens to 89.90 against the dollar amid sustained foreign portfolio investor outflows and muted domestic equity opening.
The rupee weakened to 89.90 against the US dollar in early trade due to sustained foreign portfolio investor outflows, importer demand and exporter caution; market commentary noted that without consistent FPI inflows or interest rate support the currency lacks upward momentum, prompting importers to buy dips and exporters to sell near resistance.

Puducherry's statehood demand centers on altering Union Territory status to strengthen elected local authority.
Demand for statehood dominated Puducherry's political-legal agenda, with parties asserting that the territory's Union Territory status constrains the elected government and urging the Centre to alter the constitutional-administrative arrangement to strengthen local authority. Concurrent administrative developments included a minister remaining a minister without portfolio, appointment of nominated Assembly members, a tax-free budget presentation, and memoranda requesting a CBI probe into alleged counterfeit drug manufacture and distribution.

Punjab Assembly opposes the VB G RAM G Act, urging restoration of MGNREGA over changes to employment guarantees.
The Punjab Assembly unanimously resolved that the VB G RAM G Act supplants MGNREGA by converting a demand driven statutory entitlement into a centrally allocated, supply driven scheme, and urged the state government to demand immediate restoration of MGNREGA, citing potential deprivation of guaranteed rural employment, fiscal burdens from revised entitlements, and governance and transparency concerns.

Food security under PDS now covers 2.73 crore people with e KYC, Aadhaar seeding, and targeted free and subsidised rations.
Public Distribution System coverage in Chhattisgarh reaches 2.73 crore beneficiaries through 82.18 lakh ration cards and 14,040 fair price shops. The state is implementing e KYC (completed for about 2.3 crore members) and Aadhaar seeding to enhance targeting and transparency, using e POS machines and the 'Mera e KYC' app. Entitlements provide free food grains to priority households and subsidised rice to above poverty line families, with fortified rice supplied to priority households. The Niyad Nellanar scheme delivers free food grains and specified grocery items to 42,220 ration cardholders in 402 remote villages in Bastar division.

Three bills reform stamp duty, streamline land records, and fast-track revenue proceedings to support property rights and digitization.
Amendment to the Indian Stamp Act removes duplicate stamp duty levies on deposit of title deeds, hypothecation and equitable mortgage for the same loan transaction, while land and revenue amendments shorten objection and appeal timelines, expedite case disposal, prevent unnecessary summoning of non-litigants, and accord legal sanctity to digital records and digital signatures to support accelerated ownership regularisation and digitised record keeping.

Gurugram man duped of Rs 2.18 crore after friend falsely sought funds for sister's cancer treatment; accomplice arrested.
Allegation that a Gurugram resident was defrauded of Rs 2.18 crore between May 2024 and April 2025 after a friend claimed she needed the money for her sister's cancer treatment; the female account-holder allegedly received funds which an accused accomplice transferred into his own account. The accused was arrested in Hyderabad, produced on transit remand, and is being interrogated while the Economic Offence Wing seeks to locate and apprehend the principal suspect using bank and phone records.

Punjab Assembly debate spotlights MLA party affiliation, appointment and pending defection disqualification amid legislative opposition to new employment law.
A dispute arose in the Punjab Assembly over MLA Sukwinder Kumar Sukhi's party affiliation and entitlement to speak after he was identified both as a former Akali legislator and as having joined another party; the issue was linked to his appointment as chairman of a state corporation with cabinet rank and to a pending disqualification petition alleging defection. The Assembly also held a special session called by the state government to oppose the VB-G RAM G Act, characterizing it as repealing the national rural employment guarantee scheme and prompting partisan debate.

Customs seizes 196.5g gold concealed in jeans waistband after passenger search at airport.
Customs intercepted a passenger arriving from Riyadh, conducted a personal search after suspicious behaviour, and recovered two strips of yellow chemical paste believed to be gold weighing 196.5 grams concealed in the waistband cavity of jeans; the material was seized by customs authorities.

Safari quota fraud using fake Aadhaar uncovered; FIR filed and strict identity verification and legal action initiated.
Use of forged Aadhaar cards to exploit a local-resident safari quota at Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve was uncovered: multiple bookings used local Aadhaar numbers while physical cards were digitally altered to substitute photos of non-residents, several tourists either presented manipulated IDs or refused identification, and intermediaries were cancelling and reallocating slots. A complaint was filed and an FIR registered for fraud, with police investigation and mandatory identity verification at all entry gates and potential prosecution of masterminds, accomplices and complicit tourists.

Iran's president warns of harsh response to any attack amid US threats of military strikes over nuclear concerns.
Reciprocal public threats raise the prospect of preventive or retaliatory military action under principles governing the use of force, while Iran's declared cessation of enrichment and international assessments about past weapons-related activity implicate nuclear compliance and monitoring. Concurrently, domestic responses-security force crowd-control, ministerial engagement with protesters, tax relief measures, and temporary public-sector closures for energy management-engage legal issues of civil unrest management and administrative economic regulation.

HIM MSME Fest 2026 to host CEO Interaction fostering investment, policy dialogue, and industry MSME collaboration.
HIM MSME Fest-2026 will host a closed-door CEO Interaction - Strategic Leadership Dialogue as a structured Business-to-Government forum to solicit investment, discuss policy incentives, and consider regulatory reforms aimed at industrial growth across priority sectors including pharmaceuticals, green mobility, food processing, dairy, data centers, and defence, and to promote investor centric policymaking and ease of doing business.

IndiGo faces a large GST demand over compensation treatment and denied input tax credit and will contest the orders.
A revenue assessment imposed a substantial GST demand, interest and penalty relating to compensation from a foreign supplier and denial of input tax credit across multiple years, with an aggregate demand exceeding Rs 458 crore and a separate smaller penalty for another year; the airline will contest the orders through appeals, maintaining the positions are erroneous and supported by external tax advice and asserting no significant present financial or operational impact.

Telcos allege airport denial of Right of Way and excessive charges for use of airport installed mobile infrastructure.
COAI alleges NMIAL refused statutory Right of Way permissions for operator owned IBS and instead imposed commercially onerous payments to use airport deployed infrastructure, purportedly exceeding what the RoW Rules 2024 permit; COAI urges the Department of Telecommunications to direct NMIAL to grant RoW to licensed telcos and to examine NMIAL's conduct as a UL VNO licensee. NMIAL counters that RoW was not denied, that it installed neutral host IBS for security and operational reasons, and that charges reflect industry standards while inviting negotiation.

Kota Bundi Greenfield airport to be operational by 2027, with tenders, funding and a pilot training institute proposed.
Kota Bundi Greenfield airport is slated to be operational by 2027, with two tenders completed, a work order issued for one package, and project sanctioning at Rs 10,507 crores. Authorities have begun talks with aviation service providers and propose a pilot training institute at the existing Kota airport to support operations.

BMC polls: nominations closed, producing multi cornered contests and overlapping party slates ahead of withdrawals.
Nominations for the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation closed before the January 2 withdrawal deadline, producing a multi-cornered contest with shifting alliances and overlapping slates: one coalition partner is contesting 137 seats, another 90, a former ally independently 94, the principal opposition 143 and its new ally 42, plus several smaller parties. These allocations create potential intra-coalition contests in many wards, affecting control of the municipal body with a budget over Rs 74,000 crore unless nominations are withdrawn.

Mumbai airport opened a new parallel taxiway to boost departure capacity, airside flexibility, and reduce emissions.
Mumbai International Airport commissioned parallel Taxiway M to increase departure throughput and provide alternate routing during maintenance or disruptions. The taxiway allows aircraft to queue while awaiting take-off clearance, improving departure sequencing and giving air traffic controllers greater flexibility. The project responds to sustained high traffic and limited maintenance windows at a busy single-runway airport to reduce dependency on a single taxi track and enhance operational resilience, while reducing taxi distances and ground holding times to lower fuel use and carbon emissions.

Resettlement of displaced persons underway under a Rs 573 crore package with phased returns tied to security and support services.
The state is implementing a phased resettlement under a Rs 573 crore Resettlement and Rehabilitation Package, reporting about 10,000 IDPs from 2,200 households resettled and 4,000 houses under construction, overseen by a State Level Committee chaired by the chief secretary to coordinate rehabilitation, while coupling housing reconstruction with relief support, healthcare, education, livelihood initiatives and security posts established by police and central forces as prerequisites for safe return.

Russian reservists recalled to protect critical infrastructure, assigned local training while retaining their civilian jobs.
Decree directs recall of persons in the mobilisation reserve to protect critical facilities and vital infrastructure; government to list protected facilities and Ministry of Defence to designate military units for special training and deployment. Reservists will serve in their home regions, retain civilian jobs, and the initiative is stated not to be a new general mobilisation.

Rajasthan vehicle scrapping policy offers up to 50% motor tax exemption for owners replacing polluting vehicles.
The Rajasthan Cabinet approved the Vehicle Scrapping Policy-2025 to phase out polluting vehicles via Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities integrated with the Vahan portal; eligible vehicles include those over fifteen years old, unfit or unregistered, accident-damaged, auctioned scrap or voluntarily surrendered. Owners receive digitally uploaded Certificates of Deposit and Vehicle Scrapping and may claim up to a fifty percent motor vehicle tax exemption (maximum Rs 1 lakh) on purchase of a new vehicle.