Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) Ltd under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy bagged the 3rd PSU Transformation Award under the “Innovative Product Development” category for 'Firm and Dispatchable RE (FDRE) Supply to DISCOMs on a Demand Following Basis'. The award was conferred in a felicitation ceremony held on 05th December 2024 at New Delhi.
The award was received by Shri Sanjay Sharma, Director (Solar) along with Shri Joshit Ranjan Sikidar, Director (Finance) and Shri Sivakumar V Vepakomma, Director (Power System) in the presence of Shri Ajay Kumar Sinha, General Manager (Corporate Planning) and other officials of SECI.
SECI has introduced the innovative power supply model of Firm and Dispatchable RE (FDRE) working with several DISCOMs and States to understand their energy demands and design models that cater to their renewable power requirement.
India has led the way with the creation of Nafithromycin, the country’s first indigenous Macrolide antibiotic. This remarkable achievement marks a pivotal moment in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, showcasing India’s growing capabilities in pharmaceutical innovation.
Antimicrobial resistance has long been a growing global concern, with pharmaceutical companies striving to develop new medicines to combat it worldwide. Despite years of challenges and relentless effort, a breakthrough has finally emerged.
Nafithromycin, was officially launched on November 20, 2024, by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh.
Developed by Wockhardt with support from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Nafithromycin, marketed as "Miqnaf," targets Community-Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (CABP) caused by drug-resistant bacteria, which disproportionately affects vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems.
Nafithromycin’s development marks a historic milestone as the first new antibiotic in its class to be introduced globally in over 30 years. The drug, which has undergone extensive clinical trials across the U.S., Europe, and India, has been developed with an investment of Rs. 500 crores and is now awaiting final approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization.
The Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has once again proven its reliability, successfully launching the European Space Agency's (ESA) Proba-3 satellites into their designated orbit. The launch took place from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh.
In its 61st flight, the PSLV rocket undertook a high-profile mission, tasked with deploying a pair of satellites as part of ESA's groundbreaking Proba-3 project. These satellites are designed to simulate a total solar eclipse using precision formation flying in space, a technological first in space exploration.
The Proba-3 mission marks a significant milestone in space exploration. According to Isro, the PSLV rocket successfully deployed the Proba-3 spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit as part of a dedicated commercial mission managed by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO's commercial arm.
The mission aims to demonstrate the advanced technology of precision formation flying, with two mini-satellites— the Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC) and the Occulter Spacecraft (OSC)—flying in tandem. The two satellites, which together weigh 545 kg, were carried into space aboard the 44.5-meter-tall PSLV rocket, which itself weighs 320 tonnes at launch.
This mission also marks the second ESA satellite launch aboard an Indian rocket. The first, Proba-1, was launched in 2001 using the PSLV. This continued collaboration between Isro and ESA also highlights the growing international trust in India's space capabilities.
India has received awards for adopting good practices in providing social security to its workforce at a regional forum of Asia-Pacific held in Saudi Arabia. The 'Good Practice Award for Asia and Pacific 2024' was presented by Mohammed Azman, President of ISSA (International Social Security Association), at the Regional Social Security Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) received five certificates of merit for communication channels, E-proceedings: A case on use of information and communication technology in justice delivery, district outreach programme (Nidhi Aapke Nikat), multilingual call centres, and Prayaas --
an initiative of handing over pension payment orders (PPO) to retiring members of the Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995 on the day of retirement itself.
The awards were received by Ashok Kumar Singh, DG, ESIC, on behalf of EPFO.
These awards recognise the efforts undertaken by EPFO to reform and adopt good practices in line with changing economic and social milieu.
Eurogrip Tyres, a leading brand specialising in two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and off-highway tyres, has appointed cricket legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador.
As part of this collaboration, Dhoni will endorse the Eurogrip brand and its entire product portfolio, the company said.
TVS Srichakra Ltd, the manufacturer of Eurogrip, TVS Eurogrip, and TVS Tyres, was established in 1982 and operates as a key vertical of the USD 3 billion TVS Mobility.
M S Dhoni, known for his dependability, performance, and passion for riding, embodies the values that align with Eurogrip Tyres’ vision of empowering riders with control and confidence on every journey.
The World Bank has approved a $188.28 million loan to support economic growth in Maharashtra, particularly in underdeveloped districts. The initiative aims to enhance district-level planning and growth strategies, the bank announced. The program will equip districts with critical resources — data, funding and expertise —
ensuring efficient use of public money to drive economic expansion and job creation. It also seeks to promote private sector involvement by upgrading e-governance services, especially in tourism.
The loan, provided by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a maturity period of 15 years, including a five-year grace period.
One of the key features of the program includes the creation of a Maha Databank, a data governance framework designed to address development challenges, including gender disparities. Moreover, districts achieving annual performance targets will receive fiscal incentives.
IndiGo has been ranked among the “world's worst airlines” in the 2024 AirHelp Score report, securing 103rd place out of 109 with a score of 4.80. The low rating is attributed to underwhelming customer satisfaction and poor handling of flight disruption claims.
Conducted by AirHelp, an EU-based claim processing agency,
the survey evaluates airlines globally on punctuality, quality of service, and handling of compensation claims. These criteria, weighed equally, form the overall score. The analysis covers data from January to October, incorporating on-time performance, customer claims processing, and feedback from passengers across 54 countries on food, comfort, and service.
Brussels Airlines topped the list with a score of 8.12, followed by Qatar Airways (8.11) and United Airlines (8.04). Air India, the only other Indian airline ranked, placed 61st with a score of 6.15.
Tunisair ranked last, placing 109th, as the report highlighted the highs and lows of air travel this year.
Top 10 airlines in the world
Brussels Airlines
Qatar Airways
United Airlines
American Airlines
Play (Iceland)
Austrian Airlines
LOT Polish Airlines
Air Arabia
Widerøe
Air Serbia
Bottom 10 airlines in the world
100. Sky Express
101. Air Mauritius
102. Tarom
103. IndiGo
104. Pegasus Airlines
105. El Al Israel Airlines
106. Bulgaria Air
107. Nouvelair
108. Buzz
109. Tunisair
The National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Indian School of Business (ISB), Mohali, inaugurated a five-day training program titled “Digital Transformation for Senior Leaders”.
Scheduled from December 2 to 6, 2024, this program is a pivotal initiative under the Digital India mission aimed at equipping senior government officials with critical knowledge and skills to lead digital transformation across various governance domains.
This initiative focuses on fostering leadership capable of spearheading citizen-centric digital governance.
Key areas covered include strengthening digital frameworks to deliver quality public services, enhancing cybersecurity to protect digital ecosystems, and building digital leadership skills for transformational project management.
Dinesh Didel, Director- NeGD
Nepal and China signed the much-awaited Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Cooperation Framework, an agreement which is expected to pave the way for the implementation of the BRI projects.
The agreement was inked during Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's official visit to China - his first official visit to that country after assuming office for the fourth time.
The Nepal-China economic cooperation will further strengthen under the Belt and Road Framework Cooperation.
The BRI framework agreement was inked by Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai and Liu Sushe of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, according to the Prime Minister's secretariat.
The BRI is a mega connectivity project that connects China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe.
Though Nepal and China signed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) agreement in 2017, not a single project has so far been implemented under the framework. However, details of the BRI cooperation framework agreement have not been made public.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub has developed an AI/ML-based model, MuleHunter.ai, which will be used to address the issue of mule bank accounts being used to commit financial frauds. The initiative is being piloted with two public sector banks.
As part of the Reserve Bank’s continued efforts to prevent and mitigate digital frauds, an innovative AI/ML-based model, namely MuleHunter.ai, has been developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), Bengaluru. This will help banks deal with the issue of mule bank accounts expeditiously and reduce digital frauds.
The RBI has taken several measures to prevent and mitigate digital frauds in the financial sector, including the issuance of cybersecurity and cyber fraud prevention guidelines, among others. According to the RBI, fraudsters use money mule accounts to channel the proceeds of frauds.
As a countermeasure, the RBI is also currently running a hackathon on the theme “Zero Financial Frauds,” which includes a specific problem statement on mule accounts, to encourage the development of innovative solutions to contain the use of mule accounts.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, following the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting announced that Small Finance Banks (SFBs) will now be permitted to provide pre-sanctioned credit lines through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
This move aims to support underserved groups, including small businesses, micro-entrepreneurs, and individuals in rural and semi-urban regions.
This development follows an important update from September 2023, when the RBI allowed Scheduled Commercial Banks to link pre-sanctioned credit lines to UPI accounts. Previously, this feature was unavailable to SFBs, Regional Rural Banks, and Payments Banks.
SFBs, known for their cost-efficient, technology-driven banking solutions for last-mile customers, will now be able to offer credit products to customers who are ‘new-to-credit’. These products, typically involving smaller loan amounts and shorter terms, will offer much-needed support to people and businesses with limited access to formal credit.
Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time at a grand swearing-in ceremony.
Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Fadnavis, who was elected as Nagpur South West constituency in Nagpur district.
Shiv Sena MLA and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. Shinde was elected as an MLA from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane city. NCP MLA from Baramati Constituency Ajit Pawar also took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. This is the sixth time that Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Maharashtra Deputy CM.
Neysa, an AI Acceleration Cloud System provider, and Data Science Wizards (DSW), a deep-tech AI platform company, have announced the launch of a fully managed Insurance AI Cloud Platform tailored for the Indian insurance industry.
The platform is designed to help insurers confidently build, optimize, and deploy AI/ML-powered digital solutions, enhancing operational efficiency, risk management, and customer-centric innovation.
With India’s insurance penetration at a modest 4.2% of GDP in 2023, the need for digital transformation in the sector is critical.
The platform aims to bridge this gap, offering cutting-edge AI/ML solutions to boost consumer trust, drive efficiency, and enable insurers to scale up with customized offerings.
This partnership underscores a major step towards leveraging AI and GenAI to address industry challenges, drive innovation, and elevate the Indian insurance sector.
