Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is poised to become the first Indian astronaut to journey to the International Space Station (ISS) on a private mission. Shukla will board a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking a milestone in the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), a joint venture between Nasa and Isro.
The US space agency Nasa announced that the spaceflight is scheduled for no earlier than spring 2025.
The Axiom Mission 4 website describes Shubhanshu Shukla as a distinguished pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF). Born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, he was commissioned into the IAF Fighter Wing in June 2006.
Shukla’s Journey to Becoming an AstronautIn 2019, Shubhanshu received a call from Isro, marking the beginning of an intensive journey. He underwent rigorous astronaut training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Moscow, Russia, completing a year-long program that prepared him for spaceflight.
Notably, Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel to space in 1984 aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 mission under the Interkosmos program.
Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) is a pioneering private spaceflight mission that will not only send India’s first private astronaut to space but also mark the return to human spaceflight for Poland and Hungary—
countries that have not had a government-sponsored mission in over 40 years.
This mission will be the first time all three nations—India, Poland, and Hungary—collaborate on a mission aboard the ISS.
The mission will be led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is now Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight.
Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as the mission pilot, alongside two mission specialists: European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
The Ax-4 astronauts will spend up to 14 days aboard the ISS, conducting a range of scientific experiments, educational outreach, and commercial activities, with Nasa and Isro.
Karnataka Bank won awards in six categories at the ‘20th Annual Banking Technology Conference, Expo & Citations, 2024’, instituted by Indian Banks’ Association, recently. The awards were: ‘Best Tech Talent and Organization’, ‘Best IT Risk Management’, ‘Best Technology Bank’, and ‘Best Fintech and DPI Adoption’ (all runner-ups); and
‘Best Digital Sales, Payments and Engagement’ and ‘Best AI and ML Adoption’ (special mention).
Quoting Srikrishnan H, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank said: “It is yet another moment of pride for the bank as we consistently find ourselves in the league of leading financial institutions pioneering new-age banking technology.
Tata Steel has claimed that it is the first Indian company to develop pipes designed for transporting hydrogen, marking an important step in India’s clean energy efforts.
The company’s hydrogen-compliant API X65 pipes were processed at Tata Steel’s Khopoli plant using steel produced at its Kalinganagar facility.
Tata Steel handled the entire process, from designing and manufacturing the hot-rolled steel to producing the pipes, demonstrating its capability in building essential energy infrastructure.
In 2024, Tata Steel became the first Indian steel company to manufacture hot-rolled steel for gaseous hydrogen transportation, further strengthening its position in the sector.
India’s National Hydrogen Mission aims to produce at least 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of Green Hydrogen annually by 2030, with the potential to reach 10 MMT per annum to meet export demands. This would require significant investment in generation and transportation infrastructure.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the appointment of senior IPS Officer, Rajesh Nirwan as the Director General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Rajesh Nirwan, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Rajasthan cadre from the 1992 batch, brings extensive experience and expertise to his new role. BCAS, functioning under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, is responsible for ensuring the security of civil aviation operations across India.
In a major relief for senior citizens struggling with rising healthcare costs, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has stepped in to curb steep health insurance premium hikes. Insurers can no longer raise premiums for policyholders aged 60 and above by more than 10% per year without prior approval,
which will ensure accessibility of health insurance to those who are the most vulnerable to medical inflation.
The regulator has restricted all health and general insurers who offer indemnity-based health insurance from hiking health insurance premiums charged to senior citizens by more than 10% in one year, according to a circular dated January 30, 2025.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated insolvency proceedings against fraud-hit Aviom India Housing Finance, appointing a three-member advisory committee to assist former Punjab National Bank chief general manager Ram Kumar who was named as the administrator to the company.
Aviom revealed that the housing finance regulator National Housing Bank had initiated a third-party forensic audit following findings during a regular on-site inspection, which showed that mutual fund account statements appeared to be manipulated.
The fraudulent transactions had affected Aviom's cash flows impacting its repayment capabilities.
The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 4.0 percent (provisional) in December, 2024 as compared to the Index in December, 2023. The production of Coal, Electricity, Steel, Cement, Refinery Products, Fertilizers and Crude Oil recorded positive growth in December 2024.
The ICI measures the combined and individual performance of production of eight core industries viz. Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
The final growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for September 2024 increased by 2.4 per cent. The cumulative growth rate of ICI during April to December, 2024-25 is 4.2 per cent (provisional) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) entered into a strategic bancassurance alliance to extend access to life insurance solutions for millions of individuals nationwide.
Under the collaboration, PNB MetLife's life insurance products, combined with IPPB's network of 650 banking outlets and 110 million customers,
will make life insurance accessible to every household in India.
This partnership aims to help customers achieve their dreams while promoting financial inclusion across the country
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been established under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication with 100 percent equity owned by Government of India.
IPPB was launched on September 1, 2018.
Shriram General Insurance (SGIC) has unveiled its first indemnity health insurance plan, Shri Health Suraksha Insurance, aimed at providing comprehensive coverage at an affordable premium. The plan covers a diverse range of treatments, including modern medical procedures and AYUSH treatments (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy),
catering to the varied healthcare needs of individuals and families.
With nationwide coverage, Shri Health Suraksha Insurance allows policyholders to access cashless treatments at over 13,000 network hospitals. The plan offers multiple sum-insured options, ensuring flexibility and affordability for a broad spectrum of policyholders.
Anil Aggarwal- MD & CEO, Shriram General Insurance Company.
The Reserve Bank of India imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 65 lakh on Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Levy of Foreclosure Charges/Pre-payment Penalty on Floating Rate Term Loans’ and ‘Credit Flow to Agriculture – Collateral free agricultural loans’.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated January 15, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 26.70 lakh (Rupees Twenty Six Lakh Seventy Thousand only) on India Post Payments Bank Limited (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Customer Service in Banks’.
The Reserve Bank of India imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 3.10 lakh on Aptus Finance India Private Limited (the company) for non-compliance with certain provisions of the ‘Non-Banking Financial Company - Systemically Important Non-Deposit taking Company and Deposit taking Company (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2016’ issued by RBI, relating to ‘Governance Issues’.
The Reserve Bank of India imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 2.00 lakh (Rupees Two Lakh only) on The Kosamba Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd., Dist. Surat, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Placement of Deposits with Other Banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’ and and ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’.
The RBI imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 2.00 lakh on The Vadali Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd., Dist. Sabarkantha, Gujarat (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Loans and Advances to directors, relatives and firms/concerns in which they are Interested’; Placement of deposits with other banks by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’ and 'KYC'.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated January 28, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹4.00 lakh (Rupees Four Lakh only) on The Odisha State Co-operative Bank Ltd., (the bank) for non-compliance with the provisions of Section 9 and Section 26A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act).
