The Indian Air Force (IAF) will be participating in Exercise INIOCHOS-25, a prestigious multi-national air exercise hosted by the Hellenic Air Force. The exercise will take place at Andravida Air Base, Greece, from 31 March 2025 to 11 April 2025. The IAF contingent will include Su-30 MKI fighters along with combat enabler IL-78 & C-17 aircraft.
The IAF looks forward to participating in Exercise INIOCHOS 25, a platform to enhance international cooperation, synergy and interoperability among participating Air Forces. This exercise will provide an opportunity to train in planning and executing Combined Air operations, refine tactics in complex air warfare scenarios, and gain insights into operational best practices.
In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand on 28 Mar 25, the Government of India has launched Operation Brahma for rendering assistance to Myanmar. Under MEA's direction, the HADR efforts are being progressed in conjunction with Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, Indian Army, Indian Air Force and NDRF.
Indian Navy ships Satpura and Savitri, from the Eastern Naval Command, have sailed for Yangon on 29 Mar, as part of the Indian Navy's immediate response towards Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR). In addition, Indian Navy Ships Karmuk and LCU 52 from the Andaman and Nicobar Command will also be sailing for Yangon on 30 Mar 25, to assist in the HADR operation
Bihar will host Men’s Hockey Hero Asia Cup 2025 with support of Hockey India. This will be the 12th Edition of Asia Cup. A MoU was signed at Patna between Hockey India and Bihar State Sports Authority (BSSA) to handover the baton of host. The event will be organised between 29th August to 7th September 2025.
A total of eight teams including top hockey-playing countries of Asia like South Korea, India and Pakistan, will play in the tournament.
India’s economy is expected to grow at 6.5% in the fiscal year 2025-26, according to the latest EY Economy Watch report. The report emphasizes the need for a well-calibrated fiscal strategy that supports human capital development while maintaining fiscal prudence to enhance long-term growth prospects.
For FY25, real GDP growth is projected at 6.4%, aligning with the revised estimates by the National Statistical Office (NSO). The revised national accounts data indicate that India’s real GDP growth rates for FY23, FY24, and FY25 are estimated at 7.6%, 9.2%, and 6.5%, respectively.
The amalgamation of Aditya Birla Finance Ltd (ABFL) with its parent Aditya Birla Capital Ltd (ABCL) with effect from April 1, 2025, will lead to rationalisation and simplification of group structure, improved financial stability, and increased operational efficiency, according to ABCL.
As of December-end 2024, ABCL’s aggregate assets under management of over ₹5.03 lakh crore, include a consolidated lending book of over ₹1.46 lakh crore and gross written premium of ₹16,942 crore in Life and health insurance businesses in nine months of FY25.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is set to implement new guidelines for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions from April 1, 2025, to enhance security, interoperability, and overall customer experience. These are requirements for all member banks of UPI, Payment Service Providers (PSPs), and third-party app providers (TPAPs), such as leading apps.
According to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), mobile numbers that have remained unused for 90 days can be reassigned to new customers. To counter this, NPCI has made it obligatory for banks and PSPs to update mobile number records weekly through the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) and Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP).
NPCI is also removing the “Collect Payments” feature from UPI because of fraud issues. This feature will now be limited to large, authenticated merchants only, and person-to-person collect payments will be limited to ₹2,000.
Tata Group’s electronics retail chain Croma has appointed Shibashish Roy as its chief executive officer and managing director, effective April 1, who has over 20 years of experience in Tata Group companies, was named chief executive officer in November 2024 and worked alongside outgoing managing director Avijit Mitra during a transition period that concluded in March 2025.
State-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd is set to commence LNG imports from Qatar Energy Trading starting next month under a five-year contract that will see the company receiving 12 cargoes annually. The move comes as part of GAIL’s strategy to secure long-term gas supplies and meet the increasing energy demand in India.
Apart from the Qatar Energy agreement, GAIL has recently entered into multiple long-term LNG procurement deals to strengthen its supply network. The company has signed a 10-year agreement with commodity trader Vitol Asia for approximately 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG, starting from 2026.
Additionally, GAIL has secured another long-term contract with the UAE’s ADNOC Gas for the supply of 0.5 MTPA of LNG from 2026 onwards, also for a period of 10 years. These agreements align with India's national objective of increasing the share of natural gas in the overall energy mix from the current 6-7 percent to 15 percent by 2030.
SpaceX is set to launch the first human spaceflight directly over Earth's polar regions- a days-long, privately funded orbital mission involving four astronauts. The crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket in a window that opens at 9:46 pm (0146 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Named "Fram2"after the famed Norwegian ship built in the 19th century for Arctic and Antarctic expeditions,the mission will feature a range of experiments including taking the first X-ray in space and growing mushrooms in microgravity. SpaceX has carried out 5 private astronaut missions to date,3 in collaboration with Axiom Space to the ISS, and 2 free-flying in Earth orbit