The Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries, Shri H. D. Kumaraswamy, welcomed the decision to impose a 12 percent safeguard duty on the import of certain non-alloy and alloy steel flat products. This measure is a timely and necessary step to protect domestic steel manufacturers from the adverse impact of import surges and to ensure fair competition in the market.
“This move will provide critical relief to domestic producers, especially small and medium-scale enterprises, who have faced immense pressure from rising imports. The safeguard duty will help restore market stability and reinforce the confidence of the domestic industry.”
Dr. Mangi Lal Jat, a distinguished Agronomist, has assumed charge as the Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General (DG) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) in its notification, named Dr Jat as the new Secretary of DARE and Director General of ICAR,
for period of three years. Prior to this he was serving as Deputy Director General (Research) and Director of the Global Research Program at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad.
The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 3.8 per cent (provisional) in March, 2025 as compared to the Index in March, 2024. The production of Cement, Fertilizers, Steel, Electricity, Coal and Refinery Products recorded positive growth in March, 2025. The details of annual indices, monthly indices and growth rates are provided at Annex I and Annex II.
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 December 2024 was observed at 5.1 per cent. The cumulative growth rate of ICI during April to March, 2024-25 is 4.4 per cent (provisional) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued new guidelines for opening and operating bank accounts for minors, aiming to make banking accessible to young people and ensuring a smooth transition when they become adults.
In a relief to banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated 2.5 percent additional run-off factor for retail deposits linked to internet and mobile banking (IMB) facilities for commercial banks.
This was stated in its final guidelines for computation of liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) compared to 5 per cent proposed in the draft norms issued in July 2024.
In addition, funding from non-financial entities like trusts (educational, charitable and religious), partnerships and LLPs, among others, will attract a lower run-off rate of 40 per cent against 100 per cent currently.
The impact of banks’ LCR — which they need to maintain at 100 per cent — will be much lower compared to what the draft norms proposed.
These final norms, applicable to all commercial banks — excluding payments banks, regional rural banks and local area banks — will come into effect from April 1, 2026.
According to the final norms, stable retail deposits enabled with IMB will have 7.5 per cent run-off factor.
And, less stable deposits enabled with IMB would have a 12.5 per cent run-off factor.
This is against 5 and 10 per cent, respectively, prescribed currently. Total run-off factor will be at 20 per cent compared to 15 per cent now.
The final norms were issued after receiving feedback on the draft proposal. Banks had opposed such a stiff increase in the additional run-off factor. Run-off factor acts as a cushion against sudden withdrawal of deposits.
Poonawalla Fincorp, a leading NBFC backed by the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, has joined forces with MobiKwik to launch instant personal loans through the fintech platform’s ZIP EMI service. This partnership enables users across India, including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, to access loans ranging from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 15 lakh,
significantly expanding MobiKwik’s previous loan limits of up to Rs 2 lakh offered via other NBFC partnerships.
The collaboration integrates Poonawalla Fincorp’s lending expertise with MobiKwik’s digital reach, allowing borrowers to secure funds within minutes through a fully digital process.
Users can select flexible repayment tenures spanning 6 to 36 months, a notable extension from MobiKwik’s earlier 3–24-month options. The initiative targets diverse financial needs, including education, healthcare, and travel, while promoting credit score improvement through timely repayments.
In Shooting, India’s Simranpreet Kaur Brar has clinched her maiden senior international medal with a silver in the women’s 25m pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation, ISSF World Cup in Lima, Peru. The Indian shooter shot a total of 33 hits in the 10-series of five rapid-fire shots final,
finishing one hit behind China’s Sun Yujie, who won back-to-back World Cup golds in the event. A second Chinese, Yao Qianxun, won bronze with 29 hits to her name. Meanwhile, Paris Olympics double medallist Manu Bhaker finished fourth.
This marks India’s fourth silver medal at the Lima World Cup, adding to the country’s tally of two golds and one bronze.
Indian boxers continued their strong run at the Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan, with three commanding wins on Day 2. Tikam Singh (52kg) dominated Ali Almesmari of UAE, sealing the bout with a Referee Stopped Contest (RSC) in the third round. Udham Singh (54kg) outboxed Iran’s Mohammadparsa Motevalianastanehsari to register a clean 5-0 victory.
In the 57kg category, Rahul Gariya overwhelmed Chinese Taipei’s Li Shou-Xun, securing an RSC win in the opening round.
India began its campaign with two commanding wins on the opening day as Hardik Dahiya (43kg) and Rudraksh Singh (46kg) started with wins in the preliminary round.
This is the first event organised by Asian Boxing, endorsed by both the Olympic Council of Asia and the newly formed World Boxing Council. India has fielded a strong 56-member youth boxing squad – 30 U-15 and 26 U-17 pugilists – for the continental tournament.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have retained their A+ category contract despite retiring from the T20 international format. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the men’s central contracts list for the 2024-25 season.
In a notable change, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have returned to the contract list, with the former getting a B category contract while the latter is in a C category contract list. The duo were left out last year due to their absence from the domestic matches. Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from international cricket, has been replaced by Rishabh Pant in an A-category
The latest additions to the central contracts list, all placed in Grade C, include Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Abhishek Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Akash Deep, Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana.
The BCCI pays the Grade A+ players an annual remuneration of Rs. 7 crore, while Grade A players receive 5 crore. Grade B cricketers get 3 crore, Grade C category get 1 cr. each.
the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Fire Safety Week in collaboration with all States/UTs as well as relevant central Ministries/Departments from 21st to 25th April, 2025. Union Health Secretary, Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava led the nationwide pledge ceremony on the theme of 'Fire Safety in Health Facilities' at Nirman Bhawan.
Senior officials of the Ministry physically participated in pledge taking ceremony. Over 3,000 participants from public and private health facilities virtually joined the pledge ceremony and webinar on "Emergency evacuation and patient safety strategies" and "Fire prevention in high-risk areas of healthcare facilities".
Various activities have been planned throughout the country during the Fire Safety Week in order to raise awareness regarding importance of prevention and mitigation of fire hazards in all healthcare facilities across the country. Along with the nation-wide pledge ceremony on fire safety in all health facilities,
the activities include fire audit at healthcare facilities and awareness generation activities, etc.
The Ministry has also organized a two-day webinar series on fire and electrical safety in health facilities, covering crucial aspects like prevention, regulatory compliance, maintenance and operations of fire detection and suppression systems, patient evacuation,
as well as holding mock-drills/ mock exercises to engage. In total, the webinar series has been attended by over 3,000 participants from all States/UTs.
All States/UTs have been requested to organize awareness generation activities, especially in medical colleges as well as large tertiary level hospitals.
Poonawalla Fincorp Limited (PFL), the Cyrus Poonawalla Group-backed non-banking financial company (NBFC) launched a new Consumer Durables Loans business aimed at tapping into the rapidly growing retail lending segment, the company said in an exchange filing.
It also introduced a digital EMI card, offering pre-approved limits to make consumer durable purchases easier and more convenient for customers.
This strategic entry into the high-velocity consumer durables market marks a significant step for PFL as it seeks to scale its retail business and enhance profitability.
The new offering leverages digital onboarding and point-of-sale loans, allowing for fast and efficient customer acquisition.
By adopting a tech-first approach, PFL aims to build a scalable customer base while creating opportunities for cross-selling additional financial products like personal loans and insurance, the filing said.
On the occasion of the 17th Civil Services Day the PoshanTracker Application of Ministry of Women and Child Development, received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2024 under the Innovation category (centre). The award was received by the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, on behalf of the Ministry.
On the day a dedicated breakaway session titled “Promoting Nutrition for Women and Children through Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0” was also held from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM under the chairmanship of Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Annpurna Devi.
