Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Indian Army Air Defence have signed a contract for the Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDDIS). The system, developed jointly by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and BEL, marks a significant milestone under the Government of India's Make in India initiative.
The IDDIS is designed to detect, track, and neutralise hostile drones, providing a crucial layer of protection against evolving aerial threats. Navratna Defence Public Sector Undertaking, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), has secured additional orders worth Rs 572 Crores since the last disclosure on 07th April 2025.
Major orders received include Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDDIS), Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Data Communication Unit (DCU) for attack guns, AI based solutions for ships, simulators, communication equipment, jammers, spares, services etc,".
Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Abhiyan Yojana: In order to expand self-employment opportunities for young people in India, the Uttar Pradesh government is offering interest-free loans under the Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Abhiyan Yojana. In this scheme, people will get up to Rs 5 lakh interest-free loans without requiring any collateral or guarantee.
This scheme aims to empower young men and women aged between 21 and 40 years by encouraging them to start their own businesses.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, launched the new Overseas Citizen of India Portal in New Delhi. The new portal will provide enhanced functionality, advanced security, and a user-friendly experience for the existing over 5 million OCI cardholders and new users. The new OCI portal is available at the existing URL: https://ociservices.gov.in.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, launched the new Overseas Citizen of India Portal in New Delhi. The new portal will provide enhanced functionality, advanced security, and a user-friendly experience for the existing over 5 million OCI cardholders and new users. The new OCI portal is available at the existing URL: https://ociservices.gov.in.
The Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme was introduced through an amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, in 2005. The scheme provides for the registration of Persons of Indian Origin as Overseas Citizens of India, provided they were citizens of India on or after 26th January 1950, or were eligible to become citizens on that date.
The existing OCI Services portal was developed in 2013 and is currently operational in over 180 Indian missions abroad as well as 12 Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs), processing approximately 2000 applications per day.
The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, amended Rule 8 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules (SCRR), 1957, via Gazette Notification G.S.R. 318(E). The amendment gives regulatory clarity to enhance ease of doing business for brokers.
Given the growth in the scale and interconnectedness of the financial sector and the evolution of nature of business of brokers with time, the DEA felt it necessary to review the appropriateness of safeguards embedded in the Rules so that the intent of the Rules is served without constraining activities of the stakeholders.
Amendment has been carried out after due consideration of feedback from the stakeholder and is part of the broader emphasis of the Government to provide regulatory clarity and enhance ease of doing business in the financial sector.It ensure that market intermediaries continue to support the development of India's capital markets in a transparent and well-regulated , manner.
In a major boost to marine conservation, the Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) annual mission ‘Operation Olivia’ helped protect a record of over 6.98 lakh Olive Ridley turtles nested at the Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha during February 2025.
Conducted annually from November to May, Operation Olivia is an important initiative of the ICG aimed at ensuring safe nesting grounds for Olive Ridley turtles particularly at Gahirmatha Beach and surrounding coastal areas of Odisha, which see the arrival of over eight lakh turtles each year.
Since the inception of Operation Olivia, ICG has carried out over 5,387 surface patrol sorties & 1,768 aerial surveillance missions, significantly reducing threats such as illegal fishing and habitat disruption.
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the first-ever Khelo India Beach Games at Ghoghla Beach in the Union territory of Diu. More than 1000 athletes from across the country will compete in six medal events and two demonstration sports over the next six days.
This is the first time the Beach Games are being held under the ever-expanding Khelo India umbrella. The medal events include beach soccer, beach volleyball, beach kabaddi, beach sepak takraw, pencak silat, and open water swimming. Two traditional demonstration sports – mallakhamb and tug-of-war will also be staged during the games.
India's banking regulator proposed capping the exposure of regulated entities, such as banks and non-bank lenders, into schemes of Alternative Investment Funds at 15% of the total combined investment by all lenders. Also, the proposals allow REs to invest up to 5% of the corpus of an AIF without any curbs, while 10% of the scheme's corpus will act as an upper limit.
The proposed norms aim to balance regulatory concerns with capital formation needs and follow earlier steps taken in March 2024 to ease provisioning requirements for REs investing in AIFs. The latest draft guidelines allow REs to invest up to 5% of the corpus of an AIF scheme without restriction.
Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has cut fixed deposit rates by 20 basis points across tenors effective May 16. As per the bank's website, the cut in interest rates on retail domestic term deposits below Rs 3 crore is applicable for both general public and senior citizens.
Deposits for 2 years to less than 3 years gives the maximum interest to investors at 6.7 per cent, followed by 3 years to less than 5 years which gives 6.55 per cent interest from May 16. Fixed deposits of 5 years to 10 years now get interest of 6.30 per cent for general public, while it is 6.5 per cent for deposits of duration 1 year to less than 2 years.
19 May 2025 marks the inaugural World Fair Play Day, a celebration dedicated to promoting sports practiced in the spirit of friendship, solidarity, tolerance, inclusion, and non-discrimination. On 1 July 2024 the General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/78/310, proclaiming May 19 as World Fair Play Day.
Recognizing the spirit of fair play and the values it embodies in both sports and everyday life, the resolution emphasizes the role of sports, including for persons with disabilities, in fostering peace, development, community cohesion, gender equality, and the empowerment of women and girls.
To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day. The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger.
This year's theme, "Bee inspired by nature to nourish us all", highlights the critical roles bees and other pollinators play in agrifood systems and the health of our planet's ecosystems. Indeed, pollinators are increasingly threatened by habitat loss, unsustainable agricultural practices, climate change and pollution.
Arun Shrivastava has taken charge as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Syndicate Bank, marking a significant leadership transition for the public sector lender. The bank, established in 1925, has a long legacy in Indian banking and a wide network of branches across the country.
Bringing with him over three decades of experience, Shrivastava’s banking journey began in 1979 as a direct recruit officer at the Bank of Baroda. He later moved to the Bank of India, where he held several key positions, including Executive Director.
The UN General Assembly mandated WHO and the UN regional commissions to plan and host periodic UN Global Road Safety Weeks to serve as a platform for global and regional, 12 May-18 May 2024, activities to raise awareness about road safety issues and to stimulate and advance responses as appropriate for these settings.
The 8th UN Global Road Safety Week offers an opportunity to spur action at national and local levels to make walking and cycling safe, by highlighting concrete and specific interventions that can be taken by different stakeholders – governments, international agencies, civil society, businesses and schools.
The remote and cold Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh is now home to India’s largest conservation reserve. The state government notified the Tsarap Chu Conservation Reserve by issuing a notification on May 7, 2025. The notification has been issued under Section 36A(1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Tsarap Chu joins Darlaghat, Naina Devi, Potter Hill, and Shilli as Himachal Pradesh’s fifth conservation reserve. Its geographical spread makes Tsarap Chu extremely important from the point of view of biodiversity and ecology. It is bounded by the Union Territory of Ladakh to the north, the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary extending up to Malang Nala and Lungar Lungpa to the east.
Forbes released the 10th annual edition of its “30 Under 30 Asia” list, featuring 300 young entrepreneurs, leaders and innovators across the Asia-Pacific region, all under the age of 30, with a bold vision for the future, that is largely powered by artificial intelligence.
The Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2025 features 300 notable listees selected across 10 categories, including AI; Consumer & Enterprise Technology; Entertainment & Sports; Finance & Venture Capital; Healthcare & Science; Industry, Manufacturing & Energy; Retail & Ecommerce; Social Impact; Social Media, Marketing & Advertising and The Arts (Art & Style, Food & Drink).
R Praggnanandhaa won the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2025, claiming his first Grand Chess Tour victory. He took home $77,667 and 10 GCT points following the title triumph. He drew his final classical game against Levon Aronian, but two of his rivals managed to win on demand.
His victory earns him nine rating points, keeping him at No. 7 in the world rankings. The next Grand Chess Tour event is the 2025 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia, scheduled for July 1-6.
India held their nerve in a dramatic penalty shootout to defeat Bangladesh 4-3 and successfully retain their SAFF U19 Championship title, after a gripping final ended 1-1 in regulation time at the Golden Jubilee Stadium.
The 2025 SAFF U-19 Championship was the 7th edition of the SAFF U-19 Championship, an international football competition for men's under-19 national teams from South Asia region, organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The tournament was played in Yupia, India from 9–18 May 2025.
Saroj Ghose, the founding Director General of the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), and the father of India’s science museum movement, passed away at 89. Ghose was the founding director general of NCSM and served in that capacity from 1979 to 1997. Ghose was the founding director general of NCSM and served in that capacity from 1979 to 1997.
Dr Ghose, a Padma Bhushan (2007) and the Padma Shri (1989) recipient also served as president of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in Paris and played a crucial role in designing landmark institutions such as the Science City in Kolkata, the National Science Centre in New Delhi, and the Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai.
