Renowned tiger conservationist and author Valmik Thapar passed away in Delhi. A central figure in India’s wildlife conservation movement since the mid-1970s, Thapar was known for his decades-long work in protecting tigers and had served on more than 150 central and state government panels.
According to the Sanctuary Nature Foundation, most of Thapar’s fieldwork was centred in Rajasthan, though he also played a pivotal role in the revival of other key reserves, notably Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
Thapar authored 32 books over his lifetime, including four on African wildlife.
Bank of Baroda (BoB) inaugurated its first 'Phygital' branch in the Kolkata Zone, which aims to combine digital enablement with personalised assistance, the state-run lender said.
It is the seventh such branch of the bank in the country.
The 'Phygital' branch aims to integrate self-service and assisted service models, featuring self-service kiosks, a video contact centre for non-financial services, and universal service desks for in-person assistance, he said.
The Kolkata Zone is a key business hub for Bank of Baroda in West Bengal, with 258 branches, it said.
The Indian Army is currently undertaking extensive Capacity Development Demonstrations at key locations across the country, including the Pokhran Field Firing Ranges, Babina Field Firing Ranges, and Joshimath, with dedicated Air Defence equipment demonstrations also scheduled at Agra and Gopalpur.
These field trials are being conducted under near-combat conditions, integrating electronic warfare simulations to assess the performance of cutting-edge defence systems rigorously. On 27 May 2025, General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff, visited Babina Field Firing Ranges and reviewed the ongoing demonstrations and interacted with all stakeholders.
The trials mark a significant step in the Indian Army’s roadmap for a “Decade of Transformation” and are designed to ensure rapid absorption of emerging technologies to meet evolving battlefield requirements.
Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and inaugurated multiple development projects aimed at boosting the region's infrastructure and connectivity. He inaugurated the Chunniganj Metro Station to Kanpur Central Metro Station section of Kanpur Metro Rail Project worth over Rs 2,120 crore.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated Unit-1(660 MW) of Ghatampur Thermal Power Project (3x660 MW) in Kanpur Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, to the Nation, marking a landmark achievement in India’s energy sector.
This ambitious Power Project is a flagship initiative by Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Ltd (NUPPL), a collaboration of NLC India Limited (51%) and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL) (49%). The project comprises three supercritical thermal power units of 660 MW each, adding up to a substantial 1,980 MW of installed capacity.
With a total project cost of ₹21,780.94 crore, remaining two units of the Ghatampur Thermal Power Project are expected to be commissioned by FY 2025-26. A total of 998.81 hectares of land was acquired for its development. The power purchase agreement (PPA) has been made for1487.28 MW i.e 75.12% of the power generated with Uttar Pradesh and 492.72 MW i.e 24.88% with Assam,
subject to actual transfer of 20% equity share of UPRVUNL in NUPPL in favour of Govt. Of Assam.
The Ghatampur Thermal Power Project has adopted advanced environmental technologies, including Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) technologies for reducing NOx and (SOx) emissions respectively.
Furthermore, the project will have a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system in place to ensure no water is discharged from the plant. A total of 288 kilometers of canal lining works are being undertaken to conserve 195 MLD of water by preventing seepage losses.
Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, officially declared the State of Goa to be officially fully literate under the ULLAS - Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (New India Literacy Programme), marking a significant milestone in India’s journey towards achieving full literacy by 2030, as envisioned in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
This makes Goa the second state of the country to cross the nationally prescribed 95% benchmark for full literacy. The announcement was made during the grand celebration of Goa’s 39th Statehood Day (May 30, 2025) at Dinanath Mangeshkar Kala Mandir, Panaji.
India’s national compute capacity has crossed 34000 GPUs. Along with this, the selection of three new startups for building India's own Foundation Model, the IndiaAI Mission has taken a significant leap toward strengthening indigenous AI capabilities.
Marking this milestone, Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw today announced several key initiatives at the ‘IndiaAI- Make AI in India, Make AI work for India’ event held in New Delhi aimed at advancing India’s AI journey.
The Accounts of the Government of India for the Financial Year 2024-25 (Provisional/Unaudited) has been consolidated and reports published. The highlights are given below: -
The Government of India has received ₹30,78,247 crore (97.8% of corresponding RE 2024-25 of Total Receipts) during 2024-25 comprising ₹24,98,885 crore Tax Revenue (Net to Centre),
₹5,37,544 crore of Non-Tax Revenue and ₹41,818 crore of Non-Debt Capital Receipts. Non-Debt Capital Receipts consist of Recovery of Loans (₹24,616 crore) and Miscellaneous Capital Receipts (₹17,202 crore).₹12,86,885 crore has been transferred to State Governments as Devolution of Share of Taxes by Government of India upto this period which is ₹1,57,391 crore higher than PY.
Total Expenditure incurred by Government of India is ₹46,55,517 crore (98.7% of corresponding RE 2024-25), out of which ₹36,03,510 crore is on Revenue Account and ₹10,52,007 crore is on Capital Account. Out of the Total Revenue Expenditure, ₹11,16,343 crore is on account of Interest Payments and ₹3,88,036 crore is on account of Major Subsidies.
In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 45-IA (6) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Reserve Bank has cancelled the Certificate of Registration (CoR) issued to the M/s N.Y. Leasing Private Limited (NBFC).
As such, the above company shall not, hereinafter, transact the business of a Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI), as defined in clause (a) of Section 45-I of the RBI Act, 1934.
The CoR has been cancelled by RBI as the company has violated RBI guidelines on outsourcing of financial services in its digital lending operations,
by outsourcing its core decision-making functions such as such as sourcing of customers, conducting their due-diligence, disbursement of loans, collection of repayments etc. as well as Know Your Customer (KYC) verification to the Service Provider.
In Shooting, India’s Mona Agarwal has clinched the silver medal in the Women’s P2 – 10 metre Air Pistol SH1 event at the 2025 Para Shooting World Cup in Changwon, South Korea. The 2024 Paris Paralympic bronze medallist finished with a score of 246.6.
Paralympic champion Avani Lekhara narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth, while fellow Indian shooter R.S. Unhalkar secured seventh place in the event.
In Wrestling, Indian grapplers clinched six medals, including four golds at the Ulaanbaatar Open 2025 in Mongolia, yesterday. Paris 2024 Olympian Antim Panghal led the charge with a dominant 10-NIL win in the women’s 53 kg category, defeating neutral athlete Natalia Malysheva.
In the women’s 57 kg category, debutant Neha Sangwan stunned Olympian Bolortuya Khurelkhuu 4-0 to grab the gold. While Muskan, in the 59kg category and Harshita in the 72 kg category, also struck gold, both going unbeaten in the Nordic format. A former Under 17 world champion, Harshita secured the win over Asian champion Bolortungalag Zorigt.
In Men’s Greco-Roman 60 kg event, Suraj won the silver, while Neelam claimed bronze in the women’s 50 kg freestyle. India’s medal tally now stands at 12, with 5 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze at the third United World Wrestling Ranking Series event.
31 May is World No Tobacco Day.
This yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what WHO is doing to fight the tobacco epidemic, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations.
In 1987, the World Health Assembly passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for 7 April 1988 to be a "a world no-smoking day." In 1988, Resolution WHA42.19 was passed, calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on 31 May.
