Union Minister for Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan chaired the Global Young Scientists Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Global Young Academy at IIT Hyderabad.
The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) today signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) and the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi.
The collaboration aims at effective implementation of the Standard Framework for redevelopment of urban roads including paving and greening of pathways and sidewalks, towards abatement of dust pollution across Delhi-NCR.
The tripartite MoU aims for facilitation by CSIR-CRRI and SPA, New Delhi for setting up a Project Monitoring Cell (PMC) at CAQM and operationalization of the same. The PMC shall oversee and support the phased implementation of the framework in NCR States for effective development/ redevelopment of roads aligned with broad elements of the framework.
Bengaluru-based insurtech start-up Covrzy has announced a strategic partnership with NammaYatri, India’s rapidly expanding open-mobility platform, to make health insurance both affordable and accessible for thousands of drivers and their families across the country.
This collaboration is set to empower more than 50,000 NammaYatri drivers with health insurance coverage by 2026, beginning with an initial rollout in Bengaluru and expanding to multiple cities where NammaYatri operates, including Kolkata, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, and Kochi.
Through this partnership, Covrzy will integrate its embedded health insurance offerings directly into the NammaYatri driver-facing app, allowing drivers to seamlessly discover, compare, and purchase tailored health insurance plans with minimal paperwork and instant digital issuance.
The health plans offered include benefits such as hospitalisation coverage up to ₹3 lakhs, cashless treatment at over 10,000 hospitals, and OPD wellness support. Family floater options are also being developed to extend coverage to drivers’ spouses and children.
Jana Small Finance Bank has taken a significant step in its evolution by formally applying to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a universal banking license. This move marks a pivotal moment in the bank’s journey, reflecting its ambition to expand beyond its origins as a small finance bank and offer a comprehensive suite of banking services nationwide.
The application to the RBI positions Jana among a select group of small finance banks seeking to broaden their reach and impact within the Indian financial ecosystem.
Since its inception, Jana Small Finance Bank has steadily grown its footprint, overcoming numerous challenges along the way.
RateGain Travel Technologies has entered a strategic partnership with Razorpay, a leading payments and banking platform, to revolutionise digital hotel payments across India. This collaboration integrates Razorpay’s secure and flexible payment gateway directly into RateGain’s hotel booking engine, empowering hotels to offer guests a seamless, frictionless,
and highly flexible digital payment experience. With the Indian travel and hospitality sector rapidly digitising and projected to reach $125 billion by 2027, this move comes at a critical time when over 70% of hotel bookings are expected to be made online, highlighting the need for secure and intelligent payment solutions.
Razorpay’s platform is compliant with PCI DSS Level 1 and SOC 3 standards and features advanced fraud detection tools, ensuring robust transaction security. As part of RateGain’s AI-led strategy, the partnership also enables smarter automation, supporting faster decision-making and further improving the guest journey.
Private life insurer Axis Max Life Insurance on Tuesday announced the appointment of Sumit Madan as managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, effective October 1, 2025, subject to regulatory approvals, according to a press release.
Madan is currently senior director and chief distribution officer (CDO) at the company.
He will take over from Prashant Tripathy, who has decided to take early retirement and will step down at the end of the September quarter.
Previously, at Citibank, he managed diverse portfolios across geographies. He has also worked at AU Small Finance Bank and IDFC First Bank in various roles.
Public sector Indian Overseas Bank announced the launch of 'Locate IOB' facility enabling customers to easily identify the nearest branches and ATM networks.
'Locate IOB' offers customers a simple and a smart way to access addresses, directions, IFSC codes for all IOB branches and ATM networks. It also enables users to call a branch directly from the website," the city-headquartered bank said.
With more people using mobile phones and the internet, initiatives like 'Locate IOB' are increasingly important.
The Reserve Bank of India announced that it will be discontinuing the daily Variable Rate Repo auctions with effect from June 11, 2025, due to the current and evolving liquidity conditions.
"On a review of current and evolving liquidity conditions, it has been decided that the daily VRR auctions will be discontinued with effect from June 11, 2025, said the RBI.
Liquidity in the country's banking system stood at a surplus of Rs 2.45 trillion as of June 8, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
The central bank had decided to undertake the auctions from January 16, 2025 to rebalance liquidity conditions in a non-disruptive manner to meet the needs of the productive sectors of the economy.
"With larger than anticipated collections under the goods and services tax (GST), system liquidity has tightened in this week. This is also reflected in the hardening of overnight money market rates, and in amounts under the fixed rate reverse repo of the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF)," said the statement.
In April, RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra had said the central bank would aim for a range near 1% of NDTL as a target for surplus liquidity in the system.
On 7 June 2024 the General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/78/286, declaring 10 June the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations.
Proposed by China and co-sponsored by over 80 countries, the resolution emphasizes that all civilizational achievements constitute "the collective heritage of humankind."
It underscores the importance of respecting civilizational diversity and highlights "the crucial role of dialogue" in maintaining global peace, advancing shared development, enhancing human well-being, and achieving collective progress.
India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has declined significantly by 50 points over nine years of the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA). The MMR improved from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-2016 to 80 per lakh live births in 2021-2023, reflecting the government’s sustained efforts to enhance antenatal care and nutrition for pregnant women.
To encourage responsible finance and curb "purpose-washing," capital markets regulator Sebi has released a detailed framework for issuing and listing ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) debt securities, excluding green bonds.
The new norms, which came into effect on June 5, aim to enhance transparency, credibility, and accountability in the ESG debt market.
International Day of Play, observed on 11 June 2024, marks a significant milestone in efforts to preserve, promote, and prioritize playing so that all people, especially children, can reap the rewards and thrive to their full potential.
2025 Theme: Choose Play – Every Day
The theme for this year’s International Day of Play is “Choose Play – Every Day”. The theme is a reminder for all of us – governments, businesses, schools and families – to take decisions that embrace and prioritize play for children.