In a recent session of Parliament, the Government provided detailed replies on various initiatives undertaken in the Various sector. Several MPs raised questions regarding technological advancements, policy reforms, and financial incentives.
The Minister responded with data-backed updates, including joint ventures, policy amendments, and support mechanisms aimed at encouraging private sector participation.
Indian cities are becoming increasingly more vulnerable to floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related risks and will require over 2.4 trillion US dollars in investments by 2050 to build resilient and low-carbon infrastructure, according to a World Bank report released.
The report notes that Indian cities hold tremendous potential as centres of economic growth, with 70 per cent of new jobs coming from cities by 2030.
The report, prepared in partnership with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, stated that "Annual economic losses from rain-related flooding are currently estimated at 4 billion dollars.
These are projected to rise to five billion dollars by 2030 and between 14 and 30 billion dollars by 2070 if no remedial action is taken."
According to the report, much of the urban expansion is occurring in "flood-prone and heat-vulnerable areas."
India and Britain will sign a free trade agreement on Thursday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's UK visit, officials said, with New Delhi to ease tariffs on British whisky, cars and some food items, and the UK offering duty-free access to Indian textiles and electric vehicles.
This will be Modi's fourth visit to the UK since he took office in 2014. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss trade, energy, security, health and education issues, and also hold talks with business leaders.
Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $55 billion in 2023/24, while the UK has become India's sixth-largest investor,
with cumulative investments of nearly $36 billion, Misri said.
Around 1,000 Indian companies operate in the UK, employing 100,000 people, and they have invested about $20 billion there, he added.
Under the trade agreement, tariffs on Scotch whisky will drop to 75% from 150% immediately, and then slide to 40% over the next decade, according to the British government,
and on cars, India will cut duties to 10% from 100% under a quota system that will be gradually liberalised.
In return, Indian manufacturers are expected to gain access to the UK market for electric and hybrid vehicles, also under a quota system, Indian commerce ministry officials said.
The ministry has said 99% of Indian exports to Britain would benefit from zero duties under the deal, including textiles, while Britain will see reductions on 90% of its tariff lines.
"The UK is an important market for Indian exporters," said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.
President Droupadi Murmu has accepted Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation from the post of Vice President on India. The letter has also been notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari, who was in the Chair, announced that Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation as Vice President of India has been accepted by the President.
The Chair added that Home Affairs ministry has also conveyed the resignation of Dhankhar under 67A of the Constitution with “immediate effect.”
Jagdeep Dhankar resigned from the post of VP on by invoking Article 67(a) of the constitution. In his resignation letter, Dhankhar cited medical reasons and said he will be stepping down from the post.
Indian researchers have identified a gene in pineapple that can provide a powerful, homegrown line of defence to the fruit against devastating fungal attacks. The pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr.) is the most economically significant fruit of the Bromeliaceae family that provides various health benefits alongside a delicious juicy flavour,
resulting in a nutritious diet including all vital components.
One of the biggest threats to pineapple farming is a disease called Fusariosis, caused by the aggressive fungus Fusarium moniliforme. It warps the plant’s stem, blackens the leaves and rots the fruit from the inside out. For farmers, this means heavy losses and unreliable harvests.
For years, traditional breeding techniques have struggled to keep up with the fast-evolving onslaught of such fungal foes. Scientists are now trying to find solutions within the plant that can act as a shield against diseases.
Scientists from Bose Institute, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have identified the gene behind,
Somatic Embryogenesis Receptor Kinase (SERK) that can activate host defences against plant diseases.
Their study published in the journal, In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology-Plants provides the first evidence of the overexpression of an inherent pineapple gene to produce fungal disease tolerance.
Paytm Money has appointed Sandiip Bharadwaj as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in July 2025. He succeeds Rakesh Singh, who is expected to move into a new role within the Paytm group.
Bharadwaj joins Paytm Money after serving as the Chief Operating and Digital Officer at HDFC Securities, where he led digital business strategy, product innovation, marketing, customer experience, and distribution across various investment services.
Paytm founder- Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
The Embassy of India, Kathmandu, Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Government of Nepal and Project Implementing Agencies of Government of Nepal signed Memorandums of Understandings (MoUs) for undertaking 5 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal,
under the grant assistance of Government of India in Education and Health Sectors, at a total estimated cost of NRs. 390 million.
These five projects, namely, Construction of Shree Jan Shakti Secondary School Building in Dhanusha; Construction of Shree Mahobani Padam Secondary School in Parsa; Construction of Shree Basuki Secondary School in Achham;
Construction of School Building, Hostel and Library of Benga Sah Secondary School in Bara and Construction of 5 Bed Hospital Building in Manang in Nepal shall be implemented through local authorities and institutions of the Government of Nepal including Municipalities and Rural Municipalities.
The construction of these facilities will help provide better education and health facilities to the people in Nepal. Since 2003, the Government of India has taken up 579 High Impact Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal.
Out of these, 496 projects have been completed in the areas of health, education, drinking water, connectivity, sanitation and,
creation of public utilities across all 7 provinces of Nepal at the grassroots level.
The remaining projects are ongoing at various stages. As close neighbours, India and Nepal share wide- ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation.
A total of 6 crore individuals has been screened for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) against the targeted 7 crore under the National Sickle Cell Mission. Among those screened, 2.15 lakh individuals diagnosed with the disease and 16.7 lakh carriers have been identified. Additionally, 2.6 crore health cards have been distributed by the respective states to the screened individuals.
States including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka, and Uttarakhand have demonstrated significant progress by achieving a high percentage of screening relative to their targets. The highest incidence of diagnosed cases has been reported in the states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
The National Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission was inaugurated on 1st July 2023 by the Hon’ble Prime Minister at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh. The mission aims to eliminate sickle cell anemia in India by 2047 through the creation of awareness, universal screening of 7 crore individuals aged 0-40 years in affected tribal areas by FY 2025-26.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today hosted a meeting of the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR) in New Delhi to advance coordinated measures against spam, fraud, and misuse of telecom infrastructure. Representatives from RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA and MeitY convened at TRAI headquarters, joined by officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT),
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The forum focused on rolling out collaborative regulatory measures, especially in light of rising digital payment-linked frauds.
Indian users can now use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for international transactions through PayPal, marking a significant development in cross-border digital payments. PayPal has launched "PayPal World", a new global platform designed to connect the world’s leading digital wallets and payment systems.
The platform’s initial rollout includes interoperability between PayPal and Venmo, and also brings UPI into the network. This means Indian consumers shopping on international websites will be able to complete purchases using UPI directly after selecting the PayPal option at checkout.
PayPal stated that the platform will include partners representing nearly two billion users worldwide, including NPCI International (UPI), Venmo, Tenpay Global, Mercado Pago, and PayPal itself. The platform also enables users from other regions to benefit.
Bajaj Finance's managing director, Anup Kumar Saha, has resigned due to personal reasons, the company said, four months after he was appointed.
The non-banking financial company said it has appointed Rajeev Jain to the role till March 31, 2028. Jain will also continue to serve as vice chairman of the company. Jain had served as the company's managing director before Saha.
Saha joined Bajaj Finance in 2017. He has a 32-year of impressive track record. He has served 25 years in the financial services industry of which 14 years was with a bank and 11 years with non-bank entities.
Before joining Bajaj Finance, Anup spent 14 years at ICICI Bank, rising to Senior General Manager and serving on the Board of ICICI Bank HFC and TU CIBIL.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) said it has signed an MoU with Ministry of Rural Development to promote its Bima Sakhi Yojana in rural areas.
The MoU was signed during the National Conclave on Financial Inclusion - 'Anubhuti' - organized by the ministry from July 8-10 in Goa.
LIC's Bima Sakhi Yojana is exclusively designed to help women get a strong foothold in the highly lucrative insurance distribution scheme, the insurer said.
Under this scheme, Bima Sakhi agents are provided with facility to receive monthly stipends of Rs 7,000 in first, Rs 6,000 in second and Rs 5,000 in the third agency year, subject to some terms and conditions.
