Amazon said that it has completed the acquisition of Bengaluru-based non-bank lender Axio for an undisclosed amount, securing a direct lending licence in India.
The Reserve Bank of India cleared the deal in June, said Mahendra Nerurkar, Amazon's vice president for payments for emerging markets. The deal has been in the works since December.
Axio, a 12-year-old fintech lender, offers financial products and services to both retail consumers and small businesses, focusing on digital credit and money management solutions.
Axio, which has tied up with Amazon since 2018 to offer credit and pay-later products, will continue operating as a separate business but become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon in India.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra-headed Sub-Committee of FSDC-SC discussed major global and domestic macroeconomic and financial sector developments and various issues that may have financial stability implications.
The panel reviewed the progress in several inter-regulatory matters including simplification of KYC processes and special drives for financial inclusion, the RBI said after a meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC-SC) chaired by the governor.
"The FSDC-SC reaffirmed its commitment to continue its focus on improving financial sector resilience through inter-regulatory coordination; and keeping a close watch on emerging challenges including those from heightened trade uncertainty and persisting geopolitical frictions," it said.
The panel also deliberated upon the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 202530.
It also reviewed the functioning of State-Level Coordination Committees (SLCCs) in states and Union Territories and activities of various technical groups.
The meeting was attended by Tuhin Kanta Pandey (Chairperson, SEBI); Ajay Seth (Chairperson, IRDAI); S Raman (Chairperson, PFRDA); and Ravi Mittal (Chairperson, IBBI).
RBI deputy governors M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi Sankar, Swaminathan J and Poonam Gupta, and Executive Director A R Joshi too participated in the meeting.
The government’s draft norms for the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Amendment Rules, 2015, are expected to ease compliance for foreign investment in the sector and give comfort to global players, according to experts.
The norms, put out last week, propose to omit the clause that requires a majority of directors and key management persons (KMP) to be resident Indian citizens in companies that have significant foreign investment.
This, according to experts, is expected to ease the compliance burden for companies.
However, the norms have retained the clause that one among the chairperson, managing director, and chief executive officer of the company must be a resident Indian.
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) Guwahati, under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL), New Delhi, has successfully developed a rare and high-purity Reference Material (RM) – Methandienone Long-Term Metabolite (LTM).
The Reference Material was formally launched today by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Hon’ble Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Minister of Labour & Employment, during the 22nd Governing Body Meeting of NDTL, in New Delhi.
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal inaugurated the Second Edition of the India MedTech Expo 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The event is being organized by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, in association with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices (EPCMD), and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
The three-day India MedTech Expo 2025, from 4–6 September 2025, is being held at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
The event is themed ‘India: Global MedTech Manufacturing Hub – Precision Engineering yet Affordable’ and showcases a wide range of innovations and initiatives by MSMEs, start-ups, research institutions, state showcases, future innovation pavilions, and central government departments.
The expo is witnessing participation from over 150 international buyers representing more than 30 countries, offering a unique platform for global stakeholders to explore partnerships and investments in India’s expanding MedTech ecosystem.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pfizer Limited.
The collaboration aims to accelerate the lab-to-market journey of innovative healthcare products by extending both financial and non-financial support to startups.
Under the partnership, the Pfizer INDovation program will empower DPIIT-recognized startups with grants of up to ₹60 lakhs each, along with a tailored 18-month incubation program delivered by Social Alpha. The program will provide dedicated acceleration tracks covering clinical validation, regulatory approvals, and go-to-market strategies.
Startups will also gain access to expert mentorship, infrastructure, and global networks, in addition to exposure at Pfizer’s Research and Development facilities in Chennai, enabling them to strengthen innovations with advanced industry insights.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and ICICI Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support startups and innovators across the country.
Under the MoU, ICICI Bank will design and roll out a Startup Engagement Programme, which will be hosted on the Startup India portal.
he programme will be seamlessly integrated with Startup India’s broader outreach and visibility initiatives to ensure maximum adoption and awareness. Startup India will support ICICI Bank in amplifying communication, managing programme visibility, and enabling connections with DPIIT-recognised startups across India.
The initiative will provide selected startups with access to ICICI Bank’s Mumbai-based accelerator facility, including dedicated workspace. They will benefit from a structured curriculum and mentorship by industry leaders, along with opportunities to run pilot programmes with ICICI Bank business units to validate product-market fit.
Aadhaar number holders executed over 221 crore authentication transactions in August 2025, more than the previous month this year as well as the corresponding month in the previous fiscal. The August 2025 authentication transactions are over 10.3% more than such transactions recorded in August 2024.
This is indicative of the growing usage and utility of Aadhaar, as well as the growth of digital economy in the country.
The Aadhaar Face Authentication solutions are also witnessing consistent growth. In August 2025, at least 18.6 crore face authentication transactions were executed, as against 6.04 Cr such transactions during the same period last year.
So far, around 213 crore face authentication transactions have been executed.
On Sept 1, UIDAI observed the highest ever face authentication transactions in a single day – over 1.5 crore; the previous high was recorded on 1 August 2025, when over 1.28 crore such transactions were executed.
Piyush Goyal, a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Nagaland cadre, assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Mines today. Prior to this assignment, Shri Goyal served as the Chief Executive Officer of NATGRID under Ministry of Home Affairs.
Shri Piyush Goyal succeeds Shri V.L. Kantha Rao, IAS (1992 batch), who is currently serving as Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses. The role of pulses in ensuring food security, nutritional well-being, and sustainable agriculture with significant environmental benefits is therefore, very critical.
In this context, a report titled “Strategies and Pathways for Accelerating Growth in Pulses towards the Goal of Atmanirbharta” was released by Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog, Prof. Ramesh Chand, in the presence of Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), etc.
The report lays out a detailed roadmap to accelerate the growth and transformation of India’s pulses sector. With nearly 80% of production dependent on rainfed areas and sustaining the livelihoods of over 5 crore farmers and their families, the sector is vital to rural economies and the vision of Atmanirbharta.
India and Singapore finalised five agreements to deepen cooperation in areas ranging from fintech innovation to a green shipping corridor as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong pledged to enhance trade and investments to cope with uncertainty in the global economy.
The two sides agreed to bolster cooperation to drive India’s ambition to emerge as semiconductor manufacturing hub, including a “green lane” initiative to optimise supply chains and minimise risks, and unveiled a roadmap focused on eight pillars, including economic cooperation, defence and security cooperation, digitalisation, connectivity, healthcare, and sustainability.
Wong, on his first visit to India after becoming prime minister, pledged to build on Singapore’s position as the largest source of FDI inflows for seven years by expanding cooperation in manufacturing, sustainable industrial parks, and supply chains and logistics.
An Assam-based foundation working on vulture conservation has developed a portal - reportedly the first of its kind in India - to build a network of individuals engaged in saving the large scavenger birds.
A group of organisations led by We Foundation India launched the portal, (September 2, 2025) in collaboration with Gauhati University’s Department of Zoology.
The Vulture Network is a cloud-based portal designed to serve as a comprehensive knowledge and awareness platform on vultures of India. It was developed to compile scientific information, spread awareness, and provide freely downloadable outreach materials for anyone interested in conducting awareness campaigns.
We Foundation’s partners in The Vulture Network include the Assam Bird Monitoring Network, LASA Foundation, Suraksha Samitee, and individual researchers and conservationists.
Special emphasis was laid on the slender-billed vulture, which has only about 800 mature individuals left.
The other eight species of scavenger birds in India are the white-rumped vulture, red-headed vulture, Himalayan griffon, Indian vulture, cinereous vulture, Eurasian griffon, Egyptian vulture, and bearded vulture.
The International Day of Charity was established with the objective of sensitizing and mobilizing people, NGOs, and stakeholders all around the world to to help others through volunteer and philanthropic activities.
The date of 5 September was chosen in order to commemorate the anniversary of the passing away of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace."
Mother Teresa, the renowned nun and missionary, was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910. In 1928 she went to India, where she devoted herself to helping the destitute. In 1948 she became an Indian citizen and founded the order of Missionaries of Charity in Kolkota (Calcutta) in 1950, which became noted for its work among the poor and the dying in that city.
Teachers are the beacons of guidance who influence our journey far beyond the classroom. They instill knowledge, values, and life skills that help us learn, grow, and transform into our best selves. Each year, on September 5, we celebrate Teacher’s Day to honour their invaluable role in our lives.
Teacher’s Day is observed on September 5 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second president of the country, and also a philosopher and an educationalist.
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan requested that his birthday should not be observed as a personal celebration, but instead, to be dedicated to honour the teachers of the country.
