Ms. Vandana Gupta assumed the charge of Controller General of Communication Accounts, New Delhi, upon her elevation to the Apex Grade.
A 1990 batch officer of the Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS), she has served in key positions across Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat Circles as well as at DoT Headquarters and in DoP.
On central deputation, she has also held important assignments as Principal Director, GASAB, O/o CAG, Delhi, Joint Secretary in the MoWCD, JS in NCW and Controller of Finance at GGSIPU.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched the second edition of the Brazil–India Cross-Incubation Programme in Agritech (Maitri 2.0) at New Delhi. The event was graced by Dr. M. L. Jat, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR), and H.E. Mr. Kenneth Nobrega, Ambassador of Brazil to India, along with senior officials and representatives.
Dr. Jat highlighted the 77-year-old partnership between India and Brazil. He emphasized their shared role in global platforms like BRICS and G20, and the recent ICAR–EMBRAPA MoU as a milestone for collaboration across the agri-food value chain.
The DG called Maitri 2.0 a two-way learning platform for co-creation between Indian and Brazilian innovators and reaffirmed the commitment to building a stronger, innovative, and inclusive agri-food ecosystem for global food security.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and Morocco’s Defence Minister Mr. Abdeltif Loudiyi held a bilateral meeting in Rabat on September 22, 2025, where both ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation.
The MoU provides for a robust institutional framework to the growing partnership and paves the way for collaboration in defence industry, joint exercises, military training and capacity building.
Both leaders decided to intensify defence industry collaboration and agreed on a comprehensive roadmap covering counter-terrorism, maritime security, cyber defence,
peacekeeping operations, military medicine, and expert exchanges. The discussions between the two Ministers reflected the shared resolve to further strengthen the longstanding friendship between India and Morocco.
To give momentum to these initiatives, Raksha Mantri announced the opening of a new Defence Wing at the Embassy of India in Rabat.
He also highlighted the maturity of India’s defence industry and its cutting-edge capabilities, including drone and counter-drone technologies, assuring the Moroccan side that Indian companies are well-positioned to meet the requirements of Morocco’s defence forces.
The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $125 million loan agreement with to enhance urban livability and bolster climate resilience in six district headquarters and Guwahati, in the State of Assam.
The project will benefit 360,000 residents of Assam by delivering continuous metered water supply and upgrading stormwater management systems.
It also seeks to strengthen urban governance through institutional reforms and capacity building.
Key infrastructure investments include the construction of six water treatment plants with a combined capacity of 72 million litres per day and 800 km distribution pipelines in the district headquarters of Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Goalpara, Golaghat, and Nalbari.
The project will also deploy a real-time monitoring system, aiming to maintain nonrevenue water below 20%.
In Guwahati, the project will enhance stormwater management in the Bahini Basin with flood diversion channels, upgraded drainage systems, and a nature-based retention pond to reduce flood discharge and improve groundwater recharge.
The project also includes the establishment of the Assam State Institute for Urban Development in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.Additionally, it will roll out a GIS-based property tax database, digital water billing systems, and a volumetric water tariff structure across project towns to improve financial sustainability and service delivery.
Government has approved the release of 25 lakh additional LPG connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) during the Financial Year 2025-26, in a major step towards women empowerment.
With this expansion, the total number of PMUY connections will rise to 10.58 crore.
Under PMUY, beneficiaries receive a deposit-free LPG connection that covers the security deposit of cylinder, pressure regulator, suraksha hose, Domestic Gas Consumer Card (DGCC) booklet, and installation charges.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, in partnership with the United Nations in India, today launched the Adi Yuva Fellowship and the Adi Karmayogi Volunteers Programme under the Adi Karmayogi Abhiyan, a flagship initiative envisioned as the world’s largest tribal grassroots leadership movement.
The Adi KarmayogiAbhiyan was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 17 September 2025 as part of Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh (15 Nov 2024 – 15 Nov 2025). It aims to directly engage 11 crore citizens across one lakh tribal-dominated villages in 550 districts of 30 States and Union Territories.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted standalone primary dealers (SPDs) to participate in non-deliverable derivative contracts (NDDCs) involving the Indian rupee, the central bank said in a notification.
Earlier, only Authorised Dealer Category-I (AD Cat-I) banks and International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Banking Units were allowed to transact in such instruments with users, other AD Cat-I banks, and overseas banks.
Walmart-backed Flipkart India is planning to invest $300 million in its fintech arm, Super.money, as the e-commerce major pushes further into lending and stock broking.
This investment comes after a $20 million infusion the company made last year when it spun off the fintech unit, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.
Super.money, led by Chief Executive Officer Prakash Sikaria, is also gearing up to raise funds from external investors to further fuel its expansion.
Super.money-
Launched in 2024, Super.money initially positioned itself as a “scan-and-pay” UPI app. It has since expanded to offer fixed deposits and secured cards.
Its launch followed the separation of fintech major PhonePe from Flipkart, with the e-commerce firm creating Super.money as a full-stack digital financial services platform targeting its vast customer base.
Super.money becomes India’s 5th-largest UPI app
According to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Super.money is now India’s fifth-largest UPI app, handling nearly 257 million transactions worth ₹9,290.21 crore.
The app rapidly grew its user base by offering up to five per cent cashback on merchant spends and targeting digitally savvy, first-time earners.
Super.money also launched a co-branded credit card with Axis Bank and is planning to widen its offerings into personal loans and wealth products.
As many as 16 states were in revenue surplus during 2022-23, with Uttar Pradesh topping the chart with Rs 37,263 crore, followed by Gujarat and Odisha, according a CAG report.
As per the fiscal responsibility and fiscal consolidation path prescribed by the XV Finance Commission,
the states were required to have either zero-revenue deficit or become revenue surplus during 2022-23.
The Centre has created a dedicated category on National Consumer Helpline's INGRAM portal for registering complaints related to revised GST rates and their redressal.
The GST Council has reduced the tax rates on various goods and services with effect from September 22.
To address the expected consumer queries and complaints on NCH following the implementation of revised GST charges, rates and exemptions effective from September 22, a dedicated category has been enabled on the INGRAM (Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism) portal.
This category features major sub-categories including automobiles, banking, consumer durables, e-commerce, FMCG and others wherein GST related complaints will be registered.
The National Consumer Helpline has emerged as a single point of access for consumers across the country to register grievances at the pre-litigation stage.
Consumers can now lodge their complaints in 17 languages -- Hindi, English, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Nepali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Maithili, Santhali, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, and Manipuri -- via toll-free number 1915 or through the Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM).
This omni-channel IT-enabled platform supports multiple registration modes including WhatsApp, SMS, e-mail, NCH app, web portal and Umang app providing convenience and flexibility to consumers.
Each complaint is assigned a unique docket number for transparent tracking and resolution. The technology upgrade at NCH has significantly boosted its call-handling capacity.
In a major update for beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin Yojana, the Maharashtra government has announced that completing an e-KYC will now be compulsory. Women who fail to do so within two months risk losing their monthly assistance of Rs 1,500.
Launched in July 2024, the scheme provides financial support to economically weaker women in the state.
Eligible women, aged 21 to 65 years with a family income of up to Rs 2.5 lakh annually, receive Rs 1,500 per month directly in their bank accounts.
The scheme aims to boost women’s economic independence and support household budgets, particularly in rural and low-income communities.
The state government recently disclosed that over 26 lakh ineligible people, including men, had managed to get enrolled in the scheme and were drawing the allowance. To curb such leakages and maintain transparency, Aadhaar-based verification is now being enforced.
The rules for processing Unified Payments Interface (UPI) settlements will change from November 3 to make them faster and smoother for banks and users.
UPI operates 10 settlement cycles daily, with both authorised payments (genuine transactions approved by users) and dispute settlements (reversals or refunds) processed together in each cycle.
With billions of monthly UPI transactions, mixing the two services types had slowed down settlement finalisation. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which manages UPI, has decided to separate the two categories.
The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 23 September as the International Day of Sign Languages in order to raise awareness of the importance of sign language in the full realization of the human rights of people who are deaf.
According to the World Federation of the Deaf, there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide.
More than 80% of them live in developing countries. Collectively, they use more than 300 different sign languages.
Sign languages are fully fledged natural languages, structurally distinct from the spoken languages. There is also an international sign language, which is used by deaf people in international meetings and informally when travelling and socializing.
