Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Australia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the area of Food Safety on 24th September 2025 at FSSAI Headquarters, New Delhi.
The signing of MoU represents a significant milestone in the enduring partnership between India and Australia, reflecting the two countries’ shared commitment to food safety. The MoU will strengthen cooperation in the field of food safety, through the exchange of best practices, knowledge sharing, import procedures and other technical collaboration including,
capacity-building initiatives.
Both sides expressed confidence that the MoU will foster stronger institutional ties and contribute in advancing food safety standards in both nations.
The MoU was signed by Shri Rajit Punhani, CEO, FSSAI and Mr. Tom Black, First Assistant Secretary, DAFF, Australia.
The Ministry of Ayush unveiled "Prayas", an Integrated Neuro-Rehabilitation Centre at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), Goa, marking a milestone in the Ayush domain. The centre was inaugurated on the occasion of the 10th Ayurveda Day.
"Prayas" is among the first-of-its-kind multi-disciplinary centres in the country that brings together Ayurveda, Physiotherapy, Yoga, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and modern Paediatrics under one roof. Designed to provide holistic and patient-centred neuro-rehabilitation, the Centre is especially focused on children with neurological and developmental conditions.
The Department of Posts introduced Speed Post on 1st August 1986 to provide fast and reliable delivery of letters and parcels across the country. Launched as part of India Post’s modernization efforts, the service was designed to ensure time-bound, efficient, and secure mail delivery.
Over the years, Speed Post has emerged as one of the most popular and trusted mail services in India, standing strong against private courier companies.
Since its inception, Speed Post has continued to evolve to meet changing customer needs.
The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), under the aegis of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has constituted a Core Working Group (CWG) on Corporate Affairs and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) under the Chairmanship of Shri Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Director General & CEO, IICA.
This was done in pursuance of the directions of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The Group has been formed to facilitate structured consultation and decision-making on matters relating to corporate disclosures and governance in alignment with global practices and national priorities.
The terms of reference of the CWG include examination of disclosure provisions under the Companies Act, 2013, review of international best practices, recommendations for board-level ESG oversight, convergence of Indian norms with global standards, stakeholder engagement frameworks, and enabling measures for innovation, financing and impact assessment of ESG initiatives.
Prof. Garima Dadhich, Head, School of Business Environment (SBE), IICA, will serve as the Member-Convener. The School of Business Environment shall function as the Secretariat to the Group and provide institutional and technical support
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, presented the National Geoscience Awards-2024 for outstanding contributions in the field of Geoscience at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre. (September 26, 2025).
The National Geoscience Awards, instituted by the Ministry of Mines, Government of India in 1966,
recognize individuals and teams for extraordinary achievements and outstanding contributions in various fields of geosciences, such as mineral discovery & exploration, fundamental/ applied geosciences, mining and allied areas.
World Tourism Day, observed annually on September 27, is an initiative of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). It commemorates the adoption of the UNWTO statutes in 1970and emphasises the sector's role in supporting the socio–economic growth of countries and advancing the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is poised to make his debut in the Big Bash League (BBL), joining the Sydney Thunder for the upcoming season. This move will make Ashwin the first prominent Indian cricketer to participate in the Australian T20 competition.
At 39, Ravichandran Ashwin is set to become the first male cricketer from India’s national team to participate in the Big Bash League (BBL). He joins a very select group of Indian players who have competed in franchise leagues outside the IPL.
Unlike their male counterparts, Indian women cricketers have regularly featured in overseas domestic leagues, including the Weber WBBL. However, the BCCI does not permit active Indian male players—whether international or domestic, to take part in foreign T20 leagues.
Only those who have officially retired from Indian cricket are eligible to play in such competitions abroad.
Ashwin, who recently stepped away from international cricket as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL), has also entered the auction for the UAE’s ILT20.
Sudhanshu Vats, Managing Director, Pidilite Industries Limited, has been named the new chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) at its 39th annual general meeting (AGM).
With ASCI, India’s self-regulatory body for advertising, completing 40 years in October, the appointment comes in a milestone year, ASCI said.
S. Subramanyeswar, of MullenLowe Global, has been named vice-chairman. Paritosh Joshi, Principal at Provocateur Advisory was named honorary treasurer.
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras) has been nominated as a UN Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence (AI), capacity building and skilling by the Indian government.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary S Krishnan said that in its endeavour to support the Global South in AI capacity building and skill development, India is nominating IIT-Madras, which is institute of eminence, to be an AI Centre of Excellence (COE) under the initiative of United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (ODET).
ODET is an organisation set up to help the UN address more effectively the opportunities and challenges posed by rapidly evolving technological landscape including areas of AI governance. Various countries will nominate an institution under ODET to form a network of COEs.
Indian authorities have imposed import restrictions on plain silver jewellery until the end of March 2026, prompted by a significant rise in imports under preferential duty exemptions from April-June 2024-25 to April-June 2025-26.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a notification stating: "Import policy has been amended from free to restricted with immediate effect till March 31, 2026," requiring that all such imports now obtain a government licence.
The change is in response to increased imports that allegedly bypassed free trade agreement (FTA) provisions by being classified as finished jewellery.
The restrictions are intended to address these concerns while also preventing the continued misuse of FTAs for duty-free imports of plain silver items.
Senior advocate R. Venkataramani was on September 26, 2025 re-appointed as the Attorney General of India for two years, the Law Ministry said.
Mr. Venkataramani has been re-appointed as the top law officer of the country, effective October 1. His present three-year term ends on September 30.
Mr. Venkataramani (75) succeeded veteran jurist K.K. Venugopal as the Attorney General (AG) on September 30, 2022. He entered the office the next day.
The Attorney General is a constitutional position and is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Union government.
The AG enjoys the right to appear in any court in the country.
Besides handling government litigations, the AG also advises the government on complex legal issues.
He was designated as a senior advocate by the apex court in 1997. He was also a member of the Law Commission in 2010.
Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the Government of India, has decided that the limit for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the second half of the financial year 2025-26 (October 2025 to March 2026) will be ₹50,000 crore.
Reserve Bank of India may trigger fresh floatation of market loans when the Government of India utilises 75 per cent of the WMA limit.
Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the Government of India, retains the flexibility to revise the WMA limit at any time taking into consideration the prevailing circumstances.
The interest rate on WMA/Overdraft will be as under:
WMA: Repo Rate
Overdraft: Two percent above the Repo Rate
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated September 24, 2025, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹2.70 lakh (Rupees Two Lakh Seventy Thousand only) on Muthoot FinCorp Limited (the company) for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on ‘Internal Ombudsman’.
his penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 58G read with clause (aa) of sub-section (5) of Section 58B of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
The statutory inspection of the company was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2024.
