The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), a premier R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, Government of India, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR), a leading institution of national importance.
As part of the MOU, C-DOT is setting up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at IIT Roorkee. The primary objective of C-DOT Centre of Excellence (CoE) at IIT Roorkee, is to accelerate indigenous research, innovation and capacity building in advanced communication technologies.
The centre will drive joint research and prototype development in key emerging domains including 5G/6G, RF-Sub-THz integrated circuits, sensors, millimeter wave beamforming antennas with integrated ICs, V2X Communication, data-driven wireless communication technologies, energy efficiency etc.
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), in a series of important steps towards empowering local communities and promoting fair and equitable benefit sharing, has released ₹5.34 crore to around 85 Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC).
These BMCs fall under various Nagar and Gram Panchayats in Wada Tehsil, Palghar District, and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation of Maharashtra. The funds will be disbursed through the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board.
Notably, around 15% of the ABS applications are for accessing microorganisms, underscoring an important fact - ‘micro’ organisms can generate ‘macro’ benefits for farmers, local communities, BMCs and other stakeholders.
Prior to this, the NBA had released more than ₹2.56 crore to 108 BMCs and 7 institutions in Maharashtra. The current disbursement of ₹5.34 crore adds substantially to this progress. With this release, India’s total Access and Benefit Sharing disbursements have crossed an impressive amount of ₹116 crores.
In acknowledgement of its comprehensive outreach efforts, innovative public engagement formats and inclusive communication strategy, the GST & Customs Pavilion has bagged the Gold Prize in the ‘Public Outreach and Communication’ Category at IITF 2025 in New Delhi.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) successfully showcased its flagship ‘GST & Customs Pavilion’ at the India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2025 in New Delhi, from 14th-27th November 2025.
Designed as an interactive and educational space, the Pavilion served as an important public interface where taxpayers, industry representatives, students, and citizens could engage with CBIC’s ongoing initiatives to simplify compliance and enhance service delivery.
Analysis of the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) for FY 2024-25 (CY 2024) by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has identified high-risk cases where foreign assets appear to exist but have not been reported in the ITRs filed for AY 2025-26.
The Ministry of Mines Pavilion awarded Silver Medal (Second Prize) for excellence in display under the Central Ministries & Government Departments Pavilion Category at IITF 2025. The award was presented by IITF officials to Smt. Farida M. Naik, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines, along with senior officials of the Ministry.
Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the Ministry presented India’s industrial and strategic capabilities in a compelling manner. NALCO showcased its leadership in aluminium production and its applications across clean energy, transport, and strategic sectors.
Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) displayed copper products, highlighted copper’s importance across power, construction, railways, and electronics, while emphasizing its cultural contribution to the Ram Mandir, supplying around 70,000 pure copper strips and blocks for joining stones and strengthening the temple structure.
Legendary Bharatanatyam artiste Kamala Lakshminarayanan, fondly known as Baby Kamala and later Kumari Kamala, passed away in California at the age of 91. She was one of the last links to the transformative decades when sadir was reborn as Bharatanatyam and reclaimed as a classical art on the public stage.
Along with her guru, Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai, Kamala came to define the ornate, lyrical Vazhuvur bani for more than half a century. Under his guidance, she helped establish the style’s signature blend of grace, flowing lines and dramatic sweep as the reigning aesthetic of mid‑20th‑century Bharatanatyam.
Born in 1934,Kamala went on to straddle both stage and cinema. She toured the world extensively, and eventually settled in the U.S., where she continued to teach and advocate for the art. Honours such as the Padma Bhushan in 1975 and the U.S. National Heritage Fellowship acknowledged what rasikas already knew: that she was one of Bharatanatyam’s defining modern architects.
Nineteen-year-old Uzbek GM Javokhir Sindarov has won the 2025 FIDE World Cup and the $120,000 top prize after beating GM Wei Yi 1.5-0.5 in tiebreaks. Sindarov missed a one-move chance to win with White in the first tiebreak game, but he made no mistake with Black in the second.
The World Cup bracket is complete, with Sindarov the last of 206 players left standing. He takes the trophy and $120,000, while Wei takes second place and $85,000. A day earlier, GM Andrey Esipenko won the third-place match and a spot in the FIDE Candidates Tournament, earning $60,000 compared to GM Nodirbek Yakubboev's $50,000.
The 2025 FIDE World Cup, which took place from November 1 to 26 in Goa, India, determined three spots in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament. It was a 206-player single-elimination knockout tournament with eight rounds. Each match consisted of two classical games followed by rapid and blitz tiebreaks if needed. The prize fund was $2 million.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar is set to assume the role of the Chairperson of the 35-nation International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for the year 2026.
He will take over the position on December 3 during the meeting of the Council of Member States of International IDEA to be held in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mr. Kumar will be presiding over all council meetings during 2026.
Mr. Kumar’s appointment as Chairperson of International IDEA serves as a global recognition of the Election Commission of India as one of the world’s most credible and innovative election management bodies, an official statement said on November 26, 2025.
Established in 1995, the International IDEA is an inter-governmental organisation committed to strengthening democratic institutions and processes across the world. With a current membership of 35 countries and the United States and Japan as observers, the organisation aims to promote inclusive, resilient, and accountable democracies.
PUMA has appointed Ramprasad Sridharan as managing director of PUMA India from December.
He will report directly to PUMA chief commercial officer Matthias Bäumer at PUMA.
Sridharan comes with over 25 years of experience in brand building across the Asia-Pacific region, including digital growth and commercial strategy.
Most recently, he was the chief executive officer and managing director at United Colors of Benetton India.
Sridharan replaces Karthik Balagopalan, who decided to pursue new interests outside the company.
Before joining United Colors of Benetton India, Sridharan held various senior leadership roles at companies such as Clarks and Reebok India.
Markets regulator Sebi has relaxed the educational qualification criteria for Investment Advisers (IAs) and Research Analysts (RAs), allowing graduates from any discipline to apply for registration.
However, passing the NISM certification exam will remain mandatory to ensure domain knowledge and professional preparedness, Sebi said in two separate notifications.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $400 million results-based lending (RBL) program to help the state of Maharashtra develop climate-resilient, low-carbon, safe, and inclusive road networks, with a particular focus on enhancing connectivity for rural communities.
The Maharashtra Roads Connectivity for Inclusive Growth Program will improve all-weather road connectivity in 34 districts, particularly in the climate-vulnerable and economically lagging Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, linking rural communities to markets, logistics hubs, health care, education, and other essential services.
The program will strengthen road safety management using the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) methodology and the safe systems approach. It will support safer road designs and treatments, including school and village gateway improvements, while building institutional capacity and training at least 120 engineers in road safety.
State-owned Chhattisgarh Housing Board (CGHB) has launched 55 projects worth Rs 2,060 crore to provide affordable homes in 26 districts, expanding plans as its revenue revives after years of slump.Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai inaugurated the projects to build 12,000 homes at a housing industry fair in Raipur on Sunday.
The state has cleared loans worth Rs 790 crore to CGHB. “In two years, Chhattisgarh has approved homes for 2.6 million beneficiaries. Under the PM Janman Yojana, 32,000 homes have been sanctioned for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. In Bastar, 15,000 homes have been approved for Maoists who have surrendered and families affected by Left-Wing Extremism,” Sai said.
CGHB Chairman Anurag Singh Deo said money received from people booking homes will be used to fund the 55 projects. Construction will start in about three months and work will be completed in 24 months.CGHB earned Rs 278 crore in revenue from 2019 to 2023 amid weak demand, prompting it to launch a one-time settlement scheme and discounts for stranded units.
The steps turned around things, and “in the last one-and-a-half years, the revenue of CGHB soared to Rs 860 crore,” Singh Deo said. “By next month, housing projects will be launched in the remaining seven districts of the state,” he said. CGHB’s projects also provide premier homes.
Banking Connect, a newly launched net banking platform, will help the Reserve Bank of India monitor fund transfers in real time, a top official of NPCI Bharat BillPay said.
Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of One 97 Communications, received the final nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator about three months after the company received the regulator’s in-principle approval.
The licence allows PPSL to onboard merchants, facilitating online transactions for them.
The approval also comes at a time when the company is focused on growing its payments business.
With the approval, Paytm will rival other payment aggregator firms such as Razorpay, Cashfree Payments and Infibeam’s CCAvenue.
The company received the in-principle approval in August this year. With that approval, the merchant onboarding restrictions were eased after more than two years, when they were imposed on the firm in November 2022.
The only business restriction that remains now is on its associate entity, Paytm Payments Bank.
PPSL had reapplied for a licence in September 2024 after the RBI rejected its application in November 2022 due to issues related to foreign investment norms.
The in-principle approval in August came just a week after Antfin, the Chinese investment arm of Alibaba, exited the firm completely.
The Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India (FIMMDA) on Tuesday proposed the settlement framework and market conventions for a new Overnight Indexed Swap (OIS) product using the secured overnight rupee rate (SORR) as the floating rate benchmark. The association has invited feedback on the proposal by December 15.
The SORR-OIS will be a standard interest rate swap, with SORR as the floating rate, observed daily, compounded and paid at an agreed frequency, similar to the existing Mumbai inter-bank offered rate (MIBOR) OIS product.
