The IndiaAI Mission under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, in collaboration with the Government of Gujarat and Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar is convening a Regional Pre-Summit Event on 11 December 2025 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar.
This Regional Conference is paving the path for India–AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for 15–20 February 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
The regional summit will bring together senior policymakers, technology leaders, researchers, and industry practitioners to deliberate on AI-driven economic, digital, and social transformation.
Anchored in the theme AI for Good Governance: Empowering India’s Digital Future, the programme features high-impact keynote sessions led by national and global experts from MeitY, Bhashini, Google Cloud, Microsoft, IBM Research, NVIDIA, Oracle, and AWS.
NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) have joined forces to launch a nationwide start-up acceleration programme aimed at advancing India’s transition to a circular economy.
This initiative, under HUL’s flagship Project Circular Bharat, will identify and support 50 high-potential circular economy start-ups over the next three years.
The programme will prioritise start-ups innovating in plastics circularity with solutions for plastic recycling, reuse & refill models and next-generation packaging materials. Beyond plastics, the programme will also support start-ups tackling material recovery in other post-consumer waste streams such as textiles, e-waste.
The partnership brings together AIM and NITI Aayog’s policy and innovation nurturing expertise, HUL’s extensive industry network, and Xynteo’s strategic expertise to accelerate breakthrough solutions that drive India’s shift toward a circular economy.
About Hindustan Unilever Limited
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is one of India’s largest Fast-Moving Consumer Goods company with its products touching the lives of nine out of ten households in the country. HUL works to create a better future every day.
About Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog is Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. It fosters innovation through its national programs like ATL, AIC, and ACIC and others.
The Sanchar Mitra Scheme envisions to engage the Yuva Shakti- India’s youth, as catalysts for digital empowerment and societal outreach. The students nominated as Sanchar Mitra are expected to actively conduct awareness drives in communities, educational institutions, public spaces, etc.,
focusing on key telecom-related issues, like citizen-centric telecom services, prevention of telecom frauds and mobile security - promoting digital safety, and foster responsible telecom usage.
This scheme is open to students from those technical institutes that have active telecom, electronics, computers, cybersecurity or similar programs and,
have agreed to participate in the scheme.
The scheme has been implemented across all states/ UTs through the LSA field offices of DoT. 222 institutions are currently participating in it.
Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development- Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar.
The Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri C.R. Patil today launched the Sujalam Bharat App, a key digital initiative designed to transform rural drinking water governance by placing comprehensive, real-time information in the hands of both citizens and institutions.
The app has been developed with the support of Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) to enable advanced geo-referencing, monitoring and management of rural water supply infrastructure under Jal Jeevan Mission.
It marks a major step in operationalizing the Sujalam Bharat Database. Each scheme and its service area will be assigned a unique Sujalam Bharat – Sujal Gaon ID, enabling clear identification of which scheme is supplying water to which households.
Following the launch, a detailed training and orientation session was conducted for all States and Union Territories by the BISAG-N technical team, focusing on the operational use of the Sujalam Bharat App, geo-referencing procedures, and integration of rural water supply assets on the Sujalam Bharat platform.
The Sujalam Bharat Database integrates critical data including water sources, asset inventories, scheme designs, operational records, water quality reports, supply metrics, and community feedback into a single platform. With the introduction of the Sujal Gaon ID, every habitation will have a clear digital profile showing:
Its source of drinking water (local or bulk supply)
The nature and condition of its infrastructure
Supply reliability
Water quality status
O&M arrangements
This platform will ensure transparency in the performance of Gram Panchayats/VWSCs and service providers, thereby promoting community participation and oversight.
The platform’s integration with PM Gati Shakti GIS provides up-to-date geospatial mapping of rural water networks, supporting future planning, repair, and expansion with greater precision.
The launch of the Sujalam Bharat App is therefore a milestone toward a secure, reliable, and technology-enabled rural drinking water ecosystem.
In summary: Just as Aadhaar became the backbone of India’s identity system, Sujalam Bharat – Sujal Gaon ID will serve as the identity of rural water management, forming the very foundation of a transparent, accountable and citizen-centric service delivery framework.
The Ministry of Labour & Employment signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft in the presence of Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya and CEO, Microsoft, Mr. Satya Nadella, in New Delhi.
This collaboration represents a major step in expanding employment linkages, scaling AI-led skilling, and preparing India’s workforce for global opportunities.
A central feature of the partnership is Microsoft’s commitment to encourage 15,000+ employers and partners from its extensive international network onto the Ministry’s National Career Service (NCS) platform.
This will significantly broaden formal job access, support high-growth sectors, and enable India to develop a skilled workforce not only for domestic demand but also for the world, strengthening pathways for international mobility of Indian professionals and youth.
The MoU will also expand AI-driven skilling initiatives through DigiSaksham, equipping millions of young people with future-ready capabilities in AI, cloud technologies, cybersecurity, and productivity tools. These efforts will contribute to building a workforce aligned with global standards and emerging industry needs.
The Union Government has released ₹87.52 crores for Rural Local Bodies in Assam under the XV Finance Commission during FY 2025–26. This amount represents the withheld portion of the 1st and 2nd instalments of Untied Grants for the financial year 2024–25.
The funds have been released for all three eligible Autonomous District Councils - Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and Dima Hasao Autonomous Council (DHAC).
Government of India through Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Jal Shakti (Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation) recommends release of XV-FC grants to States for Rural Local Bodies, which are then released by Ministry of Finance. The allocated grants are recommended and released in 2 installments in a financial year.
The Untied Grants will be utilized by RLBs for location-specific felt needs, under the twenty-nine subjects enshrined in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, except for salaries and other establishment costs. The Tied Grants can be used for the basic services of (a) sanitation and maintenance of ODF status.
Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations with a long-term approach.
The scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV), India’s leading university for the transportation and logistics sector and Amazon, the leading E-Commerce company of the world. The MOU shall enable knowledge sharing, joint development of academic curriculum, and joint research activities.
One of the most important aspects of the MOU is to set up Amazon Chair Professorship at GSV and conduct research into the warehousing sector leveraging data driven decision making frameworks.
GSV was established as a Central University by the Act of Parliament in 2022.
Working under the Ministry of Railways (Govt. of India), the University covers the entire transportation sector including Railways, Highways, Ports, Aviation, Maritime, Shipping, Inland Waterways, Urban Transport and complete Logistics and supply chain networks.
The university is headed by Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw (Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology) as the University Chancellor.
Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forests, has won the UN Environment Programme’s 2025 Champions of the Earth award. She is one of the climate forerunner tackling some of the most urgent challenges.
According to UNEP, Ms. Sahu has been chosen for her inspiration and action.
she has positioned Tamil Nadu as a global leader in climate mitigation, adaptation and heat resilience. Her initiatives have showcased how integrated governance and nature-based solutions, along with a mix of low- and high-tech interventions, can protect vulnerable communities, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the UNEP said.
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu has won the FIDE Circuit 2025, securing a spot in the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
The Indian prodigy seized the lead in the race in May by overtaking Ding Liren and confidently maintained it throughout the season.
By the end of November, his main rivals – Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Bluebaum, and Javokhir Sindarov – had already qualified for the Candidates 2026 via other paths, while Vincent Keymer had no classical events scheduled for the rest of the year.
Only Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who was playing in the points-heavy London Chess Classic Elite, had a theoretical chance to catch up.
With this in mind, Praggnanandhaa made a last-minute entry into the London Chess Classic Open to clinch his Candidates qualification, regardless of the upcoming FIDE Rapid and Blitz results. He did deliver, collecting 8.17 circuit points.
Residents and non-residents will be permitted to do transactions in interest-rate derivatives (IRD) in rupees, according to master directions released by the Reserve Bank of India.
The central bank had released the draft guidelines in June this year.
The directions outline who can participate in this, how products may be introduced, and the limits applicable to foreign investors.
Non-residents can enter these trades through their central treasury or group entities if the market maker is authorised to transact on their behalf.
Berkley Insurance’s GIFT city branch has become the first property & casualty (P&C) insurer to hold both insurance and reinsurance licences, Shasi Nair, CEO-Asia, Berkley Insurance Asia.
Berkley Insurance Company IFSC Branch, part of Berkley Insurance Asia announced the launch of its India operations.
The company plans to focus on reinsurance and commence operations across speciality lines by the end of the financial year 2026 (FY26).
For the current financial year (FY26), the company intends to concentrate on specialty insurance lines, including financial lines, cyber, casualty, professional indemnity, species insurance, and marine insurance.
Berkley Insurance Asia is a specialty insurer that provides facultative reinsurance, and according to company officials, this model aligns well with the needs of the Indian market.
The company received approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) for its GIFT City branch in December 2024.
According to officials, India is one of the fastest-growing insurance markets globally, and being present within the country helps in better understanding of the business.
Additionally, with the licence to operate from GIFT City, the company moves from Tier IV to Tier II in the order of preference for reinsurance placements.
Ghaziabad emerged as the most polluted city in the country in November, recording extremely high levels of fine particulate matter throughout the month, according to a fresh analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah created history in the first T20I against South Africa when he dismissed Dewald Brevis in the 11th over of the chase. That wicket helped him complete 100 T20I wickets, making him only the second Indian fast bowler, after Arshdeep Singh, to reach the milestone.
With this achievement, Bumrah also became the first Indian bowler ever to take 100 or more wickets in all three formats of international cricket. He now has 234 wickets in Tests, 149 in ODIs, and 102* in T20Is.
Notably, only five players have taken 100 wickets in all three international formats: Lasith Malinga, Tim Southee, Shakib Al Hasan, Shahid Afridi and now Jasprit.
Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi became the youngest to complete the treble in December 2024. Bumrah now extends the list to five and gives India its first representative in the group.
The achievement from Bumrah proves that he has already built a legacy that is unmatched in Indian cricket.
11 December “International Mountain Day”. As of 2003, it has been observed every year to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world.
Mountains are natural jewels we should treasure. They are home to 15% of the world´s population and host about half of the world's biodiversity hotspots. They provide freshwater for everyday life to half of humanity, helping to sustain agriculture and supply clean energy and medicines.
