The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu undertook a dived sortie onboard Submarine – INS Vaghsheer on Western Seaboard. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi accompanied the President. She embarked the submarine at Karwar Naval Harbour, Karnataka on (December 28, 2025).
During over 2 hour long sortie, she interacted with the Submarine crew and witnessed the operational demonstrations.
President Droupadi Murmu is the second President to take sortie in a Submarine after President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
This maiden embarkation onboard an indigenous Kalvari-class submarine reflects the continued engagement of the Supreme Commander with the Armed Forces in operational settings. Earlier in November 2024, the President had witnessed an Operational Demonstration by the Indian Navy onboard the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
On the occasion of National Consumer Day 2025, held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, the Hon’ble Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Pralhad Joshi, released IS 19445:2025 – Bomb Disposal Systems — Performance Evaluation and Requirements, an Indian Standard aimed at strengthening safety and standardisation in bomb disposal operations.
The National Test House (NTH), an institution under the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Defence Materials and Stores Research & Development Establishment (DMSRDE), a laboratory of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO),
Ministry of Defence, Government of India, to strengthen cooperation in the areas of research, testing and training.
The MoU aims to facilitate:
Collaborative research and testing activities
Sharing of laboratory and instrumentation facilities
Exchange of scientific and technical expertise
Capacity building through seminars, workshops and training programmes
Cooperation in areas of mutual interest and national importance
Under the agreement, both institutions will extend mutual support in testing and evaluation services, particularly in cases where specialised facilities are not available in-house, subject to agreed terms and conditions.
NTH, established in 1912, provides testing, inspection and quality assurance services for a wide range of industrial and consumer products in accordance with national and international standards. An NABL-accredited and BIS-recognised laboratory, NTH operates through a network of regional laboratories across the country.
DMSRDE, Kanpur, with a legacy dating back to 1929, is engaged in research and development of non-metallic materials such as polymers, composites, elastomers, ceramics, technical textiles, fuels, lubricants and other specialty materials critical for defence applications.
he Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) notified the operational guidelines for two major shipbuilding initiatives, the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) and the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS) aimed at strengthening India’s domestic shipbuilding capacity and improving global competitiveness.
Under SBFAS, which has a total corpus of ₹24,736 crore, the government will provide financial assistance ranging from 15% to 25% per vessel, depending on the vessel category. The scheme introduces graded support for small normal, large normal and specialised vessels, with stage-wise disbursement linked to defined milestones and backed by security instruments.
The scheme provides for the establishment of a National Shipbuilding Mission to ensure coordinated planning and execution of shipbuilding initiatives. It also introduces a Shipbreaking Credit Note, under which ship owners scrapping vessels at Indian yards will receive a credit equivalent to 40% of the scrap value,
linking ship recycling with new ship construction and supporting a circular economy approach. Independent valuation and milestone-based assessments have been made mandatory to strengthen governance and ensure efficient use of public funds.
Over the next decade, SBFAS is expected to support shipbuilding projects worth about Rs. 96,000 crore, stimulate domestic manufacturing and generate employment across the maritime value chain.
The Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), with a budgetary outlay of ₹19,989 crore, focuses on long-term capacity and capability creation.
Under SbDS, greenfield shipbuilding clusters will receive 100% capital support for common maritime and internal infrastructure through a 50:50 Centre–State special purpose vehicle, while existing shipyards will be eligible for 25% capital assistance for brownfield expansion of critical infrastructure such as dry docks, shiplifts,fabrication facilities and automation system.
The scheme also includes a Credit Risk Coverage Framework, offering government-backed insurance for pre-shipment, post-shipment and vendor-default risks to improve project bankability and financial resilience.
Both SBFAS and SbDS will remain valid until March 31, 2036, with an in-principle extension envisaged up to 2047.
Anu Garg, a 1991-batch IAS officer, has been elevated to the post of Chief Secretary, becoming the first woman to occupy the topmost position in the Odisha bureaucracy.
Her appointment comes in the wake of the superannuation of the incumbent Chief Secretary, Manoj Ahuja, who is set to retire on December 31, 2025.
Ms. Garg is currently serving as Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary to the Planning and Convergence Department and holds additional charge of the Water Resources Department.
Widely regarded as a trusted and capable administrator, Ms. Garg efficiently implemented several key development initiatives during the previous Naveen Patnaik-led government.
Smriti Mandhana scripted history on December 28, 2025 as she became the second Indian and fourth overall among women to reach the landmark of 10,000 runs in international cricket.
The India women’s star batter achieved the historic feat during the fourth T20I of the five-match series against Sri Lanka at the Greenfield International Stadium here.
The left-handed batter became the fourth women batter after Mithali Raj, Suzie Bates, Charlotte Edwards and the second Indian after Mithali to achieve the 10,000-run milestone.
In Test cricket, Mandhana has notched up 629 runs in seven matches and 12 innings at an average of 57.18, with two centuries and three fifties.
Mandhana also rewrote the record books by registering the fastest ODI century by an Indian, reaching the milestone in just 50 balls against Australia, surpassing Virat Kohli’s long-standing record of 52 balls against the same opponent.
Her World Cup campaign was equally remarkable. She scored 434 runs in nine matches at an average of 54.25,
including a century and two fifties;she finished second on the highest run-scorer list in this year’s tournament.
Mandhana also crossed the 5,000-run mark in women’s ODIs, becoming the fifth player to achieve the feat. She now has 5,322 runs in 117 matches and level with Australian great Meg Lanning for the most international centuries in women’s cricket, with 17 tons each.
Sri Lanka women’s captain Chamari Athapaththu scripted history as she became the first player to play 150 T20I matches for her country.
The veteran cricketer achieved this historic feat during the fourth T20I of the five-match series against the Harmanpreet Kaur-led India Women in Thiruvananthapuram on December 28, 2025.
In Women’s T20I cricket, Athapaththu has notched up 3507 runs at an average of 25.23 and a strike rate of 109.97, including three centuries and 13 half-centuries.
With the ball, the 35-year-old has scalped 63 wickets at an average of 25.73 and an economy of 6.62. She has one four-wicket haul to her name.
In a major milestone for Made-In-India medtech, VoxelGrids, a Zoho-backed start-up, has developed the country’s first indigenous MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanner.
The scanner, which has been deployed at Chandrapur Cancer Care Foundation near Nagpur, is the culmination of a 12-year mission by Founder Arjun Arunachalam and his team,
to domestically design and build an MRI system – a critical diagnostic tool for hospitals, which currently relies almost entirely on foreign imports.
Two-time Olympic medallist and former world champion PV Sindhu has been elected Chair of the BWF Athletes' Commission for the 2026-2029 term. In this role, Sindhu will also serve as a member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Council, providing players with a direct voice in the organisation's global governance.
Greysia Polii from Indonesia, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist and Asian Games women's doubles champion, retired from badminton in 2022. She served on the BWF Athletes' Commission twice, most recently from 2021 to 2025.
PV Sindhu, who won silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics and bronze at Tokyo 2020, is India's most successful badminton player to date.
The 30-year-old shuttler is set to lead India at the 2026 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Qingdao, China.
Debora Jille of the Netherlands, a European Games women's doubles silver medallist, will serve as the commission's Deputy Chair.
Other player representatives on the commission include reigning Olympic women's singles champion An Se-young of South Korea, six-time African Games medallist Doha Hany of Egypt, and Paris 2024 women's doubles gold medallist Jia Yifan of China.
In para-badminton, Hong Kong China's Chan Ho Yuen Daniel, who previously served as interim chairperson, will now take the role full-time. Indian para-badminton player Abu Hubaida is also a member of the commission.
Deposit growth in the fortnight ended December 12 slowed to 9.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), while credit growth picked up to 11.7 per cent Y-o-Y. This resulted in a credit-deposit growth gap of 200 basis points (bps), underscoring the persistent deposit tightness in the banking system, latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
India will set up an oversight committee to assess whether New Zealand should be granted a ‘grace period’ or additional time if the country fails to fulfill its foreign direct investment (FDI) commitment over a 15-year period.
Former England cricketer Hugh Morris passed away at the age of 62. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer in January 2022.
Morris was a prolific opening batter who won three Test caps in 1991 and also led England A on tours to South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka.
As a Cricket administrator, Morris served as the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Morris became Glamorgan’s youngest ever captain at the age of 22 before returning to the role later in his career, leading them to the Sunday League title in 1993, their first trophy in 24 years.
After a stint as deputy and acting chief executive, Morris served as England’s first managing director from 2007 to 2013. His successful tenure included the men’s team reaching No 1 in the Test rankings, winning three Ashes series and the 2010 T20 World Cup.
Surya Charishma Tamiri clinched the Women’s Singles title at the 87th Senior National Badminton Championships in Vijayawada with her victory over Tanvi Patri today. After losing the opening game, Tamiri staged a strong comeback to win the final 17 -21, 21-12, 21-14.
In the Men’s Singles, Rithvik Sanjeevi S defeated Bharat Raghav in straight games, 21-16, 22-20, to win the title. In Men’s doubles, the pair of A. Hariharan and Ruban Kumar emerged champions after defeating Mithilesh Krishnan and Prejan 24-22, 21-17 in the final.
In the women’s doubles final, former champions Shikha Gautam and Ashwini Bhat K overcame Priya Devi Konjengban and Shruti Mishra 21-14, 21-18 to reclaim the title.
Meanwhile, in the mixed doubles final, Sathwik Reddy K and Radhika Sharma secured the championship with a convincing 21-9, 21-15 win over Ashith Surya and Amrutha P.
