Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) celebrated its 68th Foundation Day on January 01, 2026. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Sanjay Seth visited the DRDO Headquarters and reviewed the achievements of DRDO in 2025 and targets for 2026.
Highlighting the achievements of DRDO in 2025, the Chairman DRDO said that several systems developed were delivered, inducted or handed over to the users. He stressed that DRDO should focus to work together with all stakeholders in the defence ecosphere to meet the country’s futuristic challenges and fulfill the Prime Minister vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
India and Pakistan have exchanged the list of nuclear installations and facilities through diplomatic channels, simultaneously in New Delhi and Islamabad, under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between the two countries, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The agreement, signed on December 31, 1988, and which came into force on January 27, 1991, provides that India and Pakistan inform each other of the nuclear installations and facilities covered under the pact on January 1 every year, the MEA said.
Stingless bees in the Peruvian Amazon have become the first insects anywhere in the world to receive legal rights.
The unprecedented move grants the native pollinators formal protection across large areas of rainforest and establishes a new legal precedent for insect conservation.
Local ordinances passed in two Peruvian municipalities recognize the bees as rights-bearing entities.
The laws guarantee their right to exist, reproduce, and thrive in healthy ecosystems.
Conservation groups believe the decision could influence biodiversity policy far beyond South America.
Stingless bees lack stingers and differ sharply from European honeybees.
Scientists say the insects play a critical role in maintaining rainforest biodiversity.
Stingless bees rank among the oldest bee species on Earth.
Nearly half of the world’s known species live in the Amazon. Researchers credit them with pollinating more than 80% of rainforest plants, including cacao, coffee, and avocados.
The ordinances followed years of advocacy and research led by chemical biologist Rosa Vásquez Espinoza.
She founded Amazon Research Internacional and has worked closely with Indigenous communities to document the bees.
For decades, Peruvian law only recognized European honeybees.
Stingless bees lacked formal classification, blocking funding and conservation efforts.
The new ordinances change that framework.
Legal experts say the decision could force habitat restoration, stricter pesticide controls, and expanded research.
Conservation groups in other countries now study similar legal approaches for protecting pollinators.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the proposed third district in the state will be called 'Kushavati', named after a river that flows through the region.
It will be an aspirational district in the country, he said.
At present, the coastal state comprises two districts - North Goa and South Goa.
Sawant said the new district will comprise four talukas - Dharbandora, Quepem, Sanguem and Canacona - that are currently part of South Goa.
"All the administrative works of the new district will be run from South Goa district till the infrastructure required for the new district is made available," the CM said.
The new district will be named as Kushavati, a river that flows in these parts of Goa, he said.
Quepem town will be the headquarters of the new district, which will be connected through proper bus service from the areas like Canacona and Dharbandora so that the people don't face inconvenience, Sawant said.
"Aspirational districts in the country get additional funds of Rs 15 crore from the Centre. So, special funds will also be requested from the central government to create infrastructure for the new district which has a 27 per cent tribal population," he said.
India has the world's third-largest rare earth reserves, but its production remains among the lowest compared to major global players, highlighting a sharp gap between resource availability and actual output, according to a report by Amicus Growth.
Data showed that India holds about 6.9 million tonnes of rare earth oxide (REO) reserves, placing it behind only China and Brazil. China tops the list with 44 million tonnes of reserves, followed by Brazil with 21 million tonnes.
Other countries with notable reserves include Australia (5.7 million tonnes), Russia (3.8 million tonnes), Vietnam (3.5 million tonnes) and,
the United States (1.9 million tonnes).
Despite its strong reserve position, India's production remains limited. In 2024, India produced only 2,900 tonnes of rare earths, ranking seventh globally. In comparison, China produced 270,000 tonnes, making it the clear global leader.
The United States was the second-largest producer with 45,000 tonnes, followed by Myanmar (31,000 tonnes). Australia, Thailand and Nigeria each produced around 13,000 tonnes.
The report highlighted that India holds nearly 6-7 per cent of global rare earth reserves, yet contributes less than 1 per cent of global production.
Most of India's reserves are found in monazite-rich coastal sands, which also contain thorium, a radioactive element. This makes mining and processing more complex and subject to strict regulations.
According to the report, regulatory challenges have historically slowed rare earth mining in India.
For decades, production was largely restricted and handled mainly by Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), where rare earth elements were treated as by-products rather than strategic resources.
China controls about 90 per cent of global rare earth refining capacity and almost the entire processing of heavy rare earth elements.
This gives China a major advantage across the entire value chain.
India, on the other hand, has very limited processing and refining capacity.
The report stated, "Annual production has been only a few thousand tonnes, and India has played virtually no role in global REE trade".
Google account holders can now change their primary ‘@gmail.com’ email addresses to a new address while retaining all data from their existing account, as the tech giant begins a gradual rollout of the feature.
Senior bureaucrat Lav Aggarwal has been appointed as the Director General, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, an order by the Personnel Ministry said on Tuesday. His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle.
Also, Rabindra Kumar Agarwal currently serving as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation has been appointed as Chairman & Managing Director, Food Corporation of India. He replaces incumbent Ashutosh Agnihotri, who has now been named as the new Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Meanwhile, Srikant Nagulapalli, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power has been appointed as Director General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. Also, Nidhi Pandey, currently serving as Joint Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy will take over the position of Additional Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy.
Suchindra Misra, has been named as Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, the order added.
Dinesh Mahur, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines as been appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence.
Rakesh Gupta, currently serving as Additional Secretary in the President’s Secretariat, has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare.
Aneeta C Meshram, Additional Secretary in the Department of Fertilisers, has been moved to the President’s Secretariat in place of Gupta.
Caralyn Khongwar Deshmukh has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development; Sonal Mishra as Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), Ministry of Labour and Employment, and Niranjan Kumar Sudhansu will be Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the order said.
Usman Khawaja, Australia's stalwart opening batter, has confirmed his retirement from international cricket following this week's fifth Ashes Test against England. The match, to be held at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), will mark his 88th and final Test appearance, the very venue where Khawaja's first-class journey began.
At 39, Khawaja made the decision to call time on his remarkable Test career, which began in 2011. The opportunity arose after former captain Ricky Ponting’s injury paved the way for the then-24-year-old to debut at the SCG. Over the next 15 years, Khawaja amassed over 6000 runs in Test cricket.
Born in Pakistan and raised in Australia, Khawaja made history as the first Pakistan-born and first Muslim cricketer to play for Australia. A former Under-19 player, his technical prowess and composure with the bat earned him a place on the international stage.
In 2023, Khawaja received the prestigious ICC Test Cricketer of the Year and Shane Warne Test Cricketer of the Year awards. He also played an instrumental role in Australia’s victory in the World Test Championship.
India’s manufacturing sector continued to grow in December, though at a slower pace, with the HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipping to 55.0 in December from 56.6 in November, marking a 38-month low, according to S&P Global.
Despite the fall, the index stayed well above the 50 mark, which separates growth from contraction.
New business continued to grow at a strong rate in December, but the pace was the slowest since December 2023. Factory output also expanded, though at its weakest rate since October 2022. The slower rise in orders led companies to be more cautious while buying raw materials, even though overall purchases rose.
Growth in export orders weakened during the month, with international demand rising at the slowest pace in 14 months. Manufacturers who saw growth pointed to better demand from Asia, Europe and the Middle East as key drivers.
With less pressure on production capacity, manufacturers added only a small number of workers in December.
Job creation was the weakest since the current growth phase began in March 2024. Unfinished work rose slightly, showing that companies were largely able to manage their workloads at existing capacities.
India’s star all-rounder Deepti Sharma scripted history at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, moving past Australia’s Megan Schutt to become the leading wicket-taker in Women’s T20Is. The milestone arrived in the final match of India’s 5-0 series sweep over Sri Lanka, marking wicket No. 152 in her T20I career — one more than Schutt’s tally of 151.
Deepti’s climb in T20Is has also boosted her to third position on the all-time wickets list in Women’s international cricket. Across formats, she now owns 334 wickets (20 Tests, 162 ODIs, 152 T20Is), inching closer to India legend Jhulan Goswami’s 355.
England’s Katherine Sciver-Brunt sits second overall with 335 wickets, just one ahead of Deepti on the international charts.
Deepti has indirectly noted that chasing the records of greats like Goswami and Sciver-Brunt is both humbling and motivating, adding that longevity and impact are the two currencies she values most in a bowling career.
Gross GST collections rose 6.1 per cent to over ₹1.74 trillion in December 2025, on slow growth in revenues from domestic sales following the sweeping tax cuts, according to government data released.
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in December 2024 was over ₹1.64 trillion.
Gross revenue from domestic transactions rose 1.2 per cent to over ₹1.22 trillion, while revenues from imported goods were up 19.7 per cent at ₹51,977 crore during December, 2025.
Refunds were up 31 per cent to ₹28,980 crore in December.
Net GST revenues (after adjusting refunds) stood at over ₹1.45 trillion, up 2.2 per cent year-on-year.
Cess collection last month dipped to ₹4,238 crore, as against ₹12,003 crore collected in December 2024.
Effective September 22, 2025, GST rates on about 375 items were slashed, making goods cheaper. Also, a compensation cess levy is levied only on tobacco and related products, as against luxury, sin and demerit goods earlier.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) eased its proposed risk-weight framework for infrastructure lending by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) following industry feedback, as it retained key lender protection norms.
Sammaan Capital, the parent company of Sammaan Finserve, approved a scheme to merge the latter into the parent company, Sammaan Capital said in an exchange filing. The scheme, approved by the board on December 31, is subject to regulatory, statutory and shareholder approvals.
Under the proposed arrangement, Samman Finserv’s non-banking financial company (NBFC) business will be demerged and transferred to Sammaan Capital on a going-concern basis, following which the company will surrender its NBFC licence.
The restructuring aims to consolidate lending operations within a single entity, improve governance and operational clarity, and ensure compliance with regulations that require only one NBFC licence within the group.
Previously, Sammaan Capital entered into a $1-billion investment agreement with Avenir Investment RSC, an entity owned by International Holding Company (IHC) of Abu Dhabi. As part of the agreement, it will acquire a controlling 41.2 per cent stake and become the promoter post completion.
“Through this scheme, the regulatory compliance that no other entity in the group holds an NBFC licence will be fulfilled, thereby supporting the regulatory approval process for IHC’s investment into the company,” Sammaan Capital said.
