V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority has become India’s first Major Port to receive the prestigious IGBC Platinum Rating, the highest certification awarded by the Indian Green Building Council.
The Administration Building follows the Port Authority’s Green Policy and waste management plan to support sustainability.
It is equipped with rooftop solar panels and a high Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) reflective roof coating, which helps reduce the Urban Heat Island effect and improve energy efficiency. Resource efficiency has been strengthened through IoT-enabled water meters, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) monitoring systems, rainwater harvesting, and water-saving plumbing fixtures,
resulting in a 37% reduction in potable water usage. All wastewater is treated in an on-site Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and fully reused.
Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 10 February 2026 at INSA, New Delhi, to promote collaborative activities on science communication and evidence-based science policy research and strengthen evidence-based policymaking in India.
MoU aims to promote collaborative policy research studies, joint publications, pilot projects, capacity-building initiatives, outreach programmes and stakeholder consultations. It will also facilitate engagement with government institutions, international organisations, think tanks, researchers and young scholars to strengthen India’s STI policy ecosystem.
Through this partnership, INSA and CSIR-NIScPR reaffirm their shared commitment to advancing robust, inclusive and forward-looking STI policies through collaborative research, knowledge exchange and dialogue at national and global levels.
Mumbai has officially unveiled India's first-ever melody road, a stretch of roadway engineered to play the iconic 'Jai Ho' tune from the film Slumdog Millionaire as vehicles pass over it at designated speeds. The installation was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, alongside other dignitaries,
marking a unique blend of engineering innovation and cultural expression on the city's Coastal Road.
The musical stretch has been created on the northbound carriageway of the Coastal Road, between Nariman Point and Worli, immediately after vehicles emerge from the Coastal Road tunnel.
Over a 500-metre section adjacent to the central divider, precisely cut grooves commonly known as rumble strips have been laid out so that tyres create sound vibrations resembling the rhythm of 'Jai Ho' when a vehicle drives over them at around 70-80 km/h.
The concept of a melody road was originally discovered in Japan in 2007, when engineer Shizuo Shinoda noticed that grooves cut into the pavement produced musical tones when driven over at specific speeds. Since then, similar installations have been carried out in countries such as Hungary, Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
Mumbai's new stretch is only the fifth known installation in the world and the first in India.
The project, conceptualised by former Member of Parliament Rahul Shewale, was executed with technical support from Hungarian experts and commissioned by the BMC at an estimated cost of Rs 6.21 crore.
India’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at $3.42 billion in January 2026, compared with $3.44 billion in the same month last year. Sequentially, it was down from $4.07 billion in December 2025, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Outbound FDI, expressed as a financial commitment, has three components: equity, loans, and guarantees. Outbound equity FDI commitment moderated to $1.52 billion in January from $1.75 billion a year ago. It was also lower than $1.98 billion in December 2025.
Debt (loans) rose to $461.94 million in January this year from $316.46 million in the same month last year. However, it was lower than $565.32 million recorded in December 2025. Guarantees for overseas units were at $1.43 billion in January compared with $1.37 billion a year ago and were lower than $1.57 billion in December 2025.
Data on key investments by companies showed Interglobe Aviation Ltd committed an equity infusion of $188.63 million in its wholly owned subsidiary — Interglobe Aviation Financial Service in IFSC GIFT City. Apart from the equity investment, the company has also committed loans worth $48.64 million and guarantees worth $65.57 million.
A census conducted by the Gujarat Forest Department has recorded more than 6.42 lakh birds of 270 species at the Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary, a world famous Ramsar site located near Ahmedabad, officials said.
The Forest Department's "Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary Bird Census-2026," conducted to monitor avian diversity and population trends, recorded a total of 6,42,232 birds belonging to 270 different species, stated an official release.
To ensure high accuracy of the recent exercise, the entire sanctuary was divided into 50 survey zones, with a dedicated team assigned to each of them to undertake two systematic counts in morning and then in evening, it said.
The department undertakes this comprehensive bird population estimation exercise at Nalsarovar, the state's largest wetland, every two years.
A total of 220 bird experts and wildlife enthusiasts participated in the census apart from 12 staff members of the forest department. Notably, 99 local boatmen and guides played a foundational role in the success of this process, stated the release.
The Ramsar Convention designation of Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary in 2012 recognised its ecological importance as a wetland habitat for birds and other wildlife.
The designation provides a framework for conservation and sustainable use of the sanctuary and its surrounding wetlands.
The Uttar Pradesh government presented its Economic Survey 2025-26 in the state legislature, laying out an investment-led growth strategy to position India’s most populous state as a $1 trillion economy over the medium term.
India’s labour market showed resilience in the third quarter (October–December/Q3) of 2025–26, with the unemployment rate easing to a three-quarter low of 4.8 per cent. This marked a sequential decline in joblessness through the financial year, according to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO).
The unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above in rural areas (in current weekly status, or CWS, terms) fell to 4 per cent in Q3 from 4.4 per cent in the second quarter (July–September/Q2). In urban areas, it declined to 6.7 per cent from 6.9 per cent over the same period.
Under the CWS framework, a person is classified as unemployed if they did not work for even one hour on any day during the reference week but were seeking or available for work for at least one hour on any day of that week.
The labour force participation rate (LFPR) — a measure of the share of the population that is working or actively seeking work — rose to 55.8 per cent in Q3 from 55.1 per cent in Q2. The increase was driven by higher women participation in both rural and urban labour markets.
Youth unemployment (ages 15–29) declined to 14.3 per cent from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter. Joblessness among young women fell to 16.6 per cent from 17 per cent, while among young men it dropped to 13.5 per cent from 14.1 per cent. This cohort largely comprises first-time job seekers, making it a key gauge of labour market health.
India ranked 91st out of 182 countries and territories on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2025, with a score of 39, according to the latest report released by Transparency International.
The index measures perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale from zero, indicating a highly corrupt environment, to 100, indicating a very clean one.
The report said corruption continues to pose a challenge across the Asia-Pacific region. “With an average regional score of 45 out of 100, high levels of corruption appear to have remained largely unaddressed over the past decade,” it said.
PB Fintech Limited , the parent company of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, PB Pay Private Limited, has received formal authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator.
The certificate of authorisation, granted under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2007, became effective on February 6, 2026. This approval follows a nearly two-year regulatory journey that began with the incorporation of PB Pay in early 2024 and an "in-principle" nod from the central bank in April 2025.
As a licensed payment aggregator, PB Pay is now authorised to onboard merchants and facilitate digital payments—including UPI, credit/debit cards, and digital wallets without requiring individual tie-ups with multiple banks. For PB Fintech, the immediate benefit lies in vertical integration.
Delhi government announced the launch of a new welfare scheme, Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana for the bright future of the girls of the national capital. Under the new scheme, daughters in Delhi will receive a total assistance of 56 thousand rupees in instalments, starting from birth and continuing until the completion of their graduation.
After successfully completing their education, the scheme will mature, and the beneficiary will receive over one lakh rupees. Addressing a press briefing in National Capital, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta informed the entire process, from application to payment, will be fully online and transparent, eliminating the need for beneficiaries to visit government offices.
She further said the scheme is designed to combine social security with education-linked incentives, reinforcing the state’s long-term commitment to gender equity, financial inclusion and human capital development.
The Chief Minister stated that this scheme will be digitalized, with data for each beneficiary updated periodically.
In a sign of an early revival in the corporate bond market, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (Nabfid), and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) raised nearly ₹12,000 crore from the debt capital markets, against the planned ₹13,500 crore, at attractive rates,
due to improved liquidity conditions and softening of rates across the spectrum.
Additionally, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) will also tap the market in the coming days to raise another ₹10,000 crore or more through bonds.
On the back of surplus liquidity, short-term rates have fallen sharply. Additionally, the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond has eased by about 6 basis points from its post-budget peak of 6.77 per cent. RBI’s recent open market operations (OMOs) and forex swap operations have augmented durable liquidity to around ₹6 trillion.
The theme of International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGIS) 2026 is “Synergizing AI, Social Science, STEM and Finance: Building Inclusive Futures for Women and Girls.”
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated annually on 11 February, promotes full and equal access to and participation in STEM fields for women.
Gender equality has always been a core issue for the United Nations. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls will make a crucial contribution not only to economic development of the world, but to progress across all the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well.
In its resolution 77/243, the General Assembly decided to declare 12 February the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism, in order to raise awareness of the threats linked to violent extremism, as and when conducive to terrorism, and to enhance international cooperation in this regard.
The resolution reaffirmed that terrorism and violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group.
The RBI announced that Tata Motors Finance and Piramal Enterprises have surrendered their certificate of registration.
Both entities had merged with associate companies in the recent past.
Along with these two entities, six other non-banking finance companies (NBFC), AAR Shyam India Investment Company, Rama Investment Co, Sri Ramachandra Enterprises, Shree Nirman, Ankita Pratisthan, and Mayuka Investment, also surrendered their licences, RBI said in a release.
Tata Motors Finance had completed its merger with Tata Capital on May 8, 2025, following all the necessary approvals from the authorities.
Further, Piramal Enterprise merged with Piramal Finance in September 2025.
The draft Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies Registration, Exemptions and Framework for Scale Based Regulation) Amendment Directions, 2026 were issued after the RBI announced it in the February monetary policy on February 6.
The central bank has sought comments from NBFCs, stakeholders and members of the public by March 4, 2026.
Under the proposed framework, NBFCs that do not accept public funds and do not have any customer interface, with an asset size of less than Rs 1,000 crore, will be exempted from the registration requirement with the RBI, subject to specified conditions. These entities are commonly categorised as 'Type I NBFCs', the central bank said in a release.
