The Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw launched three major initiatives, aimed at strengthening India’s media, broadcasting and digital sector and promoting the creative economy.
The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is mandated to monitor the status of Ongoing Central Sector Infrastructure Projects costing Rs. 150 crore & above, and the same is being undertaken through a new web monitoring system called PAIMANA (Project Assessment Infrastructure Monitoring and Analytics for Nation-Building).
As of January 2026, PAIMANA captures the status of 1,702 nationwide projects being implemented by 17 Central Ministries/Departments with original cost of Rs. 33.71 lakh crore and cumulative expenditure of Rs. 20.01 lakh crore.
In line with the principle of “One Data One Entry", the PAIMANA portal is integrated with Integrated Project Monitoring Portal (IPMP) of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) enabled to automatically fetch data reported by the Central Ministries/ Departments/ Project Implementing Agencies.
The integrated platform, PAIMANA, has substantially reduced manual entry, with about 64 per cent of projects pertaining to Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways, Petroleum & Natural Gas and Coal, being updated automatically.
Furthermore, the Project Monitoring Group (PMG) of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is an institutional mechanism set up with the objective of milestone-based monitoring of projects and for expediting issue resolution and fast-tracking of approvals/ clearances for projects with an anticipated investment of Rs. 500 cr. and above,
through inter-Ministerial/State coordination. Apart from PRAGATI meetings chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, PMG conducts regular review meetings of projects facing delays/issues at the level of DPIIT, and Cabinet Secretariat.
For these reviews to be effective, PMG has implemented a unique 5-tier Escalation framework that ensures issues are addressed at the appropriate level, beginning with the respective Ministry for regular issues and escalating up to PRAGATI for complex issues.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the country for the welfare of women and children, which are placed under three verticals, viz.
The maiden edition of the Bharat Electricity Summit (BES) concluded successfully, bringing together policymakers, global experts, industry leaders, investors, and innovators to deliberate on the future of the power sector and accelerate the global clean energy transition.
The Summit witnessed wide-ranging discussions, high-level bilateral engagements, and significant business interactions, reinforcing India’s leadership in the global energy ecosystem.
The Summit witnessed an exceptional response, with over 35,000 exhibition attendees, 28 States / Union Territories, 200+ exhibiting companies including 80+ Start-ups, 6,000+ delegates,
200+ exhibiting companies including 80+ Start-ups, 6,000+ delegates, 300+ speakers, and 100+ conference sessions, reflecting its scale and global significance.
Drawing inspiration from the Prime Minister’s vision, India continues to advance rapidly towards achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030,
having already crossed the milestone of over 50% non-fossil capacity. Initiatives such as One Sun, One World, One Grid further underscore India’s commitment to global energy cooperation.
The Minister also announced that Next Edition of BES will be held in 2028 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat .
Three reports were released on the occasion. These are: Rating Regulatory Performance of States and Union Territories 2025 by Power Foundation of India; Ash Generation and Utilisation at coal/lignite-based Grid Connected thermal power stations for 2024-25 by Central Electricity Authority;
and Establishing a Sodium-ion Battery Ecosystem in India – Leveraging New Technologies to Strengthen Component Manufacturing by Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
Pakistan has been ranked number one on the Global Terrorism Index for the first time, following a 6 per cent increase in terrorism-related fatalities 2025.
According to the Global Terrorism Index 2026, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), deaths from terrorism in Pakistan are now at its highest level since 2013, with the country recording 1,139 terrorism deaths and 1,045 incidents in 2025, highlighting a deteriorating security landscape.
Across South Asia, it is the only country where the situation worsened in 2025; every other nation in the region recorded an improvement.
India has been ranked at 13th spot with an overall score of 6.428.
The index highlighted that global terrorism deaths declined by 28% to 5,582 in 2025.
India and Bhutan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Postal Cooperation, providing a structured framework for collaboration between India Post and Bhutan Post. The MoU aims to promote cooperation in areas such as postal operations, technology development, capacity building, logistics connectivity, philately, and knowledge exchange.
The agreement was signed between the Ministry of Communications and Bhutan’s Infrastructure and Transport Ministry during the ongoing Bhutan visit of the secretary of the Department of Posts. Both nations also agreed to deepen collaboration in the technology domain, including sharing experience and best practices related to India Post’s evolving technology ecosystem.
The Indian Navy's frigate INS Nilgiri is taking part in the sea phase of Exercise Kakadu 2026 in Australia as part of its deployment to the Western Pacific.
Exercise Kakadu is a multilateral maritime exercise hosted by Australia, bringing together navies from across the Indo-Pacific region.
The Indian Navy continues to grow as a combat-ready, cohesive, credible, Aatmanirbhar force, safeguarding the seas for a Viksit, Samriddha Bharat guarded by ships designed by Indians, built by Indians and operated by Indians.
Kerala-based South Indian Bank announced the appointment of Jose Joseph Kattoor as the non-executive part-time chairman (Independent Director) for a term of three years, effective March 23, 2026, following Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approval.
Kattoor will succeed V J Kurian, who retires on March 22 upon completion of his term as non-executive part-time chairman (Independent Director).
Kattoor has served as an independent director on the South Indian Bank board since July 18, 2024.
With Kattoor becoming the part-time chairman, the bank has appointed Thomson Thomas as non-executive independent director on the bank’s board for a period of three years, effective March 23.
Separately, the bank’s board approved the elevation of several senior management personnel. The changes will take effect from April 1, 2026.
Private sector bank City Union Bank, said that it has signed cricketer Ravindra Jadeja as the primary Brand Ambassador for the bank.
In this regard, the Bank has entered into an agreement on March 16, 2026, with Mr. Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja (Mr. Ravindra Jadeja) and Baseline Ventures (India) Private Limited for a period of two (2) years.
The partnership will help the brand get associated with a personality who is “synonymous with reliability and multifaceted excellence,” the bank said, noting that it will help benefit customer acquisition and long-term customer engagement with the bank.
Historian William Dalrymple has been awarded the 2026 Mark Lynton History Prize for his book "The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World" for combining "literary grace, commitment to serious research and social concern".
The Mark Lynton History Prize is an annual USD 10,000 award given to a book "of history, on any subject, that best combines intellectual or scholarly distinction with felicity of expression".
The other finalist in the category was Siddharth Kara for "The Zorg: Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery".
The jury comprised Scott Reynolds Nelson (chair), Geraldo Cadava, Ann Fabian, and Manisha Sinha.
The prize is one of three awards given as part of the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, administered by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism and by the Columbia University School of Journalism.
The Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion, in association with HarperCollins, has released 'Karuna: The Power of Compassion' by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi.
Kailash Satyarthi, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, has dedicated more than five decades to defending the rights and dignity of marginalized children and communities around the world.
He believes Karuna—compassion—is the most powerful force for building a just, equitable, peaceful and sustainable world, and one that must guide how individuals, institutions and societies think and act. Nobel Peace Prize awardee Kailash Satyarthi has fought for the rights and dignity of millions of marginalized people across the globe for the past five decades.
The official unveiling of the book took place in the august presence of Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant (Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court of India) and Hon'ble Dr. Kiran Bedi (Former Lt. Governor, Puducherry).
Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan has been named the ICC Player of the Month for his extra-ordinary performances in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 during February while India seam bowler Arundhati Reddy has won the women’s award after her fine performances in a T20I series in Australia.
Sahibzada won the award ahead of many stalwarts as he broke Virat Kohli’s record runs in one edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and became the first to register two centuries in a single edition of the tournament - against Namibia and Sri Lanka.
Reddy shone with her fine seam bowling Down Under, helping India win their T20I series against Australia by a 2-1 margin. Reddy was the leading wicket-taker in the series with hauls of four for 22, two for 30 and two 35 in the three matches, finishing with an average of 10.87 and an economy rate of 7.25.
Rwanda batter Fanny Utagushimaninde made history on Friday by becoming the youngest T20I centurion. She achieved the milestone against Ghana in the Nigeria Invitational Women's T20I Tournament at Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval in Lagos.
At just 15 years and 223 days, Utagushimaninde broke the record previously held by Uganda's Prosscovia Alako, who scored 116 against Mali in Kigali in 2019 at 16 years and 233 days. She smashed 111 off 65 balls, including 17 fours.
In men's cricket, the youngest T20I centurion record is held by France's Gustav McKeon, who scored a century against Switzerland in 2022 at 18 years and 280 days.
Utagushimaninde also became the first player in Women's T20I history to score a century on debut, surpassing Karen Rolton's record of 96 not out against England in Taunton in 2005,
for the highest score on Women's T20I debut.
In men's T20Is, players such as Canada's Matthews Spoors, Serbia's Leslie Dunbar, Namibia's JP Kotze, and Canada's Ravinderpal Singh have scored centuries on debut, but none were from full-member nations.
Utagushimaninde's record-breaking century earned her the Player of the Match award.
China overtook the Netherlands to become India’s third-largest export destination in February, according to commerce department data.
Exports to seven of India’s top 10 destinations contracted during the month, with overall exports declining 0.81 per cent year-on-year to $36.61 billion. These 10 countries together account for over 50 per cent of India’s merchandise exports.
Exports to China rose 32.4 per cent to $1.67 billion in February, mainly due to a low base. While disaggregated data for the month is not yet available, recent trends suggest that growth has been driven by higher shipments in sectors such as electronics and marine products.
Exports to the Netherlands fell sharply by 31.3 per cent to $1.29 billion.
The country serves as a key gateway for Indian goods entering Europe and has been a major destination for refined petroleum exports over the past three years. An industry expert said the decline may have contributed to the reduced shipments of refined petroleum, as India has lowered imports of Russian crude oil for refining.
The United States (US) continued to be India’s largest export destination, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, exports to both countries declined in February. Shipments to the US fell nearly 13 per cent Y-o-Y to $6.89 billion, while exports to the UAE dipped marginally by 0.3 per cent to $3.25 billion.
Other countries that saw a decline in imports from India include the United Kingdom (-4.6 per cent), Saudi Arabia (-10.4 per cent), Bangladesh (-22.9 per cent), and Singapore (-13.7 per cent).
Meanwhile, exports to Germany and Hong Kong grew by 4 per cent and 32.1 per cent, respectively, the data showed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi created history by becoming the longest-serving head of a government in India, surpassing former Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling.
With 8,931 days in office as head of government covering his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister and as Prime Minister, PM Modi has overtaken Chamling's record of 8,930 days.
PM Modi has earlier served as the longest-serving Chief Minister of Gujarat and is also the Prime Minister with the longest prior experience as a Chief Minister.
He is the first Prime Minister born after Independence and has led his party to victory in three consecutive Lok Sabha elections in 2014, 2019, and 2024.
