The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved Jaipur Metro Phase-2, a transformative 41 km long North–South corridor from Prahladpura to Todi Mod, comprising 36 stations, at a total project cost of Rs. 13,037.66 crore.
The project will be implemented by Rajasthan Metro Rail Corporation Limited (RMRCL), a 50:50 joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Rajasthan.
The Phase-2 corridor will provide seamless connectivity to major activity nodes such as Sitapura Industrial Area, VKIA, Jaipur Airport, Tonk Road, SMS Hospital and Stadium, Ambabari and Vidhyadhar Nagar.
The second edition of the International Conference on “Spacecraft Mission Operations: SMOPS- 2026” with theme of “Innovative Operations for Smart and Sustainable Space Mission Management – Next Generation” is being held during 8-10 April, 2026 in Bangalore, India.
The conference, jointly organized by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Astronautical Society of India (ASI) and International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), is aimed to cover a wide range of topics related to mission operations management, advanced mission design, automation, large constellations management, human spaceflight mission, space robotics,
lunar and interplanetary exploration, cybersecurity in space system, Artificial Intelligence, present and future trends in ground station operations etc., while addressing the futuristic techniques in both upstream and downstream segments. An exclusive workshop for students and young professional was organized on the 10th as a part of SMOPS.
The conference was inaugurated on 8th April by the erstwhile Chairman, ISRO/Secretary DOS, Shri. A S Kiran Kumar, in the presence of Dr. V. Narayanan, Chairman, ISRO/Secretary DOS, Shri. M Sankaran, Director, URSC, Dr. Jean Michel Contant, Secretary General, IAA, and Dr. A K Anil Kumar, Director ISTRAC.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for fixing the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for KHARIF Season, 2026 (from 01.04.2026 to 30.09.2026) on Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers.
The tentative budgetary requirement for Kharif season 2026 would be approximately Rs.41,533.81 crore. This is approximate Rs. 4,317 crore more than the budgetary requirement for Kharif 2025 season. The budget for Kharif 2025 was Rs.37,216.15 crore.
The subsidy on P&K fertilizers including DAP and NPKS grades will be provided based on approved rates for Kharif 2026 (applicable from 01.04.2026 to 30.09.2026) to ensure smooth availability of these fertilizers to the farmers at affordable prices.
Government is making available 28 grades of P&K fertilizers including DAP to farmers at subsidized prices through fertilizer manufacturers/importers. The subsidy on P&K fertilizers is governed by NBS Scheme w.e.f. 01.04.2010.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), after a detailed assessment of the evolving macroeconomic and financial developments and the outlook, voted unanimously to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 5.25%.
Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains at 5% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate remains at 5.50%.
The MPC also decided to continue with the neutral stance.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to introduce a new framework for categorisation of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) into upper, middle and lower layers, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said at the post-monetary policy press conference.
Currently, NBFCs are classified under a scale-based regulation (SBR) framework, introduced in October 2021, which groups entities into four layers — base, middle, upper and top — based on their size, systemic importance and risk profile.
Under this framework, the RBI also periodically identifies NBFCs that fall into the upper layer (NBFC-UL) based on asset size and a scoring methodology. For 2024-25, the list includes large players such as Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Tata Capital, Aditya Birla Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, among others.
The list also features housing finance companies such as LIC Housing Finance and PNB Housing Finance, as well as core investment entities like Tata Sons Private Limited, reflecting the diversity within the upper layer.
NBFCs are categorised based on liability structure — deposit-taking and non-deposit-taking — and by activity, including investment and credit companies, housing finance companies, microfinance institutions and others.
The RBI, as of February 2026, also proposed exempting small non-banking financial companies with no public funds, no customer interface, and assets under Rs. 1,000 crore from registration. Eligible NBFCs can apply for voluntary deregistration via the PRAVAAH portal by September 30, 2026, to reduce regulatory compliance.
Gurgaon was India's most polluted city in March, with Haryana accounting for four of the country's 10 most polluted cities, according to a new report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
The other cities in the top 10 polluted list for March were Bahadurgarh, Faridabad, Singrauli, Mandideep, Ghaziabad, Manesar, Bhiwadi, Noida and Nandesari.
Amul has become the first Indian fast-moving consumer goods company to surpass Rs. 1 trillion in turnover, recording 11% growth in FY26. The milestone was driven by strong domestic demand, deeper rural penetration, and expansion into international markets like Europe and the US.
Amul has become the first company in India’s FMCG sector to record annual revenues above Rs. 1 lakh crore, achieving this in FY26 with 11% growth over the previous year. While GCMMF, its marketing arm, posted Rs. 73,450 crore in turnover, the total brand figure includes contributions from 18 district cooperative unions and other related activities.
The Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCIL) and Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) have entered into a strategic alliance to strengthen ship repair and shipbuilding capabilities across South Asia.
The agreement covers ship repair and dry-docking services, technical knowledge sharing, and joint exploration of shipbuilding projects.
The memorandum of understanding was signed in Colombo, marking a significant step in maritime cooperation between India and Sri Lanka, according to a release issued.
The partnership aims to deliver cost-effective and high-quality solutions for vessel maintenance, retrofitting, and new ship construction.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) constituted a sub-committee of the Insurance Advisory Committee to review the current landscape of private health insurance in India, including coverage, penetration, claims experience, product design, grievance redressal, and consumer experience.
It will also recommend regulatory, policy, and operational measures to promote innovation, wider coverage, better risk pooling, and improved financial protection through health insurance.
This initiative is part of ongoing efforts to improve policyholder experience and the penetration of health insurance.
The emphasis will be on increasing trust and overall consumer experience.
The sub-committee will also examine the role of healthcare provider networks, hospital tariffs, fraud control, and digital systems in improving value to policyholders and reducing administrative inefficiencies.
A review of interaction between private health insurance and public health insurance/assurance schemes, including opportunities for complementarity, portability, and convergence where appropriate, will also be undertaken.
Irdai also said that the sub-committee will review and incorporate the recommendations emerging from the working groups set up by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on key issues relating to the health insurance ecosystem, including a joint code of conduct for insurers and providers, methodology for commercial engagements and provider classification,
adoption and scale-up of the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX), analytical studies on claim trends and medical inflation, and a framework for a basic product.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) announced a set of one-time relaxations covering initial public offering (IPO) timelines and minimum public shareholding requirements.
Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited ("Canara HSBC Life Insurance"), has announced the launch of Promise4Wealth, a next-generation Unit Linked Individual Savings Life Insurance Plan (ULIP).
Designed for individuals seeking a balanced approach to long-term wealth creation and financial protection, Promise4Wealth enables participation in market-linked returns while offering the assurance of life insurance--bringing together investment and protection in a more transparent, value-driven, and outcome-focused manner.
Features three plan variants--Maximiser, Shield, and LongLife; offers Zero Premium Allocation Charge Offers policyholders access to passive fund linked to the BSE 500 Enhanced Value 50 Index, focused on strong yet undervalued companies
About Canara HSBC Life Insurance:
Incorporated in 2007,Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture promoted by Canara Bank (36.5%) and HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited (25.5%). Punjab National Bank is also a shareholder of the Company, holding 13% as an investor, while the remaining 25% is held by other public shareholders and other investors
The volume of CBDC (central bank digital currency) transactions has topped 150 million, with the total value of transactions exceeding Rs 34,000 crore so far, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said at the post-monetary policy press meet.
RBI is working on developing programmability for CBDC, which is the distinguishing feature of this form of digital currency. “CBDC is an innovation whose time has come. It is the future of payments. But there is a right time to launch it. The right time depends not only on our readiness but also on other countries, because its advantage is in the cross-border sector.
We are gradually moving, getting the technology and use cases right. We are developing programmability — which is the distinguishing feature of CBDC; it is all in the works,” Sankar said.
Separately, Sankar said RBI will take an SRO-based approach for the technology sector.
He said that the fintech department is considering setting up an AI sandbox with curated databases where they can be tested and trained. Since there is no regulation for AI, the approach will be to have a self-regulatory organisation (SRO)-based framework to enable communication among stakeholders.
