In a significant step towards strengthening India's fight against cyber-frauds and financial crimes, the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) signed a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance information sharing and coordination.
The MoU aims to enable both agencies to establish robust feedback mechanisms for enhancing fraud detection protocols at the national level, while also facilitating the development and dissemination of guidelines and red flag indicators to financial institutions to strengthen cyber fraud prevention efforts.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an investment of Rs 40,000 crore to set up two hydropower plants in Arunachal Pradesh.
This includes Rs 14,105.83 crore for the construction of the Kalai-II Hydro Electric Project (HEP) on the Lohit river in Anjaw district and Rs 26,069.50 crore for the construction of the Kamala HEP in Kamle, Kra Daadi and Kurung Kumey districts. The estimated completion periods for the two projects are 78 months and 96 months, respectively.
The Kalai-II project will be set up with an installed capacity of 1,200 MW and is expected to generate 4,852 million units (MUs) of power annually. As the first hydro project in the Lohit basin, it will strengthen power supply in the state, support peak demand management, and contribute to balancing the national grid.
The Kamala HEP will be implemented through a joint venture company between NHPC and the state government. The Centre will extend Rs 4,743.98 crore as budgetary support towards the flood moderation component and Rs 1,340 crore as budgetary support for enabling infrastructure, besides Central Financial Assistance of Rs 750 crore towards the state's equity share.
CEO, NITI Aayog released the second edition of its report “From Borrowers to Builders: Women and India’s Evolving Credit Market” on 7th April 2026 in New Delhi.
The report highlights that women borrowers in India now hold a credit portfolio of Rs 76 lakh crore, accounting for 26% of the total system credit. It further notes that women’s credit exposure has expanded 4.8 times since 2017, indicating a shift from access-led inclusion to progression-led participation in the formal credit ecosystem.
State-run NTPC said that it has signed a Non-Binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Électricité de France (EDF) to explore cooperation in developing new nuclear power projects in India.
The MoU has been approved by the concerned Ministries and Departments under the Government of India, the country’s largest power generator said.
This initiative aligns with NTPC’s strategy to expand into clean, reliable energy and contribute to India’s long-term energy security.
In September 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam’s (ASHVINI) Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project at Banswara in Rajasthan.
The project, which entails an investment of around Rs. 42,000 crore, will be one of the largest nuclear plants in the country upon completion, supplying reliable base load energy.
Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (MBRAPP) comprises four indigenous 700 megawatt (MW) Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) with advanced safety features, also known as IPHWR 700.
India has been elected to various subsidiary bodies at the UN Economic and Social Council, one of the six main organs of the United Nations.
The Permanent Mission of India to the UN said that India has been elected by acclamation to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) subsidiary bodies,
including Commission on Science and Technology for Development (2027-2030); Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations (2027-2030); and the Committee for Programme and Coordination (2027-2029).
Indian Ambassador Preeti Saran has been re-elected to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2027-2030).
The UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) holds an annual intergovernmental forum for discussion on issues affecting science, technology and development.
The Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations is a standing committee of the ECOSOC, and among its main tasks are consideration of applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification submitted by NGOs.
The Committee for Programme and Coordination is the main subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly for planning, programming and coordination.
It reviews the programmes of the United Nations and assists the Economic and Social Council in the performance of its coordination functions within the United Nations system.
The World Bank has revised downwards India’s growth outlook for the current financial year 2026-27 to 6.6% from 7.2%, citing the impact of the war in West Asia on household and government consumption, as well as on industrial activity.
The India Development Update report is a companion to the South Asia Economic Update 2026, which was released on April 8.
The report said that industrial activity is expected to slow to 7.5% in 2026-27 from 8.8% in the previous year. It said that the manufacturing sector especially electronics, automobiles, and other tradable goods will prop up industrial growth.
Nasscom Foundation has announced the appointment UB Pravin Rao as its new Chairperson, succeeding Rostow Ravanan, who has concluded his tenure.
His prior association with Nasscom, whom he joined in 2014, include his earlier roles as Vice-Chairperson and Chairman.
As Chairperson, he will help guide the Foundation’s strategic priorities contributing to the government’s vision of a Viksit Bharat. He also served as the chief operating officer at Infosys between 2014 and 2021.
Nasscom Foundation continues to work at the intersection of technology and social impact, guided by its TechForGood philosophy.
Jim Whittaker, the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, has died aged 97.
He climbed to the highest point on earth on 1 May 1963 and remained among the most highly regarded mountaineers for decades, returning to Everest with his family when he was 83 years old.
Whittaker, who served as the first full-time employee of the outdoor retailer REI in 1995, went on to lead the business as its president and CEO from 1971 to 1979.
The Government Middle School at Keezhur in Mangalam Assembly constituency of Puducherry, one among the three designated “unique” polling stations in the Union Territory, had Tamil art forms, flex boards featuring the freedom history of erstwhile Pondicherry and eco-friendly materials decking up the ambience as voters walked in to exercise their franchise during,
the Puducherry Assembly elections on April 9, 2026.
The school at Keezhur, a village on the Puducherry-Tamil Nadu border off Villianur, has historically been one of the prime polling stations. In October 1954, Keezhur produced the definite referendum in favour of the merger of French establishments with India.
At the V.O. Chidambaranar Higher Secondary School, a designated polling station located in the Boulevard, ‘Nila’, a humanoid robot welcomed voters with roses. Developed as an interactive event-based machine, ‘Nila’ was deployed to welcome and assist voters.
The Elections Department also distributed saplings to first time voters after they exercised their franchise.
Former India cricketer C.D. Gopinath passed away in Chennai on April 9, 2026. He was 96. Gopinath had been the last surviving member of India’s maiden Test win against England in 1952.
A right-handed batter, Gopinath featured in eight Tests for India in the 1950s and scored 242 runs with a highest score of 50 not out.
In an accomplished First-Class career, Gopinath played 83 games for Madras and accumulated 4259 runs at a healthy average of 42.16, including nine centuries and 23 half-centuries. He was a key member of Madras’ Ranji Trophy-winning squad in the 1954-55 season.
Known as a stylish batter, Gopinath made an impressive debut, scoring an unbeaten 52 and 40 in the second Test of the series. In the final Test at the Chepauk stadium in Chennai, Gopinath scored 35 and stitched a vital 93-run stand for the seventh wicket with Polly Umrigar.
India went on to win the match by an innings and seven runs to post its maiden Test victory and draw the five-match series 1-1.
After his playing career, Gopinath served as chairman of the national selection committee and as team manager on the 1979 tour to England.
In simplifying the onboarding of MSMEs in Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) and to promote ease of doing business for this segment and to encourage their greater participation on TReDS, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to dispense with the requirement of due diligence of MSMEs while onboarding on TReDS platforms.
The guidelines for this were first issued in 2014 and subsequently updated in 2018. The scope of TReDS was further expanded in 2023 with the inclusion of insurance companies as the fourth participant.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has laid down tighter timelines for banks to process inward cross-border remittances, mandating immediate customer intimation and faster reconciliation of nostro accounts to reduce delays in credit.
The Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines to speed up cross-border inflows for customers and businesses.
Banks will need to credit inward payments received during the foreign exchange market hours within the same business day to the customer's account, and credit payments received after market hours on the next business day.
Lenders need to undertake reconciliation and confirmation of credit in the nostro account frequently either on a near-real-time basis or at periodic intervals.
Banks need to put in place a straight-through process for crediting the inward payments to individual accounts.
Banks must provide a digital interface to customers to facilitate foreign exchange transactions, including submission of documents or information, and monitoring of transactions.
These rules will be effective in six months' time.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) projected India's GDP growth to remain "robust" at 6.9 per cent in the current fiscal, and rise to 7.3 per cent in next fiscal driven by strong domestic demand, and supported by easing financing conditions and lower US tariffs on Indian goods.
In its Asian Development Outlook report, the ADB said a prolonged conflict in West Asia could undermine India's macroeconomic performance through multiple channels.
These include higher energy prices, disruptions to trade flows, and weaker remittance inflows given the region's continued importance for India's external sector.
It projected inflation to more than double from 2.1 per cent in 2025-26 to 4.5 per cent in the current fiscal due to a rebound in food prices from earlier declines, higher global oil prices, currency weakness, and rising precious metal prices. It projected inflation to ease to 4 per cent in the next fiscal on account of lower oil prices.
The Indian economy grew 7.6 per cent in the previous fiscal (2025-26), faster than the 7.1 per cent recorded in FY2024-25, supported by resilient household consumption due to cut in income tax, GST, and falling food prices, besides steady public investment.
