The Reserve Bank of India is preparing to allow a Merchant Discount Rate on UPI payments above Rs 2,000 from October 15, a move that could reshape the economics of digital payments for merchants and payment providers. RBI Deputy Governor Shirish Chandra Murmu has said the introduction of a merchant fee will not automatically push consumers back to cash, arguing that cash and digital payments continue to expand in parallel for different reasons.
Akie Abe, widow of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, met Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale in New Delhi, according to an RSS communique. The meeting focused on strengthening India-Japan relations through civilisational links, cultural cooperation and people-centric initiatives, underscoring the soft-power dimension of bilateral engagement.
The Reserve Bank of India has approved Anup Kumar Saha as the next managing director and chief executive officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank, setting the stage for a leadership transition at one of India’s most closely watched private lenders. Saha’s three-year term will begin on January 1, 2027, after the bank’s board formally ratifies the appointment and seeks shareholder approval.
Crunchyroll has expanded its digital entertainment offering in India with the launch of Crunchyroll Manga, giving subscribers access to more than 250 manga titles from leading publishers. The move strengthens the company’s strategy of building a single destination for fans to read manga and stream anime adaptations on the same platform. For India’s fast-growing anime audience, the rollout marks a notable deepening of the market beyond video streaming into licensed digital publishing.
A series of commemorative events will be held in memory of K.V. Thiruvengadam in his centenary year, spotlighting the physician’s enduring influence on medical practice in Chennai and beyond. The observances are set to revisit a patient-centred ethic that emphasised listening carefully, examining thoroughly at the bedside, and thinking critically before ordering tests.
October Octaves, the performance-led cultural platform launched in 2015, is set to return this weekend with its 11th edition, titled Eternal Echoes. The latest chapter underscores the event’s steady evolution from a niche artistic initiative into a recurring fixture in India’s contemporary arts calendar, drawing attention to the growing appetite for curated live cultural experiences.
Ashoka University’s award-winning bamboo pavilion, The Hungry Caterpillar, has marked its first anniversary as a notable example of how campus food spaces can be reimagined through sustainable design. Conceived by Apoorva Shroff’s Lyth Design, the project combines bamboo canopies, 3D-printed kitchens and recycled plastic furniture to create a food street that is both functional and environmentally conscious.
The Supreme Court has ruled that tax classification must be determined by a product’s physical form at the point of sale, rather than by how it may ultimately be used. The court dismissed revenue appeals seeking to tax Cadila Healthcare’s GRD Powder and GRD Mix as non-alcoholic beverages at 10%, reinforcing a form-based approach to indirect tax law.
Chennai’s Government College of Fine Arts stands as one of India’s oldest and most influential art institutions, tracing its origins to the 19th-century Madras School of Arts. Over 175 years, it has evolved through reform, modernist experimentation and cross-generational mentorship, shaping artists who helped define both regional and international art movements.
India’s coal stock depletion has eased from the September trough, but the Coal Ministry says the system has not yet entered a rebuilding phase. The ministry said the current stock position must be assessed alongside the improvement in supplies since the low point, underscoring that inventories remain under pressure even as the pace of drawdown moderates.
Mumbai all-rounder Tanush Kotian is pressing his case for a second India Test opportunity after opening the new Ranji Trophy season with another assured run of performances. The 27-year-old, who was named Player of the Tournament in Mumbai’s 2023-24 title-winning campaign and later earned a maiden India call-up as a replacement for R. Ashwin in Australia, is again under national selectors’ scrutiny.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India and the United States are working toward finalising a trade pact that reflects current economic and geopolitical realities. He also said India is pursuing trade negotiations with several other partners, including Israel, Chile, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.
Veteran actor Nana Patekar died at his Goa residence in the early hours of Thursday, prompting an outpouring of grief across India’s film industry and public life. His last rites were carried out with full State honours, underscoring the stature of a performer whose career spanned decades and whose screen presence became synonymous with intensity, restraint, and moral force.
Cristiano Ronaldo marked his return from a reported dispute with Portugal by scoring in Al-Nassr’s win, a timely response that underlined his continued influence in Saudi football. The result kept the defending champions level on points with league leader Al-Qadsiah, separated only by goal difference after the eighth round.
A proposed 0.4% merchant discount rate on high-value UPI transactions could generate as much as Rs 15,000 crore in the first year, according to the National Payments Corporation of India’s chief. The proposal revives a long-running debate over how to fund India’s fast-expanding digital payments infrastructure without slowing adoption among merchants and consumers.
The Reserve Bank of India will conduct an open market operation sale auction of government securities worth Rs 25,000 crore on October 13, offering six papers with maturities between 2030 and 2034. The move comes even as the banking system remains flush with surplus liquidity of about Rs 3.88 lakh crore, underscoring the central bank’s effort to manage durable liquidity conditions and keep money-market rates aligned with policy objectives.
India is preparing to introduce an annual return with quarterly tax payments for small taxpayers, a move aimed at reducing compliance pressure and improving cash-flow management for micro and small enterprises. The proposal also includes extinguishing disputed tax notices of up to ₹10,000, a measure that could benefit as many as 12 lakh small businesses and unclog a large volume of low-value disputes.
Twin Strings, the Delhi-based indie act that began by recording covers in a home studio, is taking its original music on a six-city India tour titled Karwaan 2026. The run marks nine years of the band’s evolution from an intimate online project into a live act with a widening national audience. The tour underscores how independent Indian musicians are increasingly using touring as both a creative statement and a route to scale beyond digital discovery.
Veteran Indian actor Nana Patekar has died at the age of 75 after being found unconscious at his apartment in Dona Paula, near Panaji in Goa, and rushed to a private hospital, according to initial reports. The development marks the end of a long and influential career that made him one of Indian cinema’s most distinctive and formidable performers.
Authorities have released water into the Kakatiya Main Canal to prevent damage to standing crops across the SRSP ayacut, responding to immediate irrigation stress in the command area. The move is aimed at stabilising supply to farmers dependent on the canal network and reducing the risk of crop loss during a critical stage of cultivation.
Seven stocks from the BSE 1000 index touched fresh 52-week highs on a strong trading session in which the Sensex jumped 879 points, underscoring a broad risk-on mood in Indian equities. Cupid led the pack with a 31% gain over the past month, while Shreeji Shipping Global and Aditya Infotech also featured among the day’s standout momentum names.
The Indian rupee strengthened modestly on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India stepped in through state-owned banks to temper volatility, but the currency later gave up much of its early gains as persistent dollar demand from companies resurfaced. It closed at 96.73 against the U.S. dollar, underscoring how official support is still being tested by broad import and corporate demand for foreign exchange.
India is preparing to extend tax refunds to exporters on levies paid for plant and machinery, a move aimed at lowering production costs and improving competitiveness in overseas markets. The measure is expected to ease a long-standing cost burden for export-oriented manufacturers, particularly in capital-intensive sectors where upfront tax outlays can be substantial.
Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk has warned that protests could resume if those detained during recent demonstrations are not released in Delhi. In a video message posted on social media, he said the government of the world’s largest democracy should allow peaceful protest and respond to public grievances through dialogue rather than detention.
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to grant an interim stay on the government’s new merchant discount rate framework that introduces a 0.4% charge on certain UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, allowing the policy to remain on track for an October 15 rollout. The court issued notices to the Centre, the Reserve Bank of India, the National Payments Corporation of India and other respondents after a public interest litigation challenged the legality of the levy.
A new screen project titled 'Good Night Good Morning' is drawing attention for approaching love through restraint, emotional distance, and contemporary intimacy rather than conventional melodrama. Positioned within India’s evolving entertainment landscape, the work reflects a broader shift toward smaller, mood-driven storytelling that privileges nuance over spectacle.
The first trailer for Mike Flanagan’s rebooted Exorcist film, The Exorcist: Martyrs, has arrived, positioning Scarlett Johansson at the center of a tense supernatural thriller built around fear, grief and escalating menace. The film also features Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Sasha Calle and Jacobi Jupe, signaling a high-profile ensemble behind one of horror’s most closely watched revivals.
Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will lead the 94th edition of the Fit India Sundays on Cycle initiative in Varanasi, underscoring the government’s continued push to make fitness a mass civic habit rather than a niche lifestyle choice. The event is expected to draw athletes, officials, and citizens into a public demonstration of the administration’s broader wellness and participation agenda.
Mangaluru International Airport is poised to widen its connectivity in the winter schedule, with weekly flight movements set to climb to 195 from 181. The increase signals a measured but meaningful expansion in capacity, reflecting sustained demand across domestic and international routes serving coastal Karnataka and the wider catchment area.
The higher frequency is likely to improve travel options for passengers, support business and diaspora traffic, and strengthen the airport’s role as a regional gateway. While the change is incremental, it underscores how secondary airports are being used more actively to absorb traffic growth outside India’s largest metro hubs.
IndusInd Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rajiv Anand said he has been informed that his name is unmapped from the electoral roll, even though he holds valid identity documents including a voter ID and Aadhaar card. The disclosure comes as the Election Commission carries out a Special Intensive Revision of voter lists, with claim-filing deadlines extended in Delhi and Maharashtra.
Non-banking finance companies now account for half of India’s new-to-credit borrowers, up sharply from 24% in 2016, according to a TransUnion CIBIL-FIDC report covering about 2,000 NBFCs. The shift underscores the sector’s growing role in widening formal credit access, particularly for first-time borrowers entering the financial system through vehicle finance, consumer lending and other retail products.
Contract health workers in Andhra Pradesh have temporarily paused their strike after discussions with government officials, signalling a possible opening in a dispute that has disrupted the state’s public health workforce. The employees’ joint action committee said it has not withdrawn its core demands, but is giving the government time to address the issues through dialogue.
The Laver Cup has become one of tennis’s most polished modern properties, blending team rivalry, elite star power and a Ryder Cup-inspired format into a highly marketable event. Yet its rise also raises a central question: whether it is a meaningful competitive pillar in the sport, or a carefully engineered spectacle whose appeal depends on the presence of its biggest names.
Janakiram Marella’s Telugu film ‘Comrade Kalyan’ leans into brain-rot humour, rapid-fire one-liners and ensemble chemistry to deliver a comedy that is knowingly messy but intermittently sharp. Anchored by Sree Vishnu’s deadpan timing and a script that understands its own absurdity, the film lands enough laughs to keep its audience engaged even when its narrative momentum wobbles.
India’s Chief Economic Adviser has called for a more tailored approach to classifying non-performing assets in the micro, small and medium enterprise sector, arguing that standard norms can misread the cash-flow realities of smaller firms. The Finance Ministry, according to the policy context, is open to reviewing the framework, citing MSMEs’ uneven working-capital needs and business cycles.
The US government is suspending permanent residency applications for foreign workers at companies including Microsoft, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS and HCLTech, in a move tied to allegations of abuse in the immigration process. The decision could deepen uncertainty for thousands of skilled employees in the technology sector and sharpen scrutiny of how large employers use employment-based green card pathways.
Russia delivered a commanding 4-0 defeat to India in a lopsided women’s contest, underlining the gulf in execution, tempo and finishing between the two sides. The result will prompt hard questions for India about preparation, defensive structure and the ability to compete against higher-ranked opposition.
The Royals began their title defence with a composed, high-quality victory as the APL season opened with immediate evidence of competitive depth. In the other early fixtures, the Knights produced a late rally to edge the Marathas, while the Archers held firm to beat the Chiefs, setting up a tightly contested campaign from the outset.
The Supreme Court has ruled that indirect tax classification must be based on a product’s physical form at the point of sale, not on how it may ultimately be used. The court dismissed revenue appeals seeking to tax Cadila Healthcare’s GRD Powder and GRD Mix as non-alcoholic beverages at 10%, reinforcing a form-over-use approach in tariff interpretation.
Anand Rathi Wealth reported a strong second quarter, with business profit rising 22% year on year to Rs 122 crore and revenue increasing 16%, supported by record quarterly net inflows of Rs 4,186 crore. Assets under management climbed to Rs 1.08 lakh crore, underscoring continued momentum in India’s wealth management market, while the company also declared an interim dividend of Rs 4 per share.
Karnataka begin their Ranji Trophy campaign against Andhra with significant leadership changes, as Smaran makes his captaincy debut and former India pacer Vinay Kumar takes charge in his first coaching assignment with the side. The opening fixture immediately tests the team’s depth, composure and ability to adapt under a fresh leadership structure.
With expectations still high around one of domestic cricket’s most decorated sides, Karnataka must quickly settle into a new rhythm against an Andhra unit that will view the contest as an early opportunity to unsettle a heavyweight opponent.
India and Bangladesh have resumed their joint working group talks on trade after a three-year hiatus, reopening a key channel for addressing long-standing frictions in bilateral commerce. The discussions are expected to focus on port restrictions, non-tariff barriers and duty-free access, even as the trade imbalance between the two neighbours remains a central concern.
Veteran Indian actor Nana Patekar has died at the age of 75 after being found unconscious at his apartment in Dona Paula, near Panaji in Goa, and taken to a private hospital, according to the breaking account. The development marks the end of a long and influential career that spanned cinema, theatre, and public life, with Patekar widely regarded as one of Indian film’s most distinctive performers.
Anand Rathi Wealth reported a 22% year-on-year rise in second-quarter business profit to Rs 122 crore, supported by a 16% increase in revenue and record quarterly net inflows of Rs 4,186 crore. The wealth manager’s assets under management climbed to Rs 1.08 lakh crore, underscoring continued momentum in India’s affluent-investor segment, while the company also declared an interim dividend of Rs 4 per share.
Flashman, Minari, Rivayat and Saint Sizzle emerged as the standout performers in a sharply contested morning session, underlining the depth and unpredictability that continue to define Indian racing. Their strong showings offered an early read on form, fitness and tactical sharpness as connections assessed where each runner may be headed next.
Omnichannel menswear brand KISAH has raised ₹35.9 crore, or about $3.7 million, in a Series A round led by Fireside, marking a fresh vote of confidence in India’s premium ethnic and occasionwear market. The capital is expected to support retail expansion, brand building and operational scale as the company looks to deepen its presence across channels.
The funding comes at a time when Indian fashion startups are under pressure to balance growth with profitability, making KISAH’s raise notable for its focus on physical retail and omnichannel execution rather than pure digital scale.
Cargo traffic handled by India’s major ports rose 8% year-on-year in the April-September 2026 period, supported by stronger container, petroleum, oil and lubricants, iron ore and coal volumes. The broader increase came despite lower throughput at Chennai and Paradip, underscoring uneven performance across the port network.
Artificial intelligence is crossing a critical threshold in consumer commerce: from recommending products to executing purchases on behalf of users. In the automotive and mobility sector, that shift could reshape how Indians discover, compare, book and pay for vehicles, charging services and connected-car features. The change raises new questions about trust, consent, pricing power and who ultimately controls the customer relationship.
Residents in south Bengaluru are intensifying calls for stronger public transport solutions, arguing that an elevated corridor would deepen congestion rather than solve it. The debate has sharpened into a broader policy question over whether the city should prioritise road expansion or invest in mass transit, walkability and last-mile connectivity.
Police in Hyderabad have arrested eight people in connection with the trafficking and sexual exploitation of a minor girl, a case that has renewed scrutiny of organised exploitation networks operating in India’s urban centres. The arrests underscore the continuing challenge of child protection enforcement, especially where coercion, concealment and cross-network coordination are involved.
