Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi chaired a two-day departmental summit in New Delhi focused on strengthening policy delivery, coordination, and outcomes for women and children. The meeting comes at a time when the ministry is under pressure to sharpen implementation across nutrition, child protection, and women’s welfare programmes.
Arsenal have secured Mikel Arteta on a new contract through 2030, underlining the club’s commitment to continuity after the Spaniard delivered a Premier League title and transformed the team into sustained contenders. The 44-year-old, who arrived in December 2019, is now the longest-serving manager in the Premier League by a clear margin, a status that reflects both Arsenal’s patience and the scale of the rebuild he has overseen.
Lionel Messi has retired from international football after Argentina’s friendly win over Benin, closing a defining chapter in the modern game. The 39-year-old, long regarded as the greatest player in football history, had already signalled in August that he would step away from the national team after Argentina’s World Cup defeat to Spain.
The Campaign for Justice and Peace and allied Left groups have alleged that supporters and activists are being detained across multiple states ahead of a planned October 10 protest. CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said the organisation’s co-in-charge, Deepak Baliyan, was detained in Rajasthan, intensifying concerns over what the groups describe as a coordinated attempt to disrupt mobilisation.
Andhra Pradesh emerged as India’s largest egg-producing state in FY25, accounting for 2,739 crore eggs and reinforcing its central role in the country’s poultry economy. The state government now plans to deepen support for poultry farming, widen markets for poultry products and promote higher egg consumption to sustain farmer incomes and industry growth.
Wrestler Sujeet Kalkal has credited coach Bentinidis’s insistence on an attack-first approach for helping him capture Asian Games gold on debut, saying the tactical shift made the difference in a high-pressure final. Kalkal also pointed to the effective use of the dhobi pachhad, or arm throw, as a decisive weapon in his breakthrough campaign.
Private credit is facing a sharper squeeze as competition intensifies, regulatory changes reshape lending conditions, and banks re-enter acquisition financing with greater force. In the first half of 2026, a significant share of private credit deals were priced below 18%, underscoring how quickly the market has shifted in favor of borrowers with more financing options.
Central Bank of India reported a sharp 30 percent rise in credit growth for the second quarter of the financial year, underscoring sustained loan demand and a stronger balance-sheet trajectory. Advances stood at Rs 2.93 lakh crore as of September 30, 2025, while deposits rose 14 percent to Rs 5.08 lakh crore and total business expanded 21 percent to Rs 8.89 lakh crore.
India’s digital lenders have posted a sharp 28% rise in personal-loan portfolios over the past year, even as the number of outstanding accounts slipped marginally to 5.64 crore. The data points to a market increasingly driven by larger ticket sizes, stronger demand for unsecured credit and a growing share of younger and thin-file borrowers.
TechSparks 2026 is shaping up as a broad-based gathering of India’s startup economy, with founders, technology leaders and investors from AI, social media, fintech, SaaS, education, defence and deeptech joining the speaker lineup. The widening roster reflects how the country’s innovation agenda is moving beyond consumer internet narratives toward enterprise software, strategic technologies and sector-specific problem solving.
Meta has said it removed 5.3 million pieces of child sexual abuse material and related harmful content in the first half of 2026, underscoring the scale of moderation pressure on global social platforms. The disclosure comes as the company faces heightened regulatory scrutiny in India over online safety, child protection, and the adequacy of platform enforcement.
As India marks the International Day of the Girl Child, the conversation is shifting beyond symbolism to the practical barriers that still shape girls’ lives: access to education, digital safety, health, and equal opportunity. The day has become a reminder that progress is measurable not by slogans, but by whether girls can study, move, work and speak without fear or discrimination.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has clarified that the Merchant Discount Rate on select UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 is a merchant-side cost and will not be passed on to consumers. She said the levy is not a tax, cess or surcharge, pushing back against growing confusion over the policy’s impact on digital payments.
HYBE is set to stage Weverse Con in India for the first time, with the K-pop festival scheduled for 27–28 March 2027 in New Delhi. The move marks the event’s first edition outside South Korea and signals a significant expansion of the company’s live entertainment footprint into one of the world’s fastest-growing music markets.
The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to raise the repo rate by 25 basis points and shift its policy stance to “calibrated tightening” has been read by economists as a clear warning that the easing cycle is over. Analysts say the central bank has left the door open for at least another 50 basis points of hikes if inflation and external pressures do not soften.
Anup Kumar Saha is set to take over as chief executive of Kotak Mahindra Bank in January 2027, marking a carefully telegraphed succession at one of India’s most closely watched private lenders. Known for concise meetings, direct communication and a numbers-first approach, Saha is expected to focus on accelerating loan growth while broadening the bank’s deposit franchise.
Genpact has said artificial intelligence is set to reduce the workload in the IT services industry, even as employment growth rates begin to soften. NV 'Tiger' Tyagarajan said the pace of employee additions in India will not match past trends, reflecting a structural shift in how technology work is delivered. He added that the industry will increasingly require a workforce with higher skill levels as automation advances.
Investors often gravitate toward products that have recently delivered the best returns, but that instinct can be costly. In markets, IPOs and wealth management, the better question is not what has worked lately, but what fits an investor’s goals, time horizon and risk tolerance across a full cycle.
A new daily quiz spotlighting Singeetham Srinivasa Rao arrives as Indian cinema reflects on the death of one of its most inventive directors, who died on October 3. The format underscores how his work continues to command attention across generations, not only as film history but as a living part of India’s cultural memory.
Shreyas Iyer has surged to a career-best seventh in the latest T20I batting rankings, underlining India’s growing depth in the shortest format. In ODIs, Shubman Gill has strengthened his hold on the No. 1 position, while India continue to dominate the top end of the T20I chart with Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma occupying the top two spots and Tilak Varma placed 10th.
India has established a dedicated Free Trade Agreement utilisation cell to help exporters and importers make fuller use of preferential trade pacts, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Wednesday. The move comes as New Delhi seeks to prove that its newer FTAs, negotiated with more complementary economies, can deliver stronger trade outcomes than earlier agreements that were often underused.
Counting of votes has begun for bypolls to five Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat, setting off an early political test for parties across several states. In West Bengal, the results from Nandigram and Rejinagar are being watched most closely, as they are expected to offer an early reading of the State’s political mood after the BJP displaced the TMC from power after 15 years.
Veteran Indian actor Nana Patekar died at his Goa residence in the early hours of Thursday, October 8, 2026, after suffering a cardiac arrest, prompting an outpouring of grief across the film industry. Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Jr NTR and several other stars paid tribute to the acclaimed performer, whose career spanned decades across Hindi and Marathi cinema.
Work on the Isarda dam project is being expedited as authorities seek to meet near-term water supply targets, with urban areas expected to receive water through the main pipeline by next month. Rural connections will be rolled out in phases, but only in areas where the required distribution infrastructure has already been completed. The sequencing underscores a phased delivery model aimed at balancing speed, readiness, and operational reliability.
West Indies bowling coach Ravi Rampaul has warned that his side must avoid losing wickets in clusters if they are to remain competitive in the current phase of their cricket rebuild. He also conceded that the attack still lacks the international experience needed to consistently control pressure in high-stakes matches.
Venkatesh’s upcoming film 'Aadarsha Kutumbam - AK 47', directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by Naga Vamsi, has been postponed from its planned October 9 release. The producer confirmed that post-production work has slipped, and a new release date will be announced later, while Sree Vishnu’s 'Comrade Kalyan' remains on track for the same day.
The GST Council has recommended rationalising the e-way bill framework to reduce friction in the movement of goods, a move aimed at improving logistics efficiency and cutting compliance bottlenecks. The proposal also clarifies that supplies made by e-commerce platforms to unregistered buyers through any delivery mechanism will attract a flat 5% tax rate, tightening tax treatment in a fast-growing segment of retail trade.
Shares of leading Indian digital payments companies fell after reports suggested a delay in any move to reintroduce merchant discount rates on UPI transactions. The decline reflects investor concern that a prolonged zero-MDR regime could keep pressure on monetisation for payments firms already navigating thin margins and regulatory uncertainty.
Sidharatha Mishra, a long-serving ICICI Bank executive with nearly three decades across retail banking and digital operations, is set to take over as chief operating officer and chief executive officer of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. His elevation follows the exit of Anup Bagchi, who helped steer the insurer through a significant three-year phase of growth and operational strengthening. Mishra’s appointment signals continuity, with a leadership profile shaped by branch-level execution, customer-facing banking, and digital transformation.
The National Open delivered a sharp reminder of India’s growing depth in athletics as Hoblidhar marked a notable return and Kuldeep produced a record-breaking performance. The meet’s latest results underscored both individual resilience and the rising standard of competition on the domestic circuit.
India’s new merchant fee regime for UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 is likely to deepen the advantage of the country’s largest payment apps, with Bernstein estimating that PhonePe and Google Pay could together generate about $900 million annually by March 2028. The policy may also accelerate expansion into rural markets and push smaller rivals toward higher-value transactions, reinforcing scale as the decisive competitive edge in digital payments.
India’s real estate industry is bracing for a possible slowdown in home sales after the Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate by 25 basis points, lifting borrowing costs for homebuyers. Industry bodies CREDAI and NAREDCO said the increase could weigh on festive-season demand, even as underlying housing sentiment remains supported by long-term end-user demand and recent sales resilience in major cities.
In New Delhi, a small studio is reviving tintype photography, a hand-made 19th-century process that transforms portrait-making into a precise chemical performance. The method appears simple at first glance, but its appeal lies in the exacting control it demands, blending craft, science and image-making in an era dominated by instant digital photography.
The National Highways Authority of India has released a document on wildlife protection measures and structures, signaling a more formal approach to reducing ecological harm along the country’s expanding highway network. The guidance is expected to shape how future highway projects incorporate crossings, barriers, and other mitigation tools in wildlife-sensitive areas.
The GST Council is set to deliberate on five targeted areas aimed at simplifying compliance and improving the ease of doing business, according to officials familiar with the agenda. Apart from a few minor adjustments, major tax rate changes are not expected, signalling a largely procedural and administrative meeting rather than a broad fiscal overhaul.
Karthik produced the day’s headline upset at the Fenesta Open, toppling Kamboj to underline the volatility of the draw and the depth of competition in Delhi. In the women’s singles, the leading five seeds all moved into the quarterfinals, with Vaidehee Chaudhari and Shruti Ahlawat posting convincing straight-sets wins to reinforce the hierarchy at the business end of the tournament.
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 early reports. The development has sent shockwaves through India’s film fraternity, where Patekar was widely regarded as one of the most forceful and distinctive performers of his generation.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated a set of new facilities at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology (ICAR-IIAB) in Ranchi through video conferencing, underscoring the Centre’s emphasis on agricultural research and innovation. The move highlights the government’s effort to strengthen science-led productivity gains, especially in crop improvement, biotechnology, and farmer-oriented research infrastructure.
Actor-producer Richa Chadha has described her non-fiction travel series 'Musafiri' as an effort to help audiences rediscover the places they already live in, beginning with Mumbai in its first season. She said motherhood has sharpened her sense of observation and changed the way she experiences travel, memory and public space.
The runaway success of 'Premada Oorali' has jolted Karnataka’s small-town theatres back to life and given Kannada cinema an overdue box-office lift. But the film’s surprise momentum has also exposed a deeper question for filmmakers: whether audiences are rewarding a specific kind of local, emotionally direct storytelling or simply responding to a rare theatrical event.
IndusInd Bank has launched a dedicated banking vertical for Global Capability Centres in India, aiming to serve a fast-expanding segment that now anchors multinational operations across technology, finance and shared services. The new offering combines corporate and employee banking under one relationship and adds foreign-currency account services to support cross-border transactions, signalling a sharper push into an increasingly sophisticated enterprise market.
Veteran actor Nana Patekar died at his Goa residence in the early hours of Thursday, prompting an outpouring of grief across India’s film and public life. His last rites were carried out with full State honours, underscoring the scale of his cultural stature and the national recognition accorded to a career that spanned decades.
Ticketed concerts and curated cultural events are drawing new audiences into Delhi’s historic monuments, recasting heritage sites as premium live-entertainment spaces. The shift is opening fresh revenue and visibility opportunities, but it is also intensifying questions over permissions, conservation safeguards and the commercial use of protected sites.
The ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute has developed a pilot-scale technology that enables pre-concentration of coconut sap at the tree top, a move that could materially improve harvesting efficiency and reduce post-collection handling losses. Backed financially by the Coconut Development Board, the innovation points to a more scalable value-addition model for India’s coconut economy if it clears field validation and adoption hurdles.
Germany has re-emerged as the euro zone’s preferred refuge as investors retreat from the sovereign debt of fiscally vulnerable countries, notably France and Italy. Renewed volatility in European bond markets is being driven by rising fiscal concerns, political uncertainty and a broader reassessment of risk across the currency bloc.
The Chief Minister felicitated Asian Games medallists in a ceremony that underscored the growing political emphasis on sporting excellence and athlete support. The event highlighted both the symbolic value of international medals and the practical need for sustained investment in training, infrastructure and incentives if India is to convert podium success into a deeper talent pipeline.
Badminton legend Prakash Padukone has urged India’s top shuttlers to turn flashes of brilliance into sustained results, underscoring consistency as the missing ingredient in the country’s push for global dominance. His remarks come at a time when Indian badminton continues to produce elite talent but struggles to convert depth into regular title-winning performances.
Moody’s Ratings has warned that retail fuel prices in India may eventually need to rise if global crude remains in the $90-110 per barrel range in 2026. The assessment underscores the pressure that sustained high oil prices could place on fuel subsidies, inflation management and the broader fiscal stance.
The National Company Law Tribunal has admitted Kotak Mahindra Bank’s insolvency petition against Unity Realty and Developers over an alleged default of ₹68.49 crore, marking a significant escalation in a credit dispute tied to financial facilities extended to Unity Infraprojects. The case underscores how corporate guarantees can pull related entities into insolvency proceedings when the principal borrower runs into distress.
The Reserve Bank of India has moved to calm market anxiety over the new foreign exchange reporting framework, with Governor Sanjay Malhotra clarifying that routine cross-border transactions by individuals and businesses are not being targeted by the latest changes. The guidance is especially relevant for freelancers, digital creators and SaaS startups that depend on overseas clients, platform payouts and recurring foreign receipts.
