HDFC Bank has launched its annual festival offer, packaging thousands of deals across consumer-facing products as it seeks to capture seasonal spending demand. The programme allows customers to save up to ₹70,000 on festive purchases made through HDFC Bank credit cards and EASYEMI on debit and credit cards, while also extending benefits across personal, car, vehicle, home and gold loans.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra warned that financial vulnerabilities can build quietly and then surface abruptly, urging markets and lenders to avoid complacency amid a more uncertain global backdrop. Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave, he said the West Asia conflict is adding to inflationary pressures and complicating the outlook for financial stability.
TechSparks 2026 opened with a forceful argument that India’s next technology leap will depend less on imported compute and more on ownership of core capabilities, from software stacks to space systems. Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu, Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge and a slate of spacetech founders used Day 1 to press a broader vision of distributed innovation, with Tech30 2026 also unveiled as a marker of the country’s emerging startup pipeline.
The first trailer for Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs signals a major new chapter for one of horror’s most enduring franchises, with Scarlett Johansson leading an ensemble that includes Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Sasha Calle and Jacobi Jupe. The footage positions the film as a high-stakes, psychologically charged reinvention rather than a simple nostalgia play, underscoring Universal and Blumhouse’s bet on prestige horror with broad commercial reach.
Kochi Mayor M. Anilkumar has been elected to the board of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, placing the Kerala city in a prominent international forum on urban climate action. The appointment underscores the growing role of Indian local governments in shaping climate policy as cities confront rising heat, flooding and infrastructure stress.
Government sources have clarified that a proposed 0.4% merchant fee on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 will not be charged to consumers, easing concerns over a possible rise in digital payment costs. The National Payments Corporation of India said only a small portion of UPI transactions may be affected, while the Indian Banks' Association is expected to address market misunderstandings soon.
An Air India flight from Frankfurt to Delhi was diverted to Jaipur after the cockpit transmitted Squawk Code 7500, the international transponder signal for unlawful interference. The alert was triggered while the aircraft was in the Mumbai Flight Information Region, prompting an immediate security response and coordination with aviation authorities.
The incident has raised fresh attention on India’s aviation security protocols, particularly the procedures that govern in-flight threat signals and cross-agency response mechanisms. Officials have not yet disclosed the nature of the threat or whether the alert was confirmed as a genuine hijack attempt.
The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks to identify the systemic, process and operational failures driving repeat customer complaints, and to carry out root-cause analysis to prevent recurrence. The central bank also pressed lenders to build stronger grievance-handling capacity as complaints under the ombudsman scheme crossed 1.33 million in FY25.
A brace from Bouli powered Punjab to a hard-fought win over Odisha in an Indian Super League contest that swung on finishing quality and defensive resilience. The result underlined Punjab’s growing edge in tight matches, while Odisha were left to rue missed chances and lapses at decisive moments.
