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Railway Board has decided that all departmental promotion examinations will now be through centralised examinations. According to officials aware of the development, only Computer Based Tests (CBT) will be undertaken and all zonal railways will have to make a calendar for the examinations. The Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) will be empowered to conduct these exams as well. “A high-level meeting has taken the decision to switch to centralised exams for promotions,” a senior official told ET while adding that question papers will be in highly encrypted form (256-bit encryption). These steps have been taken after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) unearthed a departmental examination paper leak scam under the East Central Railway (ECR) at Mughal Sarai. The agency has arrested 26 Railway officials, including 17 aspirants, in the case this week and recovered Rs. 1.17 crore in cash. These amounts were reportedly collected from candidates for leaking the question papers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Young companies selling laboratory-grown diamonds are ramping up investments in building awareness and expanding product lines as growing adoption of the category in recent months has sparked optimism, industry executives told Mint. Bengaluru-based Jewelbox has nearly doubled its marketing budget in the last year and now incurs nearly 20% of its online expenditure on awareness campaigns, its co-founder Nipun Kochar said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The government is likely to raise about ₹10,000 crore from divestment proceeds in FY25, with a large bulk coming from the Offer for Sale (OFS) route, two people aware of the matter said. During the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal, the Centre has raised about ₹8,625 crore through disinvestment transactions, the people mentioned above said.

Indian banks are in talks with the international financing messaging system SWIFT on migrating to the new instant and real-time gross settlement system under ISO 20022, effective from November 25. So far, only four Indian banks have partially transitioned to the new system, said two bank executives aware of the deliberations. “The matter was discussed at a meeting last month, and it was decided to discuss the issue with officials from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) for a smooth transition and, if possible, an extension of the deadline,” said one of the executives, who did not wish to be identified. SWIFT has also suggested expediting the process of migration to the new mechanism, according to the executive.

World Obesity Day 2025: Every year on March 4th, World Obesity Day raises awareness about the global obesity epidemic. The World Obesity Federation organises this day to highlight the health risks linked to obesity, such as diabetes, heart disease, and joint problems. The day also promotes healthier lifestyles, public policies, and medical interventions. But some habits people think are healthy can actually cause weight gain. These habits can lead to eating too many calories, metabolic imbalances, and increased cravings. Check if you are also making these mistakes in the name of healthy eating. 1. Choosing food based on labels: Products labeled as low-fat, sugar-free, or diet-friendly often contain added sugars, artificial sweeteners, or preservatives. These ingredients can lead to overeating and increased fat storage, raising the risk of obesity.

Income Tax Department has recently released a new brochure highlighting how clubbing of income provisions is applicable for individual taxpayers. Clubbing of income refers to the situation in which your wife’s or child’s or other person’s income is included in your total income and accordingly taxed. Under the Income Tax Act, 1961 income will be clubbed in the hands of either the husband or wife whose total income is higher. Ramakrishnan Srinivasan, former chief commissioner of Income Tax Department says: "«Many taxpayers are not aware of the clubbing provisions of Income Tax Act, 1961 and accordingly land up getting slapped with huge tax demand for arranging their financial affairs with their relatives. One such case which I remember was about a taxpayer who gave cash gift to his spouse and she invested it in fixed deposit in her name and offered interest income in her income tax return. The tax department applied the clubbing provisions and taxed the interest income in the hands of the husband. Similarly in another case, a salaried employee opened a fixed deposit (FD) in the name of his minor daughter out of his savings and did not offer the interest income in his hands thinking that interest is getting accumulated in his daughter’s account without realizing the clubbing provisions of Income Tax Act, 1961. The tax department brought the said income to tax in the hands of the employee and also levied stiff penalty on the ground under reporting of income which amounts to misreporting.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Clouds over vast swathes of North India have caused abrupt dips in solar power production, raising worries about the stability of the power grid that serves millions of Indians. The national grid operator asked all electricity companies in February to be on alert mode and supply power to preserve the grid's stability, two people aware of the matter said.

NITI Aayog on Monday said 27 million women were monitoring their credit, marking a 42% increase from the previous year, signaling growing financial awareness, citing a report published by TransUnion CIBIL, Women Entrepreneurship Platform’s (WEP) of NITI Aayog and MicroSave Consulting (MSC). According to the statement issued by the Aayog, the report titled “From Borrowers to Builders: Women’s Role in India’s Financial Growth Story” highlights that women’s share of the total self-monitoring base increased to 19.43% in December 2024, up from 17.89% in 2023. “More women from non-metro regions are actively self-monitoring their credit compared to those in metro areas, with growth of 48% in non-metro regions and 30% in metro areas,” it said.

The vox pop-style video, seemingly recorded in Mumbai, features a man posing a straightforward question to pedestrians: “What is the official language of Bengaluru?” One respondent confidently stated, “I think Bengaluru doesn’t have an official language.” Another immediately answered, “Hindi,” while a third person, seemingly uncertain yet determined, offered, “Hindi or Sanskrit. I’d place my bets on both.”

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Piramal Enterprises Ltd is planning to sell its holdings in Shriram Group's insurance ventures for ₹4,000-5,000 crore, two people aware of the matter said, as it looks to sharpen focus on its core lending business. The Ajay Piramal-led group holds about 15% in Shriram General Insurance Co.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Centre has engaged its top disaster management agency to carve out an insurance product to mitigate the impact of losses from climate change-related events.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The Centre has approved nearly 97% of the amount allocated to states under the Special Assistance scheme, which provides interest-free loans for 50 years to states, during the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal year, two people aware of the matter told Mint. The amount approved is ₹1.22 trillion.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Saturday flagged off the Jan Aushadhi Raths to kick off the Jan Aushadhi Saptah being celebrated from March 1 to March 7. Speaking at the flag off, Nadda said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the government targets to open 20,000 Jan Aushadhi centres by the end of 2025 and 27,000 centres by 2027. «We have an ambitious target that under the leadership of PM and by 2027, we will reach 25,000 Jan Aushadhi centres… We started with 80 centres, today there are 15,000 centres and we will increase it to 20,000 by the end of this year and we will reach 25,000 centres next year...» Nadda said speaking at the flag off.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When it comes to birds, India has always been a superpower.

sleep health—the highest among surveyed countries—nearly half (47%) of them have taken sick leave at least once in their careers due to sleep deprivation, according to healthtech company ResMed’s fifth annual Global Sleep Survey, findings of which were made public on Friday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. On 17 February, a 4.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Delhi-NCR, not strong enough to cause damage, but powerful enough to cause concern. Too often, mild tremors are brushed aside as routine, yet they are stark reminders of India’s seismic vulnerability.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: A dispute over unpaid fees between National Stock Exchange Ltd (NSE) and the clearing subsidiary owned by its rival BSE Ltd appears to be nearing resolution, said two people aware of the development. Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India is informally nudging the NSE and Indian Clearing Corporation Ltd (ICCL) to resolve matter at the earliest, the people said on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the media.

credit appraisal and monitor the fund usage in micro loans.