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soft touch regulations within regulatory guardrails and expand the reach of UPI for more efficient cross-border payments, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Monday. In his address at the Inauguration of Digital Payments Awareness Week 2025 here, the governor said apart from the RBI, the government and other important stakeholders like banks and payment system operators have also taken a number of initiatives to encourage the adoption of digital payments. «While these efforts have produced results, as visible in the huge growth of digital payments, there is still a lot more to be done. Going forward, we will work on three broad areas,» he said. The areas are soft-touch regulations to continue promoting innovation, promote awareness generation, and more efficient cross-border payments.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Twenty-five years ago this week, the Nasdaq Composite Index hit its dot-com-era peak after soaring more than 500% in five years. Its subsequent collapse was swift and brutal.

Avaada Group said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has inaugurated its 1.5 GW solar module manufacturing Gigafactory in Noida. The foundation stone has also been laid for Avaada Electro's ambitious 5 GW integrated solar manufacturing unit at Ecotech, Greater Noida, the company said in a statement. The 1.5 GW PV module manufacturing unit in Dadri is a significant step in Avaada Group's commitment to sustainable innovation. Constructed at an unprecedented pace, the first phase of the gigafactory became operational within just 3.5 months, with all utilities and module production lines fully commissioned, according to the statement.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Funds that follow alternative strategies in the listed markets have exploded in popularity since the introduction of Alternative Investment Fund regulations. Category III AIFs – a brand new idea in 2012 – have garnered ₹2.17 lakh crore of commitments as of today.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India is ramping up its efforts to break China's dominance in the solar supply chain with a $1 billion capital subsidy plan that’s aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing of wafers and ingots—critical components in solar panel production. While the country has made significant progress in solar module and cell manufacturing, wafer and ingot production remains a weak link, with only 2gigawatts (GW)of capacity compared to 71 GW in modules and 11 GW in cells.

The report highlighted that IT companies integrating AI into their operations and services are more likely to achieve higher productivity, faster growth, and access to larger transformation deals as businesses increase their AI investments. It said «The consensus among IT industry leaders is clear — AI is not optional, it's an imperative».

Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics had leased 2.86 lakh sqft across Goregaon in Mumbai and Whitefield in Bengaluru, to expand its presence as part of the company’s broader strategy to strengthen presence in the region, driving business growth and enhancing operations. The new offices has seating capacity for 1,500 employees each. The Mumbai office, leased from Oberoi Realty Limited, spans 1.5 lakh sq. ft., while the Bengaluru office, leased from Chalet Hotels Limited, covers 1.36 lakh sq. ft. Nielsen plans to open more offices across India, including in locations like Gurgaon and Hyderabad.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. After spending many years in the corporate world, Meenal Majumder decided to set it all aside and don the student’s hat to go the start-up way. Though there wasn’t a perfect plan in place, she knew that if she waited for the ‘right time’, there was a good chance it would never come.

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has criticised the trend of developing increasingly complex artificial intelligence (AI) models, arguing that this does not necessarily lead to better results. Speaking at the People+AI Mela in Bengaluru, he expressed concern over how many AI models remain closed systems, hidden from public scrutiny. “They keep doing more of that, but it is not that it is going to get any better. They are all typically kept within the four walls of a company. It is like a black box for the rest of us,” Nilekani said, as reported by The Economic Times. This lack of transparency, he warned, is limiting innovation and preventing broader contributions to AI development.

Driving all day on a hard seat might be the reason why an auto-rickshaw driver resorted to getting it replaced with something absolutely fancy, a luxurious chair seat, making the internet believe that the driver must be a “local gamer”. A picture of this quirky modification quickly went viral on social media, grabbing everyone's attention. Originally shared on X, the image later made its way to Reddit, where it sparked even more buzz. The caption? “Pakka Local Auto Gamer” – and netizens couldn’t get enough of it!

India has been on a growth curve for the last three years, overtaking the US as London's single-largest FDI source market in 2022-23 and continuing through 2023-24. «Foreign direct investment from India has been the fastest growing and has been our number one market for the last two years,» said Laura Citron, CEO of London & Partners.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The success of European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to India must not be measured merely in terms of the progress made on free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. The new ground covered by our bilateral ties should also be considered.

Vivek Agnihotri is rather disillusioned with current Bollywood. Taking to X on Saturday, the ‘Kashmir Files’ director went on an extensive rant against the sore lack of independent producers and new actors in the industry who are hungry to tell a story and eager to take risks and experiment. He also added that directors who are enthusiastic about making good content have moved on to OTT. “Today, Bollywood has hardly any independent producers. No new producers. No fresh ideas. No innovative distribution or marketing strategies. A few years ago, there were a dozen studios — now just two or three remain, and they too are monopolistic and here for reasons other than filmmaking. The passion for cinema has been replaced by corporate greed and agenda-driven content,” he wrote. He elaborated on the challenges confronting the film industry, emphasizing that its very survival hinges on the presence of bankable star-actors. However, he lamented that there is an alarming dearth of promising new talent. When filmmakers seek to cast actors between the ages of 21 and 35, they find themselves at a loss—both male and female actors in this bracket are scarce.

AI literacy’ driven by the government and industry will be essential to make the most of India’s demographic dividend. “AI is something where everybody’s trying to figure out what is next,” said Sangeeta Gupta, SVP and chief strategy officer, Nasscom. “Nobody has a perfect playbook. Everybody is looking for expertise and you will find that expertise with partners, whether it’s with startups, Big Tech, or IT.” “I would have loved for a DeepSeek to happen in India,” said Rohini Srivathsa, CTO, Microsoft India & South Asia, adding that India needs to take bold calls and invest in R&D to push the envelope on innovation.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the banking sector must continue to innovate and lead amid changing global landscape, and exuded confidence that the country's largest bank SBI will embrace technology, sustainability and inclusivity as its guiding principles. Speaking at the launch of Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Foundation Day of State Bank of India (SBI), the minister also said SBI has continuously evolved to meet the changing landscape and retained its position as a market leader despite regulatory tightening. «The world is changing rapidly, and the banking sector must continue to innovate and also to lead. I am confident that SBI will rise to the occasion embracing technology, sustainability and inclusivity as its guiding principles,» Sitharaman said. She said SBI is reinventing its personal distribution channels to align with evolving customer expectations.

Jitendra Singh projected the space sector to surge to USD 44 billion in the near future, marking a nearly fivefold growth. According to the Ministry of Science & Technology, Dr Singh pointed to the National Space Innovation and Applications (NSIL) and In-SPACe, which have fostered collaboration between government and non-government entities, driving India's space economy to USD 8 billion. Addressing India's growing stature in global space exploration, Dr Jitendra Singh remarked, «Gone are the days when we used to take the lead from others. Now, India sets the cue for others to follow.»

women there. The few of us who were present exchanged knowing glances. It was clear we had grown used to navigating spaces where we were outnumbered, underestimated, and often unheard. Today, that story is beginning to change. Across India and the world, women are no longer waiting for an invitation to the table. They are building their own, pulling up extra chairs, and creating space for others to join. They are not just participating in the tech revolution. They are leading it. Take Debjani Ghosh, the first woman to head NASSCOM, who is championing an inclusive future for India's $245 billion tech industry. Or Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCLTech, the first woman to lead a listed IT company in India, who is steering the organization with a focus on long-term sustainability and social impact. Entrepreneurs like Suchi Mukherjee, founder of Limeroad, are designing innovative platforms that reflect the everyday needs of millions of Indian women.

Prince William on March 6 visited Mental Health Innovations (MHI), where he shared his experience volunteering at a mental health helpline during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said it was 'terrifying’. MHI is the organisation responsible for creating Shout, the United Kingdom's first 24-hour text messaging support service for people experiencing mental health challenges.

NITI Aayog will soon firm up the list of infrastructure projects to be monetised over the next five years. The government think-tank has invited bids for preparation of the Infrastructure Projects Pipeline and suggesting innovative project and financing structures for accelerated development of infrastructure in the country through private sector investment. “The list is to be prepared on the basis of assets or land parcels proposed by the concerned central ministries and such assets as identified by the consultant,” the Aayog said in the request for proposal (RFP) document floated to invite bids from technical consultants. The exercise is expected to be complete in five months. The asset classes and land parcels may include highways, railways, power, petroleum and natural gas, civil aviation, ports, warehousing and storage, urban infrastructure including housing and transport, coal and mines and telecom.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. It is 9.30pm, and there is a patient, gregarious crowd outside the newly opened LICK (Lavonne Ice Cream Kitchen) in Bengaluru’s Indiranagar. Inside, the energy is almost nightclub-like, with peppy music, neon lights, and servers bustling about scooping ice-cream into shiny golden cups and arranging elaborate sundaes.