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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: India’s green financing push could gain new momentum this financial year, with the government exploring a plan to increase its ₹25,342.31 crore target for issuing sovereign green bonds, two people said. This suggests a turnaround in the government’s thinking from a few months earlier, when it was considering a plan to fall back on conventional government securities and other debt instruments for green financing as green bonds have delivered only modest returns.

Bengaluru’s water tariff is set to increase by one paisa per litre, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Wednesday. Defending the Congress government amid the BJP’s protests over rising costs, he accused the opposition party of being «anti-farmer» for opposing the milk price hike, which he said was meant to help farmers. The BJP launched a statewide 'day and night' protest on Wednesday, accusing the Congress government of burdening the public with price hikes. The party highlighted increased milk and diesel prices, higher power tariffs, and rising bus and metro fares as key concerns.

app-based bike driver in Gurgaon. She recounted the incident on Reddit, describing how the driver deviated from the intended route and stopped in a secluded area, leaving her in a state of panic. The incident occurred when her friend booked a ride for her at 10:07 PM, from one location to Sikanderpur metro station in Gurgaon. Since it was late, her friend booked the ride from his phone to ensure her safety and track her journey. However, instead of heading directly to the metro station, the driver unexpectedly took a different turn. She noticed that the metro station was right in front, yet the driver insisted that he was following the map. Soon, she found herself on an unfamiliar and isolated road, which raised her suspicion. As the driver slowed down and started looking around, she felt increasingly uneasy. Before she could react, he stopped the bike near parked trucks in a sketchy location. At the same moment, a cab pulled up right beside them, intensifying her fear. She froze, convinced that she was about to be kidnapped. Fortunately, the cab drove away, and the bike driver resumed the ride, but instead of heading back on track, he attempted to take another turn.

Nokia will upgrade and expand Vodafone Idea optical transport network across key metro and circle locations in India, the company said on Monday. Nokia is among three vendors selected by Vodafone Idea for the Rs 30,000 crore network expansion plan. «Nokia's innovative optical solutions align perfectly with our goal to enhance customer experience and ensure robust network readiness for future demands. »With Nokia's advanced optical network solutions, we are excited to build an agile, high-capacity and future-ready network that will support India's digital transformation and drive innovation across sectors," Vodafone Idea chief technology officer Jagbir Singh said in a statement.

RBI) data showed, illustrating deceleration in the country’s discretionary spending through a month that coincides with the start of school board examinations in most parts of the country. This decline usage was also accompanied by a significant reduction in new credit card additions that nearly halved to 440,000 in February—from 820,000 in January. To be sure, India’s broadest equity gauges plunged through the first two months of 2025, before a late rearguard from overseas buyers through the last ten days of March helped the indices erase losses for the calendar year. Equity gains were often at the vanguard of big-ticket expenditures, particularly in the metros, through the first nine months of 2024.

Before visiting India, Welder admitted he had certain preconceived notions about the country’s public transport. “Before coming to India, the stereotypes about public transport in the country were demolished or old buses and trains and noisy tuk-tuks and rickshaws,” he wrote, caling Indian public transport better than Western Europe's. However, after using the metro, he was impressed by its world-class features and even compared it to some of the best systems globally.

Kolkata Metro will run slightly fewer services along the North-South and Sealdah-Sector 5 routes on Eid-ul-Fitr, which is scheduled to be celebrated on March 31, it said in a statement. A total of 236 services (118 Up and 118 Down) will be run along the North-South corridor between Dakshineswar and New Garia instead of the normal 262 run normally on weekdays.

The young man, a 21-year-old student, had boarded the Bangalore Metro after a long and exhausting day. Having just completed an entrance exam, he was both physically and mentally drained. After standing for some time, he finally managed to find an empty seat, allowing him a brief moment of relief during his 40-minute commute. However, his respite was short-lived. Soon after, a woman, likely in her early thirties, entered the metro and directed her gaze toward him. She showed no apparent signs of needing special assistance—she was neither pregnant, injured, nor accompanied by a child. There was nothing visibly indicating that she required the seat more than anyone else. Moreover, the seat he occupied was not designated as a priority or a women’s seat.

EuroMillions draw on Friday, with the jackpot ticket-holder expected to rake in £202 million (roughly $261 million). This will probably become the biggest ever jackpot prize, going well above the £195 million (or nearly $252 million) bagged by an anonymous UK player in July 2022, Metro reported. Interestingly, £195 million jackpot win came only two months after Joe and Jess Thwaite from Gloucester had on May 10, 2022 managed to win £184,262,899 ($23,84,00,260) with a Lucky Dip ticket from the draw. It was the record-breaking number back then. The UK saw its third biggest lottery win in November last year, when an anonymous ticket-holder managed to scoop a £177 million ($229 million) jackpot in the lucky draw. The top prize at EuroMillions draw got rolled over into Friday's draw after no person was able to get the £182 million (over $235 million) jackpot on Tuesday.

ATM interchange fee that banks pay each other, raising it to Rs 19. In a circular, the RBI stated, “Beyond the free transactions, a customer may be charged a maximum fee of Rs 23 per transaction.” Applicable taxes will also need to be paid by the customer. As per RBI guidelines, customers are allowed five free ATM transactions per month at their own bank's ATMs. Additionally, customers are entitled to a fixed number of free transactions at other banks' ATMs: three in metro centers and five in non-metro centers. These transactions can be either financial or non-financial.

BEML shares will be in focus on Friday after the company secured a Rs 405 crore contract from Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation for manufacturing, supplying, and launching standard gauge metro cars. The contract also includes training personnel and providing comprehensive maintenance for up to 15 years under the Bengaluru Metro Rail Project, according to an exchange filing on Thursday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Salman Khan’s return to the big screen on Eid, which has yielded great box office returns in the past, offers cinemas hope that the tried-and-tested formula will end the drought of blockbusters since December. Khan’s latest action film Sikandar, hitting cinemas on Sunday (30 March), is estimated to rake in ₹20-30 crore on opening day.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Bengaluru: Logistics company Delhivery Ltd expects its three-month-old quick-commerce business to end this fiscal year with ₹100 crore in revenue and its new warehouses catering to online-first brands and e-commerce platforms to break even in a few months. The Gurugram-based firm is also looking to expand its quick-commerce business to major metropolitan cities in a few months, said Milind Sharma, Delhivery’s newly appointed head of rapid commerce and direct-to-consumer brands.

consumption sector, traditionally seen as a defensive haven during market volatility, is in the midst of a rare and sharp underperformance — with the Nifty FMCG and Nifty Consumption indices down about 20% and 17% from their September 2024 peaks, respectively. While the sector has lagged the broader market in recent months, Motilal Oswal sees this slump as a selective buying opportunity, driven by an expected demand recovery and easing inflation that could set the stage for a rebound. The consumption sector's underperformance— nearly 900-600 basis points below the Nifty100 — creates compelling entry points in select names, Motilal Oswal said, highlighting Page Industries, Devyani International, Metro Brands, V-Mart, Lemon Tree Hotels, LT Foods, and Cello World as key stock picks with strong fundamentals and growth potential.

employment opportunities for women are currently concentrated in metropolitan and industrial hubs, with Maharashtra leading with 28.7 per cent, followed by Tamil Nadu (14.2 per cent) and Karnataka (14.1 per cent), staffing and workforce solutions provider TeamLease Services said in a report — 'No Women Left Behind 2.0'. States like Telangana (7.8 per cent), Gujarat (7.2 per cent), and Uttar Pradesh (6.6 per cent) also contribute significantly to contractual employment opportunities, especially for women, it added. Even as urban centres drive employment, the report noted that there is huge potential to expand opportunities in tier II and III cities for broader workforce inclusion.

electronics and automobile sectors, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Addressing an event organised by Chennai Citizens' forum on Saturday evening, Sitharaman dismissed charges of the state government that the Centre has neglected Tamil Nadu in terms of funding. She said major 'big ticket' projects have been announced and are progressing at various stages of implementation across the State. «Tamil Nadu has been the largest beneficiary under the PLI- scheme in electronics, electronic parts and automobiles. Out of the 27 companies that have received approval from the Centre, 7 are based out of Tamil Nadu,» the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs noted. Sitharaman highlighted that 25 per cent of the companies availing benefits from the PLI scheme are from the state, she said drawing applause from the audience at the M O P Vaishnav College in the city. Without naming the government or any individual, she rejected claims that the state received minimal revenue from central taxes. «These people arrive at a calculation that the Centre was giving a minimal amount of revenue from the central taxes. I really do not know how they pose such an argument. All I have to say is that the State has been a beneficiary in various central schemes and sector specific initiatives in the last 10 years.» She also pointed out that Tamil Nadu hosts one of the country's two major electronic parts manufacturing clusters, alongside Gujarat. An allocation of Rs 1,100 crore has been made for setting up the cluster in Tamil Nadu.

Posing as a police officer, he preyed on unsuspecting lovers seeking a quiet moment in their cars near parks and lakes, threatening them with charges of “public indecency” and extorting money, TOI reported. For years, Khan operated undetected, his act so convincing that victims rarely questioned his authority. With a stern voice and a fake police demeanor, he would approach couples, give threats of legal action, and demand money to let them go. Many, too scared to challenge him, complied—handing over cash, jewelry, and ATM withdrawals to escape humiliation. His latest victim, a 41-year-old private firm employee, fell into his trap on March 5 near RV Metro Station in Jayanagar. Sitting in his car with a female colleague, the man was suddenly approached by a bike-borne Khan, who claimed they were violating public decency laws.

The man was having a silent breakdown, but no one came to his aid and pointedly ignored him. While the user wanted to comfort him, he too was perplexed if he should violate Delhi’s unsaid rule: Don’t interfere in others' business. “Across from me sat this man...mid to late 40s, maybe older, hard to tell. Shirt untucked, shoes scuffed, clutching a small black plastic bag like it carried something fragile. I noticed him fidgeting with a paper tucked inside. A HOSPITAL RECEIPT. I know because I saw the AIIMS logo on it when he adjusted it on his lap. Maybe I shouldn’t have stared, but Delhi turns you into both an observer and a ghost..." wrote the user.

In the post, he explained, how, after relocating to Rajarajeshwari Nagar three years ago, he saw another face of his beloved city. His daily commute to his office near MG Road had become a significant factor in his frustrations, leading him to reflect on the changing nature of the city. For years, his family had relied on personal vehicles as their primary mode of transportation, finding it both convenient and efficient. Lately, he argued, navigating Bengaluru's roads had become increasingly cumbersome. The pollution, particularly dust, had worsened to an alarming degree.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, known for biodiversity and isolated ancient tribes, is in the news as India moves to promote tourism and industry in the archipelago.

Russian comedian has been arrested while trying to leave the country after he was publicly denounced for allegedly mocking war invalids, as per a report. In a clip from a stand-up performance that was posted online, Artemy Ostanin told a joke about a supposed encounter with a legless beggar in the Moscow metro, Reuters reported. Investigators opened a case against him at the weekend after Sergei Zaitsev, the head of a self-styled public movement named Zov Naroda (Call of the People), complained that the beggar could be a casualty of Russia's war in Ukraine. «His jokes, mocking an invalid — essentially our soldier who lost his legs in the special military operation — cross all boundaries of morality and ethics,» Zaitsev said. Ostanin, in a subsequent online interview, denied the accusations and said there was not a word in the joke about the Ukraine war. But on Tuesday, investigators said in a statement that he had been arrested on suspicion of inciting hatred and debasing human dignity, an offence that carries a jail term of up to six years.