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Congress flags Registrar General remarks, opposes rush on amendment bills

The Congress on Monday cited Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan's remarks that many Census data sets will be published in 2027 itself to claim that the grounds on which Constitution amendment bills are being sought to be "bulldozed" through Parliament are "false". In a post on X, the Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, "Constitution amendment Bills are being sought to be bulldozed through in the next few days on the grounds that Census results will not be available since 2029." "This information given by the RG&CCI proves that these grounds are false," he said and tagged a post on Narayan's remarks that the first set of Census data will be issued in 2027. Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner Narayan on Monday asked people to give accurate information to Census enumerators, asserting that the individual data will remain confidential and cannot be used as evidence or for getting any benefit under any scheme. Addressing .

Will blow up Iran's energy sites if no ceasefire is reached soon: Trump

In a social media post, Trump said the United States would "conclude its 'lovely' stay" by blowing up Iran's civilian and energy infrastructure

Bank credit to industry rises 13.5% in Feb on infra demand: RBI data

Bank credit to industry grew at faster pace of 13.5 per cent on the fortnight ending February 28, compared with 7.5 per cent in the year-ago period, according to the RBI data released on Monday. The buoyant growth is majorly driven by higher growth in 'infrastructure', 'all engineering', 'chemicals and chemical products', 'petroleum, coal products and nuclear fuels' and 'textiles', said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI has released data on sectoral deployment of bank credit for February 2026, collected from 41 select scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), together accounting for about 95 per cent of the total non-food credit by all commercial banks. "On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, non-food bank credit grew by 14.3 per cent as on the fortnight ended February 28, 2026, compared to 11.1 per cent during the corresponding fortnight of the previous year (March 7, 2025)," the RBI said. Credit to industry recorded a year-on-year growth of 13.5 per cent, compared with 7.5 per cent in

Govt has taken steps to counter West Asia crisis impact: MoS Finance

The government has taken a host of measures to mitigate external risks, support the balance of payments, and maintain macroeconomic stability amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Chaudhary said the government is consistently reviewing and closely monitoring the economic impact of the ongoing West Asia conflict at the highest levels and taking immediate corrective and facilitative measures as warranted. Seven new empowered groups have been constituted to undertake swift and far-reaching action on supply chains, petrol-diesel, fertilisers, gas and inflation. In addition, an Inter-Ministerial Group on supply chain resilience has been operationalised to monitor the situation and coordinate facilitation measures related to exports and imports. To a question on the extent by which the GDP growth and foreign investment is likely to be affected due to the crisis, Chaudhary said, .

HLL Lifecare secures ISO 9001:2015 for retail pharmacy operations

HLL Lifecare Limited, a Mini Ratna public sector enterprise under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has secured ISO 9001:2015 certification for its retail pharmacy operations. HLL's retail pharmacy network spans 239 centres nationwide, including AMRIT Pharmacies, AMRIT Opticals, HLL Pharmacy & Surgicals, and HLL Opticals, according to a statement on Monday. The certification is expected to bring standardisation, consistency, and greater transparency to HLL's retail operations, strengthening patient trust, the statement said. The achievement comes during a milestone year as HLL celebrates its diamond Jubilee alongside a decade of AMRIT (Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment). The 10th anniversary of AMRIT was commemorated on 15 November in New Delhi and inaugurated by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda, it added. Since its launch in 2015 at AIIMS New Delhi, AMRIT has expanded into a nationwide network covering 24 states and five ...

India's industrial output grows 5.2% in Feb led by manufacturing growth

India's industrial production grew 5.2 per cent in February, mainly due to improvement in manufacturing sector, according to official data released on Monday. The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), expanded by 2.7 per cent in February 2025, an official statement said. The National Statistics Office (NSO) revised the industrial production growth for January 2026 to 5.1 per cent from the provisional estimate of 4.8 per cent released earlier this month. The NSO data further showed that the manufacturing sector's output growth accelerated to 6 per cent in February 2026, compared to 2.8 per cent in the year-ago month. Mining production growth slightly improved to 3.1 per cent compared to a growth of 1.6 per cent recorded a year ago. Power generation grew by 2.3 per cent in February, compared to 3.6 per cent expansion in the year-ago period. During the April-February period of FY26, the country's industrial production growth remained flat at

Japan's JFE Steel invests ₹7,875 crore for 25% stake in JSW Kalinga Steel

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel on Monday said Japan's JFE Steel Corporation has invested Rs 7,875 crore to acquire 25 per cent stake in JSW Kalinga Steel Ltd. The investment is the first tranche of JFE's planned stake in JSW Kalinga, with 2,26,94,524 equity shares allotted to the Japanese firm on Monday, JSW Steel said in a BSE filing. "JFE Steel Corporation (JFE) has invested Rs 7,875 crore, being the first tranche of JFE's investment in JSW Kalinga Steel Ltd (JSW Kalinga) and 2,26,94,524 equity shares of JSW Kalinga have been allotted to JFE today (i.e. March 30, 2026), resulting in JFE holding 25 per cent shareholding on a fully diluted basis in JSW Kalinga," the filing said. Following the recent allotment and board changes at JSW Kalinga under the joint venture agreement (JVA), JSW Steel, and JFE Steel have established joint control over JSW Kalinga and its wholly owned subsidiary, JSW Sambalpur Steel Ltd. JFE's acquisition of an additional 25 per cent stake in JSW Kalinga for Rs

Nepal sees third consecutive day of protests after former PM Oli's arrest

Protests continued in Nepal for the third consecutive day following the arrest of former PM K P Sharma Oli over suppression of Gen Z protests last year, even as authorities intensified probe against three ex-prime ministers over money laundering. Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested on Saturday for their alleged involvement in suppressing the Gen Z movement of September 8 and 9 last year, in which 76 people, including around two dozen youths, were killed. The arrests came after the newly formed Balendra Shah government decided to implement the report of the probe commission into the Gen Z protests in its first cabinet meeting. Hundreds of members of Oli's Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Lennist) and their sister organisations and student wings gathered at Naya Baneshwor area on Monday morning carrying placards that read "Immediately release KP Oli," and "End the politics of revenge." Monday's protest rally was comparatively peaceful, unlike the protest

Housing sales dip 13% across 9 cities in Q1 amid West Asia conflict: Report

Housing sales across nine major cities fell 13 per cent annually during January-March quarter to 98,761 units on lower fresh supply of inventories amid West Asia conflict, according to PropEquity. Real estate research firm PropEquity on Monday pointed out that the sales have fallen below 1 lakh units mark after 18 quarters. The nine major cities are Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. As per the data, housing sales fell 13 per cent to 98,761 units during January-March this year compared to 1,13,602 units in the year-ago period. The total sales in these nine cities declined 6 per cent from 1,05,527 units in the previous quarter (October-December 2025). Samir Jasuja, Founder & CEO of PropEquity said, "Housing sales continued to moderate in the first quarter of 2026 with Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru emerging as outliers. This reduction is on account of low supply across most cities. Close to 22,000 lesser units were supplied in Q1 2026 ..

Russia expels UK diplomat over espionage charges, orders exit in two weeks

Russia on Monday expelled a British diplomat on charges of espionage and ordered him to leave the country within two weeks, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said. "A decision has been made to revoke Janse Van Rensburg's accreditation, and he has been ordered to leave Russia within two weeks," the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said. On Monday, the British Charge d'Affaires in Russia, Danae Dholakia was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served a strong protest following revelations that one of the diplomatic staff at the British Embassy had "knowingly provided false information" about himself when obtaining entry into the country, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. During its counterintelligence activities, the FSB identified an undeclared UK intelligence presence under the guise of the British Embassy in Moscow, it said. "Due to the violation of Russian legislation and in accordance with Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomat

Myanmar starts presidential election process under military influence

Myanmar's Parliament on Monday began the process of electing the country's next president, which will mark a nominal return to an elected government after five years of military rule, but is widely considered to be an effort to keep power in the hands of the army. The process began the same day that Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military-led government, announced that he was relinquishing his concurrent post of the military's commander-in-chief. The move is a prerequisite for becoming head of state, because the Constitution prohibits the president from simultaneously holding the top military position. Min Aung Hlaing will be among three nominees to contend for the president's post, but is virtually certain to get the job as lawmakers from military-backed parties and appointed members from the military hold a commanding majority in Parliament. Here's what to know about the nominal transition to elected democracy. New president could be named by end of ...

Rupee breaches 95 per dollar, hits record low amid West Asia conflict

The rupee weakened past the 95 per dollar mark for the first time to 95.21 per dollar, falling 0.3% from the previous close

Fire breaks out near Israeli oil refinery after Iranian missile attack

A fire broke out on Monday at an oil refinery in the northern Israeli city of Haifa for the second time during the monthlong war with Iran, according to footage from the scene. Video showed flames on a large refinery tank with thick black smoke that was quickly extinguished by Israel's fire and rescue services. It wasn't clear if it was a missile strike or debris that caused the blaze. Israel only has two refineries and the attack comes as Israel has launched attacks targeting Iran's South Pars natural gas field and as other petrochemical sites have been hit in the Islamic Republic during the war.

Year-end portfolio review: Book partial profits in silver and gold funds

Diversify internationally, continue SIPs in equity funds, and move towards medium and shorter-duration debt funds

Vijaypat Singhania, former Raymond chairman and aviator, dies at 87

Former Raymond chairman Vijaypat Singhania died here on Saturday evening, his family said. He was 87. His son Gautam Singhania, the group's current chairman and managing director, announced the death on the microblogging platform 'X'. Singhania passed away "peacefully" in Mumbai, and the last rites will be performed on Sunday, a Raymond Group spokesperson said. Vijaypat Singhania, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, was also a keen aviator and held a world record for the highest altitude gained in a hot air balloon. He led Raymond as chairman for two decades till 2000. After handing over the reins of the company to Gautam, Vijaypat also transferred his entire 37 per cent stake in the company to his son. Vijaypat Singhania and his son were embroiled in legal disputes some years ago, but later they settled the issues.

PM inaugurates Noida airport, says it will drive growth in western UP

The Prime Minister positioned the Jewar airport as a key connectivity and economic hub for cities including Agra, Meerut, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, and Mathura

Delhi Police to reserve 20% constable posts for ex-Agniveers: MHA

Delhi Police will reserve 20 per cent of constable (executive) posts for former Agniveers, with exemptions from the physical efficiency test and relaxation in the upper age limit, according to a Ministry of Home Affairs notification. The move comes as part of amendments to the Delhi Police (Appointment and Recruitment) Rules, 1980, notified on Friday, formalising the force's recruitment policy in line with the Centre's broader plan to absorb Agniveers into security forces after their four-year tenure in the armed forces. Detailed procedures for conducting recruitment tests, including written examinations and physical measurements, will be issued separately by the Commissioner of Police. As per the notification, ex-Agniveers will get a three-year relaxation in the prescribed upper age limit for recruitment to the post of constable (executive), which currently stands at 18-25 years. Additionally, candidates from the first batch of the Agniveer scheme will be eligible for a further ...

India opposes China-led investment pact's inclusion in WTO framework

India on Saturday said it has strongly opposed the contentious China-led Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement for its incorporation into the WTO framework. Incorporation of the IFD agreement risks eroding the functional limits of the WTO and undermining its foundational principles, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a social media post. This was stated by India in the ongoing 14th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Yaounde, Cameroon. "At #WTOMC14, drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi ji's philosophy of Truth prevailing over conformity, India showed the courage to stand alone on the contentious issue of the IFD Agreement and did not agree to its incorporation into the WTO framework as an Annex 4 Agreement," he said. Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement contains Plurilateral Trade Agreements that are binding only on the WTO members that have accepted them, unlike the mandatory multilateral agreements. As part of WTO reform

West Asia conflict impact on India's economy likely significant: CEA review

It said that early high-frequency indicators for March 2026 suggest a moderation in economic momentum, reflecting the initial impact of these global developments

Over 300 US troops wounded as Iran targets Saudi base in fresh attack

The number of Americans wounded in the Iran war has grown beyond 300, with more than two dozen troops injured this week from attacks on a Saudi air base. Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan air base in an attack Friday that injured at least 15 troops, including five seriously, according to two people briefed on the matter. US officials initially reported that at least 10 US troops were injured, including two who were seriously wounded. More American forces are reaching the Middle East, with a Navy ship carrying about 2,500 Marines having now arrived in the region, US Central Command announced Saturday. The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship, as well as the elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit that are aboard, are based in Japan. They were conducting exercises in the area around Taiwan when the order came to deploy to the Middle East almost two weeks ago. Central Command said that in addition to the Marines, the Tripoli a