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India ranks second globally in enterprise AI usage amid rising cyber risks

India has emerged as a global powerhouse in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, ranking second only to the United States in enterprise AI/ML transactions, according to a report by cloud security major Zscaler. The findings, released in the 'Zscaler ThreatLabz 2026 AI Security Report,' come a week ahead of the high-stakes India AI Impact Summit 2026. The summit, expected to be a gathering of global tech leaders, policymakers, and innovators, is slated to be held in the national capital from February 16-20 and will see global tech leaders in the likes of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. Zscaler pointed out that despite strong momentum in AI adoption in India, significant security challenges persist. These include the weaponisation of agentic AI and a critical gap between innovation and security measures. The report, drawing on an analysis of nearly one trillion AI and machine ...

Govt directs platforms to label AI content, deploy checks on misuse

Platforms must also ensure that AI-generated material is clearly labelled and carries identifiers indicating its synthetic origin

Starmer says won't quit after losing 2 aides over Mandelson-Epstien ties

The resignation of Starmer's communications director, Tim Allan, on Monday, after just five months on the job will feed the sense of crisis engulfing his office

In a first, Samsung family's Korean art collection heads on world tour

Now, the works are on their first-ever overseas tour, riding a global wave of interest in Korean culture that extends well beyond pop music and film into the country's deepest artistic traditions

India, Greece ink joint declaration to strengthen defence industry ties

India and Greece on Monday signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on strengthening defence industrial cooperation between the countries, which marks a starting point for developing a five-year roadmap for boosting the partnership. The agreement was inked after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral talks with Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic, Nikolaos-Georgios Dendias, at the Manekshaw Centre here. Later in a post on X, Singh also welcomed the announcement from the Greek side that an International Liaison Officer from that country will be positioned at the Information Fusion Center-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), Gurugram, to enhance maritime cooperation between both seafaring nations. "Delighted to meet the Minister National Defence of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Nikolaos-Georgios Dendias in New Delhi today. India and Greece signed the Joint Declaration of Intent on Strengthening the Bilateral Defence Industrial Cooperation and exchanged the Bilateral Milita

Sebi mulls cutting minimum investment in social impact funds to ₹1,000

Sebi on Monday proposed a sharp reduction in the minimum investment required from individual investors in social impact funds to Rs 1,000 from the existing Rs 2 lakh, in a move aimed at widening retail participation and easing fundraising for not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) on the Social Stock Exchange (SSE). In its consultation paper, Sebi also proposed extending the registration period for NPOs on the SSE without fundraising and lowering the minimum subscription requirement for issuing Zero Coupon Zero Principal Instruments (ZCZP). The regulator said the measures are intended to "further strengthen the SSE framework, facilitate ease of fund raising and encourage greater participation by NPOs". Under the current Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) Regulations, individual investors are required to invest a minimum of Rs 2 lakh in a social impact fund that invests exclusively in securities of NPOs listed or registered on the SSE. Sebi has now proposed lowering this threshold to Rs

Ashwini Vaishnaw discusses India-US strategic ties with Sergio Gor

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday met US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and discussed strengthening of strategic ties between the two nations, with a focus on semiconductors and electronics manufacturing. In a post on X, Vaishnaw - Minister for Electronics and IT, Railways and Information and Broadcasting - said he looks forward to strong participation from the US in the AI Impact Summit 2026. "Good meeting with Mr. Sergio Gor, US Ambassador to India. Discussed strengthening our strategic ties, with a focus on semiconductors, electronics manufacturing and supply chain resilience," Vaishnaw said in the post as he shared photos from the meeting. The development comes within days of India-US reaching an agreement on tariffs, and ahead of the crucial India AI Impact Summit that New Delhi is hosting during February 16-20, 2026. India and the US on Saturday announced they have reached a framework for an interim trade agreement under which both sides will reduce import duties on a

Whither Human Rights in India: A layered account of liberty's erosion

At a moment when the so-called fringe has become the mainstream, this book offers a layered account of the erosion of liberty and the severity of our times

ED constitutes SIT to probe cases against Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group

The Enforcement Directorate has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged banking and corporate fraud worth Rs 40,000 crore involving the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) and linked entities, official sources said on Monday. The SIT is led by an additional director-rank officer in the headquarters investigation unit (HIU) of the federal probe agency and comprises about half a dozen other investigators, the sources told PTI. The Supreme Court, while reviewing cases against ADAG, last week directed the ED to constitute an SIT that will undertake a "fair, independent, prompt and dispassionate" probe into the case. It had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is also probing the group, to look into the nexus, collusion, connivance and conspiracy, if any, and take its investigations to their logical conclusion. The ED has been probing Anil Ambani and his Reliance Group companies since last year and has, till now, filed three Enforcement Case

Piyush Goyal to meet exporters on Feb 11 as India eyes major trade pacts

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold a meeting with representatives of export promotion councils and industry associations on February 11 here amid finalisation of trade pacts with the US and the European Union, an official said on Monday. The meeting is important as India and the US have finalised a framework for signing the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. Under this, the US has agreed to reduce the 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. It has already eliminated the punitive 25 per cent tariffs on India, which was imposed in August last year for purchasing Russian crude. Indian exporters were eagerly waiting for this deal as the US is the largest export destination for several labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather and footwear and gems and jewellery. The steep 50 per cent tariffs were hurting India's exports to America. The industry official said that all the export promotion councils have been invited for the .

Petroleum reserves can sustain India for 74 days in crisis: Minister Puri

India's strategic petroleum reserve can last 74 days to meet the demand arising out of any global turbulence, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, the minister said for any country like India, which is growing at a phenomenal pace, there must be a very viable and secure reserve, so that it is not in a vulnerable situation in the case of global turbulence. He said India has several refineries both in the West coast as well as the East. "According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), today we are the world's third largest consumer of crude oil. We have the world's fourth largest refining capacity - currently around 260 million metric tonne per annum going on to 320 million metric tonne per annum. And, we are also the world's fifth largest exporter of petroleum products. "The strategic petroleum reserve is designed to ensure that in case of total global turbulence, we must have enough stock left to

Trade unions expect 30 crore workers to join nationwide strike on Thursday

A joint platform of 10 central trade unions on Monday said that the call for a nationwide general strike on February 12 is on, and not less than 30 crore workers across the country are expected to join the protest. The group of unions had given a call for a nationwide strike on January 9, 2025, to show their "resistance to anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the central government". All India Trade Union Congress General Secretary Amarjeet Kaur told reporters that this time "not less than 30 crore workers will participate in the strike called on February 12 (Thursday). Last time on July 9, 2025, about 25 crore workers took part in the agitation. She informed that the strike will see its impact in 600 districts of the country, which is higher than about 550 districts last year. Kaur also stated that the trade unions' claims of participation are based on the strong preparations done at the district and block levels, and farmers, as well as other ...

Govt imposes ₹55 cr penalties on 703 companies for Companies Act violations

The government imposed penalties totalling over Rs 55 crore on 703 companies for non-compliance with the provisions of the Companies Law in the first nine months of the current financial year. While providing the data in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra said there was no trend indicating an increase in non-compliance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. For non-compliance, the Corporate Affairs Ministry penalised 703 companies during the nine-month period ended December 31, 2025. During the same period, the total penalties imposed on these companies stood at little over Rs 55.49 crore. For 2024-25 fiscal, as many as 1,066 companies were penalised and the total fines amounted to Rs 109 crore. The data also showed that little over Rs 7.51 crore was recovered as penalties in the first nine months of 2025-26 financial year. Meanwhile, a total of 2,03,107 companies were struck off the official records under t

Isro identifies south polar landing site on Moon for Chandrayaan-4 mission

The Chandrayaan-4 Mission is at least two years away, but the ISRO has identified a location in the South Polar region of Moon to land its lander. The union government has approved the Chandrayaan-4 mission, designed as a lunar sample-return mission and it will be India's most complex lunar endeavour yet. "We are targeting 2028 for Chandrayaan-4," ISRO chairman V Narayanan had earlier said. According to ISRO officials, they had zeroed in on four sites of the Mons Mouton (MM) and found one of them suitable for landing on the lunar surface. Mons Mouton is a region on the Moon. Officials said they had identified locations -- MM-1, MM-3, MM-4 and MM-5. Of them, MM-4 was chosen for the landing. "The four sites in Mons Mouton area were fully characterised with respect to terrain characteristics using high resolution Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) multi view image datasets," they said. It was found that one kilometre by one kilometre area around MM-4 contains "the less hazard ..

Majority of workers see improved conditions with new labour codes: Survey

Stronger protection for the workforce, simpler compliance and improved working conditions are seen as some of the benefits of the implementation of four new labour codes in the country, according to a survey. Around 60 per cent of workers believe in improvement in their overall working conditions with the implementation of four new labour codes, a labour ministry statement said, citing a survey carried out by Noida-based V V Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The ministry notified the four labour codes on November 21 last year and sought comment on draft rules on December 31, 2025. The government intends to fully operationalise the four codes from April 1, 2026. The latest survey reflects deepening trust and widespread positivity among workers and employers in the implementation of the labour codes, the ministry said. The study, titled 'The Implementation of Labour Codes: A Perception-based Analysis', indicates .

Tanker carrying chemicals catches fire on Jaipur-Ajmer road; no casualties

A tanker carrying chemicals caught fire on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway here on Monday morning, police said. No loss of life was reported in the incident, they said, adding that the blaze has been brought under control. The incident occurred around 4.45 am when the tanker, loaded with methyl chemical, on its way to Jaipur from Ajmer developed sparks near tyres. The sparks triggered a fire in the lower portion of the tanker. After noticing the fire in the moving vehicle, passersby alerted the driver who stopped the tanker and got down to save himself. Police rushed to the spot and fire tenders were pressed into service. The blaze was brought under control later, the police said.

The Oak And The Larch: Russian history through a prism of woods and trees

A new book traces how Russia's forests shaped its history, literature and power - from religious exiles and empire-building to gulags, nationalism and climate change

Amid gold-silver volatility, book partial profits in rallies to cut risks

Instead of chasing high prices, new investors must enter through systematic investment plans with a horizon of five years

Sunil Thapa, actor known for 'Mary Kom' and 'The Family Man', dies at 68

Thapa was also seen in the third instalment of 'The Family Man' where he played the role of David Khuzou in the series

EC says permanent resident certificate is valid document under SIR 2026

The Election Commission of India has clarified that Permanent Resident Certificate is one of the admissible documents for determining eligibility under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, an official said on Saturday. In a communication to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) sent on Friday, the Commission referred to earlier correspondence dated January 1 and January 12, 2026, and stated that the SIR guidelines issued on October 27, 2025, explicitly include the Permanent Resident Certificate as a valid document, he said. The Commission said that Domicile or Permanent Resident Certificates in West Bengal are issued in accordance with a state government letter dated November 2, 1999, and subsequent orders issued thereunder. It clarified that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), as competent statutory authorities under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, shall accept .