Goa's vibrant Manohar Parrikar Stadium in Margao has become the center of international attention as it plays host to the 4th Asian Roll Ball Championship. This prestigious event, which began with a spectacular inauguration yesterday, marks a significant milestone in the promotion of Roll Ball, a sport steadily gaining global traction.

The championship sees participation from 12 nations, each bringing their finest talent to compete for the coveted title. Teams have completed their trial runs, and from today, the action officially begins, with matches scheduled to culminate in a thrilling final on December 19th. Enthusiasts and sports lovers can look forward to intense competition and moments of sheer brilliance as players from across Asia showcase their skills and teamwork.

HarperCollins India is proud to announce the upcoming release publication of 'BRING IT ON The Incredible Story of My Life' by Deepa Malik.

"I haven't seen a better motivator than Deepa Malik" - Narendra Modi

It is her smile that you notice first. It captivates you and ensures that your eyes don't move away from it. You don't see the wheelchair; you don't see the body paralysed chest down. You don't see the trauma of recurring spinal tumours, the frustration of an unresponsive body caging a free spirit, the countless hours of gruelling training. All you see is Deepa Malik—achiever, champion, inspiration.

Call her India's foremost para athlete with twenty-three international medals—including a silver at the 2016 Rio Paralympics—and several national awards, a recipient of the Padma Shri, the Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award, or the first Indian female paraplegic swimmer, biker and car rallyist, there's truly only one statement that defines Deepa Malik—a powerhouse of possibilities.

India’s economy will grow a tad faster at 6.6 percent in FY26 compared with 6.4 percent in the current fiscal, as investments emerge as a key driver of growth, India Ratings and Research said at the launch of its “FY2026 Macro Economic Outlook”.

"Ind-Ra believes India is facing monetary, fiscal and external tightening. While it expects monetary conditions to ease now, the fiscal and external tightening is expected to continue in FY26 as well. Nevertheless, the FY26 growth is expected to be the same as India’s best decadal growth (FY11-20),” said Devendra Kumar Pant, chief economist, Ind-Ra.

The ratings agency was less optimistic about the country’s quarterly growth outlook than the Reserve Bank of India, which pegged FY25 growth at 6.6 percent for the year.

The RBI expects the economy to average 7 percent for the second half of the year after what Ind-Ra describes as a “cyclical slowdown” pushed growth in Q2FY25 to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 percent. The Indian economy grew 6 percent in the first half of the year.

As the Congress government in Telangana marks its first year in office with the “Telangana Rising” campaign, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has prioritised Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the state’s future.

The state government wants to make Hyderabad India’s AI capital. To achieve this, they plan to create a 200-acre AI City.

The project aims to boost Telangana’s economy, education and governance through partnerships and collaborations. The goal is to promote sustainable innovation and establish technological leadership.

The government said that AI City will be a centre for new technology and innovation which hopes to attract large companies, research institutes and startups worldwide.

The government blocked 18 OTT platforms this year for publishing obscene and vulgar content, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.

In a reply to a question by Shiv Sena-UBT member Anil Desai, Mr. Murugan said the IT Rules of 2021 cast specific due diligence obligations on intermediaries to make reasonable efforts by themselves against displaying or spreading obscene or pornographic content.

The Rules also provide for a Code of Ethics for publishers of news and current affairs on digital media and publishers of online curated content (OTT platforms).

"The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken action in coordination with various intermediaries, and blocked 18 OTT platforms on 14th March 2024 for publishing obscene, vulgar, and, in some instances, pornographic content under these provisions," Mr. Murugan said.

NCPI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), a subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) responsible for deploying homegrown payment products globally, is aiming to expand its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to up to six countries in 2025.

NIPL plans to launch its instant payments service in countries Qatar, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian nations frequented by Indian tourists.

"While NPCI in India works at a breakneck speed, we have partners outside India who have their way of completing projects. We are hopeful of going live in at least three or four more countries (in 2025), and if projects are completed on time, maybe six countries,” NPCI International Payments CEO Ritesh Shukla, said.

Shukla was participating in a panel discussion at Moneycontrol's India Fintech Conclave (IFC) 2024 in Mumbai on December 18.

Power giant NTPC has plans to set up a nuclear project in Bihar, a move which will increase its non fossil energy portfolio, the company's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Gurdeep Singh said on Thursday.

NTPC has also requested the state government for a land parcel at a suitable location to take forward its nuclear plans, he said addressing a session at the 'Bihar Business Connect 2024' summit here.

"Looking at the future of the energy sector, nuclear (energy) is expected to become extremely important for the energy sector, 20-30 years down the line. I want to share that NTPC is now entering the nuclear energy space," Singh said.

Indian Navy’s Kiran Ankush Jadhav beat Paris Olympic bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale and another Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar to clinch the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) title at the 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) here on Wednesday.

Jadhav shot 465.8 in the final to leave Aishwary Pratap (463.1) of the home state in second place at the M.P. State Academy Shooting range.

Swapnil of Railways led the 45-shot final till the 40th shot but bowed out in third ahead of the final gold-deciding shot, with a tally of 451.8.

Earlier, Swapnil had topped the qualification with a world-class score of 593, leaving Aishwary a point behind in second. Jadhav had qualified fourth with a solid 590.

The third season of the World Tennis League, starting here on Thursday, will follow a unique format where the top two teams with the highest number of games will advance to the final, scheduled for December 22.

The teams will compete in a single round-robin format, with each team playing one match against each other, as per the format.

The season will begin with a clash between Game Changers Falcons, featuring top guns like Elena Rybakina and Andrey Rublev, and TSL Hawks, led by the Women’s World. No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and India’s Sumit Nagal.

Each match will consist of four sets: men’s singles, women’s singles, and two doubles sets, which may include men’s doubles, women’s doubles, or mixed doubles, as determined by the team that wins the coin toss.

The Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships 2024 will begin today in Doha, Qatar. Competitions will be held in 40 categories – 20 each at the junior and youth levels. A 28-member Indian weightlifting contingent will look to make a mark at the event. 15 Indian weightlifters will compete in the junior division, while 13 from the country will compete at the youth level.  India’s Martina Devi Maibam, will compete in the same weight division at the Asian Junior Championships. The 18-year-old Martina Devi lifted a total of 237kg (101kg in snatch and 136kg in clean and jerk) to secure sixth place at the junior world championships. Dhanush Loganathan, the only Indian weightlifter to medal at this year’s IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships with bronze in the men’s 55kg total and snatch, will be among India’s top medal prospects in men’s competitions.