India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate dropped to 2.82% in May 2025, marking the lowest year-on-year rate since February 2019, according to the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. This provisional figure, measured against May 2024, reflects a 34-basis-point decline from April 2025’s 3.16%, signaling robust economic stability.

Food inflation, a key driver, fell sharply to 0.99% in May 2025, the lowest since October 2021, down 79 basis points from April’s 1.78%. Rural areas recorded a food inflation rate of 0.95%, while urban areas saw 0.96%. The decline is attributed to lower prices for pulses, vegetables, fruits, cereals, household goods, sugar, confectionery, and eggs, supported by a favorable base effect.

Headline inflation in rural areas decreased to 2.59% in May 2025 from 2.92% in April, while urban areas saw a reduction from 3.36% to 3.07%. Rural food inflation dropped from 1.85% to 0.95%, and urban food inflation fell from 1.64% to 0.96%. Other sectors showed varied trends: housing inflation, measured only in urban areas, rose slightly to 3.16% from 3.06%, while education and health inflation stood at 4.12% and 4.34%, respectively. Transport and communication inflation increased to 3.85% from 3.67%, and fuel and light inflation eased to 2.78% from 2.92%.

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, 69, was among those who perished in the crash of Air India 171 flight from Ahmedabad to London on Thursday (June 12, 2025), confirmed Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil, who described the loss as one “deeply felt by the BJP family”.

Rupani was en route to London to join his wife and other members of his family.

Born in Yangon in Myanmar in 1956, he moved with his family to Rajkot in Gujarat as a child and studied law at the University of Saurashtra. He held the post of Chief Minister of Gujarat between 2016 and 2021 in two terms, following which he was replaced by the current Chief Minister, Bhupendra Patel.

The world experienced its second-warmest May since records began this year, a month in which climate change fuelled a record-breaking heatwave in Greenland, scientists said on Wednesday.

Last month was Earth's second-warmest May on record - exceeded only by May 2024 - rounding out the northern hemisphere's second-hottest March-May spring on record, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin.

Global surface temperatures last month averaged 1.4 degrees Celsius higher than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, C3S said.

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) has recommended R Doraiswamy for the position of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO & MD) of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

According to an official notification dated June 11, 2025, the Bureau interfaced with four candidates from LIC for the top post. The selection was based on their performance during the interface, overall experience, and evaluation against the extant parameters.

"Keeping in view their performance in the interface, their overall experience and the extant parameters, the Bureau recommends Shri R Doraiswamy for the position of CEO & MD in LIC," the FSIB stated.

Cipla Health, a leading player in consumer healthcare, announced the launch of its latest campaign, 'Cipladine - Aapka Fast Aid Expert', featuring acclaimed actress Neena Gupta as the brand ambassador. The campaign reinforces Cipladine's positioning as India's No.1 trusted solution for cuts, wounds, burns, and infections -- delivering fast and effective healing when it matters most.

In a world where every second counts, everyday injuries like cuts, burns, and wounds can disrupt a person's journey towards new experiences. Consumers seek a quick-acting reliable solution that empowers them to get back to their daily lives without delay. Backed by its Povidone Iodine (PVPI) formula, Cipladine is proven to stay longer on the skin, penetrate deeper, and start acting within just 30 seconds, making it not just a first aid but true Fast Aid Expert. [1]

In a remarkable discovery, the Siamese Fireback, Thailand's national bird, has been spotted for the first time in the forest area of Ranikhet, a popular tourist destination in Almora district in Uttarakhand.

Nature and bird enthusiasts are excited by this rare sighting. Surendra Singh Jalal, a bird enthusiast associated with Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, captured the bird on camera recently. The sighting was made in a dense forest, approximately 600 metres away from Binsar Mahadev temple.

Jalal told TNIE he was "thrilled" to spot the rare bird in its natural habitat. He emphasized the sighting's significance, stating it "opens new avenues for birdwatching" and highlights the region's rich potential for avian tourism.

In a push to curb rising dust pollution in Delhi-NCR, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Tuesday signed a tripartite agreement with the CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA).

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to facilitate the implementation of a standardised framework for the redevelopment of urban roads, including paving and greening of footpaths and sidewalks — a measure seen as critical to reducing dust levels, a major contributor to air pollution in the region.

The agreement also envisions the setting up of a Project Monitoring Cell (PMC) at CAQM, with technical support from CRRI and SPA. The cell will be tasked with overseeing the phased rollout of the redevelopment framework across NCR states.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged regulators to expedite refunds of unclaimed deposits, shares, insurance, and pension funds through special district-level camps. She emphasised the need to keep citizens’ interests at the forefront and ensure a smooth refund process.

The Minister stated this while chairing the 29th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) in Mumbai today. The meeting discussed the issues related to further improving macro-financial stability, streamlining KYC norms, reducing unclaimed financial assets, and strengthening cybersecurity in the financial sector.

The FSDC also discussed simplification and digitisation of the KYC procedures, especially for NRIs, enhancing investment flows, and effective use of account aggregator networks. It resolved to boost inter-agency coordination for the overall development of India’s financial ecosystem.

The Reserve Bank of India has discontinued daily Variable Rate Repo (VRR) auctions starting today, in view of a liquidity surplus in the banking system, currently estimated at around 2.75 to 3 lakh crore rupees. The daily VRR auctions were launched on January 16 2025 to ease short-term liquidity tightness caused by tax-related outflows and foreign exchange interventions. However, recent auctions saw very low demand, with banks borrowing just 3,711 crore rupees on 9th June and 3,853 crore rupees on 10th June against a notified amount of 25,000 crore rupees.

This step comes soon after the RBI’s decision to cut the Cash Reserve Ratio by 100 basis points, a move expected to release 2.5 lakh crore rupees into the system in phases.

While daily VRR auctions have ended, the RBI will continue using tools like the 14-day VRR, Open Market Operations, and Standing Deposit Facility to manage liquidity as needed.

The Union Cabinet has approved two projects of the Ministry of Railways with a total cost of six thousand 405 crore rupees. The projects include the doubling of Koderma – Barkakana rail line has been approved at a cost of three thousand and 63 crore rupees, while the doubling of the Ballari – Chikjajur rail line has been approved at a cost of three thousand and 342 crore rupees. Briefing media in New Delhi after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Koderma – Barkakana doubling project of 133 kilometres will provide enhanced connectivity to 938 villages and 15 lakh population. He said, the projects will connect four districts in Jharkhand – Koderma, Chatra, Hazaribagh and Ramgarh. Mr Vaishnaw informed that the project section will pass through a major coal-producing area of Jharkhand.

Mr Vaishnaw said, the second project Ballary – Chikjajur doubling rail line of 185 kilometres will connect Mangalore port to Secunderabad. He said, the project line traverses through Ballari and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Mr Vaishnaw said that the project will cater to the transport of iron ore, coking coal, finished steel and fertilizers.