Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal today launched the process of onboarding drivers for Bharat Taxi in Mumbai. Speaking at the gathering, Chief Operating Officer of Bharat Taxi Vivek Pandey stated that Bharat Taxi will be launched in Mumbai for consumers in the first week of May.

Addressing the ‘Saarthis’ on this occasion, Piyush Goyal expressed confidence that Bharat Taxi will, in the future, move ahead of mobility giants and appealed to drivers to join the initiative. He stated that the app operates on a cooperative basis and added that, as it is designed to serve people and not for profit, it does not charge any commission or subscription fees like other apps. He suggested that Bharat Taxi should offer benefits to drivers at par with, or better than, other apps in order to increase their income. He also advised drivers to opt for electric vehicles instead of CNG to reduce expenses and increase income.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the government has formed a panel under SBI Chairman C S Setty, who also leads the industry grouping Indian Banks’ Association, to assess risks emanating from AI platform Mythos and come up with mitigating measures.

There will be a lot of interaction among banks over the next few weeks to understand the threats and also look at the areas where additional investments will be required, Sitharaman said on the sidelines of an event to inaugurate SBI’s newly created local head office here.

“In the coming weeks, there will be a lot of interaction within the banks, understanding where more investments will have to be made, what kind of technologies can come in, how AI itself can be used for countering this AI born challenge,” Sitharaman said.

Symbiosis Skills and Professional University (SSPU) has launched Asia’s first UNESCO Chair on Gender Inclusion and Skill Development, positioning India at the forefront of global conversations on gender and skilling.

The Chair was recently inaugurated by Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, during an international conference titled “Women Leading the Future of Work”, organised in collaboration with UNESCO. The event also saw participation from Aditi Tatkare, Maharashtra’s Minister for Women and Child Development, and Monica Nagelgaard as Guests of Honour.

The World Health Organization announced Friday that it had given prequalification approval to a malaria treatment for newborns and infants for the first time.

The World Health Organization announced Friday that it had given prequalification approval to a malaria treatment for newborns and infants for the first time.

The Supreme Court has declared that the safety of commuters against road accidents and the right to safe passage on highways are part of the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

“National Highways constitute approximately 2% of India’s total road length but account for nearly 30% of all road fatalities. A road, particularly a high-speed expressway, must not become a corridor of peril due to administrative lethargy or infrastructural gaps. The loss of even a single life to avoidable hazards like illegal parking or blackspots, etc., represents a failure of the state’s protective umbrella,” a Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar observed in an April 13 order.

India and New Zealand are set to sign a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) on Monday to significantly boost bilateral trade, investments and market access across sectors.

The agreement will be signed at Bharat Mandapam in the presence of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his New Zealand counterpart, Todd McClay.

The pact is aimed at doubling bilateral trade to $5 billion over the next five years and is expected to open new avenues for Indian exporters, particularly at a time when global uncertainties, including tensions in West Asia, are impacting trade flows.

Renowned economist Ashok Lahiri and scientist Gobardhan Das, two illustrious personalities from West Bengal, were on Friday named as the Niti Aayog vice-chairman and member, respectively, government sources said.

Lahiri, currently a BJP MLA in West Bengal, is a former chief economic advisor to the government of India and a member of the 15th Finance Commission. He is not contesting the ongoing Assembly elections in the state.

Das is the director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal. Prior to assuming this position, he was working as a professor and chair of the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hajipur, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Boehringer Ingelheim to Advance Pharmaceutical Research Collaboration in New Delhi. The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Department of Pharmaceuticals, informed that the collaboration between NIPER Hajipur and Boehringer Ingelheim is expected to foster synergy between academia and industry.

It will contribute to the development of next-generation therapies and support the broader objective of building a robust, innovation-driven healthcare ecosystem in the country.

While addressing the event, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Manoj Joshi highlighted the pivotal role of academia-industry collaboration in bridging the gap between research and commercialisation and fostering innovation.

The 7th edition of the India-Uzbekistan Joint Military Exercise Dustlik culminated today at Namangan in Uzbekistan. The Indian Armed Forces contingent, comprising 60 personnel, was represented by 45 personnel from the Indian Army and 15 from the Indian Air Force. The Uzbekistan contingent also had 60 personnel from the Uzbekistan Army and Air Force.

In a social media post, the Indian Army said the exercise enhanced preparedness for joint operations to neutralise unlawful armed groups. It said the exercise provided an opportunity to exchange best practices in counter-terrorism.

The aim of Exercise DUSTLIK is to strengthen military cooperation and enhance the ability to conduct joint operations in semi-mountainous terrain. The exercise emphasises a high level of physical fitness, coordinated planning, joint tactical drills, and the fundamentals of special arms skills.

The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the banking licence issued to Paytm Payments Bank Limited. In a statement, RBI said the bank is prohibited to conduct any business from immediate effect. The apex bank has however clarified that Paytm Payments Bank Limited has enough liquidity to repay its entire deposit liability upon winding up operations.

The RBI further informed that the action follows its orders dated March 2022 wherein the bank was directed to stop onboarding of new customers, followed by additional business restrictions imposed in early 2024, disallowing any further deposits, credits and top-ups in existing customer accounts and prepaid instruments, among others.