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.

The Indian rupee slipped to an all-time low of 85 against the US dollar on Thursday, December 19, as global and domestic factors continued to weigh on the currency.

It opened at 85 against dollar compared to Wednesday's close of 84.95 against dollar.

Here’s a look at the key factors driving the rupee's decline:

Hawkish Fed signals boost dollar strength

The US Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance at its December meeting sent ripples through global markets.

The Fed now projects only two rate cuts in 2025, down from four estimated in September.

The Fed raised its forecast for core PCE inflation to 2.8% in 2024 and 2.5% in 2025, signaling prolonged inflation concerns.

The dollar index surged to a two-year high, further pressuring emerging market currencies, including the rupee.

A new long-acting preventive HIV drug could reach the world’s poorest countries by the end of 2025 or early 2026, a global health official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The ambition is to start deliveries of Gilead Sciences’ lenacapavir on that timeline, said Hui Yang, head of supply operations at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. However, she said a lot of things need to happen first, including the injectable drug receiving regulatory approvals from authorities like the United States Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization.

Lenacapavir is already approved for use as a treatment for multi-drug resistant HIV, costing around $42,250 for the first year of therapy in the United States. Clinical trials this year showed it is also very effective at preventing infection and Gilead is seeking approvals for the new use globally.

The National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme has profiled over 57,758 Sewer and Septic Tank Workers (SSWs) across India, with 54,574 workers validated so far, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The initiative, launched in the 2023-24 fiscal year, seeks to ensure safety, dignity, and socio-economic empowerment for sanitation workers. It is being implemented across more than 4,800 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) under a collaboration between the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

The data reveals that sanitation work remains deeply entrenched in social inequalities, with 67.91% of the workers coming from Scheduled Castes (SC), followed by 15.73% from Other Backward Classes (OBC), 8.31% from Scheduled Tribes (ST), and 8.05% from the General category.