Barring official confirmation, Harendra Singh is set to replace Janneke Schopman as coach of the Indian women’s hockey team. The reported reason for the delay is due to the model code of conduct being in place for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

The reason for Model Code of Conduct affecting the big announcement is because Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey is a candidate in the upcoming elections. The former India player is a Biju Janta Dal candidate and set to contest from Sundargarh constituency in Odisha.

As per reports, Harendra played a role in pruning the preliminary 60-member assessment squad down to a core group of 33 players during the trials held on 6-7 April.

India currently has 67 unicorns, which is lower as compared with 68 such startups last year, according to the latest Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024. It, however, said India produced more offshore unicorns than any other country, co-founding 109 unicorns outside of India compared with 67 in India.

“India’s start-up ecosystem has slowed, with the number of unicorns down for the first time since the launch of Hurun list,” according to the report.

Explaining reasons for the slowdown in India, Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher of Hurun India, said, “India currently has 67 unicorns. India’s start-up ecosystem has slowed, with the number of unicorns down for the first time since the launch of our list. This is primarily fuelled by lack of investment into start-ups despite the recent stock market record highs. Another factor is that founders from India produced more offshore unicorns than any other country, co-founding 109 unicorns outside of India compared with 67 in India.”

Fintech firm PhonePe on Wednesday said it has partnered with Nepal's digital wallet service eSewa and the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) Pokhara to promote digital payments through UPI on the Himalayan country's payment processor Fonepay Network. The partnership is a part of the Fewa New Year Festival which will be held from April 11-14 in Nepal.

Over 3,000 merchants will participate in the festival with more than 1,00,000 visitors expected to visit.

PhonePe in a statement said it will run on-ground activation aimed at raising awareness about digital payments among local merchants while demonstrating the convenience of digital payments for customers.

The General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/65/271 of 7 April 2011, declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight “to celebrate each year at the international level the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of States and peoples, as well as ensuring the realization of their aspiration to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes.”

12 April 1961 was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet citizen. This historic event opened the way for space exploration for the benefit of all humanity.

The General Assembly expressed its deep conviction of the common interest of mankind in promoting and expanding the exploration and use of outer space, as the province of all mankind, for peaceful purposes and in continuing efforts to extend to all States the benefits derived there from.

Cinematographer-filmmaker Gangu Ramsay, one of the seven Ramsay Brothers known for cult horror films such as Purani Haveli and Tehkhana, died at a hospital in Mumbai on Sunday morning, his family said. He was 83.

According to the family, Gangu Ramsay had been battling health issues for the past month.

"With profound sadness, we announce the passing of one of the Ramsay Brothers, the legendary cinematographer, filmmaker, producer and the second eldest son of F.U. Ramsay, Gangu Ramsay. He departed from us early this morning at 8 am, at the age of 83, after battling health issues for the past month. He was admitted to Kokilaben Hospital," the family said in a statement.

Britain’s King Charles III was on Tuesday presented with the first set of banknotes bearing his portrait by Bank of England representatives at Buckingham Palace in London.

The 75-year-old monarch, who has been undergoing cancer treatment, was pictured with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and Chief Cashier and Executive Director of Banking Sarah John.

It is seen as a historic moment as it is the first time the Bank of England has changed the image of the British monarch on a banknote, as King Charles’ late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the first monarch to appear on a Bank of England note in 1960.

The US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) has appointed former Revenue Secretary and ex-Secretary of Economic Affairs Tarun Bajaj as the head of the US-India Tax Forum.

Bajaj, 61, joined the USISPF as an advisor to the Board of Directors in January and will now spearhead the US-India Tax Forum, an official announcement said on Tuesday.

“With his extensive experience and profound expertise in finance and taxation, Tarun stands as an ideal candidate to steer our efforts forward. His adept leadership in shaping fiscal and tax policies and navigating intricate economic terrains will fortify our mission of nurturing strong economic bonds between the United States and India,” said Mukesh Aghi, president and CEO of USISPF.

CEPT University Press today launched 'Planning for India's Urbanisation' by Vidyadhar K. Phatak. The event was attended by practicing planners from the region and members of the CEPT community viz. students, faculty members, alumni, etc. Phatak is among the country's leading practitioners and thinkers in Urban Planning. The book is a collection of essays written over two decades, reflecting his experience of over fifty years in public service, in consulting and academia. Having spent a large part of his career in an operational position in the planning of Mumbai Metropolitan area, and subsequently, as a researcher and an academic, the essays carry comparative advantage of deeper insights.

The four main themes of the book include urbanization and its challenges, centrality of land in planning and financing of development, urban housing, and planning a metropolis. The essays address urban issues in the post-liberalisation era, planning standards, land and housing, while always establishing links between regulatory planning practices and their impact on markets and more specifically on the supply and demand of housing.

Paytm Payments Bank's Managing Director and CEO Surinder Chawla has offered to resign from his position, the company said in a stock exchange filing on April 8. As per the company, Chawla resigned citing personal reasons and to explore better career prospects. He will be relieved from PPBL on June 26, the company said.

“The company would like to update that it has been informed by its associate entity, Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) on April 8, 2024, at 5.23 pm, that Surinder Chawla, managing director and CEO of PPBL has tendered his resignation on April 8, 2024, on account of personal reasons and to explore better career prospects,” One97 Communication, the owner of Paytm, said in a BSE filing on Tuesday.

The company further stated that nearly all agreements between the company and PPBL have been terminated as per our disclosure on March 1, 2024, and the board of PPBL has been reconstituted with five independent directors including an Independent Chairperson, and no nominees from the Company, as per the company's disclosure on February 26, 2024.

The market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE crossed Rs 400 lakh crore for the first time to hit a lifetime high on April 8, 2024, with continued rally in blue-chip, mid-cap and small-cap indices.

BSE had achieved a market capitalisation of Rs 100 lakh crore first time in March 2014, followed by Rs 200 lakh crore in February 2021. It reached Rs 300 lakh crore milestone in July 2023, and now Rs 400 lakh crore just nine months later.

Since April 2023, BSE listed firms collectively gained Rs 145 trillion in market capitalisation, marking a 57% surge. This growth was fueled by improved high-frequency indicators, strong corporate earnings, positive investor sentiment due to stable policies, and significant domestic and international inflows. Mid and Small Cap indices saw a surge of 60% and 63% respectively, outpacing the 28.6% rise in the Largecap Sensex index. Leading sectors include Realty, PSU banks, Auto, Energy, Infra, and Pharma.