There was jubilation among weavers in Tiruchi as the famed Woraiyur cotton sari was granted a geographical indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai on Tuesday (December 2, 2025), three years after the Woraiyur Devanga Handloom Weavers’ Co-operative Society applied for the recognition.

The sari was one of five products from Tamil Nadu granted the GI tag on Tuesday, the others being Kavindapadi nattu sakkarai (jaggery powder), Namakkal makkal pathirangal (soapstone cookware), the traditional Thooyamalli rice variety and Ambasamudram choppu saman (wooden toys).

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) attorney P. Sanjai Gandhi who filed the applications on behalf of the respective associations, said that Tamil Nadu now had 74 products with GI tags.

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Monday announced that Indian women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been appointed as the bank's first-ever female brand ambassador. The announcement took place at a ceremony, themed 'Banking On Champions', at PNB's corporate office in New Delhi, during which Kaur was also presented with a framed bank jersey bearing her name and number.

The ceremony was attended by PNB's top officials, including Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ashok Chandra, and executive directors M Paramasivam, Bibhu Prasad Mahapatra, D Surendran, and Amit Kumar Srivastava. PNB Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) Raghavendra Kumar and Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju were also present at the event.

During the event, Kaur also unveiled four financial products of the bank—PNB RuPay Metal Credit Card Luxura, PNB One 2.0, Digi Surya Ghar, and the onboarding of PNB on the IIBX Portal, which the bank said is a step in reinforcing its "commitment to innovation, digital-first services, and customer-centric solutions."

Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has become the first airport to achieve water positive status in the country with a capacity of more than 40 million passengers per annum.

Speaking about the achievement, CEO of Delhi International Airport Limited, Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said that becoming water-positive reflects a deep commitment to responsible resource use, environmental stewardship, and the future of aviation infrastructure.

Further, Mr Jaipuriar said that this achievement is a significant step towards the long-term vision of strengthening IGIA’s position as a net-zero airport. He added that water positivity not only reduces our dependence on natural resources but also enhances our resilience and climate readiness.

The new complex housing the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which is in the final stages of completion, will be called ‘Seva Teerth’.

The complex was earlier known as the ‘Executive Enclave’ under the Central Vista Redevelopment project.

Besides the PMO, the ‘Executive Enclave’ will also comprise of the offices of the Cabinet Secretariat, National Security Council Secretariat, and India House, which will be a venue for high-level talks with visiting dignitaries.

Renowned aerospace engineer who helped shape the country’s strategic missile programme, Dr Tessy Thomas, was honoured with the eighth Paulos Mar Gregorios Award 2025 on Sunday in New Delhi. The award, presented at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex, recognises her “outstanding contribution in women empowerment, space and missile technology”.

Dr Thomas had held the position of Director General (Aeronautical Systems), Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), and Vice-Chancellor of Noorul Islam Centre for Higher Education.

Having served as Project Director for the Agni-IV ballistic missile at DRDO, her leadership helped advance India’s long-range missile capability.

Take a deep breath and think of your happy place: "rage bait" is the 2025 Oxford Word of the Year.

After three days of online voting by more than 30,000 participants, Oxford University Press announced on Monday that "rage bait" is the official pick, beating out fellow shortlist nominees "aura farming" and "biohack."

Defined as "online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive," rage bait is "typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account," according to Oxford's definition.

In Table Tennis, India’s three-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games medallist Manika Batra and Manav Thakkar will lead India’s eight-member squad at the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025 at Chengdu in China, beginning today. The team also features Akash Pal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Payas Jain, Diya Chitale, Yashaswini Ghorpade, and Swastika Ghosh. With the mixed team format set to make its Olympic debut at LA 2028, this year’s championship carries added significance. The 2025 edition marks the third ITTF Mixed Team World Cup, with Chengdu hosting the tournament for the third consecutive year. Alongside Manika and Manav, Olympian Sathiyan Gnanasekaran will also represent India in the week-long competition in Chengdu.

Belgium edged past India 1-0 in a closely fought final to lift the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2025 in Malaysia on Sunday, clinching its maiden title in only its second appearance at the prestigious invitational tournament. Thibeau Stockbroekx scored the decisive goal in the 34th minute as India settled for silver.

It was Belgium’s second win over India in the tournament, having also beaten the host 3-2 in the league stage. For India, it proved to be the only two defeats of an otherwise strong campaign.

Coming into the final on the back of a thumping 14-3 win over Canada on Saturday, India earned three Penalty Corners but failed to convert any of them. Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas and Sanjay, who had been effective from set-pieces earlier in the tournament, found the Belgian defence unyielding on this occasion.

In Football, India stunned Iran 2-1 in the men’s Under 17 AFC Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad. With this win, India have booked their ticket to the 2026 AFC Under 17 Asian Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated the Indian team for their historic win and qualifying for the AFC Under 17 Asian Cup.

In a social media post, Dr. Mandaviya praised the efforts behind the achievement, stating that the win reflects the dedication and hard work of the young players, their coaches, and the entire support staff.

This win has helped the Blue Colts earn three more points to take their tally to 7. Iran already had 7 points, and they will remain on 7 points.

Sweden’s pole vault star Armand Duplantis and American sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were named the World Athletes of the Year at the 2025 World Athletics awards ceremony.

In 2025, Duplantis broke the men’s pole vault world record four times and was unbeaten in all 16 of his competitions, including sweeping both the indoor and outdoor world titles.

The 26-year-old has become the first male pole vaulter in modern athletics history to remain undefeated in a single event for two consecutive years.

American McLaughlin-Levrone won the women’s 400 metre title in Tokyo with a time of 47.78 seconds, breaking a 42-year-old World Championships record. She became the first athlete in history to win world titles in both the 400 metre flat and the 400 metre hurdles.