Vivek Chaturvedi, a 1990 batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) officer, has been appointed chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). He will assume charge on Monday, following the superannuation of Sanjay Kumar Agarwal. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet cleared his appointment on Friday.

Chaturvedi, who currently serves as member (tax policy & legal) on CBIC, has over three decades of experience in customs administration, intelligence, data analytics and vigilance.

Previously he served as the principal director general in the Directorate General of Vigilance and chief vigilance officer of the board, where he was responsible for internal oversight and integrity processes. Prior to this, he served as Director General (DG) at the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management, under the CBIC.

The director general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Praveen Kumar, took on additional charge of the Border Security Force (BSF) Director General on Sunday following the retirement of the incumbent Daljit Singh Chawdhary.

Chawdhary, a 1990-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, handed over the responsibilities to Kumar, a 1993-batch officer of the West Bengal cadre, at a BSF camp in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur. Notably, the handing-over ceremony usually takes place at the force headquarters in Delhi. However, this time, it was held in Raipur as the two directors general were there to take part in the DGs-IGs national police conference held from Friday to Sunday.

On Friday, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order assigning the additional charge of BSF Director General to Kumar “till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier.”

The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute will host 7th India International Seaweed Expo and Summit 2026 (IISE&S 2026), one of the largest seaweed industry gatherings, on January 29-30 next year.

The event will be organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, CMFRI and CSIR-Central Salt Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI).

The Expo is expected to draw participation from Brazil, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Sweden, and several other countries, making it a crucial globally diverse platform for exploring the prospects of the marine algae. Delegates from Latin America, South Asia, and Europe have already confirmed interest, offering opportunities for cross-border partnerships, technology transfer, and international market linkages, said a press release.

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.