Star India all-rounder Deepti Sharma emerged as the costliest buy of the 2026 WPL mega auction while other ODI World Cup standouts, Shree Charani and Laura Wolvaardt, also walked away with hefty pay cheques here on Thursday.

The seasoned Deepti expectedly fetched the big bucks with UP Warriorz using the Right to Match (RTM) card to retain the India all-rounder for a whopping Rs 3.20 crore.

She is now the second-highest-paid Indian player in WPL history, just Rs 20 lakh behind Smriti Mandhana.

"We definitely expected price to be in the range of what we saw. It's the premium what you pay for high quality spin bowling all-rounders and there was no doubt that we wanted Deepti back," UP Warriorz Director of Cricket Operations Kshemal Waingankar said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday unveiled a 77-feet-tall bronze statue of Lord Rama at the Shree Samsthan Gokarn Partagali Jeevottam Math in Canacona, South Goa. The ceremony marked the beginning of the Sardha Panchashatamanotsava, the 550th-year celebration of the Math.

PM Modi also inaugurated the Ramayana Theme Park developed by the Math and released a special postal stamp along with a commemorative coin.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi held a roadshow in Udupi, Karnataka, after participating in the Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana programme at the Sri Krishna Matha. He inaugurated the Suvarna Teertha Mantapa located in front of the Krishna sanctum and dedicated the Kanaka Kavacha (golden cover) for the sacred Kanakana Kindi, a window associated with the divine vision of saint Kanakadasa.

President Droupadi Murmu will visit Lucknow today, where she will take part in two functions. The President will grace the launch ceremony of the Brahma Kumaris’ annual theme for 2025-26, ‘Meditation for World Unity and Trust’. On the same day, the President will grace the closing ceremony of the diamond jubilee celebrations of Bharat Scouts and Guides and address its 19th National Jamboree.

Additional general secretary of Brahma Kumaris, Dr Mrityunjay, informed that after the launch, the President will also do meditation at the training centre and distribute the Flag and Kalash to 5 women and 5 men each.

He said that after this state-level launching, various programs will be organised across the state on the theme for 2025-26, that is ‘Meditation for World Unity and Trust’. Later in the afternoon, the President will address the valedictory session of the diamond jubilee celebrations of Bharat Scouts and Guides and address its 19th National Jamboree.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India's tightly controlled nuclear power sector will soon be opened for private players, a move that will give new strength to the country's energy security.

The prime minister made the remarks during a function to inaugurate Skyroot Aerospace's Infinity campus here.

"We are moving towards opening the nuclear sector as well. We are laying the foundation for a strong role for the private sector in this field too," PM Modi said in his address through video conferencing.

The government has set a target of generating 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047, a more than 10-fold increase from the current capacity of 8.8 GW of atomic energy generation.

Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Thursday (November 27, 2025) unveiled a comprehensive three-phase road map to transform the Army into an integrated, future-ready force by 2047.

Speaking at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2025, he said the plan aligns closely with the national vision of Viksit Bharat and the government’s broader push for reforms and technological advancement.

General Dwivedi said the first phase, stretching to 2032, forms the backbone of a “decade of transformation”, driving accelerated transitions in capability development, force structure and operational readiness. The second phase, till 2037, focuses on consolidating gains achieved during the transformational decade. The third and final phase envisions a leap toward a fully integrated force design by 2047, equipped for next-generation warfare.

Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Panchayati Raj, Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel released the annual publication of ‘Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2025’ of Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying on the occasion of National Milk Day on November 26, 2025, at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi. Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Minority Affairs Shri George Kurian along with Shri Naresh Pal Gangwar, Secretary Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and other dignitaries also graced the occasion.

Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics (BAHS) 2025, that was released today is an important publication document that provides comprehensive data on the livestock and dairy sector trends. The BAHS 2025 is based on the outcomes of the Integrated Sample Survey conducted for the period from 1st March 2024 to 29th February 2025. This survey, unique in the country, generates crucial data on the production estimates of Major Livestock Products (MLPs) such as Milk, Eggs, Meat, and Wool, which plays a pivotal role in research and policy formulation in the livestock sector.

The Government has approved the Textiles Focused Research, Assessment, Monitoring, Planning and Start-up (Tex-RAMPS) Scheme today. Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh said that the Tex-RAMPS scheme will bring together research, data, and innovation to empower India’s textile sector.

He added that this scheme will also position the nation as a global leader in sustainability, technology, and competitiveness. The Ministry of Textiles said that the scheme, with a total outlay of three hundred five crore rupees for financial year 2025-26 to financial year 2030-31, is aligned with the upcoming Finance Commission cycle and will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme.

Indian table tennis players made a strong debut at the ITTF World Youth Championships in Romania, returning with a haul of two medals, a silver and a bronze.
The Under-19 Boys squad produced the standout performance, reaching the final with confidence before going down 0-3 to Japan.

The title clash opened with a tense five-game battle, where Ankur Bhattacharjee pushed Ryuusei Kawakami to the limit before losing 17-15, 6-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-13. Japan then extended its lead as Kazaki Yoshiyama beat Abhinand 11-7, 11-8, 11-6, followed by Tamito Watanabe’s straight-games 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 win over Priyanuj Bhattacharyya to seal the gold.

Earlier, India entered the final with a thrilling 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.

The Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app on Tuesday launched a full delegation feature for UPI Circle, aiming to net new users on the real-time payments rails.

The feature will allow primary users to authorise their trusted secondary contacts to make UPI payments from their account, subject to a maximum monthly limit of ₹15,000.

“This will bring in a lot of net new user base to UPI. For instance, people like senior citizens are hesitant users. Children, often those in their teens, know how to use UPI, but prefer pocket money. These categories bring you net new users in the ecosystem in a guarded manner,” Lalitha Nataraj, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), BHIM, told Business Standard.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the expansion of the Pune Metro and railway infrastructure projects in Maharashtra and Gujarat worth Rs 12,638 crore.

The Cabinet approved Line 4 (Kharadi–Hadapsar–Swargate–Khadakwasla) and Line 4A (Nal Stop–Warje–Manik Baug) under Phase-2 of the Pune Metro Rail Project. This is the second major project approved under Phase-2, following the sanction of Line 2A (Vanaz–Chandani Chowk) and Line 2B (Ramwadi–Wagholi/Vitthalwadi).

Together spanning 31.6 km with 28 elevated stations, Line 4 and 4A will connect IT hubs, commercial zones, educational institutions and residential clusters across East, South and West Pune.