Painted in the 1890s, when Raja Ravi Varma was at the height of his prominence, the canvas ‘Yashoda and Krishna’ sold for a remarkable Rs 167.20 crore at Saffronart’s Spring Live Auction, setting a new world record for the highest value a work of Indian art ever sold at an auction.

The sale that took place in Mumbai on April 1 saw an intense bidding of seven minutes for the work that came from a private collection in Delhi and had a pre-sale estimate of ₹80–120 crore (USD 8.6–12.9 million). It was acquired by Dr Cyrus S. Poonawalla, Managing director of the Serum Institute of India. In a release, he noted, “I am privileged to have the opportunity to acquire, preserve, and care for the iconic Raja Ravi Varma painting Yashoda and Krishna. This national treasure deserves to be made available for public viewing periodically, and it will be my endeavour to facilitate this going forward.”

India and Azerbaijan today comprehensively reviewed the current state of bilateral relations, covering areas of mutual interest in Baku. They discussed trade, technology, tourism, pharmaceuticals, culture, people-to-people relations and the fight against cross-border terrorism. The External Affairs Ministry, in a statement, said that Secretary (West), External Affairs Ministry Sibi George, co-chaired 6th round of India-Azerbaijan Foreign Office Consultations with Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elnur Mammadov. Secretary (West), External Affairs Ministry, Sibi George, also called on the Azerbaijan Foreign Affairs Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. They reviewed bilateral ties and exchanged views on regional and global matters of common interest. Mr George also met Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev.

CSIR-CFTRI’s Incubation Ecosystem in Mysuru nurtures many food start-ups and entrepreneurs. Significantly, the incubated companies have filed 12 patents so far.

On Friday, the BIRAC-BioNEST Incubation Centre was launched on the CFTRI campus by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh. He interacted with the representatives of start-ups and also witnessed food innovations implemented with CFTRI’s support.

BIRAC-BioNEST has been developed to nurture entrepreneurial talent in food bioprocessing and biotechnology research. The facility supports advanced research, scale-up, and efficacy studies pertaining to food bioprocessing and biotechnology. It facilitates startups in converting innovative concepts into commercially viable technologies, according to CFTRI.

The Universal Parsi Registration Drive witnessed an enthusiastic response in Mumbai on Saturday, with around 300 fresh registrations completed during a special facilitation camp organised by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in collaboration with the Bombay Parsi Panchayat.

The registrations were carried out through the Jiyo Parsi portal, marking a significant push to expand outreach within the Parsi community and strengthen participation in government initiatives aimed at addressing demographic concerns.

Launched in 2013-14, the Jiyo Parsi scheme is a flagship Central Sector initiative designed to arrest the declining population of the Parsi community. The programme offers a range of support measures, including medical assistance for fertility treatments and pregnancy-related care, financial support for childcare and elderly dependents, as well as counselling and awareness initiatives.

Project Chetak of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) celebrated its 47th Raising Day at Bikaner in Rajasthan yesterday, marking over four decades of dedicated service in the strategically important regions of the western sector.

The Ministry of Defence, in a statement, said that on this day in 1980, the project played a vital role in developing and maintaining infrastructure in Rajasthan, Punjab and the northern parts of Gujarat. It added that infrastructures constructed by BRO are connecting border areas, and it is contributing to national security as well as regional development.

The Ministry noted that with its motto “Chetak ka Prayas, Desh ka Vikas”, Project Chetak is one of the largest projects of the BRO in terms of geographical area. The project has covered more than 4 thousand kilometres of road network and 2 hundred 14 kilometers of Ditch Cum Bund. It supports the Defence Forces by maintaining key feeder roads towards the International Border, with continuous efforts underway to upgrade them to National Highway Double Lane specifications.

NMDC Limited has announced the appointment of Shri Anurag Kapil (DIN: 06640383) as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Key Managerial Person (KMP) of the company, effective 31st March 2026. He succeeds Smt. G Anupama, who has ceased to hold the position of CFO and KMP.

This appointment is in accordance with the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, Order No. S-14013/1/2024-BLA dated 18th March 2026. Shri Kapil will hold the position for a period of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Shri Anurag Kapil is an Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) officer of the 1998 batch with over 26 years of experience in finance, public policy, and governance across Indian Railways and Central Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

The World Bank Group and the Government of Sri Lanka today launched a new five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) to support Sri Lanka's continued recovery, help achieve its 7% medium-term economic growth target, and support job creation.

“We are committed to building on the continued macroeconomic stability, strengthened governance and revenue-based fiscal consolidation that we have already achieved. Our goal is to confidently steer our economy towards strong, sustainable and inclusive growth. We are working towards an economic growth rate of over 7% in the medium term," said President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake. "The World Bank Group has been with us for more than 7 decades. This partnership will further strengthen that relationship."

India delivered a dominant performance in compound Archery, clinching three gold medals in team events of World Archery Para Series in Bangkok, Thailand. In the women’s team compound final, Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag registered 150-147 victory over Kazakhstan. The men’s team followed suit, as Toman Kumar and Shyam Sunder Swami led India to a convincing 153-146 win against Chinese Taipei. Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar teamed up in the mixed compound event to defeat Indonesia 153-146, securing India’s third gold of the day. 

Bharti Airtel, the country’s second-largest carrier, has crossed 650 million customers across global markets to reinforce its No. 2 position in terms of customers worldwide.

The Sunil Mittal-promoted carrier said Thursday that according to GSMA Intelligence, Bharti Airtel is ranked second globally by mobile customer base, with operations spread across India and Africa.

Commenting on this milestone, Bharti Airtel's Executive Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal said: “Achieving the milestone of 650 million customers to be the second largest operator globally is a great responsibility for us to serve our customers better every day. This is why we invest in state-of-the-art technologies to not only provide connectivity but to also deliver a safe network.”

U.S. engine manufacturer General Electric (GE) Aerospace on Thursday (April 2, 2026) announced delivery of the sixth F404-IN20 engine to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk 1A aircraft.

GE Aerospace has to deliver 99 such engines to HAL.

“GE Aerospace has handed over the sixth F404-IN20 engine against the order from 2021,” said a company spokesperson.