Paisabazaar, India's leading marketplace for consumer credit and free credit score platform, today announced the launch of PBMoney - a personal finance management platform designed to provide consumers with holistic insights and advise, to help them build stronger financial health.

Paisabazaar, through PBMoney, aims to deepen engagement with its large and diverse consumer base by offering a unified financial experience. PBMoney is built on the Account Aggregator framework, along with other data integrations, offering consumers a comprehensive view of their entire financial life. The platform consolidates financial accounts-including bank accounts, mutual fund portfolios, and stocks--into a single dashboard. In the coming months, PBMoney will also integrate data on insurance coverage and GST filings, providing consumers a complete understanding of their financial standing.

Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited (Piramal Finance), a leading Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), and Punjab & Sind Bank, one of India's premier public sector banks, have entered into a strategic co-lending partnership to enhance credit availability for middle- and low-income borrowers, with a special emphasis on rural and semi-urban regions.

This collaboration brings together Punjab & Sind Bank's deep financial expertise and extensive network of 1575 branches with Piramal Finance's unique 'High Tech + High Touch' approach. Additionally, Piramal Finance's strong presence across 514+ branches in 13,000 pin codes, serving 4.5 million customers in 26 states, will further strengthen outreach and accessibility.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited ("Canara HSBC Life Insurance") has entered a strategic distribution partnership with GIC Housing Finance Limited ("GICHF") to provide enhanced financial security solutions to GICHF's home loan customers. Through this partnership, Canara HSBC Life Insurance will offer its 'Group Asset Secure' product --a comprehensive credit life insurance plan--designed to protect borrowers and their families against loan liabilities in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

* Strategic alliance to offer credit life insurance, to provide financial protection for home loan customers

The partnership aims to support and enable India's intent and ambition of owning their own homes. With GIC Housing Finance's diversified customer pool, the alliance will unlock a viable financial protection provision for the customers of the company. By integrating a robust insurance solution into the home loan process, Canara HSBC Life Insurance and GIC Housing Finance are reinforcing their shared commitment to customer-centric financial solutions.

The Reserve Bank will set up a dedicated 'on Tap' cohort on climate change risks and sustainable finance under its regulatory sandbox initiative, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Thursday.

The Reserve Bank has been encouraging and facilitating innovations through its Regulatory Sandbox and Hackathon initiatives in the fintech space.

"We propose to set up a dedicated 'on Tap' cohort on climate change risks and sustainable finance under RBI's Regulatory Sandbox initiative. We are also planning to conduct a special 'Greenathon' on climate change and related aspects," Malhotra said.

He was speaking on the Policy Seminar on Climate Change Risks and Finance organised by the Reserve Bank of India here.

Bisleri International, a leading mineral water brand in collaboration with Observer Research Foundation (ORF) unveiled a book on 'Water Credits Valuation.' Inaugurated at Raisina Dialogue 2025, this comprehensive book titled, 'Trading Blue Gold: A Blueprint for Water Credit Valuation in India' aims to amplify the framework beyond the beverage sector.

Water Credits are a market-based mechanism that incentivizes sustainable water management practices. These credits are generated through activities such as water conservation, rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment, and efficient water use. Similar to carbon credits, companies can purchase water credits to offset their water consumption and promote responsible water stewardship.

In a significant move to enhance India's Science and Technology (S&T) landscape, NITI Aayog today held a pivotal workshop titled “Empowering State S&T Councils: Catalyzing Innovation for India’s Future.” The event was graced by Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and other dignitaries from the various scientific ministries and departments. Representatives from 25+ States/ UTs attended the workshop. It brought together government leaders, policymakers, and industry experts to address critical challenges in the nation’s state S&T councils.

State S&T Councils play a crucial role in bridging the gap between scientific innovation and socio-economic development at the regional level. Despite their significant contributions in areas like R&D, patent facilitation, and technology transfer, these councils continue to face challenges that hinder their transformative potential. The workshop aimed to identify strategic solutions to strengthen these councils and amplify their impact.

During the workshop the participants engaged in comprehensive deliberations on the current status of State S&T councils, examining their governance frameworks, operational efficiencies and resource allocation. Best Practices from various states were highlighted, showcasing successful models. Additionally the role of robus monitoring and evaluation mechanisms were underscored.

From the peaceful mornings in villages to the hustle and bustle of cities, sparrows once filled the air with their cheerful chirps. Flocks of these tiny birds, uninvited yet welcome, created unforgettable memories. But over time, these little friends have vanished from our lives. Once abundant, the house sparrow is now a rare sight and a mystery in many places. To raise awareness and protect these small creatures, World Sparrow Day is celebrated every year on March 20th.

World Sparrow Day was initiated by "Nature Forever," a bird conservation organization in 2010. The aim was to raise awareness about the declining sparrow population. The event has spread to over 50 countries. The goal is to protect sparrows and stop their decline. In 2012, the house sparrow became Delhi's state bird. Since then, the event has gained global attention. People everywhere celebrate sparrows and work to protect them.

Sparrows are small but significant birds that play an essential role in maintaining ecological balance. They help control insect populations by feeding on various bugs and pests. Additionally, sparrows are key players in pollination and seed dispersal. Their presence enhances biodiversity, making them crucial for the health of both rural and urban ecosystems.

Shiksha.com, India’s leading educational portal, has launched ShikshaGPT, an advanced AI-powered chatbot on its mobile app. The new AI tool aims to make searching for reliable education information faster and easier. Designed for students navigating college admissions, courses, and exam options, ShikshaGPT serves as a conversational tool that leverages the latest AI technology to provide accurate, up-to-date answers directly from Shiksha.com’s extensive database. This new feature aims to simplify students' content discovery journeys, empowering them with immediate responses to their inquiries and supporting more informed decision-making.  

'ShikshaGPT' is a large language model (LLM) & RAG based conversational chatbot coupled with NLP layers including Intent Classification, Named Entity Recognition, Spell Check, and Hinglish understanding, tuned to help students get direct answers to their questions related to colleges, course, exam & career. This helps students receive accurate and relevant responses to their natural language queries. Utilizing Shiksha.com's extensive content repository as its reliable source of truth, this innovative tool enhances the accuracy and accessibility of information, providing students with a seamless and intuitive experience as they navigate the platform.  

India and New Zealand on Sunday launched negotiations for a “comprehensive and mutually beneficial” free trade agreement, paving the way for second bilateral trade deal in the Oceania after concluding an FTA pact with Australia in April 2022.

“We are delighted to announce the launch of India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. This marks a significant milestone in our partnership, reflecting our shared vision to deepen trade ties and expand economic opportunities,” commerce minister Piyush Goyal said in a post on X.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, inaugurated the India Innovation Summit – “Pioneering Solutions to End TB” at the Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre in Delhi.

The event comes as India’s National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) reaches a major milestone, with 26.07 lakh TB cases notified in 2024, the highest ever recorded. Since 2015, the incidence rate of TB has dropped by 17.7%, from 237 cases per lakh population to 195 in 2023, while TB-related deaths have decreased by 21.4%.

Addressing the summit, Patel highlighted these achievements and praised the transformative role of innovation in India’s TB elimination efforts. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has made remarkable strides in TB control,” she said. “The number of missing cases has been reduced from 15 lakh in 2015 to 2.5 lakh in 2023.”