Karnataka Bank has appointed Raghavendra S. Bhat as its Managing Director and CEO for three months, effective from July 16.

The appointment is subject to approval of the shareholders at the ensuing annual general meeting or within a period of three months as per SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, from the date of his assuming charge, whichever is earlier, a release from the bank said on Monday.

Earlier, Mr. Bhat held key positions at the bank, including Chief Operating Officer (COO), for nearly four decades.

Fintech major PhonePe maintained its lead on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) leaderboard, processing over 8.54 billion transactions and capturing a 46.46 per cent market share, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Google Pay and Paytm processed more than 6.54 billion and 1.26 billion transactions, respectively, cornering 35.56 per cent and 6.90 per cent market share on the real-time payments system.

In total, 18.39 billion UPI transactions were processed in June, a minor 1.5 per cent decline from 18.67 billion transactions recorded in May.

The largest privately owned bank in Taiwan, CTBC Bank, is the latest to apply to the International Financial Services Authority (IFSCA) for setting up a IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in GIFT City. The Taiwanese bank follows a string of banks from France and UAE who have made similar applications in the recent past.

In an application filed with IFSCA, few days ago, the bank has proposed to take up over 3100 square feet of space in Brigade Towers located in GIFT SEZ area. The CTBC Bank already has a presence in India and had established its first branch at New Delhi in 1996. In January 2025, the Financial Supervisory Commission in Taiwan granted formal approval to CTBC Bank to apply to competent authority in India for establishment of a branch in GIFT City.

The Goa government has introduced two brand-new Roll on-Roll off (RoRo) ferries named Gangotri and Dwarka on the busy Chorao–Ribandar route across the Mandovi river.

These advanced ferries will replace the old conventional boats and drastically cut travel time for daily commuters and tourists alike.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant inaugurated the ferries, proudly calling them India’s first RoRo ferry service of this kind. “This is a big leap for Goa’s water transport. These ferries have more capacity and modern technology, making travel easier and quicker. They will help locals and attract more visitors to Goa," he shared at the launch event, as per The Indian Express.

Each RoRo ferry can carry up to 100 passengers, 15 cars, and 30 to 40 two-wheelers. The ferries cruise at 10 knots—double the speed of traditional boats. This means the journey from Chorao island to Ribandar will now take only 12–13 minutes instead of 30.

Minister for Mines and Excise Kollu Ravindra on Sunday announced that the construction of Machilipatnam port would be completed by December 2026.

Export, import, logistics and other operations would begin immediately after the completion of Phase I.

Speaking at a review meeting with stakeholders at the Zilla Parishad Convention Hall in Machilipatnam, Minister Kollu Ravindra said the port would generate employment for thousands through port-based industries.

South Asia has achieved its highest-ever immunization coverage for children, with notable progress in India and Nepal, according to new data released on Tuesday (July 15, 2025) by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF for 2024.

India reduced its number of zero-dose children — those who have not received a single vaccine — by 43%, from 1.6 million in 2023 to 0.9 million in 2024. Nepal achieved a 52% reduction, from 23,000 to 11,000, a WHO statement said.

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday paid rich tributes to Adikabi Sarala Das, a 15th century poet and scholar of Odia literature on his 600th birth anniversary, and presented the Kalinga Ratna Award-2024 to Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Addressing the birth anniversary celebrations of Das, organised by the Sarala Sahitya Sansad at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, Murmu said Adikabi enriched Indian literature by composing the Mahabharata.

Stating that the Indian epics have been written in many languages, Murmu said, “Our diversity is like a rainbow. Our unity has been very strong for ages. We have many languages but the sentiment is one. The world remains amazed at how India remains united and integrated amidst so many languages and so many religions.”

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday (July 16, 2025) approved the “Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana”, or PMDDKY, to enhance agricultural productivity and increase adoption of sustainable agricultural practices across the country.

The scheme was announced in the Budget earlier this year. Talking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Centre has merged 36 schemes of 11 Ministries into the PMDDKY, which will have an outlay of ₹24,000 crore per year for six years beginning 2025-26. “This scheme will help 1.7 crore farmers,” he said.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs CCEA has approved a special exemption for NLC India Limited (NLCIL) from the prevailing investment guidelines applicable to Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprises. Briefing the media about the cabinet decisions, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, this strategic decision enables NLCIL to invest seven thousand crore rupees in its wholly owned subsidiary, NLC India Renewables Limited. He said, the exemptions aim to support NLCIL’s ambitious target of developing 10 GigaWatt of Renewable Energy capacity by 2030. Mr Vaishnaw highlighted that India has crossed 50 per cent landmark in green energy capacity and India is on track to fulfil its commitment under COP26.

The CCEA has also approved enhanced delegation of power to NTPC from the extant guidelines of delegation of power to Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprises. It will enable NTPC to invest in NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGIL). NTPC’s subsidiary company NGIL is subsequently investing in NTPC Renewable Energy Limited and its other Joint Ventrues. This is beyond the earlier approved prescribed limit of seven thousand 500 crore rupees upto an amount of 20 thousand crore rupees for renewable energy capacity addition to achieve 60 Giga Watt renewable energy capacity by 2032. The Minister said, the enhanced delegation given to NTPC and NGEL will facilitate accelerated development of renewable projects in the country.

In a significant step towards global healthcare innovation, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released a technical brief titled "Mapping the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Traditional Medicine", acknowledging India's pioneering efforts in integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) with traditional medicine systems, particularly Ayush systems.

The WHO release follows India's proposal on the subject, leading to the development of WHO's first-ever roadmap for applying AI in traditional medicine, the Ayush Ministry said in a release.

As per the release, India's efforts to harness the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance and amplify the strengths of its Ayush systems reflect the broader vision