Dividend payout by public sector banks (PSBs) have risen by 33 per cent to Rs 27,830 crore in FY24, indicating significant improvement in financial health of these lenders.

PSBs declared a dividend of Rs 27,830 crore to shareholders in 2023-24 as against Rs 20,964 crore in the previous fiscal, registering an increase of 32.7 per cent, according to the government data.

Of Rs 27,830 crore total dividend, nearly 65 per cent or Rs 18,013 crore was paid to the government towards their shareholding in FY24.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said regional rural banks (RRBs) will get five more years, beginning with the current financial year (FY25), to amortise the additional expenditure in light of the revision in pensions. The extra time has been granted due to the difficulties expressed in absorbing the increased liability in a single year.

RRBs were earlier permitted to amortise their liability on account of the Employee Pension Scheme 2018 over five years, beginning with the financial year ending March 31, 2019. RRBs are now required to implement the pension scheme with effect from November 1, 1993.

The expenditure, if not fully charged to the profit and loss account in FY25, may be amortised over a period not exceeding five years, beginning with the financial year ending March 31, 2025. RRBs will have to make provision for at least 20 per cent of the total pension liability every year.

The 36-hour hackathon, titled “Hack the Future,” organized by the National Statistical Office (NSO) of India in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), concluded successfully at the IITGN campus, as per an official statement from the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday.

The event saw the participation of 18 teams representing leading academic institutions from across the country, including IITs, NITs, IIITs, and more. Teams tackled three innovative challenges with guidance from mentors from the Ministry and the institute. A panel of five jury members, consisting of experts from industry, academia, and the Ministry, evaluated the final solutions.

The valedictory session was graced by Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI & Head NSO; P.R. Meshram, Director General, NSO India; and Dr. Rajat Moona, Director, IIT Gandhinagar. P.R. Meshram congratulated the participants, emphasizing that the hackathon aligns with the Ministry’s ongoing modernization efforts.

With an objective to boost the sale value realized through bank e-auctions, public sector banks (PSBs) were requested by Department of Financial Services to redesign their e-auction platform. The platform 'e-BKray' was launched on February 28, 2019. In order to further streamline the listing and auctioning of assets of banks, a revamped e-auction portal named 'BAANKNET' was launched on January 3 this year.

Salient features of the BAANKNET portal State-of-the-art Innovative Platform: A cutting-edge property listing and e auction platform specifically designed for banks and lending institutions to address the recovery of non-performing asset (NPA) loans through efficient property auctions.

Robust Architecture: Ensures seamless reliability and accessibility for users through both mobile and web interfaces, making it easy for stakeholders to interact with the platform.

The Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) on Saturday launched Tavasya, the second frigate under Project 1135.6 Additional Follow-on Ships, marking a significant step toward India’s naval self-reliance.

Named after the legendary mace of Bhima from the Mahabharata, Tavasya symbolises the indomitable spirit and growing strength of the Indian Navy, officials said. These frigates are designed to perform surface, sub-surface, and air combat operations.

The contract for constructing two Project 1135.6 Follow-on frigates was signed between the Ministry of Defence and GSL in January 2019. The first ship, Triput, was launched on July 24.

The Delhi Legislative Assembly has taken a significant step towards digital governance by signing a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA), Government of India and Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) for the implementation of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA).

With this development, Delhi becomes the 28th legislature to sign MoU with the Ministry for implementation of the project, marking a new chapter in its legislative functioning, according to official release.

The 4th India-EU Maritime Security Dialogue was held in New Delhi yesterday. The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) in Ministry of External Affairs, Muanpuii Saiawi and the EU delegation by Director for Security and Defence Policy, European External Action Service, Maciej Stadejek.

The two sides conferred on ways to sustain a secure maritime environment conducive for inclusive growth and global well-being. They reviewed ongoing cooperation initiatives in the maritime domain and avenues of reinforcing international and regional mechanisms for comprehensive maritime security. They agreed to strengthen their shared efforts in areas such as countering Illicit Maritime Activities, protection of critical maritime infrastructure, regional capability development and capacity building activities.

India has sent humanitarian assistance to Botswana in the wake of floods in the country. External Affairs Ministry said in a social media post that the first tranche of around 10 tons of assistance comprising essential medicines, surgical supplies, mosquito nets, and water purifiers was dispatched for Botswana.

Meanwhile, humanitarian assistance has also been sent to Kiribati to help strengthen the healthcare system of the country. A consignment of 6-bedded container-based Dialysis Units departed from Mundra Port for Tarawa, Kiribati yesterday.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) was conducted on March 22, 2025, at the Head Office located in New Delhi.

The Elections were held successfully for the post of Chairman and Governing Council members. After following due procedure the results were declared and Ashok Singh Thakur was elected as Chairman for 3 years, a release said.

INTACH is India's premier heritage conservation organisation formally constituted on 27th January 1984. It is a nationally registered Society under the Societies Registration Act (1860).

The Centre has withdrawn the 20 percent duty on onion exports, effective from 1st April. According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, this will ensure remunerative prices to farmers while maintaining the affordability of onions to the consumers at a crucial juncture. It added that both mandi and retail prices have softened following the expected arrival of rabi crops in good quantities.

As per the estimates, higher production of crops during the rabi season, including onions, is expected to further ease the market prices in the coming months. The export duty of 20 percent had been in place from 13th September last year to ensure domestic availability.