The Government on Thursday (February 20, 2025) extended the tenure of Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V. Anantha Nageswaran for two years till March 2027.

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the tenure of Mr. Nageswaran on a contract basis up to March 31, 2027.

With the approval of ACC, the tenure of V. Anantha Nageswaran as Chief Economic Adviser on contract basis is extended up to March 31, 2027, or until further order whichever is earlier, an office order said.

Venus Williams received a wild-card entry Wednesday for the BNP Paribas Open, which would make next month’s tournament in Indian Wells, California, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion’s first event in nearly a full year.

The 44-year-old Williams hasn’t competed anywhere on tour since a first-round loss at the Miami Open on March 19, 2024. That was less than two weeks after she lost her opening match at Indian Wells.

Her first appearance at Indian Wells came in 1994. Williams won five titles at Wimbledon and two at the U.S. Open in singles, along with 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her younger sister, Serena.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Thursday launched Electronic Personnel License (EPL) for pilots, a significant step towards modernising and enhancing the safety, security, and efficiency of civil aviation in India.

With this launch, India has become the second country in the world to implement EPL for flight crew. China has already implemented such a facility.

The minister launched the EPL at UDAAN Bhawan here.

Implementation of Electronic Personnel License (EPL) by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) aligns with the government's Ease of Doing Business and Digital India Initiative.

Francesco Rivella, best known as the inventor of Nutella, recently passed away at the age of 97.

As per reports, Francesco breathed his last on February 14. After learning about Rivella's demise, netizens paid heartfelt tributes, thanking him for creating a product that millions have tasted and relished.

Before launching Nutella, Rivella worked for Michele Ferrero, son of the chocolate brand Ferreo's owner— Pietro Ferrero. He was part of the Ferrero team responsible for studying raw materials to develop new products by blending, refining and tasting ingredients in pursuit of the perfect flavors.

The Union Government has released Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) Grants during Financial Year 2024–25, for the Rural Local Bodies of Bihar, Haryana and Sikkim. Bihar gets the 2nd installment of Untied Grants amounting to Rs.821.8021 crores and withheld portion of 1st installment of Untied Grants amounting to Rs.47.9339 crores. These funds are for the all 38 District Panchayats, 530 eligible Block Panchayats and 8052 eligible Gram Panchayats which fulfilled the mandatory conditions for the release. While Rural Local Bodies in Haryana will get, 2nd installment of Untied Grants amounting to Rs.202.4663 crores and withheld portion of 1st installment of Untied Grants amounting to Rs.7.5993 crores. These funds are for the 18 eligible District Panchayats, 142 eligible Block Panchayats and 6195 eligible Gram Panchayats. Sikkim receives the 2nd installment of Untied Grants amounting to Rs.6.2613 crores during Financial Year 2024–25. These funds are for the 4 eligible District Panchayats and 186 eligible Gram Panchayats which fulfilled the mandatory conditions for release.

The Untied Grants will be utilized by Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)/ Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) for location-specific felt needs, under the Twenty-Nine (29) Subjects enshrined in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, except for salaries and other establishment costs. The Tied Grants can be used for the basic services of (a) sanitation and maintenance of ODF status, and this should include management and treatment of household waste, and human excreta and fecal sludge management in particular and (b) supply of drinking water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling.

Dr Vivek Joshi on Wednesday assumed charge as the Election Commissioner of India in pursuance of the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India's Gazette notification dated February 17, 2025.

According to an official release from the ECI, Dr Joshi is a 1989 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service of the Haryana cadre.

Before this, he served as the Chief Secretary, of the Government of Haryana and Secretary, of the Department of Personnel and Training and the Department of Financial Services in the Government of India.

The Indian Navy’s First Training Squadron (1TS), comprising INS Sujata and ICGS Veera, departed from Sihanoukville, Cambodia on February 17, 2025, after a successful three-day visit. This visit strengthened ties between the Indian Navy and the Royal Cambodian Navy, fostering enhanced maritime cooperation.

During the visit, the Senior Officer of 1TS, along with the Commanding Officers of both ships, engaged in a media interaction highlighting regional cooperation efforts. Capt. Anshul Kishore, Senior Officer of 1TS, also held discussions with Admiral Tea Vinh, Commander of the Royal Cambodian Navy, focusing on bilateral cross-training, joint exercises, and regional security.

A Small Arms Simulator was presented to the Royal Cambodian Army as part of continued defense collaboration. Additionally, friendly sports events between the Indian and Cambodian navies promoted camaraderie, while a reception onboard hosted diplomats, ambassadors, and senior Cambodian military officials.

Mrithinjai Srikanthan (IRS) has been selected for the appointment as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance. According to an order issued from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Srikanthan has been selected for the appointment under the Central Staffing Scheme for a period of four years with effect from the date of taking over charge of the post or until further orders whichever is earlier.

Srikanthan is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of 2013 batch. He was recommended for the Central Deputation by the Department of Revenue.

The order also directs that Srikanthan be relieved of his current duties immediately to enable him to take up his new assignment in the Department of Expenditure.

Rekha Gupta, a first-time BJP MLA from Shalimar Bagh, will take oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi today, marking a historic day for the party as it returns to power in the national capital after 27 years. She will be the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit and Atishi.

Gupta, 50, won the Shalimar Bagh seat in the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections by garnering more than 29,000 votes against her Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rival Bandana Kumari. "Kaam hi Pehchaan" (my work is my identity), is a tagline that she uses on her website for her campaigns.

Gupta and her Council of Ministers comprising Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Pankaj Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra and Ravinder Indraj, will take oath at the mega ceremony in the Ramlila Maidan at around noon.

Starting this February, the State government will provide an additional 5 kg of rice to BPL families instead of cash under the Anna Bhagya guarantee scheme.

Announcing this on Wednesday, Food and Civil Supplies Minister K.H. Muniyappa said this decision has been made following the Union government’s commitment to provide the required quantity of rice to Karnataka. An order was issued later in the day.

Unable to procure enough rice in the market at a reasonable cost in time to meet the needs of the Anna Bhagya scheme, the State government had decided to temporarily give ₹170 per person per month at the rate of ₹34 per kg from July 1, 2023, in lieu of the promised 5 kg of free rice.