India's mines ministry has earmarked nearly $2 billion to develop its critical minerals sector as the world's fastest-growing major economy aims to secure raw materials such as lithium, according to a source and documents from the ministry.

In 2023, India identified 30 minerals, including lithium, as "critical" for its energy transition efforts and to meet the growing demand from industries and the infrastructure sector.

The country otherwise relies on imports to meet its rising demand.

Out of the proposed funding of Rs 16,300 crore ($1.9 billion) to develop the critical minerals sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet is likely to initially approve more than $300 million this week, said the source, who is directly aware of the matter and asked to remain unidentified as the deliberations were not public.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) morning launched its historic 100th launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The GSLV-F15 with the NVS-02 satellite lifted off from the spaceport’s second launch pad at 6.23 a.m.

“The first launch of 2025 has been successfully accomplished. The satellite has been placed into the intended orbit,” said ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan who assumed charge of the space agency earlier this month.

NVS-02, the second satellite in the NVS series, is configured with navigation payload in L1, L5 and S bands in addition to ranging payload in C-band like its predecessor-NVS-01. It is configured on standard I-2K bus platforms with a lift-off mass of 2,250 kg and power handling capability of ~3 kW. It will be placed at 111.75ºE, replacing IRNSS-1E. NVS-02 uses a combination of indigenous and procured atomic clocks for precise time estimation.

India has conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award on Christine Carla Kangaloo, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, recognising her outstanding achievements in public affairs and her contributions to enhancing India’s global prestige, the High Commission of India in Trinidad and Tobago announced on Tuesday.

In a post on X, the High Commission stated, “At the Republic Day reception hosted by the High Commission last evening, Christine Carla Kangaloo, ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, was honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award on behalf of the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, by the High Commissioner of India Dr. Pradeep Rajpurohit, for her outstanding achievements in Public Affairs and for fostering the name and prestige of India.”

Kangaloo, an Indo-Trinidadian President, served as the chief guest for the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from January 8-10, 2025. She delivered a virtual address that received widespread applause across India and beyond.

In a first for Northeast India, Tripura has pioneered the use of artificial intelligence for greater digital inclusion by adopting state-of-the-art text-to-speech technology under the BHASHINI initiative, government officials said.

The technological integration formally started with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Department of Information Technology and the Digital India Bhashini Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in Agartala on Tuesday.

The MoU is in continuation of the BHASHINI project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2022 under the National Language Technology Mission. The initiative aims to provide translation services in 22 scheduled Indian languages to break through linguistic barriers and enable people to access digital services smoothly.

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic has resigned, following nationwide protests over the deadly collapse of a railway station canopy.

He said he had acted "to avoid further complicating things" and so as to "not further raise tensions in society".

Fifteen people died in November when a concrete canopy at a railway station collapsed in the city of Novi Sad. Tens of thousands of people have been regularly taking to the streets since then, demanding accountability for the collapse and protesting against corruption.

In a TV address late on Tuesday, President Aleksandar Vucic said he would decide within the next 10 days on whether to hold parliamentary elections or form a new government.

The Supreme Court on Monday appointed former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice (retd) Jaishree Thakur as an independent observer for the Chandigarh mayoral election to be held on January 30.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh referred to the "mutually agreeable stand" taken by by the sides and said, "We deem it appropriate to appoint Justice Jaishree Thakur, former Judge of Punjab & Haryana High Court as the independent observer." The top court directed the election proceedings to be conducted in the observer's physical presence and ordered it should be duly videographed.

The bench directed the returning officer of the mayoral election to contact the independent observer and coordinate with the former judge well before the scheduled election date.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the Utkarsh Odisha - Make in Odisha Conclave 2025 at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Cabinet ministers, and business leaders from India and across the world.

Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw were present at the event.

The Utkarsh Odisha - Make in Odisha Conclave 2025 in Bhubaneswar, the flagship Global Investment Summit, being hosted by the Government of Odisha, aims to position the state as the anchor of the Purvodaya vision as well as a leading investment destination and industrial hub in India.

Jasprit Bumrah on Monday has been named as ICC men’s Test Cricketer of the Year. The Indian spearhead has an excellent 2024 in both home and away conditions. He picked up 71 wickets in 13 matches.

Jasprit Bumrah pipped England batters Joe Root and Harry Brook, and Sri Lanka’s middle-order batter Kamindu Mendis for the award.

Jasprit Bumrah has been the spearhead of Indian cricket for the longest time, but this year proved to be at the top of his game.

Charismatic India opener Smriti Mandhana, was on Monday (January 27, 2025), named ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year for her phenomenal performance that saw the left-hander score tons of runs in 2024.

The India vice-captain, who was the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2018 and 2022, racked up 747 runs in 13 innings to set new career standards in ODIs.

She put several batting stalwarts, including the likes of South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt, England’s Tammy Beaumont (554) and West Indies’ Hayley Matthews, to shade.

In their second year as hosts, the Union Territory of Ladakh finished on top of the Khelo India Winter Games 2025, the first chapter of which ended at the NDS Stadium on Monday. Like always, the grand finale saw the mouth-watering men's ice hockey final and the Indian Army squeezed past ITBP 2-1 to retain the KIWG crown. The second and final phase of KIWG 2025 will be held in J&K's Gulmarg from February 22-25.

Ladakh won two of the four gold medals decided on Monday. Their mixed relay quartet, comprising Stanzin Jampal, Skarma Tsultim, Mohammed Saquaf Raza, and Padma Angmo, clocked 3:02.19 secs to strike gold. Maharashtra (3:03.78 secs) and Telangana (3:04.85 secs) won silver and bronze, respectively.

There was more joy for the local fans. In what was sweet revenge, Ladakh girls romped past fancied ITBP 4-0 to finish on top of the women's round-robin league at a packed NDS Stadium complex. Women's ice-hockey started only last year and interestingly, Ladakh had lost the final match to ITBP by a 4-0 scoreline. Himachal Pradesh won the bronze.