HDFC Bank Limited has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the re-appointment of Mr. Kaizad Bharucha as the Deputy Managing Director and Whole-time Director of the bank for a further tenure of three years, effective April 19, 2026.

The private sector lender disclosed the development to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) under Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

RBI Approval Following Board Recommendation

According to the regulatory filing, the approval was granted by the RBI vide its communication dated January 20, 2026, following an application made by the bank based on the recommendations of its Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the Board of Directors.

Mr. Bharucha (DIN: 02490648) will continue to serve as Deputy Managing Director of HDFC Bank for an additional three-year term starting from April 19, 2026.

The governments of the UAE and Telangana on Tuesday agreed to explore collaboration for the development of Bharat Future City as a global urban centre. The understanding emerged after UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026.

The discussions focused on potential cooperation in large infrastructure projects in Telangana, with particular attention on Bharat Future City.

During the meeting, Revanth outlined the Telangana Rising 2047 vision and the roadmap to transform the state into a $3 trillion economy by 2047. He explained the scope of the Bharat Future City project, which is planned as India’s first Net-Zero greenfield smart city.

Revanth said that global companies such as Marubeni and Sembcorp were already on board. “Very recently, we signed an MoU with Reliance Group’s Vantara to establish a new zoo in Bharat Future City,” he said.

A new species of hedgehog, not so far found in India, has been discovered in Jammu and Kashmir, DNA analysis and morphological studies reveal.

The hedgehog, which was found by the J&K wildlife department roaming the wild in Rajouri-Poonch sector in 2024 - the first official sighting of the animal in history in J&K - was initially believed to be a long-eared Indian hedgehog.

But the DNA and morphological studies on the animal has now proved the animal to be a totally different species not so far found in India and is called Brandt’s hedgehog (Paraechinus hypomelas).

“DNA analysis and morphometric study proved that this a new species not only for J&K but the whole India and adds to the biodiversity of the country,” said Amit Sharma, wildlife warden, Rajouri-Poonch, who was the first to report the animal and then analyse and compile a report along with other researchers of the country.

The 151-year-old first Hindu temple in South Africa’s Durban has declared that it runs a risk of discontinuing its civic services due to the pending bill of over half a million rands amid allegations of fraud.

PTI quoted the South African Hindu Maha Sabha (SAHMS) urging the community to save the Shree Ambalavaanar Alayam, declared a National Heritage Site in 1980, that was established by indentured labourers who arrived in Durban in 1860 from India.

The dire financial condition of the temple was highlighted when the temple authorities posted a notice on its Facebook page last week making the allegations while not naming any officials.

A tiny crustacean discovered from the Kavaratti lagoon in the Lakshadweep islands has now been established as a new genus and a new species. The organism, which belongs to the family Laophontidae within the Copepoda class, is so minuscule that it can be properly studied only with a microscope.

The crustacean has been named Indiaphonte bijoyi, with the generic name Indiaphonte honouring India and the species name bijoyi named after S. Bijoy Nandan, Dean, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) and a former Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University.

The new organism has been scientifically described by Neelima Vasu K., a researcher in the Department of Marine Biology at Cusat, in collaboration with Samuel E. Gómez-Noguera, a copepod taxonomist and Professor at UNAM University, Mexico. The discovery has been highlighted in a paper in the journal Zootaxa.

The 6th ASEAN-India Digital Ministers Meeting was held virtually yesterday under the theme Adaptive ASEAN: From Connectivity to Connected Intelligence. The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment of ASEAN Member States and India to strengthen regional digital cooperation with a focus on digital inclusion and integration.

In a statement, the Ministry of Communications said that the meeting was co-chaired by Telecom Secretary Amit Agrawal and Vietnam’s Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung. The Meeting welcomed the approval of the ASEAN-India Digital Work Plan 2026, which includes the themes of ICT training or capacity-building programmes, the India-ASEAN Regulators’ Conference and the deployment of telecom ICT solutions. The Meeting also welcomed the operationalisation of a special ASEAN-India Fund for the Digital Future.

It added that India highlighted its indigenous and cost-effective digital solutions, Digital Public Infrastructure such as Aadhaar, UPI and DigiLocker, and the Sanchar Saathi initiative for telecom user protection and fraud prevention. India also underlined cooperation in Artificial Intelligence through the IndiaAI Mission, with emphasis on safe and trusted AI. The meeting underlined the shared vision of India and ASEAN to build an open, secure and inclusive digital ecosystem for regional growth.

The prestigious ‘Padmapani Award’ of the 11th Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival has been announced for this year’s veteran music composer Ilaiyaraaja, in recognition of his unparalleled contribution to Indian cinema.

The award comprises a Padmapani memento, a citation certificate, and a cash prize of 2 lakh rupees. The 11th Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival will be held from 28 January to 1 February at Mahatma Gandhi Mission, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

The Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival is being organised with the support of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, and the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra, with co-presentation by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and the Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation, Government of Maharashtra.

The 86th All India Presiding Officers Conference (AIPOC) will begin at Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow today. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will address the inaugural session.

During the conference, the presiding officers, secretaries and distinguished representatives will hold a wide-ranging discussion on legislative procedures, parliamentary traditions, the conduct of the House, good governance, and current legislative issues.

During the three-day conference, the dignitaries will brainstorm on different aspects of Leveraging Technology for Transparent, Efficient and Citizen – Centric Legislative Processes, along with Capacity Building of Legislators to Increase Efficiency and Strengthen Democratic Governance; and accountability of the Legislature towards the Public.

India has been ranked 16th among 154 countries in the Responsible Nations Index, a new global framework that measures how responsibly nations use their power in relation to their citizens, the environment and the wider world.

The index was launched on Monday and places Singapore at the top, followed by Switzerland and Denmark.

The Responsible Nations Index, or RNI, is an initiative of the World Intellectual Foundation and is the outcome of a three-year academic and policy exercise.

Unlike traditional global rankings that focus on economic size, military strength or geopolitical influence, the RNI shifts attention to responsibility as the central measure of national success.

They say the easy part about a title is winning it. Keeping it, now that’s not easy. Unless you happen to be Abu Dhabi – which has been named for the 10th year in a row the safest city in the world.

The top spot was given by Numbeo, which recently released its global safety rankings. The index surveyed 400 cities from 150 countries.

It is ranked first in:

Safety when walking alone at night

Safety when walking alone in the day

Behind that feeling of safety is a serious commitment to smart, forward-thinking policing. Major General Ahmed Saif bin Zaitoon Al Muhairi, Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police, credits advanced technology, digital transformation and the use of AI and predictive analytics for keeping the city one step ahead. In short: Abu Dhabi doesn’t just feel safe — it’s designed to be.