Former Mizoram Governor and eminent lawyer Swaraj Kaushal, father of BJP Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj and husband of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, passed away here on Thursday at the age of 73.

Kaushal, a Socialist, had several feathers in his cap, though he generally avoided the limelight. He was designated as a senior advocate in the Supreme Court at just 34 and became the youngest person to become Governor when he was appointed the Governor of Mizoram in 1990. Just 37 years old at the time, he remained in the post till 1993.

Born in 1952 in Solan in present-day Himachal Pradesh, Kaushal went to school in Chandigarh and studied law at Panjab University, Chandigarh. He married Sushma Swaraj, who was to later become Leader of the Opposition and Minister of External Affairs, in 1975.

The Parliament today passed the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025 with the Rajya Sabha approving and returning it to the Lok Sabha.

The legislation is aimed to amend the Central Excise Act, 1944, specifically to raise excise duties and cess on tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco, chewing tobacco, zarda and scented tobacco. The amendment is required to give the government the fiscal space to increase the rate of central excise duty on tobacco and tobacco products so as to protect tax incidence, after the cess ends. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary moved the bill.

The Bill is intended to increase central excise duty on unmanufactured tobacco, manufactured tobacco, tobacco products, and tobacco substitutes. While the Central Excise Act, 1944 levies an excise duty ranging between 200 rupees and 735 rupees per thousand cigarettes, the enhanced duty under the Bill ranges between two thousand 700 rupees and 11 thousand rupees per thousand cigarettes. The Bill also prescribes higher excise duties for manufactured tobacco products. For instance, the duty on chewing tobacco will increase from 25 percent to 100 percent. Duty on hookah will increase from 25 percent to 40 percent. For smoking mixtures for pipes and cigarettes, the duty is proposed to be increased from 60 percent to 325 percent. The purpose of the bill is to protect people from the ill effects of tobacco and to discourage them from its consumption.

Vivek Chaturvedi, a 1990 batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) officer, has been appointed chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). He will assume charge on Monday, following the superannuation of Sanjay Kumar Agarwal. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet cleared his appointment on Friday.

Chaturvedi, who currently serves as member (tax policy & legal) on CBIC, has over three decades of experience in customs administration, intelligence, data analytics and vigilance.

Previously he served as the principal director general in the Directorate General of Vigilance and chief vigilance officer of the board, where he was responsible for internal oversight and integrity processes. Prior to this, he served as Director General (DG) at the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management, under the CBIC.

The director general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Praveen Kumar, took on additional charge of the Border Security Force (BSF) Director General on Sunday following the retirement of the incumbent Daljit Singh Chawdhary.

Chawdhary, a 1990-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, handed over the responsibilities to Kumar, a 1993-batch officer of the West Bengal cadre, at a BSF camp in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur. Notably, the handing-over ceremony usually takes place at the force headquarters in Delhi. However, this time, it was held in Raipur as the two directors general were there to take part in the DGs-IGs national police conference held from Friday to Sunday.

On Friday, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order assigning the additional charge of BSF Director General to Kumar “till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier.”

The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute will host 7th India International Seaweed Expo and Summit 2026 (IISE&S 2026), one of the largest seaweed industry gatherings, on January 29-30 next year.

The event will be organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, CMFRI and CSIR-Central Salt Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI).

The Expo is expected to draw participation from Brazil, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Sweden, and several other countries, making it a crucial globally diverse platform for exploring the prospects of the marine algae. Delegates from Latin America, South Asia, and Europe have already confirmed interest, offering opportunities for cross-border partnerships, technology transfer, and international market linkages, said a press release.

There was jubilation among weavers in Tiruchi as the famed Woraiyur cotton sari was granted a geographical indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai on Tuesday (December 2, 2025), three years after the Woraiyur Devanga Handloom Weavers’ Co-operative Society applied for the recognition.

The sari was one of five products from Tamil Nadu granted the GI tag on Tuesday, the others being Kavindapadi nattu sakkarai (jaggery powder), Namakkal makkal pathirangal (soapstone cookware), the traditional Thooyamalli rice variety and Ambasamudram choppu saman (wooden toys).

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) attorney P. Sanjai Gandhi who filed the applications on behalf of the respective associations, said that Tamil Nadu now had 74 products with GI tags.

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Monday announced that Indian women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been appointed as the bank's first-ever female brand ambassador. The announcement took place at a ceremony, themed 'Banking On Champions', at PNB's corporate office in New Delhi, during which Kaur was also presented with a framed bank jersey bearing her name and number.

The ceremony was attended by PNB's top officials, including Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ashok Chandra, and executive directors M Paramasivam, Bibhu Prasad Mahapatra, D Surendran, and Amit Kumar Srivastava. PNB Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) Raghavendra Kumar and Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju were also present at the event.

During the event, Kaur also unveiled four financial products of the bank—PNB RuPay Metal Credit Card Luxura, PNB One 2.0, Digi Surya Ghar, and the onboarding of PNB on the IIBX Portal, which the bank said is a step in reinforcing its "commitment to innovation, digital-first services, and customer-centric solutions."

Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has become the first airport to achieve water positive status in the country with a capacity of more than 40 million passengers per annum.

Speaking about the achievement, CEO of Delhi International Airport Limited, Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said that becoming water-positive reflects a deep commitment to responsible resource use, environmental stewardship, and the future of aviation infrastructure.

Further, Mr Jaipuriar said that this achievement is a significant step towards the long-term vision of strengthening IGIA’s position as a net-zero airport. He added that water positivity not only reduces our dependence on natural resources but also enhances our resilience and climate readiness.

The new complex housing the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which is in the final stages of completion, will be called ‘Seva Teerth’.

The complex was earlier known as the ‘Executive Enclave’ under the Central Vista Redevelopment project.

Besides the PMO, the ‘Executive Enclave’ will also comprise of the offices of the Cabinet Secretariat, National Security Council Secretariat, and India House, which will be a venue for high-level talks with visiting dignitaries.

Renowned aerospace engineer who helped shape the country’s strategic missile programme, Dr Tessy Thomas, was honoured with the eighth Paulos Mar Gregorios Award 2025 on Sunday in New Delhi. The award, presented at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex, recognises her “outstanding contribution in women empowerment, space and missile technology”.

Dr Thomas had held the position of Director General (Aeronautical Systems), Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), and Vice-Chancellor of Noorul Islam Centre for Higher Education.

Having served as Project Director for the Agni-IV ballistic missile at DRDO, her leadership helped advance India’s long-range missile capability.