India to mandate 1% SAF blending for all international flights from January

India is expected to mandate 1% blending of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in conventional jet fuel for international flights, industry sources said, even as they expressed concern about delays in framing a domestic policy with just two months left before the UN aviation emissions require-ments take effect from January 2027. The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is a global plan to reduce carbon emissions from international flights.

Core industries grow 7.9% in historic high

India's core industrial growth accelerated to a historic high of 7.9% in September, driven by a turnaround in the coal sector and increased activity in the refinery products and iron ore sectors.

Unlocking agri-potential of FRA lands

While the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, has strengthened land and livelihood rights of millions of tribals and forest-dwelling communities, the next step is to complement these rights with sustainable agriculture practices, improved soil and water management, institutional support, and market access.

How exposed is India to foreign tech?

• India's satellite broadband, cloud computing and military programmes rely partly on foreign-controlled networks, systems and equipment

• NavIC's operational shortcomings and India's dependence on foreign cloud management systems expose gaps in domestic capabilities

• Homegrown alternatives such as UPI offer greater autonomy, but dependence on foreign suppliers and international financial networks leaves India vulnerable to disruptions

India and U.S. 'pretty close' to trade deal, says Trump

The U.S. and India are "pretty close" to making a trade deal, which will be much different than the earlier pacts, U.S. Presi-dent Donald Trump said in Washington.

Supreme Court judgment opens up debate on religion-neutrality of OBC classification

The religion-neutrality of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) classification has been thrown open for debate after the Supreme Court's recent decision that an OBC Hindu person loses the entitlement to re-servation once they convert to another religion.

While the Scheduled Castes (SCs) have always been identified by a religion criterion, and the Scheduled Tribes (STS) classification has never considered religion, and the OBC classification, since its implementation after the 1992 Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India judg-ment, has remained religion-neutral.

Trade ties, Russia-Ukraine war in focus as Modi set to meet Polish PM today

Building trade and defence ties as well as discussing the war in Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda as Poland Prime Minister Do-nald Tusk meets Prime Mi-nister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

RBI MPC highlights widening inflationary pressure in economy

Broadening pressures and the risk of second-round price rises inflationary dominated the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) deliberations in October, with members differing over the need to sig-nal further monetary tightening, the minutes of the meeting reveals.

Agrivoltaics on 10% land can meet 2050 power need: Joshi

Operationalising just 10% of agricultural land suita-ble for agrivoltaics in India can generate enough elec-tricity to meet India's projected power demand for 2050, Union Minister for New and Renewable Ener-gy Pralhad Joshi said.

The approach combines agricultural activity with solar photovoltaic power generation on the same land. The government is working on a dedicated policy framework for the sector with agrivoltaics po-tentially being incorporat-ed into next phase of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM).

Putin agrees to resume three-way peace talks with Ukraine and U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has Lagreed to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as next month, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, after Mr. Putin met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Washing-ton's latest push to stop Eu-rope's bloodiest conflict since the Second World War.

Turkiye, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Qatar sign defence accord

Turkiye, Qatar, Pakistan, and Indonesia signed an agreement on Wednesday to boost defence cooperation and strengthen defensive capabilities, the Turkish Defence Ministry said.