The Centre has released Rs 68,393.67 crore to states and Union Territories so far under the flagship rural employment scheme MGNREGA, Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan said on Friday.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said Rs 57,853.62 crore has been released for the wage component by November 26 and Rs 10,540.05 crore for the material and admin components.

Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India is seen as US President Trump's "gross incompetence" by the majority of the US people, who dislike Trump, which he claimed is around 65 per cent according to recent polls.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has directed airlines to comply with newly introduced fare caps on all disrupted routes, following a sharp surge in airfares amid ongoing flight disruptions triggered by the operational crisis at IndiGo. The caps will remain in force until normal flight operations resume and the situation stabilises.

Indian biopharmaceutical company Biocon said on Saturday it would fully integrate its biosimilar unit Biocon Biologics as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Biocon said in a statement it will acquire the remaining stakes in Biocon Biologics from Serum Institute Life Sciences, Tata Capital Growth Fund II and Activ Pine LLP through a share swap of 70.28 Biocon shares for every 100 Biocon Biologics shares, at a price of ₹405.78 ($4.51) per Biocon share. The deal values Biocon Biologics at $5.5 billion.

Delhi’s air quality continued to deteriorate on Saturday, with a thick layer of smog enveloping the city. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) settled at 333, remaining in the ‘very poor’ category and slightly higher than Friday.

The Anand Vihar monitoring station recorded an AQI of 366 at 8 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Instances of torment emerged of flyers stranded in airports and those planning to fly on Friday and Saturday making emergency alternative arrangements, after IndiGo cancelled all domestic flights from Delhi and a large chunk from other airports including Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Flyers faced a double blow as air fares on Air India flights out of Delhi and those of SpiceJet soared past ₹1 lakh one-way on some routes, and even those showed “sold out” despite the airlines adding capacity.

In a year when India’s online gaming economy was given a jolt by the Centre overnight, Dream11 is now trying to rewrite its playbook. Stripped of almost all its revenue after the real-money gaming ban, the company is now betting on a new identity built around fans, creators and live sports.

With more than 250 million users, the erstwhile real-money gaming app announced on Thursday (December 4) that it is moving beyond gaming to become a second-screen sports entertainment platform.

The Supreme Court on Thursday laid down several measures to ease the difficulties faced by booth-level officers (BLOs) working on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across states, reported Bar and Bench.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued the directions while hearing the plea filed by actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), challenging coercive steps taken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) against BLOs working on SIR.

Fitch Ratings on Thursday raised India's GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.4 per cent, from 6.9 per cent, on increased consumer spending and improved sentiment boosted by GST reforms.

It said falling inflation gives the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) room for one more policy rate cut in December to 5.25 per cent, following 100 bp of cuts in 2025 so far.

Now, not just primary visa holders but also their spouses and children will need to keep the privacy settings on all their social media profiles set to “public”, as the United States extends online-presence checks to more visa categories.

In a notification dated December 3, the State Department said the expanded screening will apply from December 15 to H-1B applicants and their H-4 dependants. The same instruction already applies to those seeking F, M and J visas.

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