Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the benefits of the recent Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate reduction have been well received across the country, with the impact of the cuts reaching consumers across all categories.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Electronics & IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Sitharaman said the government has been closely monitoring 54 key items to ensure that the tax benefits are being passed on to end users.

Dhanteras has long been both a ritual and an economic signal for Indian households. Every festive season, as lamps go up and homes are cleaned for the arrival of Goddess Lakshmi, many families make a practical purchase at the same time, a piece of gold or other metal that is meant to bless the household and, often, to act as a liquid store of value as well. That combination of devotion and investment makes Dhanteras the most closely watched day on the calendar for jewellers, bullion traders and economists tracking consumer demand.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Saturday expressed profound grief over the killing of three Afghan cricketers in a Pakistani airstrike in Paktika province and announced its withdrawal from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I series involving Pakistan.

US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) reiterated his claim that India would no longer buy Russian oil, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.

“India is not going to be buying Russian oil anymore,” he said, adding that the country had already de-escalated. “They have more or less stopped; they are pulling back. They bought about 38 per cent of the oil, and they won’t be doing it anymore,” he added.

The Central government has turned down requests from drug manufacturers to extend the year-end deadline for upgrading their production facilities to meet international standards, Reuters reported.

The development follows public outrage after at least 24 children died from consuming locally made cough syrup, Coldrif.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has approved a 3 per cent hike in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for 2.8 million state government employees and pensioners, news agency PTI reported.

The revision raises DA and DR from 55 per cent to 58 per cent of basic pay, with effect from July 1, 2025. The increased amount will be paid in cash starting October 2025, the state government said.

Brokerages remained upbeat on L&T Finance Ltd. (LTF) after the company reported strong Q2FY26 results, highlighting robust retail growth, improved asset quality, and cost efficiencies.

However, on the bourses at 11:45 AM, L&T Finance share price was trading 0.63 per cent lower at ₹267.15. By comparison, BSE Sensex was up 0.64 per cent at 84,002.56 levels.

The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against the Donald Trump administration’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applicants, calling the move “unfair” and legally flawed.

According to an Associated Press report, the Chamber filed the case in a federal court in Washington on Thursday, urging the court to block enforcement and rule that Trump overstepped his executive authority.

Several labour unions in the United States have filed a lawsuit against the Donald Trump government for monitoring the social media accounts of people legally residing in Washington, Reuters reported.

The unions, including the United Auto Workers, Communications Workers of America, and American Federation of Teachers, lodged the case in a federal court in New York against the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the heads of these agencies.

A bomb threat was issued to the Chennai residence of Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan on Friday, India Today reported.

The threat was reportedly sent to the Tamil Nadu DGP office via email, following which, bomb squad and police teams reached the spot and conducted a thorough search.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.