India

The IPL 2026 auction will feature 350 players, including 240 Indians, competing for 77 slots across 10 teams. Quinton de Kock is a late addition, while Steve Smith returns to the list. KKR holds the biggest purse at Rs 64.3 crore

Hardik Pandya marked his return with a blazing 59 not out and a key wicket as India defeated South Africa by 101 runs in the opening T20I at Cuttack. Jasprit Bumrah completed 100 wickets as India took a 1-0 lead

Hyderabad shooting mentor Niranjan Reddy, who trained Olympian Gagan Narang and Deaflympics star Dhanush Srikanth, has earned the prestigious ISSF License A certificate in Doha, making him one of only 10 worldwide to achieve this milestone

It has become customary in India to discuss efficacy of safety standards only when a major mishap occurs

Chama Milind, Hyderabad’s left-arm pacer and captain, has led his team to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League phase with five wins from seven matches, continuing his consistent domestic form despite being overlooked for higher-level recognition

Telangana’s Jameel Khan won gold in the traditional weapon category at the International Martial Arts Championship in Toronto, Canada. Competing in the senior black belt division for the 50 years and above age group, he outshone athletes from 30 countries

Donations for a proposed Babri Masjid-style mosque announced by suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir in Murshidabad have touched almost Rs 3 crore. While Rs 57 lakh came through donation boxes, QR-code payments contributed Rs 2.47 crore, his aides said

Andhra Pradesh has set a Rs 10,169 crore revenue target for its Registration and Stamps Department for 2025-26. The State aims to facilitate 15,570 user-friendly registrations through 430 real estate projects and has resolved over 4.5 lakh grievances

The CBI has filed a criminal case against Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd and its promoters for allegedly causing a Rs 57.47 crore loss to Bank of Maharashtra. Searches are underway at company and director premises, while the ED also probes Reliance Power

A 25-year-old cab driver from Hyderabad, bedridden for a year due to an undiagnosed intrathyroidal parathyroid tumour, has recovered after high-precision surgery at Care Hospitals. The rare tumour had caused severe metabolic bone disease and a terminal-stage brown tumour infection

Bollywood filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari, have been remanded to seven days’ police custody by a Udaipur court in a fraud case involving over Rs 30 crore. The case stems from allegations that the couple siphoned funds under the guise of film production

India’s new labour codes formally recognise gig and platform workers, granting them portable social-security benefits through e-Shram. Aggregators must contribute to a Social Security Fund, enabling access to welfare schemes, accident and health coverage, and structured grievance-redressal support

Airpay Payment Services has received RBI approval to operate as a cross border payment aggregator, completing its unified PA framework licences. The company will offer full stack payment solutions domestically and globally, expecting strong growth in processing volumes, revenues and merchant onboarding

Knight Frank India reports that 74 of 365 shopping centres across 32 cities are ghost malls with over 40 percent vacancy. The study urges redevelopment of ageing centres as organised retail demand grows and Grade A malls record strong absorption

The Centre told the Lok Sabha that 29 top Naxal commanders have been neutralised since 2019 and only three districts remain “most affected” by LWE. Maoist violence has dropped 81 per cent, with the government targeting complete eradication by March 2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told NDA MPs that no law should burden citizens and stressed that the government’s “Reform Express” is focused on making daily life easier. He urged lawmakers to highlight ground-level issues and called for simpler procedures and citizen-friendly governance

The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Election Commission on a petition challenging its decision to conduct only a Special Revision of Assam’s electoral rolls. The petitioner argued that Assam requires a Special Intensive Revision due to its demographic sensitivities

The Indian Naval Band of the Eastern Naval Command enthralled visitors at Sarath City Mall with a multilingual musical concert held to commemorate the 1971 war victory. The stirring performance drew a strong response from families, youth and music lovers

Sony LIV will stream Season 2 of historical drama *Freedom at Midnight* from January 9, exploring India’s post-independence turbulence. Featuring Sidhant Gupta, Chirag Vohra, and Rajendra Chawla, the series highlights political decisions and human stories shaping the nation’s transition 

Indian intelligence warns of increased terror threats from Pakistan, with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed coordinating operations nationwide. Focus includes Jammu & Kashmir, religious sites in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, cyber attacks, and disinformation campaigns, aiming to incite communal unrest and destabilize India

Gautam Adani cautioned against “narrative colonisation” by historically high emitters seeking to influence India’s development path. Calling resource and energy sovereignty the pillars of modern independence, he said India must resist external pressures while balancing coal needs with one of the world’s fastest clean-energy transitions.

The CBI has registered a case against Jai Anmol Anil Ambani and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. for alleged cheating causing Rs 228 crore loss to Union Bank of India, involving diversion of funds, fraudulent misappropriation, and breach of trust

IndiGo cancelled five flights from Agartala on Tuesday as its operational disruption stretched into the eighth day. Airport authorities said six other flights ran as scheduled, while Air India Express and Akasa continued normal operations at the busy MBB Airport

Paediatricians in Hyderabad have urged CDSCO to mandate single-strength formulations for commonly used drugs like paracetamol, warning that multiple strengths confuse parents and lead to accidental overdosing in children. They emphasised adopting uniform strengths to prevent avoidable ICU admissions.