🛣️ Infrastructure & Transport
• NHAI received SEBI approval for its sponsored Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) to operate as a public InvIT .
• Union Cabinet approved Delhi Metro Phase V(A) with a project cost of ₹12,014.91 crore to improve urban connectivity.
• DFCCIL signed a historic refinancing agreement with IRFC to refinance ₹10,000 crore foreign currency debt , a first domestic refinancing under Atmanirbhar Bharat .
🏦 Banking, Finance & Regulation
• RBI deferred Phase-2 of faster cheque clearance system beyond 3 January 2026 to allow banks operational readiness.
• IFSCA approved major regulatory relaxations to enhance ease of doing business at GIFT IFSC .
• Axis Bank launched Digital Merchant Cash Advance Loans for MSMEs .
• Canara HSBC Life Insurance entered a bancassurance partnership with Equitas Small Finance Bank .
• MoSPI announced release of a new series of macroeconomic indicators with revised base years .
📚 Education, Culture & Governance
• PM-YUVA 3.0 results announced by National Book Trust (NBT) to mentor young authors under the Ministry of Education .
• National Test House (NTH) signed an MoU with the Department of Posts to strengthen consumer protection & quality testing services .
• Pushkar Singh Dhami , CM of Uttarakhand, launched the “Meri Yojana” Portal in Dehradun .
⚓ Defence, Security & Environment
• Indian Coast Guard inducted Samudra Pratap , India’s first indigenously designed Pollution Control Vessel (PCV) .
• India selected as Chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) from 1 January 2026 , for the third time (earlier: 2008, 2019).
🚀 Science & Technology
• Roscosmos plans to build a power plant on the Moon by 2036 to support the Russia–China International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) .
• India completed its first indigenous Water-Soluble Fertilizer (WSF) pilot plant at Nagpur, Maharashtra .
🏢 Appointments & Corporate
• Saleem Ahmad assumed charge as CMD of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) , a Navratna CPSE under MoR .
• Paytm (One97 Communications) to expand globally by setting up wholly-owned subsidiaries in Indonesia and Luxembourg via Paytm Cloud Technologies Ltd .
🕊️ Obituary
• Ira “Ike” Schab , a World War II veteran