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Desperate times call for desperate measures. Around two decades after he first launched a short-lived project to expand the Shiv Sena's base, Uddhav Thackeray has revived his attempts to forge a wider rainbow coalition and take his faction of the party—the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)—beyond its core Maharashtrian support base.

The party hopes that this effort, which has seen the Sena revive its outreach to Buddhist Dalits, Muslims and Hindi speakers in Mumbai, will help them gain incremental votes from the "majority of the minority," as it fights to retain control over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)—India's richest civic body—which is vital to stay relevant after the debilitating split in the party. The BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who induced a vertical split in the party's legislative and parliamentary wings, are girding their loins to wrest the BMC from the Sena. The Election Commission has recognised the Shinde faction as the official Shiv Sena and allocated it the party name, as well as the bow and arrow symbol.

India on Thursday approved the capital acquisition of indigenously-developed military hardware worth Rs 70,584 crore as part of a mega procurement plan that is expected to significantly boost domestic defence manufacturing.

The approval to the procurement proposals was accorded by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, officials said.

The go-ahead to the fresh procurement proposals came amid the nearly three-year-long standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh with China.

In what is clearly an indication of India's rising prominance on the global stage, the Indian Rupee (INR) has now been accepted by 18 countries from across the globe for transactions. Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, on Wednesday, informed the Parliament that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted banks from 18 countries to open Special Vostro Rupee Accounts (SVRAs) to settle payments in rupees.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Karad said that 60 such approvals have been given by the RBI. Elaborating upon the matter, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi said - "About 30 banks from overseas countries have signed up with 30 banks on our side, so 30 accounts." "The transaction has started in bits and pieces," he told reporters, PTI quoted.

The Hindenburg Research report that triggered a storm for Adani, mentioned a Mauritius-based fund run by UK's Elara Capital, that was used to manipulate Adani stock prices. Its ELARA India Opportunities Fund had Adani Group firm shares worth Rs 9,000 crore, which accounted for 96 per cent of its portfolio.

Now an Indian Express report has revealed that Elara is also a co-owner of Adani's Bengaluru-based defence firm Alpha Design Technologies.

Incorporated 20 years ago, Alpha works with ISRO and DRDO, and even won a Rs 590 crore defence ministry contract in 2020, to upgrade missiles and radar systems.

Indian rupee is edging closer to becoming an international currency with more and more countries working to de-dollarise global trade. Several nations have expressed interest in facilitating international trade in INR and to make the process smooth, India’s central bank – RBI- has given approval for opening 60 special rupee vostro accounts in 18 countries including Russia and Sri Lanka.

India’s Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad informed parliament that as per records, India’s central bank – Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – had granted approval to “domestic and foreign AD (Authorised Dealer) banks in 60 cases for opening SRVAs of banks from 18 nations” for settling payments in Indian rupees.